What is The Art of Rest?
The Art of Rest combines science, storytelling, and creative practice in pursuit of living fulfilling, authentic lives. If we listen carefully, kindly, and curiously to the current chapter of our journey—the art will take care of the rest.
The Art of Rest publication will:
Provide educational resources around sleep health, mindfulness and self-compassion practices, as well as resources around health, stress, and trauma-related psychology topics
Share creative practices around art, movement, storytelling, and land-based connection
Present opportunities for reflection and inquiry into your current practices around art, rest, and intentional living
Keep you in the loop on all on workshops and events at The Art of Rest
The Art of Rest content aims to continuously plant the seed of restful practice while acknowledging that the journey towards a restful and creative life is never linear.Much like the scientific process, we experiment, fail, then try again. Seeing through the soulful lens of the life-death-life cycle, we get comfortable with a kind of free-fall, up for whatever life has in store. In the Art of Rest, our practice is equal parts agency and surrender.
Rest As A Radical Act
Establishing a unique and regenerative relationship to rest is a radical act that our modern society doesn’t actively support.
A restful life is a birthright; education and tools towards restful lives should be accessible to everyone1. By subscribing to and sharing articles from The Art of Rest, creating a radical cultural shift.
If you have the financial means to support our work, consider supporting The Art of Rest as a founding supporter or paid subscriber. By financially contributing to The Art of Rest, you are helping support our ability to create consistent, quality content for people of all financial backgrounds.2
About Dagny
Oh hey,
I'm Dagny—founder and owner of The Art of Rest.
The Art of Rest was a shift in my professional career that sprouted organically from a dream.
Originally, I began a small creative business and substack under the name Pomegranate and Magpie. It was a way to occupy my mind and hands as I navigated choppy waters of leaving a terrible relationship, I was on a break from my PhD program, and found myself across the country from everyone and everything I knew. On the days that were hardest—especially on days I couldn’t sleep—I found rest in art, movement, storytelling, and science.
With an eclectic career as a backcountry wilderness guide, educator, movement facilitator, artist, mindfulness teacher, dreamworker and sleep researcher, I was exhausted at trying to figure out how all the pieces of myself fit together.
After spending five months living at a meditation retreat center, I revisited old questions and let them guide me. Each morning I would ask “Who am I, today?” and “What’s true for me right now?” and then do my best to follow the answers with as much rest, kindness, and curiosity as I could muster.
After nearly two years (and my whole life) of following these questions around, two prominent themes continued resurfacing: art and rest. My background as a sleep researcher continued to inform my artistic practice, and my artistic practice helped soothe and restore my nervous system recovering from many years overriding my body’s natural cues.
This experience has made me passionate about creating spaces for people to explore the wisdom of their own inner worlds and discover ways to show up authentically in their daily lives. I strongly believe that getting quality rest and sleep is key to being able to tune into our inner landscape and show up with full and passionate vigor. I also believe that as we listen to our inner landscapes, we are more able to create a better world around us—whatever our individual passions and gifts we find as we explore.
The Art of Rest is a culmination of these loves. It is a seed of hope that even on our most sleepless nights, we can rest. That we can create. That if we focus on the quality and creativity of our days, the nights will take care of themselves.
If we ask the question “Who am I, today?” and listen carefully to the story that spills from this inquiry with a sense of curiosity, creativity, and kindness, the art will take care of the rest.
I’m so glad you’re here. It’s my deepest intention to help you rest and remember what you already know while also discovering new landscapes with a sense of delight and discernment.
