How to think about rest as a form of resistance _ NPR

Trisha Hersey and The Nap Ministry

  • Founder: Trisha Hersey established The Nap Ministry in 2016.

  • Mission: Promote the healing power of rest through performance art, social media, and photography.

  • Author of "Rest Is Resistance."

The Four Tenets of The Nap Ministry

  • Tenet No. 1: Rest as Resistance

    • Rest disrupts white supremacy and capitalism.

  • Tenet No. 2: Bodies as Liberation Sites

    • Recognizes the body's potential to find rest everywhere.

  • Tenet No. 3: Naps as a Portal

    • Naps are crucial for imagination, healing, and innovation.

  • Tenet No. 4: Reclaiming Dream Space

    • A call to recapture the space of dreams through rest.

Rest and Cultural Paradigms

  • Advocate for a shift in perspective about productivity and worth.

  • Capitalist society often equates worth with constant productivity:

    • Emphasizes human bodies as machines rather than beings.

    • Encouragement to resist this mindset, drawing on historical forms of resistance like slow production in labor contexts.

Deprogramming from Productive Guilt

  • Recognizing the impact of societal expectations on self-worth tied to productivity.

  • Hersey advises a gradual approach:

    • Rest through guilt, self-awareness during the recovery process.

    • Engage deeply with personal needs for healing.

Health Benefits of Rest

  • Public health crisis linked to sleep deprivation:

    • Related diseases: high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes.

    • Importance of sleep for organ regeneration and trauma processing.

  • Rest impacts creativity and memory retention positively, promoting overall health and preventing long-term diseases.

Active Rest Techniques

  • Engaging in activities to connect body and mind:

    • Active rest can include dance, walking in nature, and engaging hobbies without the intent of monetizing them.

    • Example: Crocheting as a meditative practice without the need for profit.

Misunderstandings of Rest

  • Companies may promote rest as a strategy for increased productivity.

  • Clarification that true resting is not about producing more but about claiming the right to rest.

  • Resting as a fundamental human right without strings attached.