Rediscover Your Alignment: Finding Peace in the Pause on It’s Your Break
Do you ever feel like you’re running on empty, constantly producing and “doing” but losing touch with who you actually are? We often wait for a crisis before we allow ourselves to rest, but what if the key to a vibrant, sustainable life was already designed within you?
In the latest episode of the It’s Your Break podcast, host Jonathan Mertz sits down with Rubina Chadha, the founder of Inner Design, for a deep dive into personal sustainability. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone feeling the weight of constant output, and you can tune into the full episode accompanying this post to hear their transformative discussion on restoring your internal balance.
What is Inner Design?
Rubina Chadha, a trauma-informed professional, defines Inner Design as the process of restoring access to your best self through regulation, awareness, and mindfulness. While the world often focuses on external sustainability, Rubina emphasizes the importance of personal sustainability—learning how to sustain yourself in the way you were originally designed to function.
As Rubina explains to Jonathan, it’s not just about a “mindset shift.” It is about alignment—coming back to the person you are when you show up as your best, most aligned self. Her philosophy invites you to “try a little less and just be”.
Breaking the Cycle of Burnout
Rubina’s journey began with her own experience of burnout, which she realized was a problem she could help solve for others. During the podcast, she explains that burnout is a universal experience, affecting everyone from entry-level workers to high-level executives. It is essentially your nervous system signaling that it has had enough.
Key takeaways from their discussion include:
- The Pause is Essential: You don’t need to “earn” a break after you’ve burned out; regulation should happen alongside your daily life.
- Coping is Surviving: If you find yourself relying on unhealthy habits, recognize them as your nervous system’s way of keeping you alive under stress. This awareness is the first step toward doing better for yourself.
The “Secret Sauce”: Breath and Creativity
Jonathan and Rubina explore two powerful tools to “hack” your system and handle pressure:
- Breath Awareness: More than just “breathwork,” this is about using the most physiological tool we have to regulate our emotional and mental states. By modulating your breath, you can immediately impact your nervous system, helping to calm the body faster than almost anything else.
- Creative Expression: This is Rubina’s “secret sauce”. Creativity isn’t just for artists; it is a form of active problem-solving and participation in life. Simple acts like doodling, journaling, or even staring at the clouds can interrupt a stress cycle and bring you back to the present moment.
Quieting the Inner Noise
For those who struggle to “quiet the noise” or find traditional meditation daunting, Rubina suggests active mindfulness. In the episode, she shares practical tips such as:
- Walking meditations in nature to find stillness through movement.
- Creative workshops where the focus is on the process (scribbling, painting, coloring) rather than the outcome.
- Nightly journaling to “clear the slate” of the day’s decisions and communications before bed.
Start Your Reset Today
Rubina believes that we all have the ability to rewire and reset ourselves. If you are feeling the weight of the world, remember that your internal state can be shifted from “forcing” to “allowing” with just a few intentional moments.
Ready to find your alignment? Listen to the full episode of It’s Your Break with Jonathan Mertz to hear the complete interview click the linked podcast in this post or find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, YouTube, Amazon Music, and Audible.
You can also find more resources, including a free five-minute nervous system reset, at theinnerdesign.com or follow Rubina on Instagram at @theofficialrubina.
Take a breath, find your pause, and step back into your design.