Miranda's Path to
Uncovering Rest
My Relationship With Rest
Looking back, I can see my relationship with rest was always strained. I treated it as something to be earned, a reward for being productive, yet when I finally stopped to rest, I couldn’t settle. Guilt would surface as there were always things to do, people to see, experiences to chase. Even in my 20s, while travelling and working abroad on cruise ships, I would return home for vacation exhausted, sleeping and watching TV. I didn’t recognize this as a pattern and lived in this cycle for longer than I'd like to admit.
A year into COVID I quit my job in Vancouver and took three months off. I’d lost my sense of direction, was exhausted, and knew I needed space. Not realising at the time I was needing rest. I had been running in the hamster wheel and was disconnected from myself. During that time a pull led me to Vancouver Island, where I thought a slower pace of life with an closer connection to nature was what I needed. Unfortunately, not seeing the deeper pattern in play, I fell right back into the same cycle, just in a new location!
That three months off did give me some awareness to then recognize when I had fallen back into the hamster wheel. The early signs were there, my body speaking to me, but I ignored them. Eventually simple tasks at work became difficult and I couldn’t keep pushing through. I needed help. What followed was several months of recovering from burnout. It was one of the hardest times of my life, but it was also the beginning of something new; I just didn’t know it at the time. And from a strong desire to help others avoid getting to the same place - depleted and lost - Rest Uncovered was eventually born.
Sometimes the body speaks long before the mind is ready to listen.
How Rest Uncovered Took Shape
During my recovery, I felt a bit lost in the medical system and was unsure what to do. I started with a course on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) which was helpful in the early stages. Once my guilt eased, my intuition had space to be heard and felt. I began experimenting with what might help bring me more energy and clarity. Some days I tried things I thought were restful, yet I would still feel drained. I went through supplements, diet changes, and pretty much anything that might help. Slowly I found what supported me. Long slow walks in the woods. Puzzles that would give my mind something steady to hold. And I returned to my Yin Yoga practice, which has helped ground me since I started in 2009. Eventually I enrolled in a Mindful Yin Yoga Teacher Training, which gave me direction at a time when I was doing my best to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, slowly trusting the unknown.
I also leaned into small community groups, finding comfort in being around others who were navigating their own versions of slowing down. Those spaces became a gentle study in nervous-system attunement, group dynamics, and how people open when they feel supported. Alongside, I sought support from different practitioners to help my body recover in ways I couldn’t manage on my own. Music became another anchor, especially unique playlists with 432hz tones that helped calm my nervous system further while meditating or walking in the woods. You can find a list of the resources that supported me here; there is a mix from the Comox Valley and online.
Later in recovery, I discovered Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s book Sacred Rest, by chance. Her work gave me the language to what I was going through, the moments when I rested but didn’t feel restored. With that framework and my own lived experience, I began to see a new pattern in my journey: phases of rest, supported by areas of rest.
Unexpectedly, a friend asked if I would teach a workshop in her home to help her and a few others learn how to rest. That simple question planted a seed. Months later, Rest Uncovered was born. A space shaped by my lived experience, intuition, and the desire to offer others what I didn’t have during my own recovery.
Rest becomes more possible when we feel supported in exploring it.
How We Can Explore Rest Together
Rest Uncovered is now woven into each of my days. I’ve experienced burnout, moved through the five phases of rest, worked with the five areas of rest, and rebuilt my relationship with rest. I intentionally practice what I offer because integrity is important. Who wants guidance from someone who is teaching rest while living stressed?
If you’re here, you might be looking for support in rebuilding your own relationship with rest. Maybe you are approaching depletion, navigating burnout, or simply wanting to slow down and understand what kind of rest your body and life are asking for. You may be looking for support beyond clinical, something that helps you understand your patterns, and reconnects you with your capacity. Something that weaves rest into your days in a way that feels doable. That’s the space I hold. I don’t diagnose or treat; I softly walk with you as someone who has lived through it and understands how disorienting it can feel.
There are different ways to step into this world with me: online or in-person workshops, the 30‑Day Rest Reset (self‑guided or in a small group), or one‑to‑one guidance if you want deeper, more personalized support. Every offering uses The Rest Uncovered Method and meets you exactly where you are. Your needs around rest may not look like mine, but together we can uncover what truly supports you and at a pace that honours your capacity. And if our paths don’t cross directly, I hope the information and resources on this site offers you some permission, inspiration, and gentle reminders to how you can find rest that feels truly nourishing for you in your life.
~Miranda
Where to go from here?
