Rest without guilt
In the pleasure garden with Hester Brooks
This year, I’m diving deep into a single word: pleasure. For me, pleasure is a powerful way to connect with myself, with my body, and with the whole of life. I believe that for women, especially at midlife, pleasure isn't just important. It's revolutionary.
Each month, I’ll share a new interview with a woman who opens up about what nourishes her, the self-care rituals she practices, and what pleasure means to her.
Rest. For Hester Brooks, it means building a backyard fire on a Sunday just because her body craves it. It means giving yourself what you want without guilt. It means understanding that rest isn't something we do when we're exhausted. It’s how we discover what we truly want.
In this conversation, Hester shares about cultivating radiance through rest, the altar she keeps in her office, and the surprising gift of knowing what you really want when you give yourself permission to rest.
Can you share a glimpse into your world right now. What’s lighting you up these days?
Yesterday I gave myself a Sunday of pure joy: Yin Yoga followed by a big campfire in the backyard. Sometimes I crave resting in nature even in the cold months. So I built a big fire and sat there reading and feeling the glow on my face until the craving was fulfilled.
What are three pleasurable words to describe yourself?
Cozy, luxurious, unhurried
Where do you find inspiration? Nature. Seeing what’s new each day on my walks by the pond or in the woods.
Is there a book, podcast, or resource that has deeply influenced you? I love the book Wise Power, written by the founders of the Red School. It’s about the journey from menstruation through menopause and beyond. It makes me realize that women in midlife and beyond hold a special leadership role in society and it makes me look forward to aging.
Name a person, past or present, real or fictional, whom you admire and look up to. My grandmother Alice and my mother Emily. They taught their daughters to rest and dream. They helped me hear my calling to become a rest coach.
What are the first things you do every morning? I go outside and open the back door to “greet the day” no matter what the weather is. Then I grab a big glass of water and sit down at my buddhist altar to chant until breakfast.
Is there a ritual you could not live without in your day? Every day I chant twice a day, before breakfast and before dinner. I chant for the happiness of those around me and for internal and external breakthroughs.
What are some favourite ways you nourish yourself? I love taking baths, steams, or sauna. Recently a friend and I visited the Nordic Spa near us and completed a few cycles of sauna, cold plunge, rest, and hot tub. And ate their homemade maple cardamon popsicles. It was heavenly!
How do you define pleasure? Giving yourself what you are wanting or craving, with no guilt.
What’s one surprising way pleasure has shown up in your own life or work that you didn’t expect? My rest clients sometimes gift me things such as oracle decks, books about rest, or other little things they think I would enjoy. It always surprises and delights me!
How do you see rest as a gateway to pleasure or as a form of pleasure in itself? Rest helps me know what I really want, or give myself permission to ask for what I want. Our culture makes us feel guilty for resting or receiving pleasure but it’s actually the very thing that gives us energy! We need that surge of vitality we get from doing what we love and our joy naturally spreads like a wildfire to those around us. Women in particular need to cultivate their radiance.
How do boundaries create space for pleasure, both in your life and in the lives of those you support? I put a scarf over my computer when I’m not working and don’t check my work email on nights and weekends. This gives mental space for me to refresh and be fully present for my clients when I’m holding space for them.
How do you personally stay connected to pleasure while holding space for others’ rest and healing?
I created a rest altar in my office. It holds space and intentions for my rested life, and the lives of the women I’m supporting in my Rested Life Mentoring program, sisterhood, and rest circles.
I’d love for you to share about microscopic pleasures that you have recently experienced:
A taste: My husband made roast chicken with shallots and rosemary, kale and polenta. I never take the time to peel shallots but their taste is heavenly!
A sound: Laughing so hard you can’t stop, then laughing more. We have been listening to the comedian Zarna Garg on Youtube.
A sight: Staring at the fire through the glass door of our wood stove.
A smell: Pumpkin pie baking
A touch: Lying on my sheepskin
Hester Brooks comes from a long line of highly-sensitive women who taught their daughters to rest and dream. She’s a Certified Daring to Rest Coach and Yoga Nidra facilitator in Maine. She helps highly-sensitive women step out of exhaustion with moon circles online and in person, and the 3-phases of her Rested Life mentoring program: Rested Body, Rested Voice and Rested Action. Learn more by visiting restwithhester.com.
Website: Rest with Hester
Instagram: @restwithhester
