Last month at Humane Yoga, we explored winter’s warmth with slow movement, hot drinks, and grounding rituals. This month, we’re turning the lights down (literally) and inviting you to rest.
We’re calling it a Sleep & Rest Revolution. Because in a world that glamorises hustle and bustle, choosing deep rest is a little bit radical.
Now, don’t get us wrong – we’re not talking about the kind of rest where you’re mindlessly scrolling till the wee hours. And not just your smart watch’s ‘sleep score’. But real, bone-deep rest. The kind that isn’t measured by something external, but that you feel.
Why rest matters (like, really matters)
We treat rest like a reward – something to get to after completing the ‘to-do’ list. But what if rest wasn’t something to be earned, but something to prioritise?
In yoga, rest isn’t laziness (in fact, sometimes it can require great effort – especially if your monkey mind is racing!). Rest is where transformation happens – the aha moments in Child’s Pose, and the bliss of Savasana.
Science agrees: quality sleep supports digestion, hormones, focus, immunity, and emotional resilience. It’s about how you feel, not just how much you get done.
August’s challenge: Sleep hygiene
This month at the studio, our challenge is all about Sleep Hygiene.
We’re encouraging small habits that help your body and brain wind down, like:
Exposure to early morning sunlight
Consistent bedtime (yep, even on the weekend)
Calming pre-sleep rituals like stretching or sipping herbal tea
Cutting back on blue light an hour before bed (try reading or candlelight instead)
These support your circadian rhythm - your body’s internal clock for sleep, energy, and mood.
Listening to your body (even if it ‘breaks the rules’)
Yoga, Pilates, and Qi Gong teach us to feel - to tune into the subtle messages your body sends.
And yet, we often don’t listen. We push through exhaustion, ignore yawns, and become obsessed with schedules – even when what we really need is to just go to bed.
Yes, routines help. But if your alarm goes off on Saturday morning to ‘keep your wake-up time’ consistent and your body is begging for a sleep in? Let it bloody sleep in! That’s wisdom, not failure.
If watching a ’90s sitcom in bed helps you unwind, go for it. Maybe take a night off screens, swap to candlelight and tea, and see how you feel.
You don’t have to follow rules (that’s what a revolution is for). You can tune in and explore what works. Not because we told you to, but because it ultimately feels good.
Ancient wisdom on rest
Ayurveda calls sleep a pillar of health, as nourishing and essential as what we eat.
Traditional Chinese Medicine sees night as yin time – time for stillness and inward reflection. Fighting against the yin leads to imbalance, anxiety, or burnout.
Both agree: deep rest isn’t a luxury. It’s medicine.
Rest is more than sleep
Rest includes physical, sensory, and mental breaks. Time off phones and mental stimulation, legs up the wall, silence, journalling, or permission not to get everything done today. Some days you need all of these - and that’s okay.
As Jeff Foster reminds us in his book, The Way of Rest:
“There is no urgency. Summer does not rush towards autumn. One tiny blade of grass is not trying to grow faster than its neighbour. The planets spin lazily in their orbits. This ancient universe is in no hurry.
But the mind, feeling so divided from the totality, wants answers now, wants solutions today, wants to know so badly...
So slow down, friend. Take a deep and conscious breath. Trust the place where you are, the place of ‘no answers yet’, the precious place of not knowing...
Now is the place where questions rest, and creative solutions grow.”
In these final, precious moments of winter, may you rest deeply, rise slowly, and remember: The revolution doesn’t always look like action. Sometimes it looks like a big ol’ nap!
At Humane Yoga, we’re tuning into the season’s invitation to create space for real rest. If you’re a Humane Yoga student and want to join our Sleep & Rest Revolution challenge – message us on +61 448 023 431 to join the Whatsapp group.