Leaders Devoted to Rest®

Octavia Raheem
  • 5.0 (8)
  • ALTERNATIVE HEALTH
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Leaders Devoted to Rest®, a liberatory podcast that challenges the burnout-driven paradigm of success. This isn't just another wellness podcast - it's a movement to disrupt the exhaustion-equals-success narrative. It is a movement to get free. Host Octavia Faith Ann Raheem guides ambitious leaders in discovering how rest isn't just a pause. Rest Is Sacred and it's a powerful catalyst for transformation. Each episode combines intimate conversations with leaders who've harnessed rest as fuel, followed by practical rest practices you can implement immediately. Whether you're at the edge of burnout or ready to bend time through intentional rest, this podcast offers a sacred space to explore how rest awakens possibility and power within you supporting you in reclaiming your brilliance.

  1. REST PRACTICE with Octavia F. Raheem | For The Mother Within Us All

    05/11/2025

    REST PRACTICE with Octavia F. Raheem | For The Mother Within Us All

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! In this special Mother's Day meditation, I offer a sacred rest practice centered around the profound truth that we all deserve to be held. When I ask people "What part of you is most in need of rest?", mothers often respond that they need permission to receive support rather than always being the one who holds others. This meditation honors the sacred relationship between mothers and children in all its complexity—for those mothering, those being mothered, and the child and mother that live within each of us. This practice reminds us that "every mother in your lineage that has ever been, exists within you." It creates space for both mothers and children—for those who are gone and those who remain, for those who are sick and those who care, for those who long for softness and those who provide it. Perfect for anyone navigating the complex terrain of mothering or being mothered, this rest practice offers a sacred pause to honor our interconnection across generations. If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a 5-star ⭐️ review here on Apple podcasts and don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube! Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    19 min
  2. Rest Practice with Octavia F. Raheem: Giving Your Mind the Rest It Deserves

    05/04/2025

    Rest Practice with Octavia F. Raheem: Giving Your Mind the Rest It Deserves

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! When I ask people "What part of you is most in need of rest?", I've found that about 80% identify their mind. This comes as no surprise, as our mental activity can be relentless—whether it's recurring thoughts on a loop or simply too many thoughts competing for attention at once. In this rest practice, I explore this common experience. As you listen, I guide you through: Choosing between sitting upright or lying down (I suggest sitting can help with attention when seeking mental rest)Scanning your body from bottom to top, top to bottom, and left to rightNoticing where your attention is naturally drawn in your bodyReleasing tension and providing support where neededSoftening different parts of your body systematicallyUsing the mantra "Inhale: let, Exhale: go" to anchor your mindThis approach isn't about rigid stillness but finding varying degrees of rest that work for you.  This episode is perfect for leaders, space-holders, and anyone whose mind needs a generative pause from constant activity.   If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a 5-star ⭐️ review here on Apple podcasts and don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube! Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    17 min
  3. Rest Practice with Octavia F. Raheem: Are you tired from always supporting everyone else?

    04/27/2025

    Rest Practice with Octavia F. Raheem: Are you tired from always supporting everyone else?

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! When you are the leader, the space holder, the one who holds it all together it can be difficult to step back from that reality and allow yourself to receive support. In this rest practice, I invite you to offer yourself what you so consistently deliver to everyone else: support, space, and care. One way to first accept this invitation is to simply play the audio in the background of your life. Listen to my voice. Notice and feel if there’s resonance for you. Trust whatever you discern. After that you can lean a little further in to this invitation by sitting in your favorite chair, softening your gaze or closing your eyes if that feels safe to you. From there follow along as I guide you to be aware of the support of the chair, place your hand near your heart center, and become aware of your breath supporting your body. The next layer and level of this invitation is to ease back even further, lay down or practice supine and rest. This titrated method of accepting this invitation allows you- the one always on, always holding, always supporting, to slowly and with intention communicate to your nervous system that you, can, in fact be held, and supported in rest too. That it is safe to do so. You have a lifetime to unlearn the grind. To relearn how to be held. And you get to do that slowly, intentionally, and with care. I am honored to be your guide in remembering this sacred truth: You are supported. You are held. This practice is perfect for leaders, creatives, and anyone looking to transform their relationship with rest as a pathway to authentic power, creativity, and expanded awareness. If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a 5-star ⭐️ review here on Apple podcasts and don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube! Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    15 min
  4. The Heart Remembers to Rest: Finding Your Way Back to Wholeness with Dr. Tej Khalsa

    04/13/2025

    The Heart Remembers to Rest: Finding Your Way Back to Wholeness with Dr. Tej Khalsa

