Hi gorgeous,

Take a breath with me. 

Feel the weight of your body being held, exactly as you are, exactly where you are. Notice what it feels like to be supported, by your chair, your bed, the floor beneath you, whatever surface you are in contact with. You don't have to do anything to earn this support.

It's already here, freely given.

So many of us believe the story that we must earn our moments of pause, that we must achieve enough, produce enough, help enough people, check off enough boxes before we're allowed to do nothing or rest.

Maybe we learned that our worth was tied to our productivity, that love came with terms & conditions, that taking a break meant we were selfish or lazy. Maybe the world reinforced this through hustle culture, through toxic workplaces, through relationships that demanded that we had to constantly prove ourselves.

Draaaaining, to say the fucking least.

Our nervous system arent designed for constant motion. The natural rhythm of life includes expansion AND contraction, doing AND being, giving AND receiving.

Regulation requires rest. Healing happens in the pauses.

When we deny ourselves rest until we've "earned" it, we're actually:

• Overriding our body's wisdom
• Deepening patterns of self abandonment
• Teaching our system that safety must be earned
• Perpetuating cycles of burnout & collapse

You don't have to earn the right to have needs. You don't have to earn the right to pause.

Your rest is not a reward for exhaustion. It's an essential ingredient for being human. 

Your rest isn't selfish, it's essential. Because the quality of your relationships depends not on how much you can give, but on how well you can listen to & honour both yourself AND others.

Rest isn't something you earn - it's what enables you to show up with presence instead of proving your worth.

Journal prompts for those who might want to dive a little deeper : 

Messages we received when we were young :

• What did "being lazy" mean in your family growing up?
• Who was allowed to rest in your childhood home? Who wasn't?

Relationship Patterns:

• How has people-pleasing impacted your ability to rest?
• How has rest been weaponised against you in relationships?

Cultural & Systemic Impact:

• How has capitalism shaped your view of rest?
• What role does your cultural background play in how you view rest?

Exploring Resistance:

• What's the scariest thing about prioritising rest?
• What might you discover if you truly slowed down?

Creating Safety:

• What does your nervous system need to feel safe enough to rest?
• What small moments of rest already feel accessible?

Only answer what feels good & supportive! Or answer zero! 

It is a revolutionary practice to center rest, rage & regulation in a world that demands constant productivity.

With you in the pause, Kate x