Falling Into Mindfulness — An Autumn Oriented Rest Series

Wrapping Up & Moving Towards Hibernation Season

Pre-hurricane I was getting pretty into my mindful, daily art practice

Today We’re Wrapping Up Our Autumn Mindfulness Series

This autumn I made a little pilgrimage back towards Western North Carolina to work some retreat management at one of my very favorite, near and dear silent meditation retreat centers. When I landed, not only was I inspired to step back into my own mindfulness practice more fully, but I also felt the desire to kick start the virtual seasons of my work from that place of deep rest. Amidst a great start—life happened. When a catastrophic hurricane hit the region I was working in and any semblance of rest was washed away with dirt, wind, and tangled up in some down power lines, it still felt important to finish.

Even in the chaos of everything that transpired, it was fun to play with something easy and colorful that never really took more than 10 minutes.

Recapping Our Autumn of Mindfulness

The original intent of this virtual “Falling Into Mindfulness” series was to give people some basic mindfulness practices to begin integrating rest into their daily lives as the seasons subtly shifted from late summer into fall. While the the original intention of this series was turned sideways with the extreme weather events—finding myself amidst a natural disaster emphasized the importance of having consistent, intentional practices to keep us tethered when the rest of the world decides it doesn’t read our carefully laid out desires¹. Even though nothing went according to plan, I think we still covered some pretty good ground.

While the series started from a place of rest— talking about shifting with the seasons, how mindfulness can take shape in the form of simple art practices, and how to notice and work with discomfort when things took a different turn, it was no surprise that a deep mindfulness practice allowed the articles to pivot towards the events at hand. The end of the series emphasized how to navigate mindfulness amidst turmoil, the unforeseeable, and crisis. We focused more precisely on being compassionate to ourselves during a difficult time and how to notice and work with symptoms of stress like the sensation of being tired & wired.

When shit hit the fan, I still was able to find time to do a bit here and there on random scraps of paper while I was working

What’s Next? Continuing Mindfully

There is something fairly potent about being caught in the midst of a major life-disrupting event—death, divorce, natural disaster, what-have-you. After navigating the acute logistics of re-stabilizing and creating safety—life-disrupting events are important times to lean even further into your mindfulness practice to look around, re-assess and ask the important questions:

• What is going well and feels deeply meaningful about about what I’m doing right now?

• What doesn’t seem important anymore now that I’ve been faced with an extreme event? What has been put into perspective?

• What is still important but what might I need to shift back into alignment?

For me, I’m recognizing some of the parts of this work that I love regardless of circumstance. While other pieces of running this small business are feeling disjointed, clunky, and out of integrity. I’m extremely excited to be hosting the in-person DreamWeaving series in Bozeman ²and offering a targeted package to outdoor seasonal professionals who are in the midst of their transition. I’m also tenderly looking forward to opening my books back up to my 1:1 work and continuing more regularly with my existing clients during hibernation season.

However, just like (probably) everyone else reading this now, I could absolutely continue to pursue more art, creativity and curiosity in my life and carve out some more room for rest.

Stay tuned this winter for how we can pursue those things together.

As per usual, I am so grateful you’re here.
Thank you for supporting my work and yourselves by engaging with The Art of Rest.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out.³

Mindfully,
Dagny Rose

This was the first attempt at the mandala when I started my practice up again after a many, many year break. Don’t let anyone tell you that the fucked up trials aren’t cute, too. They are. They might even matter the most.

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This sub-section of The Art of Rest, is all about—you guessed it—The Rest.

As a trained sleep scientist and mindfulness teacher & researcher, here we explore the everything related to rest. Whether we are unpacking the newest evidence-based sleep health tips, exploring day-to-day tools for bolstering and protecting rest, or diving into a world of dreams, “The Rest” is going to regularly touch into what a restful life is, and how to move towards one¹⁴.

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Looking For A Personalized Way to Optimize Your Rest?

Exciting announcement! My books are now open again for the hibernation season! I am looking forward to giving winter guidance around sleep health & nervous system regulation around stress. I offer individualized 1:1 guidance for those who want to use rest as a way to expand their creativity to just need a tune up all the way towards those who are dealing with chronic rest related issues. Shoot me an email at dagnyrose@theartofrest.me to inquire about getting started or fill out this form to be put on the priority booking list for Fall 2024. I will be emailing people in the next calendar week to start assessing schedules.

1. Because truthfully, when does life ever do what we hope or expect?

2. Starts TOMORROW NIGHT at 6:30 PM. Registration Link is here.

3. For real, I love hearing from you