A Door to Rest

On a recent trip to India, I visited a town high in the Himalayas. While there, I met a prominent man named Tukhar. A visionary, Tukhar was the first to create a trekking company and set the stage for that area to explode with outdoor opportunities for adventurers around the world. Tukhar's business expanded to hotels, organic apple orchards, and a leading role as a spokesperson for environmental issues.

Tukhar had amassed immeasurable wealth and could have lived in extravagant luxury. Instead, he chose to live in the humble home his grandfather had built. When Tukhar spoke of his home, there was a visible change in his demeanor. Almost reverently he told me the secret to his success. His home had a chest-high door and to enter required a deep bow.

Tukhar related that the bowing required to enter his home reminded him it was time to shift gears and leave the day's demands and challenges behind. His home became a place of peace and rest and undisturbed sleep. Tukhar had found both the success and peacefulness that life can offer, and he boldly claimed it was the daily act of bowing that had given him both of these accomplishments.

I'm not suggesting that we re-size our front doors or that we go around bowing all the time. However, it seems to me that we don't know how to make the shift from work to rest. I am curious what would happen if we created a tangible touch point, something to move us from the day's outward activities into a peaceful respite, something that could remind us that it is time to stop now; we have given enough for one day.

We know how to work hard and we know how to escape with TV, food, and drink, but do we really know how to rest? I am talking about the peaceful rest that Tukhar had created for himself, the kind that brings ease into our being, the kind that restores balance, replenishes energy, and gives an inner sense of peace. The kind that makes you feel creative and glad to be alive.

We are approaching the holiday season, a time when we hunger for peace in our world, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts. Tukhar had found this peace in his life and in his home, and he was creating it in his corner of the world. He had found it by balancing the challenges of work with the well-being of rest.

Perhaps we, like Tukhar, can find peace this season. Perhaps we can learn to stop when we have done enough and choose the spaciousness, ease, and serenity of rest.

Deborah Adele is co-owner of Yoga North Studio in Duluth, MN and of Adele & Associates consulting firm. She is the author of The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice, 2 CD's: The Art of Relaxation and The Practice of Meditation and authored a regular wellness column for the Duluth News Tribune.

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