We live in a culture that equates rest with stopping.

Stop producing. Stop moving. Stop contributing.

And only once you’ve stopped—and you’re sufficiently depleted, exhausted, or burned out—do you deserve a rest.

But that’s not how our souls work. That’s not how our bodies heal. And it’s definitely not how a woman thrives.

You’ve been taught that rest looks like sleep, like a vacation, like lying still on a couch with the shades drawn and your inbox on pause. But for many women—especially those in seasons of transition or caregiving or reinvention—that kind of rest doesn’t feel possible… or even truly restorative.

The truth is this:

Rest isn’t a destination. It’s a sensation.
It’s not just what you stop doing—it’s what brings you back to yourself.

Rest is what feels like renewal. And when we allow ourselves to define rest that way, a world of possibility opens up.

The Hidden Myths We’ve Inherited About Rest

Most of us have internalized messages about rest from a very young age: cultural, generational, and even religious scripts that told us how rest should look, and when we’re allowed to claim it.

Let’s unearth a few of those myths.

Myth #1: I don’t have time to rest.

This one sounds like truth, doesn’t it? After all, you’re busy. You’re needed. People are counting on you. There’s always something else to do.

But underneath this belief is the toxic conditioning that you have to earn rest—that it comes after you’ve completed the to-do list, served everyone else, and proven your worth.

The truth? You don’t need to deserve rest. You need it because you’re human. Because your well-being matters. Because you are more than your output.

As women, we’ve been taught that letting life use us up is normal — badge-worthy, even. But life is not meant to use us up. And “doing your best” isn’t defined by what you can do when you sacrifice your wellbeing, but by what you can do when you don’t. 

Myth #2: Rest means a vacation.

How many times have you heard someone say, “I just need to get away”? And while yes, a change of scenery can be beautiful and supportive, the idea that rest only happens “out there,” once or twice a year, leaves us spiritually malnourished the other 363 days.

You shouldn’t have to escape your life to feel rested. Rest can happen in your own home. In your body. In a single breath.

Myth #3: To rest, I have to be still.

Stillness is beautiful. It’s needed. But for many women, especially those living with anxiety, trauma, or hyper-vigilant nervous systems, stillness can feel more activating than calming.

If you’ve ever tried to lie down and “rest,” only to feel your heart race and your mind spin, you’re not doing it wrong. You simply need a different door in.

So What Is Rest?

Rest is a return to your own center.

It’s what re-grounds you when you feel scattered.
It’s what brings breath into the tight places.
It’s what replenishes your inner well so you can move from wholeness—not depletion.

Rest is anything that feels like renewal.

And renewal looks different for every woman, in every season.

What If Rest Could Be This?

Let’s reimagine what rest can look like.

Rest Through Movement

Maybe your rest is a walk under the trees. Maybe it’s dancing in the kitchen to your favorite song. Movement can be medicine when it’s not about changing your body, but inhabiting it.

When you move to reconnect, not perform, your body gets to exhale.

Rest Through Creativity

Kneading dough. Painting a canvas. Arranging wildflowers. Writing in your journal.

Creativity is rest for the part of you that’s tired of thinking. It reconnects you with play, wonder, and the part of you that still believes in magic.

Rest Through Silence

Not the silence of absence—but the sacred kind. The kind that lets your inner voice rise above the noise.

Two minutes of candlelit stillness. A quiet room. A deep breath.

Silence is rest for your soul.

Rest Through Touch

Loving, consensual, attuned touch—whether from another or from your own hands—can signal to your body: I am safe now.

A warm bath. A soft blanket. A long hug.
These things return you to your body, gently and without expectation.

Rest Through Nature

Let the wind carry your tension. Let the grass support you. Let the moon remind you that cycles are holy.

Rest isn’t always horizontal. Sometimes it looks like lying under the sky, breathing in your own aliveness.

Rest Through Connection

Sometimes rest comes not from solitude, but from being deeply seen.

Being with someone who doesn’t need you to perform, fix, or explain—someone who lets you be exactly where you are—can be the most renewing experience of all.

You’re Allowed to Rest. You’re Allowed to Renew.

This isn’t about adding more to your day. This is about redefining how you relate to your own energy, your own needs, your own sacred rhythm.

You don’t need to wait for burnout to rest.

You don’t need a weekend away, a perfect setting, or permission from anyone else.

You just need to ask yourself:

“What feels like renewal right now?”
“What would bring me back to myself?”

Start there.

Because your wholeness depends on your willingness to pause.
To replenish.
To be with what is.
To rest—on your terms.