Lykke Li was an intense exposed-nerve performer even when she was starting out. Now that she’s been touring on the gut-scraping breakup album I Never Learn, it makes sense that every show would be some heavy emotional shit, and that performing would take a lot out of her. And on her Instagram last night, Lykke announced that she’d take a step back for the moment. She was scheduled to tour with the Laneway Festival, a traveling fest that will hit Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore early in the year. But she’s now canceled all those appearances and offered an explanation on her Instagram. Here’s what she writes:

I AM UTTERLY DEVASTATED, SOMETIMES WE PUSH AND PUSH BUT THE BODY SIMPLY WON’T FOLLOW. I GAVE IT ALL I HAD, MY BODY, HEART AND SOUL. AFTER 7 YEARS OF TOURING MY HEALTH IS SCREAMING/BEGGING FOR ME TO LISTEN/HEAL/SLOW DOWN.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR UNDERSTANDING. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO MY BLEEDING HEART AND WATCHING ME DANCE IN THE DARK THESE PAST YEARS. I LOVE YOU. I WILL COME BACK. STRONGER. BUT FOR NOW MY LOVES, I HAVE TO REST. U CAN’T ALWAYS “WIN”…. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES!!! YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME. CHOOSE LIGHT AND LIFE! LIFE IS EBB N FLOW, HIGH N LOW. BUT WE KEEP ON. I WILL MISS YOU SO. X

She’s not retiring from the stage, then, which is good. It might just be a while before we see her again.

[Photo by Caroline Harrison @ The Apollo]