In today’s fast-paced, high-pressure work culture, rest often feels like a luxury—especially for women and people of color who As the seasons shift and summer approaches, many of us crave ease, lightness, and exhale. And yet, for Black women and other women of color—particularly those of us leading, building, and breaking barriers—the invisible load doesn’t simply dissolve with longer days. It follows us. It shows up in the emotional labor of navigating microaggressions, the weight of representation, and the constant calibration between authenticity and professionalism.

I say this not only as a scholar, but as a practitioner of higher education and holistic wellness restoration: if we do not intentionally interrupt these patterns, summer becomes just another season of depletion dressed up as freedom.

Summer, however, offers us an invitation—an opening to do things differently.

Rest as Resistance, Rest as Summer Practice

In a culture that glorifies overextension, choosing rest—especially now—is both strategic and sacred. As Tricia Hersey reminds us, “Rest is resistance.” And I would add: rest is sustainability. Rest is how we make it back to ourselves.

Summer is a powerful time to experiment with restoration because the world subtly softens. There is more light, more warmth, and—if we allow it—more permission to slow down.

Here’s what becomes possible when we embrace rest as a seasonal practice:

• Clarity returns when we step away from constant urgency
• Emotional spaciousness expands when we are not operating in survival mode
• Our bodies begin to repair from the chronic stress we’ve normalized
• Our boundaries strengthen, reminding us that our wellbeing is not negotiable

Practicing Radical Restoration This Summer

If we are serious about living sustainably—not just surviving—then we must be intentional about how we move through this season. Consider this your summer recalibration:

1. Redefine Summer Productivity
This is not the season for relentless output. Let joy, pleasure, and stillness count as meaningful engagement with your life. Your worth is not tied to how much you produce in Q3.

2. Curate a Summer Rhythm
Instead of rigid schedules, create a rhythm that allows for flow. Later mornings, longer walks, intentional pauses between commitments—this is how we begin to loosen the grip of urgency.

3. Normalize Micro-Rest in the Sunlight
Step outside. Feel the sun on your skin. Take five minutes between meetings to breathe, stretch, or simply be. These are not small acts—they are interruptions to burnout.

4. Build Restorative Rituals that Feel Like Summer
Cold tea on the porch. Journaling in the morning light. Music that nourishes your spirit. Let your rituals reflect the season—easeful, sensory, and grounding.

5. Practice Liberated Boundaries
Summer often comes with increased asks—social, professional, communal. You are allowed to decline. Protect your energy with clarity and without apology.

6. Lean into Restful Community
Rest is not always solitary. Gather with people who allow you to be whole—not perform. Laughter, storytelling, shared silence—this is medicine, too.

As a Black woman with a PhD—and as someone who coaches and consults on holistic wellness restoration—I want to be clear: this is not about self-care as indulgence. This is about restoration as a necessary, liberatory practice. It’s about interrupting and refusing the very cycles that were never designed for us to thrive within.

At its core, this is about sustaining the self.

Someone I hold in deep regard reminds me often that self-preservation is the first rule of every living species. The truth in that is both simple and profound: if you are not actively working to preserve, protect, and sustain yourself, you are at risk of losing yourself altogether. Your wellbeing is not optional—it is foundational. Choosing to preserve yourself is not selfish; it is wise, strategic, and always in your best interest.

So this summer, don’t just take a break—take your power back. Get real, get clear, get strategic about what you want and need and align accordingly.

Let this be the season where you honor your humanity in real time. Where you choose rest not as an afterthought, but as a foundation. Because when we are well—truly well—we are not only sustaining ourselves, we are reshaping what is possible for all of us.