Episode 48: Lazy Day with Qilin Zhou

In this episode, we dive into the concept of a "Lazy Day" and its significance in self-care and mindfulness. Our host recounts a transformative experience at the Plum Village retreat in France, where the practice of taking a lazy day revealed profound insights into rest, mindfulness, and the relationship with nature. This episode also explores the challenges and benefits of allowing oneself to truly rest, the societal stigma around laziness, and practical ways to incorporate restful practices into daily life. Dalida Turkovic and Qilin Zhou share personal reflections on balancing work and rest, particularly in the context of self-employment and the coaching profession.

Key Points:

- Introduction to the Lazy Day concept and its importance in mindfulness.

- Personal anecdotes from Plum Village retreat.

- Discussion on societal views of laziness.

- The importance of rest for mental and physical well-being.

- Practical tips for integrating lazy days into busy schedules.

- Reflections on the impact of lazy days on professional life and personal growth.

Duration: 1 hour

Produced by BMC Academy, www.bmcacademy.com. Mindfulness-Based Coach training with ICF certification.

Transcript

Transcript with Timestamps

[00:00:00] - Introduction

- Host: "Thank you. We are. It's the last self-care reset session for this summer season and today's theme is lazy day..."

[00:01:15] - Personal Experience at Plum Village

- Host: "...And just to find that environment where I could connect with, the energy of practitioners and people who dedicated their life to mindful living..."

[00:04:30] - First Encounter with Lazy Day

- Host: "...And then they announced we are having a lazy day. And I was shocked. I thought, what do you mean, lazy day? I don't want to rest from this..."

[00:07:45] - Observations and Insights from Lazy Day

- Host: "...And you could also spend time just sitting and observing clouds or the stream, how it's flowing, or just connecting with the tree..."

[00:10:00] - Teenagers' Performance and Poem on Lazy Day

- Host: "...And she explained, she wrote, something like a poem about the lazy day, where she was describing how she was eating, and she was eating while sitting on the grass..."

[00:12:30] - Realization of Importance of Nature

- Host: "...And while I was taking the lazy day as laziness and removal from the human world and even finding the rest from everything human made and human, instigated..."

[00:15:00] - The Guilt of a Busy Lazy Day

- Host: "...And there was this sense of guilt that I spent my lazy day in a very, very busy way, looking for interaction, looking for the town, for crowds, for stimulation..."

[00:18:00] - Reflection on the Purpose of Lazy Days

- Host: "...What is a lazy day really, and how important is it to be engaged? It also brought a lot of intrigue that even monks need a lazy day..."

[00:21:00] - Co-Host's Perspective on Slow Coaching Seasons

- Co-Host: "...Would you like to share a bit on, what comes up for you as we are exploring this topic now?..."

[00:24:00] - Stigma Around Laziness

- Co-Host: "...There is such a stigma about that word as well. And I think that we are even getting this big label, even on new generations..."

[00:27:00] - Balancing Work and Rest as Self-Employed Individuals

- Co-Host: "...And we can balance between that. How much is enough? Can I take a day off? What happens if I stop? Then everything stops because the people who work in an organization are going to have time off..."

[00:30:00] - The Fear of Boredom

- Co-Host: "...And in a similar way, before I even knew about the lazy day, I was talking to my coach and saying, I can notice my bored mind..."

[00:33:00] - Embracing and Understanding Boredom

- Co-Host: "...What does it mean to sit with boredom? What does it mean to sit with anger or restlessness or hyperachiever? What does it really mean to sit with these aspects of ourselves that are taking us away from the path..."

[00:36:00] - The Role of Meditation in Lazy Days

- Co-Host: "...And from what I realized actually meditation really mainly serves that so when we are taking lazy day in our practice it means that we are going to use the practice to rest in sleep in calm rest..."

[00:39:00] - Observations from Store Consciousness

- Co-Host: "...It's this curiosity. And if I don't engage with anything, what will come up? What will show up from, my store consciousness, from my consciousness?..."

[00:42:00] - Personal Reflections on Rest and Work Balance

- Co-Host: "...And just recently I took a week off, which meant that I was checking in or in touch with my work, one hour a day. And then on Monday, I spent a whole day working..."

[00:45:00] - Flow Theory and Balancing Extremes

- Co-Host: "...The flow theory, when did we get into the space of flow between two states? And one state is boredom and another one, another state is burnout..."

[00:48:00] - Practical Tips for Lazy Days

- Co-Host: "...So if I am, for example, leaning back into boredom, and I'm..." 

[00:51:00] - Closing Thoughts and Reflections

- Host: "...And that is what I understand that monks and practitioners who really dedicate their lifetime to practice really do when the lazy day comes means..."

[00:54:00] - End of Episode

- Host: "Thank you for joining us today. Remember to take a lazy day for yourself and embrace the stillness..."