Today is my birthday…
You might know me as the woman who built her life around discipline.
Everything from bodybuilding, to yoga, martial arts, nutrition, and mindfulness.
Or maybe from my work in HR.
Managing people, developing leaders, navigating policies, benefits, and burnout.
However, my deeper, truer identity is that of a very Spiritual woman.
A surprising self-discovery born from years of working with the body and people.
That might sound strange.
Two very different worlds.
Yet they taught me the same lesson:
We are Spirits having a Human experience.
And the relationship we have with our Self (body, mind, and soul) determines the quality of our life.
The best way to nurture that relationship?
Rest.
Not the kind of rest we earn after a good gym session or a long work week.
But the kind that is just because.
The kind that reminds us we are, in fact, Divine.
That our worth isn’t tied to output.
That our body isn’t a machine … She is a messenger.
The world feels heavy right now.
I’m sure you feel it too.
Food insecurity.
Jobs uncertainty.
Threat of war.
The constant noise.
We’re pulled in a million directions,
While at the same time feeling stuck, lost, or numb.
If you’re wondering what to do next…Start with your Self.
Take care of your Self.
Begin with rest … whatever that looks like for you.
For me, it looks like this.
By the time you read this, I will probably already be off-grid at the hot springs, far from home.
An intentional pause I take for most birthdays for more than a decade.
Soul-deep rest that reconnects me to my very nature.
It’s a several-hour road trip inland to the middle of nowhere.
And about forty-five minutes after you lose cell service, you arrive.
It is a naturally occurring hot spring surrounded by mountains, trees, and wildlife.
Completely off the grid.
No internet.
No cars once you’re on the property.
To navigate between the springs, your cabin, and the main lodge where we cook,
You walk or ride one of the many bikes strewn about.
Speaking of cooking, I’ll share a large, beautiful commercial kitchen with other guests.
The pace and the point of the getaway does away with modern appliances.
No microwave, coffee pot, or air fryer in sight.
Just community, simplicity, and intention.
In the main spring, there’s no talking.
A beautiful respite from obligated socializing.
For the next couple of days, the only goal is to rest.
Soak my body in healing mineral water.
Maybe visit the nature preserve and place a wish on the wishing tree.
Curl up by the fire in the main lodge to read a book and sip tea.
Sit on the porch of my cabin and talk to the trees.
Or, when night falls, look up and try to touch the star-filled sky…Because they feel so close.
I’ll journal about what was, who I am, and what’s next.
It’s a calibration that cannot be achieved through receiving from others.
Even with all the love I have in my life, there isn’t a birthday gift or gathering as fulfilling as I am with me.
The great I Am.
All of me.
Including the Nature that appears separate but is only an extension of the same energy.
When it’s time to leave, my body is rejuvenated.
Not just my physical body, but my spiritual and energetic body too.
Spirit spills over, radiating through me as I re-emerge to the world.
When I take this annual trip (away from the noise, the work, the roles) I meet my Self again.
Not the Health and Fitness Professional.
Not the HR Leader.
Not the Wife, Mother, or Entrepreneur.
But the Spirit who animates it all.
The Soul of the Woman who chose to experience this life as Me.
That’s the real reason I rest.
Because when I do, I remember…I remember that I am not my effort,
I am the energy behind it.
I remember that my body is not a burden,
She’s the bridge between heaven and earth.
I remember that the peace I was chasing is always waiting for me in stillness.
So, if the world feels like too much right now,
And you don’t know where to start,
Start here.
Start with you.
Lay it all down, if even for a moment.
You don’t have to earn the right to rest.
You are the right to rest.
You are living proof that the body is a Temple.
Because Spirit so clearly dwells within.
And while birthdays are a natural time to reflect, you don’t have to wait.
Every time you pause long enough to breathe,
To listen,
To let yourself be still,
You return to truth.
You return to your Divine design.
As I look back on the many layers of me that have evolved with time,
I am deeply thankful for the pauses that brought me to awareness
The speed bumps that slowed me down.
And the exhales that cleared the air.
I see now that growth is inseparable from stillness.
That rest is not a break from my becoming.
It is a sacred part of it.
Rest is the energy that nurtures my Self.
The quiet replenishing that prepares me for the next, beautifully Divine chapter.
With love,
Cassandra Juniphant, MBA, PHR, CPT
Your next step?
Join The Body Ministry™….The ultimate membership where diet + exercise + lifestyle = the body you love to live in.
This isn’t about restricting food or going harder in the gym.
It’s about learning how to thrive in a system that was never built for your health.
Inside, you’ll get consistent structure, nourishment, and support from women who are living it too.
Welcome to the 7th Pillar of Self-Care: Rest, in the Physical Realm.