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! In this episode, I am talking with Dr. Tej Khalsa, a Consultant to the World Health Organization's Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health and the Founder and Medical Director of the GIM Mind Body Medicine Clinic. She shares her powerful insights on prescribing rest as medicine and how reconnecting with our authentic power transforms our relationship with work and ourselves. We explore how rest awakens us to truth and helps us reclaim sovereignty in spaces that don't always serve our highest good. Drawing from her medical background and personal journey, Dr. Tej reveals how our understanding of the heart offers a profound metaphor for rest—explaining that even the physical heart begins everything from a place of rest and relaxation before contraction. Her path from institutional medicine to founding her own clinic offers a powerful testament to what becomes possible when we ask ourselves who we truly work for and honor our connection to authentic power. In this episode, we explore: How the medical understanding of the heart provides a powerful metaphor for rest in our livesThe revolutionary realization that "the day the heart begins to fail is the day it fails to remember to rest"Dr. Tej's personal experience with workplace toxicity and how rest helped her reclaim her sovereigntyThe transformative questions: "Who do you work for from your first breath to your last?" and "Who do you truly serve?"How rest connects us to our authentic power and helps us recognize when we're disconnectedMoving from a place of inferiority/superiority to one of authentic truth and loveThe process of "giving it a rest" as a gentle pathway to deeper relaxation and presenceBuilding a legacy based on love rather than merely financial success Experience a guided rest practice focused on back support and stability. Discover how embracing rest can transform not just your approach to work but your relationship with yourself, revealing freedom and possibility when you operate from a place of authentic presence rather than exhaustion. Connect with Dr. Tej Khalsa: Website: www.mindbodymedicineclinic.com If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a 5-star ⭐️ review here on Apple podcasts and don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube! Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    43 min
  5. The Sacred Mandate of Rest: Finding Clarity Through Stillness with Dr. Tiffany Johnson James

    04/06/2025

    The Sacred Mandate of Rest: Finding Clarity Through Stillness with Dr. Tiffany Johnson James

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! In this episode, I am talking with Dr. Tiffany Johnson James, an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Georgia Tech and a work, equity, and wellness researcher, writer, and teacher. She shares her transformative journey from academic burnout to embracing rest as a sacred mandate. We explore how prioritizing stillness has awakened clarity and grace in her life, fundamentally changing her approach to academia, leadership, and personal wholeness. Drawing from her yoga training and commitment to presence and prayer, Dr. Tiffany reveals how operating from a rested state has become essential to her well-being, authentic leadership, and ability to show up genuinely in academic spaces. Her path from exhaustion to embodied liberation offers a powerful testament to what becomes possible when we reject hyperindependence and embrace rest as self-affirmation. In this episode, we explore: How academic pressure and physical symptoms of burnout led Dr. Johnson to seek out restorative practicesThe revolutionary act of saying "no" and modeling boundaries in academic spacesHow stillness-based practices transformed Dr. Johnson's presence in meetings and relationshipsFinding liberation by knowing your worth and refusing to exhaust yourself proving it repeatedlyThe power of prayer and writing as a sacred mandate to define "enough" in each dayBreaking the illusion of independence through rest and remembering our interconnectednessHow rest enables access to ancestral wisdom and embodied liberation Experience a guided rest practice focused on releasing hyperindependence and receiving support. Discover how embracing rest can transform not just your approach to work but your relationship with yourself, revealing wholeness and creative possibilities when you operate from a place of presence rather than exhaustion. Connect with Dr. Tiffany Johnson James: Website: www.tiffanydawnjohnson.com Instagram: instagram.com/tikkidawn11/ Facebook: @Tiffany D Johnson LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tiffanydjohnson/ Calling PhD program graduates, post-docs, junior faculty (Assistant Prof, Assistant Lecturers) and recently tenured faculty (2023 or later) who want to take the bold steps of translating their research in ways that only they can.  WHOLE 2025 , created by Dr. Tiffany D. Johnson, is returning, with you in mind. Beginning in September 2025, and over the course of 10 months, WHOLE 2025 members will be part of a 10-month group and 1:1 coaching experience where they begin to translate their research into practice. And they do so in ways that are restorative, spacious, and empowering. For more information please visit: tiffanydawnjohnson.com/about/whole-community/ If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a 5-star ⭐️ review here on Apple podcasts and don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube! Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    1h 1m
  6. Beyond the Rat Race: Finding Liberation Through Rest and Self-Acceptance with Rashida Parrish

    03/30/2025

    Beyond the Rat Race: Finding Liberation Through Rest and Self-Acceptance with Rashida Parrish

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! In this episode I am talking with Rashida Parrish, a Senior Staff Project Manager, Chief Cat Herder, and mindfulness advocate. She shares her transformative journey from workplace trauma and exhaustion to embracing rest as an empowered practice. We explore how prioritizing rest has awakened "Rashida 2.0," unleashing her creativity, authentic leadership, and confidence, fundamentally changing her approach to corporate work and life. Drawing from her personal rest practices and commitment to family and community, Rashida reveals how operating from a rested nervous system has become essential to her well-being, creativity, and ability to show up authentically in corporate spaces. Her path from burnout to liberation offers a powerful testament to what becomes possible when we reject the badge of honor of exhaustion and embrace rest as self-affirmation. In this episode, we explore: How toxic workplace culture and exhaustion led Rashida to seek out restorative practicesThe revolutionary act of challenging corporate messages that glorify overwork and exhaustionHow intentional rest practices have transformed Rashida's leadership and opened doors to C-Suite conversationsFinding liberation by knowing your worth and refusing to exhaust yourself proving it to othersThe power of consistent morning silence and evening restorative practices to clear the mindBreaking generational patterns through rest and teaching these practices to her sonHow rest enables us to make decisions from a place of intention rather than fight-or-flight reactivity Experience a guided rest practice focused on letting go and releasing tension throughout the body. Discover how embracing rest can transform not just your approach to work but your relationship with yourself, revealing confidence and creative possibilities when you operate from a place of rest rather than exhaustion. Connect with Rashida: Instagram: instagram.com/shida_luana/  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rashida-parrish-atkinson-pmp/ If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a 5-star ⭐️ review here on Apple podcasts and don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube! Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    53 min
  7. The Healing Journey of Rest: From Burnout to Creative Liberation with Cristina Aguilar

