Hello dear one,

What does resting have to do with sleeping well at night? Or digesting your food well? Or being more productive? Or having the capacity to show up for the others in your life when that’s what’s needed? Turns out it has everything to do with every aspect of our lives and what we think of as quality of life.

When was the last time you rested? Not collapsed at the end of a long day, not scrolled until your eyes gave out. Actually rested.

For a lot of us, the honest answer is, I'm not sure.

What messages did you learn, directly or indirectly, about rest when you were growing up? If you’re a parent, what are you modeling for your children day to day by what you do and how you spend your own time? Notice the parts where you already do this well, not just the parts that feel hard.

We were raised in motion, in families and a culture that kept moving, and somewhere along the way rest started to feel like something we have to earn. Maybe you've taken a few minutes to read or closed your eyes for a nap, and it feels almost like hiding in the closet with a sugary treat after the kids are in bed. More like a guilty pleasure than the birthright it actually is. So anytime we manage to go against the cultural grain and play in a stream, connect with friends, walk in nature, or turn the volume down, we need to recognize that for the victory it is.

Or maybe you’re giving yourself a little more permission to rest. Last week, someone wrote to tell me she'd started taking naps, because I'd been talking about it. Others have written to tell me that even just a few moments to slow down, kick their shoes off and rest with eyes closed while dinner was cooking, made a huge difference. Sometimes we just need someone to wonder out loud whether we're allowed to slow down, and then we remember we are.

Here's something I notice when I do slow down. There's a yellow light in all of us, the early signal that we're tipping toward too much, and at full speed we sail right past it. I’ve been noticing in myself more and more how I miss or ignore the signs that I need to stop doing. Slowing down is where we finally feel it. And then we get to choose differently.

If you have children, you may know this part already. They need rest too, even when the world insists they should always be doing, achieving, improving. And that’s not just for babies and toddlers. Family rest doesn't have to be one more thing to organize. Sometimes it's just unstructured, child-led play, everyone slowing down together, noticing what we miss when we're rushing. Or with older kids, family game night or a camp fire in the backyard without an agenda.

The way we rest, or don't, is one of the things we hand the next generation. And whether or not you're parenting now, you came from a family that had its own relationship with rest. That thread runs through all of us.

So I'd love for you to come rest with us.

The Radical Rest Retreat starts in one week- three days, June 19 to 21, live and online. Time set aside to actually stop, in good company, with no agenda but your own nervous system's needs. It's $150 to join live.

And this time, rest is better shared. You can bring a friend with you to the live retreat at no cost. Someone who's been running on empty, someone you've been meaning to slow down with. Invite them, and the two of you can rest together.

I also refreshed the retreat pages this week, so they're clearer about what these three days actually hold. If you're curious, have a look and see if it feels like something that could support you right now

This is also why our newest podcast episode is about boundaries. Resting isn't only permission, it's protection. It often means saying a small no to something so you can say yes to yourself. If that's a tender spot for you, I think you'll find this conversation useful.

There's no pressure here, and no wrong choice. Only you know what your nervous system needs right now. I'd just love to hold the space if you want it.Let me know what questions you have!

Be curious, be kind, start with yourself.

With love,

Rebecca