This past weekend, I was invited to the Ozarks to facilitate some yoga and a workshop on rest for a retreat hosted by Golden Door, a local St. Louis based business that’s doing such beautiful wellness work.

The retreat was called Surrender and even though I was there as a facilitator, I found myself deeply participating.

Somewhere between leading others into stillness and finding my own breath again, I realized how much I needed the same permission I was giving everyone else: to rest, to receive, to just be.

The Theme That Kept Whispering: Live With Intention

Throughout the weekend, this phrase kept coming up in conversation, in yoga, even in quiet moments with my journal:
live with intention.

It echoed through the space like an invitation to slow down and ask:

• What am I saying yes to out of habit instead of alignment?

• What parts of my life feel intentional and what parts feel automatic?

• What would it look like to move more consciously through the rest of the year?

Living with intention isn’t about adding another thing to your to-do list. It’s about remembering that you have a choice. Choice  in your pace, in your priorities, in your presence.

One of the things I shared during my workshop on rest is that surrender isn’t the same as giving up. It’s about letting go of what you no longer need to carry.

As high performers, helpers, or caretakers, we’re so used to pushing forward that rest can feel like a loss of momentum. But surrendering to rest is an act of courage.

When we slow down intentionally, we don’t lose our drive, we refine it.
We stop performing our lives and start living them.

Living with intention is an ongoing practice! One that invites you to stay aware of how you’re showing up in each moment. It’s asking:

• Is this decision rooted in pressure or in purpose?

• Is my body asking for movement, or for stillness?

• Am I living aligned with who I’m becoming, or reacting to who I’ve been?

The weekend reminded me that intention isn’t loud or rushed.
It’s soft, steady, and deeply personal.
It’s the rhythm beneath the noise and when you tune in, life starts to feel more like you.

Every time I lead or attend a retreat, I leave with the same reminder: you don’t need to travel far to reset. You can create sacred space in your own home, with your own energy and intention.

That’s why I created the Radiant Reset Solo Retreat Guide last year. It’s a self-paced experience designed to help you step away from the noise, reflect on where you are, and reconnect with what truly matters.

Inside the guide, you’ll find:

• Reflective prompts to process your past season

• Mindfulness and grounding practices to reconnect with yourself

• Space to set intentions for what’s next, without pressure or perfection.

It’s your invitation to pause before your next chapter, to rest without guilt, and to move forward with clarity and purpose.

If you’re craving your own intentional reset, you can grab your copy here → Radiant Reset Solo Retreat Guide

Facilitating yoga at the Surrender retreat reminded me that intention and rest are not opposites, they’re partners.
When you live with intention, rest becomes sacred.
And when you rest, you make room for deeper intention.

As we close out the year, may you give yourself permission to pause. Not because you’ve earned it, but because you deserve it. Rest is NOT rebellion…it’s regulation.
Choose presence over pressure.
Choose purpose over productivity.
Choose to live with intention.