    03/23/2025

    The Healing Journey of Rest: From Burnout to Creative Liberation with Cristina Aguilar

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! In this episode I am talking with movement doula and rest advocate Cristina Renee Aguilar. She shares her transformative journey from burnout to embracing rest as a transformational practice. We explore how prioritizing rest has reawakened her creativity, ancestral connections, and authentic voice, fundamentally changing her approach to movement work and life. Drawing from her personal rest practices and deep commitment to collective liberation, Cristina reveals how operating from a place of rest has become essential to her well-being, creativity, and ability to hold space for transitions and change. Her path from executive burnout to creative flourishing offers a powerful testament to what becomes possible when we center rest as a form of resistance and ancestral healing. In this episode, we explore: How Cristina's "radical pause" in 2017 led her from burnout to ancestral reconnection in MexicoThe revolutionary act of challenging cultural messages against rest ("no seas floja" - don't be lazy)How rest practices supported Cristina through pivotal historical momentsFinding creative liberation through rest, leading to museum curation projects and book writingThe power of "atomic habits" like daily meditation and journaling to sustain rest practicesCreating boundaries around social media consumption to protect your nervous systemHow rest enables us to hold the "sacred pauses" between life transitions Experience a guided rest practice focused on letting go and releasing tension throughout the body. Discover how embracing rest can transform not just your approach to movement work but your relationship with yourself and your ancestors, revealing joy and creative possibilities when you operate from a place of rest rather than exhaustion. Connect with Cristina: Website: www.aguilarstrategies.com Instagram: instagram.com/borderlandsoul/ Facebook: facebook.com/crisrenee Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    1h 8m
  8. Yes to Rest, Yes to Freedom: Navigating Leadership at an Unhurried Pace with Cherese Brauer

    03/16/2025

    Yes to Rest, Yes to Freedom: Navigating Leadership at an Unhurried Pace with Cherese Brauer

    Recently released *New Book* Rest Is Sacred. Check out www.restissacred.com for order and purchase options. Rest, read, and restore! In this conversation, leadership coach and rest advocate Cherese Brauer shares her transformative journey from workaholism to embracing an unhurried pace of living. We explore how prioritizing rest has reawakened her imagination, creativity, and authentic voice, fundamentally changing her approach to leadership and life. Drawing from her personal rest practices and deep commitment to self-trust, Cherese reveals how operating at an unhurried pace has become essential to her well-being, leadership, and ability to design a "swoon-worthy life." Her path from exhaustion to flourishing offers a powerful testament to what becomes possible when we center rest as a form of resistance and self-love. In this episode, we explore: How exhaustion extinguishes imagination and limits our sense of possibilityThe revolutionary act of putting rest first rather than treating it as an afterthoughtCreating spacious, unhurried days that honor your true desires and authentic selfMoving from "proving your worth" to designing a life of ease and joyProviding safe harbor for Black women leaders to flourish through rest practices Experience a guided rest practice focused on future planning and returning to the present moment. Discover how embracing rest can transform not just your approach to leadership but your relationship with yourself, revealing the abundance of options available when you operate from a place of ease rather than exhaustion. Connect with Cherese: Website: www.counterthenarrative.com Instagram: instagram.com/sure_reece/ LinkedIn: @Cherese Brauer Learn more about group rest coaching with Octavia Raheem at www.devotedtorest.com and apply to her rest based mastermind, Devoted to Rest® here. To connect visit: www.restissacred.com Access The Rest Portal : www.octaviaraheem.com/rest-is-sacred-portal-bonus octaviaraheem.com instagram.com/octaviaraheem/ youtube.com/@restwithoctaviaraheem Music Production Credit: Julianna Sma on Instagram @shebloom

    1h 2m
See All (22)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Welcome to Leaders Devoted to Rest®, a liberatory podcast that challenges the burnout-driven paradigm of success. This isn't just another wellness podcast - it's a movement to disrupt the exhaustion-equals-success narrative. It is a movement to get free. Host Octavia Faith Ann Raheem guides ambitious leaders in discovering how rest isn't just a pause. Rest Is Sacred and it's a powerful catalyst for transformation. Each episode combines intimate conversations with leaders who've harnessed rest as fuel, followed by practical rest practices you can implement immediately. Whether you're at the edge of burnout or ready to bend time through intentional rest, this podcast offers a sacred space to explore how rest awakens possibility and power within you supporting you in reclaiming your brilliance.

Information

  • Creator
    Octavia Raheem
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Leaders Devoted to Rest®