Day 14

**Here's your suggested reading from Bliss More:**

Read the rest of Chapter 7 on the Relaxation Response (Chapter 11 in the audiobook) (7 mins)

To Rest or Not to Rest?

We have a tendency to fight off sleep and the urge to take naps during the day (and during meditation) because it doesn't feel productive.

Studies show that like any machine, our bodies need rest to function optimally. In other words, resting makes us more productive than we would be otherwise. And most of us are sleep deprived.

Without catching up on our rest, we can have some major health problems, such as:

digestive issues
auto-immunity problems
mental health challenges
reproductive issues, and...

We are prone to overreact in life

Resting deeply and often might be just what the body needs to move back towards balance.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

― Anne Lamott

Today's Challenge:

Meditate as instructed for 20 minutes (again without using an alarm), and if you begin to doze off or fall asleep in meditation, celebrate it by allowing yourself to get as rested as you can. Your body will thank you for it. And after meditation finishes, trying sliding down and resting your head back, or if appropriate, lie down for a few minutes longer in a nap position.

Assessment

Did you feel rested? Oftentimes, giving ourselves permission to sleep will lead to very relaxing meditations. If that wasn't your experience, it's no problem. You will have plenty of sleepy meditations soon enough.

Accountability Exercise

Post an image that represents how you normally unplug from activity. It could be your meditation, or some other way, such as painting, drawing, writing, playing with the dog, etc. And as always, make sure to tag #blissmore and #blissmorechallenge on your post, and take an extra minute to "like" some of the other posts under the #blissmorechallenge hashtag.

Sample accountability post

I'm on day 14 of my 21-day Bliss More meditation challenge and this image represents how I like to unplug, by painting blue skies and clouds. #warpspeed #blissmore #blissmorechallenge — I'm on day 14 of my 21-day Bliss More meditation challenge and this image represents how I like to unplug, by painting blue skies and clouds. **#warpspeed** **#blissmore #blissmorechallenge**

Wanna get a head start on tomorrow's reading?

Read Chapter 8 (Chapter 12 in the audiobook) on the Sleep Effect (9 mins)

(Follow #blissmore to see everyone’s progress)