7 TYPES OF REST® by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith
A friend gave me Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s book...Sacred Rest which focuses on the 7 Types of Rest at a time when burnout and exhaustion felt inevitable. Reading it reframed how I understood rest—no longer a luxury but a set of practical, distinct rhythms essential for sustained ministry and frontline work. I immediately began applying the principles in M2M pastoral retreats, watching participants regain clarity and resilience. When Dr. Dalton-Smith offered the first cohort to become a certified trainer, I joined without hesitation, committed to equipping others to recognize depletion and build sustainable rest practices.
The 7 Types of Rest® framework offers a practical way to understand why people can be exhausted even when they’re sleeping. It highlights seven distinct areas where depletion commonly occurs, helping individuals and organizations identify hidden energy drains and respond with targeted recovery strategies that improve clarity, resilience, connection, and long-term sustainability.
What and Why
Presentations can be structured for keynotes, seminars, half-day or full-day workshops that equips employees and leaders with practical, science-aligned strategies to reduce chronic stress, restore capacity, and improve clarity, communication, and resilience. Grounded in the 7 Types of Rest® framework, it helps participants identify hidden energy drains and take targeted, realistic steps toward sustainable renewal.
When teams are depleted, the cost shows up as lower engagement, increased conflict, reduced innovation, higher errors, and higher turnover risk. This session supports performance and retention by helping people recover more effectively and operate with greater clarity and emotional steadiness.
Participants will leave with:
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A shared language for burnout risk and capacity
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Practical mental rest practices to reduce decision fatigue and improve focus
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Communication and boundary tools that protect team relationships under pressure
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A simple action plan to support sustainable performance and wellbeing
A Certified Facilitator
Pamela Santos is a 7 Types of Rest Certified Facilitator. She is a ministry leader, law-enforcement chaplain, and educator with extensive experience in secondary and post-secondary settings. Holding a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, Pamela designs and delivers practical training based on the 7 Types of Rest framework by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith that strengthens pastoral teams, law-enforcement agencies, nonprofit leaders, and interfaith coalitions.
A seasoned speaker and facilitator, Santos has presented workshops, seminars, retreats and conference sessions across the United States and internationally. Drawing on years of ministry, public service and classroom experience, she translates rest and wellness principles into accessible strategies for ministry leaders, first responders and educators.
Central to Santos’s work is the 7 Types of Rest framework by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. As a practitioner and educator focused on these seven domains—physical, mental, emotional, social, sensory, creative and spiritual—she helps individuals and organizations identify depletion, restore balance, and implement sustainable rhythms to prevent burnout and improve wellbeing.
Known for a warm, engaging delivery and evidence-based approach, Santos equips audiences with practical tools they can implement immediately in ministry, public safety, and educational contexts.
