Boxing Day on Rest - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

This is your time to rest.. you have permission. Lie on the floor, or sit on a chair, get yourself comfortable... close your eyes if you'd like... take a deep breath in... and exhale...

How much do you rest? Do you prioritise it? Maybe you feel you don't have time to rest! Or maybe you feel guilty for taking time out? Jessica Creighton discusses the theme of Rest with her guests.

The presenter and author of The Art of Rest Claudia Hammond defines what rest is - and isn’t; discusses some of the most restful activities, gives a ‘Prescription for Rest’ and explains why she has a box containing a crochet hook and some seeds.

The Reverend Lesley Jones, Rector at The Parish of Jarrow of Simonside, and Anna Katharina Schaffner, Professor of Cultural History at the University of Kent, discuss the day of rest and the ‘rest cure’ – which involved drinking four pints of milk and eating mutton chops!

The nature geek Melissa Harrison takes us on a country walk near her village and describes how nature rests in winter.

Composer Debbie Wiseman explains how music can promote a feeling of restfulness and demonstrates with some of her favourites from Beethoven to Brahms and her own composition Together.

British athletes discuss how they use rest to perform at the highest level. The Former athlete and Olympic medallist Anyika Onuora and sport climber and five times National Champion Molly Thompson-Smith share their stories of how necessary it was in aiding their recovery from illness and injury.

And a former magazine editor Marianne Jones commissioned hundreds of pieces about stress, but ignored her own potentially fatal burnout. She recalls the warning signs that led her to become a relaxed woman.

Presented by Jessica Creighton
Producer: Louise Corley

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