The Power of Pausing: Giving Yourself Permission to Rest
We live in a society where we always have the option to do more. To find more hobbies, to meet more people, to work more, to travel more…the list goes on and on. And while none of those things are “bad” by any means, our bodies are not designed to always be on the go and to avoid finding time for intentional rest.
Moments Of Reflection
With the start of the new year, I found myself taking time to reflect on the last year:
what was I putting my time and energy into?
how do I want my work-life balance to look like?
who did I choose to spend time with?
what kind of things did I try or do and what I was not able to take time for?
None of these were from a place of judgment or expect on but rather to really give myself the time and space for the question I was trying to answer : how do I want my 2026 to look?
Giving Yourself Permission
Expectations often get the best of us and can cloud what our true desires are. Expectations can be external and those that others put on us as well as internal - ones that we set for ourselves. Not to mention the comfort of the familiar or routine can also hinder us from trying new things or really reaching those personal goals we set for ourselves.
Another experience I encountered as I was finding ways to make space in my schedule, was that there were things that maybe were taking up a lot of my time and energy that I did enjoy. In other words, the things I knew I had to let go of were not “bad” in any way. As I spoke about in my most recent post when I made the decision to stop leading my weekly Somatic Healing classes, I loved leading those classes and they brought me immense joy, however there were also things I knew I wanted to make more space for in my life. Additionally, because the work I do is often in service of others, I did not want to disappoint or take something away that I knew had values for those who were present for my classes. While all of these things are true and I know I can try to “do it all,” I had to honestly ask myself - do I WANT to?
Part of the process of choosing to shift and change is giving yourself permission to let go of things that you know it feels right to let go of (even if it is just for a moment in time and even if it feels hard) so that you can make space to at least try something new.
Tools To Help You Pause
If any of this is resonating as something you have been wanting to try and do for a while, here are some tips for how to do so:
Start small: the thing you are choosing to step away from or to try does not always have to be something big - you can choose something small.
this can be finding a new workout class if you are trying to make more space for movement or watching only one episode of a show instead of five in order to get to bed earlier.
Explore possible scenarios: remember when people have told you to make a pros and cons list? Try it out to see if you can get some perspective and clarity on your decision!
write down pros and cons for that decision to let go or leave whatever you are exploring. What are positive experiences that could come out of it? What may be some challenges?
Creative journaling: grab a journal and some drawing materials, giving yourself time to explore your emotional experience. In other words, draw, doodle or write about how you are feeling in your process to make the decision.
If you find yourself in the brink of change or exploring it, this is your reminder to give yourself permission to pause. The pause will give you time to think, feel and experience the moment so that you feel more comfortable and embodied in your decision - your body will thank you too.
