When was the last time you gave yourself permission to truly slow down?

In our go-go culture, rest is often seen as unproductive. But, often it’s exactly what we need to begin healing on a deeper level.

In the latest episode of The Love Who You Are Podcast, I sit down with restorative yoga educator Cindy deJong for a heartfelt, wisdom-filled conversation about the quiet (but radical) practice of restorative yoga.

We explore what happens when we soften, breathe, and simply be. Cindy shares powerful stories about how slowing down changed her life—from breaking free of hustle culture to learning how to sit with discomfort in a way that leads to real transformation.

✨ Here’s a taste of what we cover:
• How rest can help untangle our self-worth from productivity
• The physical and emotional toll of delayed gratification
• Why slowing down can feel so hard–and how to gently ease into it
• The surprising ways emotions surface in stillness—and how to meet them with compassion
• The importance of creating an environment (inner and outer) that supports deep rest

If you’re feeling stretched thin, disconnected, or just curious about how rest can be a path home to yourself—this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now on your favourite podcast platform.

With warmth,
Candice

Cindy’s Favourite Breath Practice: Recalibration Breath
Nirvana Breath or Pursed Lip Breathing

Nirvana means “blowing out” and this breath is often used as a way to release toxins or unwanted energy from the body. Given the intensity in our world today, the need to recalibrate, reconnect, and ground our energy cannot be overstated. Recalibration breath allows for a smooth, calming release while simultaneously bringing new energy in. It helps recalibrate us to a deeper state of balance.

Practice:

• Sit in a comfortable position and find length in your spine.
• Allow your eyes to softly close and consciously relax your body.
• Breathe deeply and comfortably into your belly, stopping when you feel resistance.
• Blow the air out through the mouth lightly, being careful not to breathe forcefully.
• Breathe in deeply and slowly through the nose, allowing the top of the inhalation to take 2 to 3 seconds, without holding.
• Allow the inhalation to cross over to become the exhalation very slowly. Pay special attention to when the inhale turns into the exhale as you slowly transition from breathing in to blowing out.
• Blow the air out through the mouth lightly, experimenting with different lip positions. The lips can take the shape of kissing or whistling as you expel the air.
• The exhale can be done with cheeks filled with air or cheeks deflated.
• Breathe in a relaxed way, continuing the pattern for 5 rounds or more remembering to exhale and blow out lightly.
• Another version of this practice involves holding the breath at the top of the inhale and then blowing the air lightly out on the exhalation.

Benefits:

• Lengthens the breath and strengthens the diagraphm.
• Calms the nervous system.
• Delivers more oxygen to the body.
• Brings clarity and balance and calms the mind and emotions.
• Provides a slowing down and recalibration of energy.
• Prepares the mind and body for meditation.
  

Contraindications:

• Blocked nasal passages – can breathe in through the mouth.
• Be careful not to practice overzealously.