Lauren, thank you for these wise and stirring words. I was nodding along the entire way through. Looking forward to coming back for the Yoga Nidra practice - what a generous gift to us. I must add, I think this is the first I have properly wintered... My own children are now mid and late teens and I am only now permitting myself the rest I have needed for years! With each cycle of the wheel I am learning and reclaiming more of the goodness that was never meant to be denied to me. Wish I had read this a few years back! Now, feeling rested, I am waking with the dawn chorus and going to bed at sunset. Thank you for being a healing balm in this broken world. Keep resting and creating! x
Ahhh Kelly this is so beautiful - to be able to fully rest into our inner and outer seasons truly is a gift, what a gorgeous act of self devotion. I hope you get to sink in and enjoy the practice when you get a moment, it would be beautiful to share it with you. xxx
Thank you for reminding us all of the magic, the medicine of rest. And for this practice. I have been very interested in this "resting into my power" you mention as I work. Like, how can I balance moments that have a lot of energy and activity, with a more restful approach on most days to serving? There's something deeply feminine here, about the ways we work and the ways we move through the world that are very different than what patriarchy makes us believe. Many thanks.
Oh yes Amanda, I love that idea of weaving the restful approach in our days, I think actually that is how we are 'supposed' to operate - in ebbs and flows instead of continuously on and then so exhausted we are forced into stopping. Imagine if we all just naturally merged rest and play together each and every day... that could be world changing. Thank you so much for reading and responding. xxx
Ooh I have saved up this post for a reason - an evening to myself once the baby is asleep. So excited to rest in my power! What a great choice of topic for Siren Songs, beautifully expressed Lauren. I look forward to discovering more of your offerings
Lauren, thank you thank you thank you for this rallying siren song of rest! When you write, "for many of us to simply stop and rest doesn’t feel safe in our systems… we are too far down the line of toxic productivity to make an instant leap from doing to being", the penny finally dropped for me why so many of us can't seem to ever stop, not even for a minute. It's taken many years, but I now regularly give myself permission to nap when I need it. It shouldn't have been such a mental shift in the first place, but it was. And how I love the idea of "all the way alive"!
Ahhh thank you Annette, it really is a journey to be able to fully rest - I think I will always be on that journey to be honest, there is so much written in our inner landscapes that tell us we aren't safe to rest. That realisation was huge for me too. Thank you so much for reading and sharing your response. xxx
TOTALLY agree with you Lauren. Have you heard of Stephanie Mackinnon? She talks about our perpetual exhaustion is what capitalism demands, and how we have internalised capitalism on an individual level through things like perfectionism and believing our worth is tied to our productivity. I'm going to be recording a chat with her next month for my Substack - look out for it!
It's something I really struggle with - allowing myself to rest. It feels like there is never enough time to rest and also I think in some way rest feels unsafe in my body.
Thank you for this yoga nidra, though. I plan to listen this week xx
I am very much looking forward to hearing your conversation with Stephanie! And I really hope you get to sink into the practice this week. Rest is definitely a learning practice for me and one I suspect I will continually be exploring. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts xxx
Thank you for writing into this important idea, Lauren. As a toddler mom and entrepreneur, rest sometimes feels like a lofty goal. Thank you for the gentle reminder of how important it is to gift ourselves the space to simply REST.
I feel you so much! It’s something I have had to carve out time for as otherwise I repeatedly end up in the same burnout pattern! But it varies very much from three minutes of lying down with my legs up the wall to a blissful yoga nidra while my littlest naps some days. There is so much to balance though so I have to constantly remind myself that it’s such a powerful practice and only enhances my creative work and my ability to Mother as I want to. Thank you for reading, I hope you get to enjoy the practice xxx
Lauren, thank you for these wise and stirring words. I was nodding along the entire way through. Looking forward to coming back for the Yoga Nidra practice - what a generous gift to us. I must add, I think this is the first I have properly wintered... My own children are now mid and late teens and I am only now permitting myself the rest I have needed for years! With each cycle of the wheel I am learning and reclaiming more of the goodness that was never meant to be denied to me. Wish I had read this a few years back! Now, feeling rested, I am waking with the dawn chorus and going to bed at sunset. Thank you for being a healing balm in this broken world. Keep resting and creating! x
Ahhh Kelly this is so beautiful - to be able to fully rest into our inner and outer seasons truly is a gift, what a gorgeous act of self devotion. I hope you get to sink in and enjoy the practice when you get a moment, it would be beautiful to share it with you. xxx
Thank you for reminding us all of the magic, the medicine of rest. And for this practice. I have been very interested in this "resting into my power" you mention as I work. Like, how can I balance moments that have a lot of energy and activity, with a more restful approach on most days to serving? There's something deeply feminine here, about the ways we work and the ways we move through the world that are very different than what patriarchy makes us believe. Many thanks.
