The Rest Practice: Honoring Your Body Without Guilt (Action Wednesday)

What if rest isn't laziness? What if rest is expansion?
In this Action Wednesday episode, Nyomi walks you through practical exercises to create your rest practice, identify where you're doing too much vs. being enough, and take responsibility without judgment.
This is the work of unashamed expansion. Bring your journal and get ready to honor your body.
**In This Episode:**
- Exercise 1: Where is your body asking you to rest? (5 questions to identify signals you've been ignoring)
- Exercise 2: Doing too much vs. Being enough (balancing the DOING list with the BEING list)
- Exercise 3: Taking responsibility without judgment (reframing with the formula from the 6th card)
- Exercise 4: Creating your rest practice (ONE specific, timed, non-negotiable commitment)
- Addressing the guilt: "But I have so much to do..."
- The choice: Rest now on your terms, or rest later when your body forces you
- Real examples from Nyomi's life (altar time, saying no, lying down, pushing back deadlines)
- The 7-Day Rest Challenge
**The 4 Exercises:**
1. **Where is your body asking you to rest?** - Physical symptoms, when they started, what you're telling yourself, what your body is actually saying
2. **Doing vs. Being** - List everything you're doing, mark what drains you, identify where you need to BE more
3. **Taking responsibility without judgment** - "I take responsibility for [action], but I do not judge myself for [being human]"
4. **Your rest practice** - ONE specific form of rest, made specific and timed, with prepared responses to blocks

**Your Rest Practice Options:**
- Sleep (30 min earlier)
- Stillness (10 min silence)
- Movement (gentle stretching/walking)
- Saying No (decline one draining commitment)
- Support (ask for help with one thing)
- Boundaries (protect one hour for nothing)
**The Formula:**
"I take responsibility for [action/situation], but I do not judge myself for [being human]."
**Your Challenge:**
Do your rest practice every day for 7 days. Notice what shifts. Journal at the end: What did rest teach me about expansion?
**Share Your Practice:**
Instagram: Tag or DM @AskNyomi with "This week, my rest practice is..."
**Connect with Nyomi:**
- Website: AskNyomi.com
- Instagram: @AskNyomi @TheSeasonofSelfLovePodcast
- Tune in: Ask Nyomi Bridging the Gap - Thursdays
** #ActionWednesday #SeasonOfSelfLove #UnashamedExpansion #RestPractice #HonorYourBody #RestWithoutGuilt #TakeResponsibilityWithoutJudgment #RestIsMedicine


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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What if rest isn't laziness? What if rest is an expansion? What if your body isn't betraying you? What if your body is guiding you? This is Action Wednesday, and today we are creating your rest practice. We're honoring your body. We're taking responsibility without judgment. Let's do the work. But hey, my beautiful people, welcome back to Season of Self-Love. The Security Guide is Nami Banks, and I am so glad that you are here with me on this Action Wednesday. Monday was very, very powerful. I share with you about my migraine weekend, and I share with you my Monday morning altar moment. And I share with you the six cards in that photo that popped up. And the lesson was that this expansion doesn't always look like more. Sometimes it looks like stop. Sometimes it's your body forcing you to rest so that you can receive. But today we're putting it into practice. Today we're creating your rest practice. Today we're identifying where you are doing too much and not being enough. So today we are learning to take responsibility without judgment. So I want you to grab your journals, get your pen ready, and let's do the work. So let me welcome you properly to the show. Welcome to the Season of Self-Love Podcast, the season of healing intentionally. I am your host, Naomi Banks, and I am so glad that you are here. This season we are slowing down to go deeper. Every Monday and Wednesday, we're creating a space of intentional healing, authentic conversations, and the kind of self-love that transform from the inside out. This podcast is brought to you by Axe Naomi and Elevate Me Self-Discovery, where we believe that loving yourself intentionally is the foundation of true transformation. So whether you're on your own journey of rebirth, navigating life transitions, or simply choosing yourself, this is your safe space. So get comfy. Grab your favorite beverage and let's heal together intentionally. Because you deserve to embrace that beautiful person that you are. Now let's get started. All right, my beautiful people, before we dive into the work, we're going to ground ourselves with the 60-second guiding meditation. And today we are preparing to just honor our bodies. Honor our bodies to receive rest, to take the responsibility without guilt. So wherever you are right now, I want you to close your eyes if you can and just get comfortable, all right? Just get comfortable.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Alright, my beautiful souls. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, I want you just to sit and pause with me for a moment. I want you to put both feet on the floor and I want you to scan your body from head to toe. Where are you holding tension?

