Octavia F. Raheem

OCTAVIA F. RAHEEM​ is a wife, mother, and author of two books—Gather and Pause, Rest, Be. She is the founder of Devoted to Rest™, a transformational, rest-focused immersion for visionary leaders making a high impact in their fields. She teaches high-achieving individuals how to awaken their fullest potential through the power of rest. With 10,000+ hours of training and teaching experience, she is a true luminary in the areas of rest, restorative arts, wellness, and yoga. Octavia has been featured in The New York Times, Yoga Journal, Well + Good, Tricycle, and more.

"If you're looking for an invitation into emotional, physical, and spiritual restoration, look no further. This book is a nudge to come back home to yourself." —Alex Elle, New York Times bestselling author of How We Heal

"Rest invites you to a place of emotional and spiritual restoration. Through heartfelt reflections and practical insights, Rest Is Sacred is a call to return to your true self, offering a path to reclaim your inner peace and well-being." —Light Watkins, bestselling author of Travel Light and Knowing Where to Look

"In Rest Is Sacred, Octavia Raheem will help you dissolve your 'urgent life for a softer one,'—and you'll never be the same. I'm grateful for her powerful writing." —Danielle LaPorte, author of How to Be Loving

"Allow these healing words from Rest Is Sacred to wash over you like a tidal wave of love that awakens you to your wholeness. You are worthy of rest, and Octavia F. Raheem gently guides you towards this knowing with each word, prayer, and sutra in this Divine collection of remembrances." —Tracee Stanley, bestselling author of Radiant Rest and The Luminous Self

"Reclamation of our clarity through rest and contemplative writing is a deep gift; Rest Is Sacred is at once prayer, poetry, invocation, and truth telling. Far beyond self-care, rest is a vehicle for honoring yourself, your process, and your healing. Octavia F. Raheem's words will bring you swiftly to your heart with each sutra in this beautiful, vital book." —Elena Brower, bestselling author of Practice You and Softening Time

"Through lyrical words, the weaving of poetic musings, and deep wisdom about rest as a practice and portal, Octavia F. Raheem meets us exactly where we are, while inviting us to change through the act of resting. Rest Is Sacred is medicine that guides us into a deeper connection with the pulse of everything and the Divine. This potent magic is essential for the times." —Michelle Cassandra Johnson, bestselling author of Finding Refuge and We Heal Together

"In her own inimitable way, Octavia F. Raheem invites readers to challenge notions of rest as being a luxury that only the privileged few can afford. In Rest Is Sacred, she invites you to first consider, and then to practice rest as something worthy of respect, and that is necessary for mental, emotional, and spiritual health and well-being. She asserts that rest is so much more than a good night’s sleep or a vacation getaway. It is a daily practice that is actually a gateway to the core of one’s being, to the Divine. Sacred rest, she tells us, is a practice that opens the door to one’s hidden gifts and talents. It is a tool of self-discovery. She doesn’t lecture or preach, rather her poetic sensibility makes this book easy to read and restful in and of itself. She reminds us that just because you’re doing nothing doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. I highly recommend it." —Gail Parker, PhD, CIAYT, psychologist, and author of Restorative Yoga for Eithnic and Race-Based Stress and Trauma and Transforming Ethnic and Race-Based Traumatic Stress with Yoga