Rest as Resistance: Black History Month and the Power of Intentional Rest | Taiji Sleep
Share
"Rest is a form of resistance because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy." — Tricia Hersey, The Nap Ministry
Every February, the world pauses to honor the contributions, struggles, and enduring brilliance of Black people throughout history. And every February, I find myself returning to a question that sits at the intersection of history, healing, and the work we do here at Taiji Sleep:
What does it mean to truly rest — and who has been denied that right?
I am AFENG. My practice is rooted in Taoist philosophy and Traditional Chinese Medicine — traditions that have long understood rest not as idleness, but as the foundation of all vitality, creativity, and power. And in studying these traditions alongside the work of Black scholars, healers, and activists, I have found a profound resonance: rest is not a reward. It is a right. And for many, reclaiming it is an act of resistance.
The History of Stolen Rest
To understand why rest is political, we must first understand who has been denied it.
The transatlantic slave trade was, among its countless atrocities, a systematic theft of rest. Enslaved people were forced to labor from before dawn until after dark, their bodies treated as instruments of production rather than vessels of human life. The right to stillness — to sleep, to dream, to simply be — was not guaranteed.
This legacy did not end with emancipation. Research consistently shows that Black Americans experience disproportionately higher rates of sleep disorders, shorter sleep duration, and lower sleep quality compared to white Americans — a gap driven by systemic stressors including economic inequality, neighborhood noise and safety concerns, racial trauma, and the chronic hypervigilance that comes from navigating a world that has not always been safe.
In TCM terms, this is the physiological cost of sustained 恐 (Kǒng) — fear — and 忧 (Yōu) — worry. When the nervous system cannot fully discharge threat, the Kidney Qi depletes. The Heart Shen becomes unsettled. Sleep becomes shallow, fragmented, insufficient.
The body keeps the score. And the score, for many Black communities, reflects centuries of accumulated debt.
Tricia Hersey and the Nap Ministry
In 2016, Tricia Hersey — a Black artist, activist, and theologian — founded The Nap Ministry with a radical proposition: rest is a form of resistance.
Her work reframes rest not as laziness or luxury, but as a political act — a refusal to allow capitalism and white supremacy to define human worth through productivity. To rest, in Hersey's framework, is to assert your humanity. To say: my body is not a machine. My value is not my output.
This philosophy resonates deeply with Taoist thought. 无为 (Wú Wéi) — non-striving, effortless action — is not about doing nothing. It is about refusing to participate in systems of forced urgency that are not aligned with the natural rhythm of life. It is about trusting that stillness is generative. That the fallow field is not wasted — it is preparing.
11 Ways to Honor Black History Month Through Intentional Rest
1. Learn the History of Rest as Resistance
Read Tricia Hersey's Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto. Explore the work of Audre Lorde, who wrote: "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." Understanding the intellectual lineage of rest-as-resistance deepens the practice.
2. Take a Nap — Without Guilt
The Nap Ministry's central practice is simple: lie down. Close your eyes. Let your nervous system discharge. In TCM, the 午时 (Wǔ Shí) — 11am to 1pm — is the Heart meridian's peak hour, and a brief rest during this window supports cardiovascular health and emotional regulation. A 20-minute nap is not laziness. It is medicine.
3. Support Black-Owned Wellness Businesses
Intentional rest includes intentional spending. Seek out and support Black-owned spas, sleep wellness brands, meditation studios, herbalists, and TCM practitioners. Rest economies matter.
4. Create a Rest Ritual Inspired by African Healing Traditions
Many African healing traditions — from Yoruba to Kemetic practices — include specific rituals for sleep, dreaming, and restoration. Research the traditions of your own heritage or those you wish to honor. Incorporate elements — specific herbs, prayers, music, or movement — into your evening wind-down.
5. Practice 子时 (Zǐ Shí) Sleep Discipline
Be asleep before 11pm. This is the hour when the Gallbladder meridian begins its work of processing the day's decisions and emotional residue. Consistent, early sleep is one of the most powerful acts of self-restoration available — and one of the most countercultural in a world that glorifies late nights and early mornings.
6. Reduce Racial Battle Fatigue Before Bed
Racial Battle Fatigue — the cumulative stress of navigating racism — is a real physiological phenomenon that elevates cortisol and disrupts sleep architecture. Create a deliberate transition ritual before bed: a warm shower, gentle stretching, or 5 minutes of Dantian breathing to signal to your nervous system that the battle is paused, and rest is permitted.
7. Curate Your Sleep Environment as Sacred Space
Your bedroom is not just a room. It is a sanctuary. Treat it accordingly. Lower the temperature to 65–68°F. Use blackout curtains. Remove devices. And consider the material that touches your skin through the night — mulberry silk's thermoregulating, friction-reducing properties create the conditions for deeper, more restorative sleep. Taiji Sleep's silk bedding and sleepwear are designed to make your rest environment worthy of the rest you deserve.
8. Dream Intentionally
In many African and diasporic traditions, dreams are not random noise — they are messages, guidance, and connection to ancestors. Keep a dream journal by your bed. Before sleep, set a gentle intention: I am open to what comes. The practice of honoring your dreams is a practice of honoring your inner life.
9. Disconnect from Productivity Metrics
For one day this month, refuse to measure your worth by what you accomplish. No to-do lists. No output tracking. Simply exist, move, eat, rest, and connect — as a full human being whose value is inherent, not earned. This is 知足 (Zhī Zú) — the Taoist practice of knowing that you are already enough.
10. Share Rest with Your Community
Rest is not only individual. Host a rest circle — a gathering where people come together to nap, meditate, or simply be still in community. The Nap Ministry hosts collective rest experiences for exactly this reason: rest shared is rest amplified.
11. Commit to Rest as a Year-Round Practice
Black History Month is February. But the need for rest — and the right to it — is not seasonal. Let this month be the beginning of a permanent reorientation: one where rest is not what you do when everything else is done, but the foundation from which everything else becomes possible.
The Convergence
Taoism and the rest-as-resistance movement arrive at the same place from different directions: the radical insistence that the human body is not a resource to be extracted, but a living system to be honored.
道法自然 (Dào Fǎ Zìrán) — the Tao follows what is natural. And what is natural for every human body, regardless of race, history, or circumstance, is this: the need to rest. To restore. To dream. To wake renewed.
This February, and every month that follows, may your rest be deep, your dreams be rich, and your restoration be complete.
You have earned it. You have always earned it.
— AFENG
Taiji Sleep | Where Ancient Wisdom Meets the Art of Rest
Join the Monthly Blessing Journey
Every month, we journey to ancient temples and Taoist sanctuaries across China — lighting incense, offering prayers, and carrying the intentions of our members into sacred spaces. Those who walk with us for six months or more will receive, at year’s end, a curated collection of sacred tokens gathered from the altars and shrines along our path — small objects that hold the memory of incense smoke, mountain silence, and whispered prayers. Each piece travels from a place of stillness to find its way to you.
If you seek inner peace, a deeper connection to your truest self, and the timeless wisdom of the Tao, we warmly invite you to join the Taiji Sleep Monthly Blessing Membership. For the full story of what awaits you on this journey, we invite you to visit the membership page. Discover the Journey →🕯️🏮☯️
We welcome wholesale, distribution, co-branding, content, and retail partnership enquiries — WhatsApp📱 or 📧hello@taijisleep.com📧.