- Monday you work
Walking on the beach, a good break from your yoga practice
- Tuesday you work
- Wednesday you work
- Thursday you work
- Friday you work
- Saturday you work at home
- Sunday you rest
You have rest days in your work life. It is the same in yoga.
Once you have established a daily yoga practice it is important that you plan on taking a rest day at least once a week. Get out and go for a walk on the beach. Take a break, rest, relax and renew.
A rest day is the day that you take a break from your yoga practice. A rest day is important for your body and your mind.
Rest the Mind
A rest day gives your mind a chance to absorb all that you have learned during the past week of practicing.
Knowing that there is a break coming lets your mind plan other activities and take a break from your practice.
It is not only your mind that needs a rest from yoga. Your body also needs a rest.
Rest the Body
A rest day gives your body a chance to rest and recover from the physical practice that you have been doing during the week. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments will have a chance to rest and renew during the day off. Any minor injuries, stresses or strains will have a chance to heal and renew as well.
You use the rest day to let your body rest and recover from your physical and mental practice. Doing a daily yoga practice can be really demanding on both your mind and body. Having a day off once a week will give you a nice break and a chance for your mind and body to rejuvinate.
What day is a rest day
In the Ashtanga style of yoga, Saturday is the rest day. If you are practicing a different style of yoga check with your yoga teacher to find out which day is the traditional rest day.
Why is Saturday a rest day
Pattabhi Jois was asked by one of his students why Saturday was a rest day. Pattabhi Jois said that he picked Saturday because that was the one day of the week when all of his family was at home. No one was in school and everyone was home from their jobs. It was a chance for him to be with all of his family.
Saturday worked well for Pattaphi Jois, but what if Saturday is not the best day for you?
Can other days of the week be a rest day
Another of Pattabhi Jois’s students asked if other days of the week could be a rest day.
He said that you could pick any day of the week that worked best for you as your rest day. It was important that you have at least one rest day a week. It was not that important that it be any particular day.
He also said that there were two other kinds of rest days that yoga students should take off. These are Moon Days and Ladies Holidays
What are Moon Days
Moon days are the second type of rest day that you should take off. During the day of the full moon and the new moon you should take a break from your yoga practice and rest.
These two moon days can be particularly disturbing to the energy flow in the body while you are doing a yoga practice. This disturbance will become more pronounced as your yoga practice becomes more advanced. You should plan on taking moon days off.
There is only one more type of rest day. The last type of rest days is Ladies Holidays.
What are Ladies Holidays
Ladies should plan on not practicing yoga during the days of their period. This is a time during which the body is renewing itself and it is best not to do a physically challenging practice during this time period.
The Ladies Holidays only apply to the ladies. The guys do not get to take Ladies Holidays. They get to keep on practicing.
Summary
Rest days are an important part of your daily yoga practice. They are important to give your body and mind a chance to rest and renew.
— Saturday is traditionally the rest day for the Ashtanga style of yoga
— The full moon and new moon days are rest days.
— Ladies holidays are to be taken as rest days.
In a typical month you will have 4 Saturdays and 2 moon days to rest. And if you are a lady you will get an additional 2-3 days off as well.
Next steps
In your work life Saturday and Sunday are the rest days. Which day of the week will be your rest day from your yoga practice. Take a break and get out to the beach with the family and enjoy yourself.
Once you have your daily yoga practice in place it is time for you to figure out which day of the week works best for you as a rest day.
