To restore, for me, is quite literally to stop, set my tasks aside, and breathe: slowly, gently, and deeply.
It is giving my nervous system the opportunity to settle.
The first step is to pause, silence my phone, and move it out of sight. To close my eyes, consciously inhale and exhale, observe my thoughts, and let them pass so I can return to a sense of inner order and remember my infinite nature.
When we make room for calm and rest, we allow the nervous system to move out of a state of alert and into one that better supports regulation, rest, and regeneration.
For me, restoration means caring for myself as a whole through three essential dimensions: body, mind, and spirit.
Restoring the Body
Restoring my body means nourishing it, not simply feeding it.
It means consciously choosing what I eat, enjoying its flavors and aromas, drinking quality water, and savoring a warm herbal infusion with a little piece of dark chocolate.
It means resting and getting enough sleep. I try to go to bed around 10:00 PM, giving my body the time it needs to regenerate and realign with the rhythms of nature.
It is allowing my body to do what it already knows so wisely how to do: restore itself.
But restoration does not always mean stillness.
It is also singing, dancing, connecting with joy, walking around the lake in my favorite park, breathing fresh air, and listening to what my body is telling me.
It is also allowing myself to be cared for: receiving a facial, a massage, or any experience that lets me simply lie down, let go, and receive.
Restoring the body means caring for it and inhabiting it consciously.
Restoring the Mind
Restoring my mind means stepping away, even if only for a few minutes, from that linear, compulsive thinking that wants to solve, anticipate, and control everything.
Sometimes I do this by listening to music that lifts me, reading a good book, listening to a reflection, lighting a candle, or inhaling my favorite essential oil, Olio 31.
It is not about emptying the mind. It is about noticing a thought without having to follow it and consciously choosing where I place my attention.
Sometimes it is enough to bring my attention to my breath, an aroma, music, or a mantra. Mine is: “I am the radiant and brilliant presence of God.”
Restoring the mind means letting go of control and consciously choosing a place of calm where my attention can rest.
Restoring the Spirit
Restoring my spirit has so much to do with love.
Lying next to my husband every night and holding each other is, for me, one of life’s most beautiful and comforting gifts. Resting in a warm and sincere embrace. Sharing a deep and honest conversation. Contemplating nature. Giving thanks. Praying.
It is remembering that I do not have to hold everything.
Restoring my spirit means letting go, surrendering, and allowing something greater than myself — nature, the infinite — to hold me. It is trusting that everything is well… and will be well.
Restoring the spirit means connecting with love through surrender and trust.
In a world that seems to move faster and faster, my challenge — and my invitation — is to consciously create small moments to stop and return to myself.
I don’t always create these moments as often as I would like. But every time I do, I remember how wonderful it feels to exercise my own sovereignty: to choose to stop, let go, and allow.
And this is my invitation to you: it does not matter if you do not always get there. Never stop trying.
We can always return to that place, waiting for us to remember it.
Because once you have experienced it, even just once, your body remembers the way.
Perhaps, in the end, restoration could be something as simple as this:
Let go of what weighs you down.
Care for what needs attention.
Allow what does not need to be controlled.
And remember that we can always return.
To restore is to reset. It is to allow.
With love,
Eliana 💜