The Journal of HAA provides a variety of information to help you lead a lifestyle with a lot of mental and physical space.
We are pleased to announce the beginning of a new series of interviews, "HAA Time to Ask the Professionals How to Rest".
In this series, we will interview "rest professionals" in various fields and share their stories related to rest. We hope it will inspire you to think about rest.
Our first guests are Yukari Kawahito, founder of the Rest Design Institute, and Hiroaki Yamano, a physical therapist.
The Rest Design Institute was conceived in 2018 and began full-scale activities around 2020. While expanding the scope of its activities by hosting study groups and monitoring tours of retreats, Mr. Yamano and other experts have joined the group to think about and communicate about rest from a variety of perspectives.
Rest Design Institute, a community lab for thinking about rest
--What inspired you to start the Rest Design Institute?
Kawato: "I have been working in the area of organizations and careers for more than 10 years and have seen many people and organizations become exhausted. In such circumstances, I felt that we should think more about something that is sort of obvious: "In order to work vigorously, it is important to take a good rest. There is a lot of discussion in the world about "how to work," and there are many opportunities to learn and learn. However, I noticed that there is very little discussion and research on 'how to take time off.
"I wanted to create something like a commitee lab to break down and think, 'What is the way of rest for people to work with vitality? We started the Rest Design Institute because we wanted to create a kind of commitee lab where people can think about how to take a break and think about how to take a break. We also aim to create a place where people can improve their knowledge of health and become better at taking rest while engaging with each other, rather than just sending information one way or the other.
In thinking about how to take a break, we wanted to deepen our thinking from multiple perspectives, including the views of medical professionals and specialists. Mr. Yamano, a physical therapist, has joined our activities.Ms. Yamano: "For a long time, I worked in hospitals as a physical therapist and dealt with a variety of patients and diseases. Currently, as a university faculty member, I am mainly engaged in research on the relationship between pain and fatigue and the autonomic nervous system, and in training physical therapists. Since I originally conducted research on the prevention of sports injuries such as baseball, I felt the importance of rest. Then, I looked at workers and found that while there is a lot of research on how to work, there is still very little research on rest and the autonomic nervous system, which is deeply related to it. Since it is said that we have 100 years to live, in order to work actively for as long as possible and continue to live life as one's own person, the way we work and the way we rest is just as important as the way we work. It was at this time that I met Yukari-san and decided to participate in the activities of the Rest Design Institute because I sympathized with her ideas and wanted to know first of all how workers actually view rest.
How to live in this age? How to design rest from the viewpoint of diversity--The way we work and rest seems to have changed little by little with the changing times. What has changed between now and then?
Ms. Yamano: "In the past, the standard was to work for one company until retirement, advancing one's career. Whether it was good or bad, I don't think there was any room for doubt because that was the only choice.
Now that we live in an information society, we can see many different lifestyles and work styles through social networking sites.
In today's information society, we can see many different lifestyles and ways of working through social networking sites and so on. I feel that this is where the trend to reconsider lifestyles is born.
"More and more people are stopping and thinking about what they want to do. Do I necessarily have to put work first? Is there a way of working that suits me better? I think it would be good if people could ask themselves these questions in a positive way. I would like to be able to recognize my own situation, adopt something different, and see what happens to me as a result. I think the best way to adapt to change is to live with enough time to monitor your situation. By repeatedly examining how to take time off in the process, I think you can establish a lifestyle that is just right for you.
The important thing is to deeply understand your current state--What do you think is important in order to find a suitable rest method for yourself?
Kawato: "The first thing is to carefully observe and understand your condition. Is it your mind or your body that is tired? What is the cause? If you don't know, for example, if you just blindly do yoga, you will not know if it is the right kind of rest for your current fatigue. I think it is important to first learn about your condition and then try to find a way to rest to solve the problem.
What are some specific ways to know your condition?
Kawato: "I recommend that you take an inventory of how you usually take rest. If you write it down, you will be able to see how well or poorly you take rest and what you are suited or not suited for. Then, consider specific methods of rest that are appropriate for the person you are now. For example, what are the things you would like to do every day? If you think in terms of a year, for example, do you travel twice a year, and what do you do there? These workshops on 'creating a recipe for rest' have been well received each time we have held them.
--You're right, I've taken inventory of how I work and my career, but I've never taken inventory of how I rest.
Kawato: "I also recommend that you think about how to take a break, not by yourself, but by involving others. You will make new discoveries if you talk about how to take a rest with your family or as a couple. It is quite difficult to increase the variation of rest methods alone, so I think it is a good idea to try out the rest methods of other people with whom you have a dialogue, and if you find one that seems to suit you, you can incorporate it into your own. At the Rest Design Institute, we also place great importance on interactive interactions, and I feel that new insights and discoveries are being made through the exchange of opinions and presentations among the participants.
(In Awaji Island) (Discussing how to take a break during a workcation)
--It certainly seems to be a good stimulus to hear the opinions of those close to you and to hear about different ways of resting from your own.
Kawato: "Also, I know everyone is busy, but if you are going to make time to rest, you need to be prepared to throw away some of that time. I think that will make it easier to incorporate rest, even if it's just for a short period of time.
While there are different ways to rest for different people, are there any points that we should be aware of?
Mr. Yamano: "I think it is good to be conscious of creating a time to be in a daze, not thinking about anything. It is related to the default mode network of the brain. Even if you feel like you are just spacing out, nerves are connected in your head, and things are getting more and more organized. If you can create this kind of blank time in your daily life, your mind will be cleared and new ideas may be born. However, if you spend all day in a daze and think too much, on the contrary, your brain will get tired. Think of rest as a break from action, and it is important to take it frequently between work and private life. It is important that we don't keep taking the same actions, such as "keep moving and keep resting."
Mr. Yamano also says it is important not to do anything by inertia.
Mr. Yamano: "When we do something, we sometimes make decisions based on preconceived ideas without being aware of it. For example, when I go on a company trip, I always think that there will be a lot of merrymaking at night (laughs). (Laughs.) Then there are times when I take a paid day off, but in reality, I end up working at home unconsciously. Do you always eat a piece of chocolate when you get a break from work? I am sure that each of us has our own beliefs and habits, but are they not at odds with our original thoughts and what we want to do? Do you really want that? I think it will be a good opportunity for you to stop and think about it and find your own lifestyle.
Why don't you stop for a moment and deepen your thoughts about rest?
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