By Elleonore Fust, Wellness Editor

My understanding of rest has shifted completely over the past few years. When I began to truly grasp what recovery means and how I can integrate it in small ways throughout my life I experienced a new sense of clarity, motivation, and direction. I wake up with more glow in my skin, a lighter mind, and a stronger body.

I used to think rest only meant sleep. And as someone who has always struggled to take pauses during the day or get enough hours of rest at night, everything changed when I realized that recovery can take many different forms.

Healing from the inside out

Creating gentle, daily routines for recovery has transformed both how I feel and how I function inside and out. I've been in that place, in a body that wasn’t getting the rest it needed, where stress became the norm.

But the body can't heal in a state of constant tension. It doesn’t matter how clean we eat or how much we exercise if the body doesn’t feel safe, it can’t receive what we give it.

Rest is not laziness. Rest is healing. It’s necessary. It’s your way back to yourself.

So what is rest?

There are different types of rest and they all matter.

Sleep
Getting 7–8 hours of quality sleep each night is foundational. This is when the body repairs itself, the skin regenerates, and the brain clears out the mental clutter. During deep sleep, our lymphatic system does its most important cleansing work helping us wake up feeling clear, light, and balanced.

Active Rest
This is movement that calms and nourishes, not drains. Walks, yoga, or slow pilates forms of movement that bring us into the body without pressure or performance.

Passive Rest
Often the most overlooked, yet deeply powerful. Meditation, breathwork, a long bath, reading, skincare rituals. These are the moments when we step out of doing and into simply being.

How I bring rest into my everyday life

For me, rest has become an essential part of my day not something I try to “fit in,” but something I prioritize with intention.

I protect my sleep and make sure I get enough hours every night. My morning routines are important to me, so I still wake early, but I now see those routines as a form of recovery too.

My active rest lives in my pilates and yoga practice, and in my daily walks moments to move without pressure, reflect, and ground myself.

My passive rest comes through meditation, breathwork, and my evening rituals with body care and lymphatic massage.

These are the spaces where I slow down, breathe deeper, and return to myself. They give me the energy I need to create, lead, and live with presence.

Creating your own space for rest

We all have different needs but we all need recovery. I believe in starting small:

Make your sleep sacred. Prioritize those hours.

Reflect on what rest means to you. What makes you feel calm, safe, and grounded?

Give yourself permission to pause. This isn’t selfish it’s a form of self-respect.

My return to balance

Recovery has become my inner compass. It’s where I find clarity, strength, glow, and flow. It’s how I recharge and reconnect so I can show up fully, for myself and for others.

I hope this journal inspires you to find your own version of rest. Just a little time each day, for you, can make all the difference.

Love, E.