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Where are you tired? Where is your body asking for attention? I want you to take a deep breath in.

SPEAKER_02 3:40

Now slowly release. And now I want you to say quietly to yourself. I want you to repeat after me. I honor my body. Now inhale. Exhale. Now say quietly to yourself. I release the guilt about resting.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

I release the judgment about needing breaks. I release the story that rest is laziness. I honor my body's wisdom. I receive rest without shame. I take responsibility without blame. Now one more breath in.

SPEAKER_02 4:44

Release. Now say, I listen to my body. I honor my needs. I rest without guilt. And when you are ready, gently open your eyes and grab your journal. And let's begin.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

All right, my beautiful people. All right, if you're new here to the Season of Stuff Love Podcast, it's something we do every um episode, is just to help ground ourselves before we get in topic to him. All right, so let me quickly recap on Monday's episode. On Monday, we shared, well, I shared with you about my migraine weekend and how I spent Saturday and Sunday in pain. And I was fighting the rest. You know, I was telling myself I couldn't afford to pause because everything was happening, you know, that the app was coming, the podcast, the guests, you know, my mother, the house, all of it. And how I never once thought that maybe rest is medicine for me. Then I told you about my Monday morning altar, about the six cards that fell out, about the photo from years ago popped up, and every single message spoke to where I was at that moment, right? And then the message, the key message was being impeccable. To take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself for anything. Take responsibility, but don't judge yourself. And the lesson, the lesson was expansion doesn't always look like more. Sometimes it looks like stop. Sometimes it looks like stop. Sometimes your body forces you to rest so you can receive. So today we're doing the practical work. We're creating your rest practice. All right. So y'all ready to dive in? Let's dive in. All right. So let's do exercise one where your body is asking you to rest. This is our first exercise, and it's identifying where your body is asking you to rest that you've been ignoring. Because here's the thing: your body is always talking to you, it's always giving you the signals, it's always asking you for what it needs. So the question is: are you listening? Are you listening? So, right now I would like you to grab your journal. And I'm going to ask you some questions, and I want you to write the honest answers. All right. So, question one, what physical symptoms have you been ignoring or pushing through? Headache. Are they headaches, fatigue, body aches, tension, insomnia, digestive issues, anxiety, brain fog? I want you to write them down. All if they all of them, write them, all write them down. Don't minimize them. Says he's got tongue ties. Don't minimum. Minimize them. Oh my God. Don't justify them. Just say them. It's early in the morning for me. Minimize. I haven't even had my my cup of tea yet. Minimize. There you go. And then question two. When did these symptoms start? Or when did they get worse? So it's like, was it after you took on a new project? Or was it after you said yes to something you didn't want to do? Or after you stopped taking breaks, or after you started hustling harder? Want you to connect the dots. When did your body start asking you to slow down? And so it's actually asking, did was it something that triggered it? Was it something stressful? And then question three What have you been telling yourself about these symptoms? For example, like I just need to push through. Or as I was telling myself this week, I don't have time to be sick. I don't have time to have these migraines right now. I'll rest when it's done. It's not that bad. I can push through it. Other people have had it worse. I want you to write down the story that you've been telling yourself. And then question four, what is your body actually trying to tell you? Not what you want to be saying, but what is it actually saying? Is it saying I need rest? Is it saying I need a break? Is it saying I need to slow down? Is it saying I need support? Is it saying I need to say no? I want you to write it down. What is your body's message? And then question five. What would honoring your body look like for you? So if you actually was listening to what your body is asking for, what would that look like? What would change? What would you do differently? And I want you to write it down. I want you to be pacific. And I want you to look at your lists, and I want you to really look at it. Because your body has been talking to you. And I hate to tell you, you've been ignoring it. Not because you're bad, not because you're weak, but because you've been taught to that rest is laziness, that the breaks are for people who aren't committed. That your body needs are inconvenient. But what if your body is actually guiding you? What if your body is actually guiding you? What if these symptoms are expansions asking you to pause? All right, now we're going to identify where you're going to, where you're doing too much and where you need to be more at. Because one of the lessons from Monday was this sometimes being too much doesn't mean that you're taking up too much space. Sometimes it means that you're doing, that you're doing too much and not being enough. So let's identify it. So let's go with part one. Where am I being too much? Where am I doing too much? Okay, let's rephrase that. Where am I doing too much? I want you to list everything that you're currently doing, everything on your plate, everything that you're responsible for, everything that you've committed to, your work projects, your personal goals, your family obligations, your social commitments, your side hustles, your house tasks, everything. And I want you to write them all down. I write them all down. Now for each item on that list, I want you to ask yourself, am I doing this because I love it? Or because I feel like I have to? Am I doing this for me or to prove something to someone else? Does this energize me or does it drain me? Is this aligned with my current season or am I forcing it? And then I want you to put a mark next to the things that are draining you. Put a mark next to the things that are draining you. And the things that you're doing out of obligation of fear or proving. Now on this part, I want you on this one is I want you to write, where do I need to be more? This part two, where do I need to be more? Now I want you to think about the things where you're not doing because you're too busy doing. Does that make sense? I want you to think about the things that you're not doing because you're too busy doing. The doing list and the being list. And where are you? Where are you out of balance? Where are you out of balance? Where are you doing so much that you have no room to be? Where are you? That's where your expansion is blocked. That's where rest is needed. Can you see it? All right, so now we're going to practice the most important skill, and that's taking responsibility without judgment. So this is a card that fell out on Monday morning. Being impeccable. Being impeccable, you take responsibility for your actions, but you do not judge or blame yourself for anything. So let's practice it. I want you to think about three things that you've been judging yourself for lately. Three places where have you been blaming yourself. Maybe it's I should be further along by now. Or maybe it's I should be able to handle this. Or maybe I shouldn't need too much rest. Or maybe I should be stronger. Or maybe I should be able to do it all. And I'll pause while you write it down. And now for each one of those, I want you to reframe it using this formula, all right? I want you to reframe it using this formula. I take responsibility for the action of the situation. But I do not judge myself for being human.

