I am a kinaesthetic learner. Drama school helped me make this discovery. Now, I apply this to everything I do as a creator.

In addition to a regular ongoing movement practice, I’ve most recently started applying this to a self-led course I am taking about story structure. I play the instructional video, add ambient music quietly underneath, and I do yoga or whatever stretching & movement I feel like doing while I listen, knowing that I can re-listen in the future if I ever wish to take notes or revisit a concept.

Not only this, but I find I learn about myself & the world as I go through the process of writing & performing my work, as well.

Through my work in creation & performance, my understanding of myself as a kinaesthetic learner, and as a person who lives with & has had to learn about the nature of chronic pain, I’ve learned about the idea of integration. This is where rest comes in.

For everything I learn, there needs to be time for the new information to integrate into my current body of knowledge (pun absolutely intended). That means taking time off for leisure, relationships, life admin & care for my body with no worry about creative or productive output.

The busyness of life can make the notion of conscious (or as I call it ‘active’) rest really hard to justify. But I find, if I don’t make time for it, my body will absolutely demand it from me.

If you are a kinaesthetic learner like me, if you struggle to justify rest for yourself, or if you have just finished a project and don’t feel quite ready to dive into your next task or project, try these tips for active rest that I’ve found work for me.