Why do we avoid rest?

I have known Ashley Neese for years. We met when we gave a talk together in the winter of 2019. I have been obsessed with her ever since. Her new book, Permission to Rest insists that we need rest for ourselves, for healing, for repair, and yes, for our communities. And then, Permission to Rest shows you how to do the work of resting.

“There are a million reasons not to rest,” says our culture. Prioritizing rest is hard, but necessary. I don’t know about you, but I was raised with the notion that in order to have worth, I had to be doing something productive for society. I had to clean, practice something, and help others. If I took time to rest, I was lazy, hopeless, and worthless. For years, I ignored what was going on by working on something else.

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Rest is hard because it makes space for us to confront what is going on in our bodies. Instead of running from our feelings, we are forced to tend to them. Ashley will teach you to find strength in your body.

Transformation, a word that I have been hearing and using a lot as of late, I feel is something we assume happens in one major moment. It can, but also, it can happen with the accumulation of lots of small moments, mundane moments, the micro moments. We can start small – by starting small and not taking on the capital “T” trauma we can make transformation sustainable.

Ashley also has a substack that you should definitely check out:

PS This podcast is self-funded by me. Because I love talking to people who I believe in, I am so lucky they say yes. With help from Stephanie Tsou (you rock!!!), Mark McDonald (he helps make people’s podcast dreams a reality) and my lovely sister/soulmate, Officially Quigley did the music.

PPS More about Ashley:

Ashley Neese is a renowned breathwork teacher, somatic practitioner, author, parent, and land steward. She has spent over a decade working at the intersections of embodiment, transformation, and renewal. Ashley is host of The Deeper Call podcast, where she shares restorative conversations with people who move and inspire her –  intended to contextualize our experiences and re-establish our interconnectedness. She lives with her family in a valley of wise old oak trees in California.

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