About the Workshop
These sessions are great for professional women to join a growing network of dreamers looking to reclaim rest!
Overview
🌿 The Rest...of Your Story: A Workshop for Professional Women with Coach Chanier McDonald🌿
When was the last time you truly rested? Not just a pause between tasks, but a deep, soul-anchoring rest that allows you to breathe, reflect, and reconnect with your own story. So often, we carry the weight of our work, our communities, and the world. But what if I told you there’s power in surrender; in finding peace outside of the daily grind?
✨ The Rest...of Your Story is a space for professional women like you — healers, leaders, and changemakers — to reclaim the rest you deserve. Through the art of storytelling, we’ll explore how surrender and self-care can transform not just our personal lives, but also our work and relationships. Using frameworks around mind, body and spirit alignment, we will explore how creativity and dreams are rewarding outcomes to our personal and professional lives.
This space is designed especially for you — for women in nonprofit, local government, and professional spaces who are working to make our communities and world a better place. You deserve a moment to pause, reflect and move forward along a path of ease, a river of rest, a flow dreams.
This is a small group setting, around 5 participants per session. Please come ready to turn your camera on, be ready to relax, while also being engaged. Each session is around 2.5 - 3 hours of discussion, writing and visualization activities and strategic breaks for a restful, yet exciting experience!
🌻 Let’s come together to rediscover the rest...of your story. 🌻
Are you ready to lean into your rest journey? Join us for this workshop of healing, reflection, and community.
Let’s create a new chapter together — one where rest, peace, and surrender are part of the journey.
"The Rest of Your Story" Workshop Recap: A Celebration of Rest & Restoration
Workshop Recap
On November 7th, a sunlit Thursday, something extraordinary happened. It wasn't just a workshop—it was a gathering, a shared breath, a space where the weary and the curious alike leaned into a deeply revolutionary idea: that rest is not just a pause but a purpose. The "The Rest of Your Story" workshop unfolded like a soft blanket on a chilly evening, a gathering of minds and hearts in search of rest in a world that tells us to keep pushing. And let me tell you, what a beautiful, soul-filling experience it was. I’m so grateful for the career women who came with open minds and stories to share. I walked away from this session carrying more than I had arrived with—a reminder that this journey to rest is complex, collective, and always evolving.
5 Key Takeaways: Redefining Surrender, Rest, and Peace
There were so many insights, but if I had to distill a few that struck me deeply, these would be the ones:
Rest is a Part of Success
We often think of success as something to chase, with rest as the break we squeeze in after we've "made it." But the reality, as we discovered, is that rest is woven into the very fabric of true success. A rested mind creates, connects, and sustains in ways a fatigued one simply cannot. For me, this was a humbling reminder: Rest and success are not mutually exclusive. I can and should honor rest as an essential part of my work, my goals, and my impact.“Surrendering” to Rest Doesn’t Mean We’ll Never Feel Tired Again
Yes, we advocate for rest, but that doesn’t mean we’ve suddenly achieved the impossible dream of endless energy. Sometimes, I’ll still feel tired, and sometimes that fatigue will show. And guess what? That’s perfectly okay. We don’t need to mask it or pretend rest has solved every exhaustion. Rest advocacy is not about looking perfectly rested but about acknowledging when we need more, in ourselves and in others.It’s Okay to Look Tired
In a world that tells us to “fake it till you make it,” this might be the most radical takeaway of all: it’s okay to look tired, to show up without the glossy veneer of endless pep. Being open about exhaustion is part of the journey, and sometimes just letting yourself look tired can be its own form of rest.Rest is Both a Personal and a Collective Experience
My rest journey can feel deeply personal at times. But through the workshop, it became clear that rest is also collective; we rest with each other and for each other. As each participant shared their experiences, I was reminded that we’re in this together. Our energy, our boundaries, and even our moments of rest have ripple effects on those around us. It’s important to respect and uplift each other's paths, knowing we each arrive in our own time.Supporting, Not Judging, Each Other’s Rest Journey
We have to let go of judging how others rest and instead focus on supporting them in whatever form rest takes. There’s a tendency to impose our own standards, but rest is as unique as each person who seeks it. As a community, our role is to affirm and encourage one another to find our own paths to rest, whether that looks like a nap, a walk, a day off, or even the ability to say “no.”
Learning from Each Other, Learning from Ourselves
The beauty of this workshop came from the participants, each one contributing not just ideas but a sense of community that energized our discussions about rest. Together, we wove a tapestry of insights that brought something new and unexpected to my own understanding. Each shared experience, each story of fatigue or renewal, reminded me of why advocating for rest is crucial. I’m inspired to keep pushing forward, though I’m still learning (and re-learning) that the journey toward rest isn’t about perfection or “arriving” at some ultimate state of relaxation.
This workshop was a reminder that the work of rest is never truly done. In the words of Tricia Hersey, founder and leader of The Nap Ministry movement, "Rest is a form of resistance.” Rest isn’t a luxury—it's essential. It’s not about escaping the world but redefining our place within it, one restful pause at a time.
Moving Forward with Gratitude and Purpose
I can’t wait to see where “The Rest of Your Story” workshop goes next. There’s a world of possibilities to explore, and I’m already looking forward to new formats, fresh ways of connecting, and the chance to reach more people with this important message. This work, this message, and this community matter—and they matter because of everyone who supports this goal in any capacity. I’m thankful beyond words for the participants who joined me on Thursday. Their willingness to share, reflect, and even challenge my perspective has deepened my commitment to this journey.
As we keep pushing forward, we’ll keep resting too. Because the two go hand in hand.
