Your personal growth journey can't always be consistently fast growth, there needs to be rest and integration too for it to be sustainable. In this episode I share an approach and practical ways to rest and integrate in your personal growth journey.

Featured Resources on the episode Learn more about 1:1 Coaching with Phi here.Apply for 1:1 Coaching with Phi here.Book a Human Design Reading with Phi here.Pre-order Phi's debut book; The Great Unlearning: Awakening to Living an Aligned and Authentic Life. What is spiritual integration? Hello beautiful soul, today’s episode is all about the importance of rest and integration in life particularly growth. I know I used to and talking to many clients, we think and have this impression that growing seemingly needs to be always happening, hitting goals, going higher and higher —the thing is we actually need time to rest and integrate new levels and phases in our life. Integration is about wholeness it stems from a french word which talks about bringing together the parts of a whole. When we experience big growth spurts in life and don’t take the time to integrate, sure you’ve experienced growth but what about sustaining it and incorporating it into your everyday, to actually embody what you’ve learned in reality and not just in your mind. It’s like the equivalent when you go a on a wellness retreat and then quickly slip back into your previous everyday mindset and routines, so much for all the yoga and meditation you previously did! The impact of not resting and integrating in your personal growth journey Furthering this concept of rest and integration, the analogy of climbing mountains it would be the equivalent of scaling one and then immediately going onto the next. You’ve barely had a moment to catch your breath, let your body rest, take in mentally the fact you’ve physically conquered the mountain… It’s not sustainable and you may end up doing more damage by continually pushing. Alternatively it’s like going diving underwater and not coming up for air, or only a little gulp to go back down again. Another analogy is that of romantic relationships the equivalent of getting into one and then immediately into the next. Then in your next relationship you wonder why the same things keep happening, you still feel dissatisfied, thinking being with someone else would take away the pain of the previous… Again it’s likely by doing this you haven’t had time to reflect why the previous relationship didn’t work and to fully process the separation. Hence the need for rest. Rest and integration is important because in this journey of personal growth you’ll either be high on the wins and feel like you’re crashing when really it’s stabilising this new level you’re on or you’ve experienced a low and integration will lift you back up because from the hardships of the low, you’ll gain wisdom and insight through your experience.  How to approach resting and integrating in your personal growth journey As I’m channeling for this podcast, what has been shared with me is taking a top-down approach to integration in terms of the mind-body-soul connection! Think of it as a holistic approach and ensuring your nervous system is in balance. Another interesting way to look at this connection is that we have three brains in our body. Your brain, mind, Your gut brain, the body and your heart brain, your soul.  Mind - Mental integration and rest This is your mental state. Thinking of your brain as the hardware and your mind is the software. This is responsible for your thoughts and interpretation of your emotions: feelings. Emotions are more the sensations and experience hence energy in motion whereas your feelings are the mental stories you create based on your emotions. Ways to rest your mind is well through mindfulness being in the present moment. Acknowledging your thoughts. Acknowledging your feelings.