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Judgment.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Your judgment is I should be able to handle this workload without getting migraines. That's my judgment. I should be able to handle this workload without getting migraines. That is what I told myself last Saturday. And this is how I'm reframing it. I take responsibility for taking on too much, but I do not judge myself for being human and needing to rest. Here's another one. I shouldn't need so many breaks. Other people can do more. I'm reframing it. I take responsibility for honoring my body needs, but I do not judge myself for having different capacities than others. Here's another one. I should be further along in my business by now, and this is how I reframe it. I take responsibility for the pace I'm moving at, but I do not judge myself for growing in my own timing. So, do you see the difference? You're acknowledging the reality and you're taking ownership, but you're releasing the judgment and you're releasing the blame. Now do it for your three and write them down. I take responsibility now for your action and situation, but I do not blame myself for being human. And I would love for you to read them out loud. I want you to hear yourself taking responsibility without shame. I want you to hear yourself being gentle with yourself. This is the work. This is how you expand without judgment. You are making yourself accountable, but you're not judging yourself. You're being human, you're being responsible. All right, let's move on to the next. Now we're going to create your actual rest practice, the thing that you're going to commit to this week. Not someday, but this week. And we're going to start today. So you ready? All right. So step one. Let's choose one form of rest that you, that your body has been asking you for. Not five forms, not I'll try to rest more. Just one specific thing, just one thing. So your options. You sleep. I'm going to bed 30 minutes earlier every night. Sleep. Stillness. 10 minutes of sitting in silence every morning. These are your options. Sleep, stillness, movement, saying no or support boundaries. Either you could sleep, sleep, going to bed 30 minutes early every night, stillness, 10 minutes of sitting in silence every morning, movement, gentle stretching or walking without a goal, saying no, declining what commitment that's draining you, support, ask for help. with one thing that you've been carrying along boundaries protecting one hour of your day for nothing so which what is one form of rest that your body is asking for and write it down and then step two I want you to make it pacific in times not that I'll rest more but every day this week I want you to make a commitment every day this week I will I either I will go to sleep 30 minutes early or I will go to sleep if your bedtime is at 8 30 I will go to bed at 7 30 p.m every day this week for the next seven days or here's another example every day this week I would lay down for 20 minutes at 2 p.m with no phone calls no ties and just rest or every morning this week I will sit at my altar for 10 minutes before checking my phone write yours make it pacific make it timed make it non-negotiable remember this is our year of reclaimed and unashamed this is what we're reclaiming back our life we're reclaiming back of who we are we have removed the mask last year was the year of the rebirth remember now remove it on to step three identifying what we will try to what will try to block you because something will try to stop you guilt will show up yes guilt will show up oh the to-do list will whisper that I don't have time story will appear so write down what will try to block my rest practice step four create your response for each block write your response the truth you tell yourself when guilt or resistance shows up for example block I don't have time so here's your response I don't have time not to rest my body is asking for this your body is asking for this okay here's another I should be working rest is the work expansion expansion requires receiving here's another blocked out other people can handle more than this I'm not other people I honor my body needs so write down your response prepare for the resistance because there will be there will be and then the next step is commit out loud I want you to say out loud your rest practice your commitment and is that this week I will whatever your rest practice is at what time and for whatever duration that I'm honoring my body I'm taking responsibility without judgment and I am unashamed of resting and say it now I know what some of you are thinking right now Naomi I hear you I want to rest but I have so much to do and I can't afford to pause right now I see y'all I see I'm telling y'all I see y'all and I get it because that's what I was telling myself all weekend long I can't afford to rest I'm expanding everything is happening but here's the truth you can't afford not to rest because when you push through when you ignore your body when you override the signals eventually your body will force you to stop it'll be a migraine it'll be a burnout it'll be an illness it'll be a breakdown it'll be a heart attack it will be death d E A T H your body will get your attention one way