The Podcast by KevinMD Rest is a holy practice: Reclaiming the soul of medicine
Mar 4, 2026
Roxanne Almas, a developmental behavioral pediatrician and Yoga Nidra facilitator who wrote 'The making of a rested healer.' She recounts moving from transactional medicine toward creativity and intuition. She explores Yoga Nidra as a healing portal. She challenges grind culture and argues for a Rest Ethic using aviation and athletic analogies.
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Personal Unraveling Led To Rest Practice
- Roxanne Almas describes her personal unraveling during her mother's cancer and caregiving for her father with Parkinson's while practicing as a developmental behavioral pediatrician.
- She links that grief and compassion fatigue to a shift away from transactional medicine toward seeking rest, creativity, and narrative medicine.
Rest Is Preparation Not Reward
- Roxanne frames rest as the preparatory work that enables creativity and compassionate connection rather than a reward after work.
- She uses Yoga Nidra and narrative medicine to cultivate clarity of values, which improves presence, boundaries, and patient care.
August Lily As A Rest Metaphor
- Roxanne uses the August lily (naked ladies) as a nature metaphor: its leaves photosynthesize then die back while the bulb rests, storing energy for flowering.
- She equates that dormant energy storage to human rest as preparation for future growth.