For The Nap Ministry’s Tricia Hersey, we don’t rest to be more productive | Canada Voices

Off Duty is a series of lively conversations with influential people, from CEOs to celebrities, on life, work and the art of taking time off.

When I read Tricia Hersey’s New York Times bestselling manifesto, Rest is Resistance: Free Yourself from Grind Culture and Reclaim Your Life a few years ago, I found her approach to self-help life-changing.

The multidisciplinary artist is the founder of The Nap Ministry, a social justice organization examining the liberating power of naps through collective community napping experiences and immersive workshops. In her book, she called out the systematic oppressions of white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy and ableism at the heart of our collective exhaustion.

“I believe the more we rest, the more we wake up,” Hersey told The Globe from her home in Georgia. “This work is not white-washed self-care. This political and resistance work tells these systems, ‘You’ve lied enough. We know that we are enough right now, and our worth doesn’t rely on how much we can accomplish and produce.”

Now, Hersey continues that spiritual practice with the release of her latest self-help book, We Will Rest: The Art of Escape. The Globe spoke to “The Nap Bishop” about escaping from grind culture, the art of slow rituals, and how centring rest has led her to abundance, balance and joy.

You know how people say, ‘Yoga practice, not yoga perfect’ – is rest like that too? Do you get better the more you do it?

Yes, it’s definitely a practice. It is something you lean into for the rest of your days – I open We Will Rest saying that. It’s not going to be perfect. You have to give mercy to yourself. Grind culture pulls you back in. Even I am pulled into the power of grind culture sometimes. I have to be like, ‘wait a minute now, let me take a break and come back.’ If the culture is running on this 24/7, to be an escape artist is to be an outlier from it. To be an outlier is something you have to take your time with. I tell people to [incorporate rest into their daily lives] in bite-sized moments: 10 minutes there, five minutes is enough.

How does perfectionism interfere with that?

For the last 10 years, I’ve talked with thousands of people; they all feel they have to get it right the first time. They’re like, ‘Tricia, tell me how to do it. I want to know how to rest.’ I’m like, take a deep breath [laughs]. You know how to rest. Your body was built for this. You are human. Your work is just to be aware of it. Culture makes us think that burnout is a part of life. It’s not normal for the body to burn out. And that’s not what’s happening: It’s not burnout, it’s trauma. We need to listen more to our bodies.

What daily routines help you feel calm and rested?

I’m really big on tinctures and herbs, I take them every day; I travel with them. I have an herbalist who makes concoctions for immunity, anxiety and whatever else is going on. In the last year, the sauna bug has hit me; I go three times a week. I also walk a mile a day and drink a gallon of water. I love bathing – there’s a whole section in We Will Rest on the bathtub being a collaborator with me. I have a bodywork person who does assisted stretching and craniosacral therapy, and I have a strict bedtime – when it’s coming around, I close everything out and get into bed.

Is there a playlist you turn to or a song that jump-starts that trickster escape artist energy that you speak about in the new book?

I will play Nina Simone all day, all night. She has a song called Here Comes the Sun which is beautiful. I love soul music like Aretha Franklin, Motown and Donnie Hathaway. Jazz artist Alice Coltrane’s work is just electric. I love music. The collective daydreaming activation is how I started this work. People were taking naps, so there needed to be a soundtrack or something that helped lull people into this rest state. The Nap Ministry has tons of playlists on Spotify. We have one that’s on collective grief & healing that I made during the pandemic that 50,000 people have saved. Then I have my own music; I’ve created these meditations – I guess you would call them ‘rest tracks.’ There’s one out right now called Rest Life that’s also on Spotify.

I hear you’re a big supporter of Black farmers where you live in Georgia. What role does food play in nourishing your body?

I make soups year-round. People are always like, ‘It’s soup season.’ I’m like, I was making soup this summer! I love getting vegetables from my friends who are farmers and slow cooking. I’m really into the ritual of making coffee in the morning, slowing down enough to peel a potato and the ritual of eating. I used to do huge Sunday brunches at my house; I would open the doors to the community, and we would just eat. It’s so important for us to eat and then take a nap. It just fits, right?

Since you’ve embarked on this journey through The Nap Ministry, do you think you’ve found that balance you longed for?

Oh my gosh, yes. I’ve been on this meditation journey – every day for 365 days – even if it’s five minutes.

My husband always says, ‘You did a thing. It is out in the world. You can’t put it back in a box.’ I’m so grateful for that legacy and to be part of the lineage of people – my ancestors, Black folks before me – who were trying to make a way out of no way, who found temporary spaces of joy and freedom, no matter what the systems told them, they still embodied it. And so, I’m grateful for them, to them.

This interview has been edited and condensed.