or another and when it forces you to stop then it's no longer on your terms it's not a gentle pause anymore it's a crash so you can rest now on your terms with intention and honor or you can rest later when your body shuts you down so which do you choose which do you choose is up to you it is up to you all right so here's the challenge for this week for the next seven days I want you to do your rest practice every single day no excuses no I'll do it tomorrow every day and I want you to notice how does your body response how does your energy shift how does your clarity improve and what resistance shows up what guilt tries to stop you and what changes when you honor your body and at the end of the week I want you to journal on this what did rest teach me about expansion because I promise you when you create space to receive when you honor your body when you take responsibility without judgment you will expand in ways you didn't expect you will expand in ways you didn't expect let me give you some real examples of what rest looks like in real life because I want you to see that it's that it's real that it's not a movie example altar time every morning I go to my altar even when I don't have to even when there's a million things to do because that stillness that connection that's grounding that's rest that's receiving example two is saying no to production meetings after the shoot week I had people wanting to meet to talk about the next project and I had to say no not for whatever just not this week because my body needed integration time it needed restamp three taking excedrine and lying down Monday morning after my altar time I took Excedrine even though I'm not supposed to because it works better than the thousand dollar pills. And I gave myself permission to lie down to rest to just be an example for pushing back deadlines I have deadlines and I have commitments but when my body says not today I listen I push things back I ask for extensions and I honor the pause these are small acts but these are revolutionary for me because they say my body needs matter my rest matters my expansion requires receiving so what would your rest look like for you what would yours look like for you now just like every week we need accountability right so I want you to share your rest practice make it public and make it real so you can either do it in option one you can DM me or you can tag me on Instagram at the Season of Stuff Love Podcast and tell me this week my rest practice is you know whatever whatever Pacific day Pacific time whatever the Pacific practice is. So option two, tell your accountability partner tell them right now this week I am honoring my body with whatever the rest practice is and make it real. All right all right my beautiful people so before we close I want to leave you with this affirmation for this week and repeat this with me out loud if you can I honor my body without guilt I take responsibility without judgment rest is not laziness rest is expansion I listen to what my body is asking for. I receive rest as medicine I am unashamed of honoring my needs I am expanding by pausing beautiful beautiful well right my beautiful people this is the work this is how you expand without burning out you identify where your body is asking for rest you notice where you're doing it too much and not being enough you practice taking responsibility without judgment you create one rest practice and you commit to it for seven days it's not complicated but it's revolutionary because we live in a world that glorifies the hustle that rewards overworking that tells you it rest is for the week but your body knows better. Your body knows that rest is how you receive rest is how you integrate rest is how you expand. So this week honor your body take that rest and notice what shifts so if this episode has helped you share with someone who needs permission to rest leave a review and please DM me on Instagram and tell me what your rest practice is I want to celebrate with you. And with that we completed our April series Unashamed Growth four weeks of reclaiming your space your voice your joy and your expansion I'm so proud of you for doing this work for showing up every Monday and Wednesday and for being here and for choosing you. So until next time this is your girl guys Nami Banks reminding you to be good to one another in yourselves and always keep it sexy love yourself first so you can love others well. Have an amazing amazing day have a good one thank you so much for joining me today on this journey of intentional healing. I hope that this conversation has filled your cup and reminded you of the beautiful and worthy person that you are I want you to remember healing isn't about rushing it's about showing up for yourself with love and intention one day at a time so I'll see you back here Monday and Wednesday for another episode of the Season of Healing Intentionally right here on the Season of Self Love Podcast. So until then keep choosing you and visit us at the season of Stuff of the podcast.com for showing up some resources and with me on Instagram at the Naomi This has been brought to you by Alex Naomi and elevated self discovery because you really matter you are love you are worried you are exactly what do you need to be careful