Permission to Rest Revolutionary Practices for Healing, Empowerment, and Collective Care

A revolutionary invitation to tend to our fundamental need for renewal by disengaging from our devices and acknowledging the systems that keep us running on empty, from the author of How to Breathe.

In a culture that constantly tells us to do more of everything but simultaneously pressures us to do nothing, Permission to Rest is a passionate cry for a more regulated, resourced, and rested life. Wellness expert Ashley Neese combines personal essays, contemplative questions, scientific research, and somatic practices to help us disrupt the state of urgency, reflect inward, and relax deeply. Neese examines common beliefs around rest and offers support and guidance to challenge the shame, guilt, and discomfort that often arise when we attempt to slow down.

Neese presents a series of body-focused rest practices for those who are experiencing burnout, such as Cultivating a Rest/Work Rhythm, Nature Bathing, and Social Media Sabbatical. She addresses common roadblocks when beginning a rest practice, the incredible health benefits of prioritizing rest, and a number of holistic resources for developing a sustainable relationship to rest. The practices work for those short on time, but their benefits build the more you practice every day. 

Permission to Rest is both a timely manifesto and compassionate call to action. In her signature warm, grounding, and authoritative style, Neese invites each of us to pause, look inward, learn to feel our own rhythms, and value rest as a deeply healing, empowering, and spiritual practice. This book is a reminder that we have the power to transform our lives from the inside out.

Ashley Neese holds an MFA from the California College of the Arts and is certified in breathwork, somatic trauma touch, Hatha yoga, and energy medicine. Her private sessions and workshops guide spirit seekers toward living with their hearts wide open. She works with clients all over the world, including BuzzFeed, and has been featured in Elle Japan, Vogue, Well + Good, mindbodygreen, and the Nourished Journal. She opened the goop On Health summit and is a regular contributor to the goop site. She is also the author of How to Breathe.