Oh yes Amanda, I love that idea of weaving the restful approach in our days, I think actually that is how we are 'supposed' to operate - in ebbs and flows instead of continuously on and then so exhausted we are forced into stopping. Imagine if we all just naturally merged rest and play together each and every day... that could be world changing. Thank you so much for reading and responding. xxx
Ooh I have saved up this post for a reason - an evening to myself once the baby is asleep. So excited to rest in my power! What a great choice of topic for Siren Songs, beautifully expressed Lauren. I look forward to discovering more of your offerings
Ahh Laura, I really hope you got to sink into this and feel nourished by it. xxx
Thank you Lauren that was so needed. My Sam Kalpa was ‘i am rested’ and I’m feelimg it 💜
Thank you for sharing with me, I’m so glad you feel that in your being now. Xx
Haha auto correct! Sam kalpa 😆
Good old Sam!! 😂
Beautiful practise thank you ✨💗
You are so welcome, I am so glad you enjoyed it. xx
Lauren, thank you thank you thank you for this rallying siren song of rest! When you write, "for many of us to simply stop and rest doesn’t feel safe in our systems… we are too far down the line of toxic productivity to make an instant leap from doing to being", the penny finally dropped for me why so many of us can't seem to ever stop, not even for a minute. It's taken many years, but I now regularly give myself permission to nap when I need it. It shouldn't have been such a mental shift in the first place, but it was. And how I love the idea of "all the way alive"!
Ahhh thank you Annette, it really is a journey to be able to fully rest - I think I will always be on that journey to be honest, there is so much written in our inner landscapes that tell us we aren't safe to rest. That realisation was huge for me too. Thank you so much for reading and sharing your response. xxx
Oo I’m coming back for this! 🙏🏽
Enjoy lovely one xx
TOTALLY agree with you Lauren. Have you heard of Stephanie Mackinnon? She talks about our perpetual exhaustion is what capitalism demands, and how we have internalised capitalism on an individual level through things like perfectionism and believing our worth is tied to our productivity. I'm going to be recording a chat with her next month for my Substack - look out for it!
It's something I really struggle with - allowing myself to rest. It feels like there is never enough time to rest and also I think in some way rest feels unsafe in my body.
Thank you for this yoga nidra, though. I plan to listen this week xx
I am very much looking forward to hearing your conversation with Stephanie! And I really hope you get to sink into the practice this week. Rest is definitely a learning practice for me and one I suspect I will continually be exploring. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts xxx
Thank you for writing into this important idea, Lauren. As a toddler mom and entrepreneur, rest sometimes feels like a lofty goal. Thank you for the gentle reminder of how important it is to gift ourselves the space to simply REST.
I feel you so much! It’s something I have had to carve out time for as otherwise I repeatedly end up in the same burnout pattern! But it varies very much from three minutes of lying down with my legs up the wall to a blissful yoga nidra while my littlest naps some days. There is so much to balance though so I have to constantly remind myself that it’s such a powerful practice and only enhances my creative work and my ability to Mother as I want to. Thank you for reading, I hope you get to enjoy the practice xxx
Love this! And can’t wait to listen to the practice, thank you!
I hope it soothes you lovely one xxx
I look forward to to listening to this tonight ✨
I truly hope it nourishes you xxx
It was so perfect. I could feel myself breathing better. It was fascinating! And I slept so well feeling very alive!🌸
So glad that it nourished you in this way. Xx