2.14 Pause, Rest, Be
Octavia Raheem has received national attention for her work training yoga teachers and diversifying the yoga and wellness industry. Trained and mentored by exemplary teachers, Dr.Gail Parker, Tracee Stanley, Chanti Tacoronte- Perez, Octavia’s work as a yoga professional focuses on practical tools to teach individuals how to manage stress, anxiety, and fatigue through restorative yoga, Yoga Nidra, and meditation in a way that is accessible to all levels/abilities, and restorative to the nervous system. Her work has been featured on Yoga Journal, Mantra Magazine, Well+ Good CNN, WXIA, and Atlanta Magazine.
Octavia is a yoga teacher with 14 years of experience and nearly 10,000 hours of leading yoga classes, immersions, and trainings in various settings and online. In September 2019, she was named one of four Yoga and Wellness luminaries who have transformed yoga in Atlanta by Natural Awakening Magazine. A legacy lululemon ambassador and current KiraGrace Warrior, she has led life-changing restorative yoga experiences at national and local festivals: Wanderlust, Love. Play. Shine (formally Asheville Yoga), Essence Wellness House {Atlanta}, and Dirty South.
She has an academic background in English Literature and creative writing, 10+ years of professional experience teaching writing and language arts in K-12 settings, and developing curricula for innovative learning. Additionally, she spent two years working in the nonprofit sector designing and implementing college preparatory programming.
With 10+ years of teaching in the public and nonprofit sector and 14+ years teaching yoga Octavia brings unparalleled professionalism, mindfulness, and depth to the study and practice of yoga whether she is leading classes, retreats, or training teachers.
In this special interview we discuss:
Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage During Times of Change, Octavia’s new book
The gift of reclamation
The beauty of resting
Endings, the Liminal Space, and Beginnings
Coming back to our humanness
Simple rest practices
How pausing and resting can help us heal
Grief
Claiming roles such as author, writer, lover, etc.
How grind culture buries parts of who we are
The practice of remembering
What we can remember when we rest
Humanity
Wholeness
You can connect with Octavia visit her website or on Instagram @octaviaraheem.
Purchase the audiobook or print version of Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage During Times of Change. You can also purchase Octavia’s first book, Gather.
Podcast music by Charles Kurtz