Deep Rest

(water swooshing) Hi, welcome. So nice to see you. This is a deep rest practice. So, if you have trouble sleeping or if you're feeling really fatigued from the athletics that you're doing or the sports that you're doing it's really useful to take 10 to 15 minutes to just completely let go. And I find that it's much easier to be led through a relaxation practice than do it on my own especially at home 'cause there's always something to do at home and someone needing you, perhaps.

So... I hope that you can join me for this. And it will be useful for you to have a few props. I always like to have a blanket over top of me and I like to use a bolster for underneath my thighs as I'll show you and also a blanket for under my head. So two blankets and a bolster or another rolled up blanket.

So... I'm gonna place this bolster for underneath my thighs or underneath my knees and I'm gonna place a folded up blanket for underneath my head because if you're lying down for 10 minutes or so sometimes if you're on a hard surface you just feel quite a bit of pressure on the back of your head. And then I'm gonna place this blanket on top of me so I have the weight and the warmth if I'm gonna be here for a little bit. So, make sure that you're comfortable and I like to have the arms a little bit away from the body, palms face up. And settle your skull carefully at zero so you're not lifting up your chin or rolling to one side or the other.

(clears throat) Let your lower back relax Take a nice, big breath in and as you exhale let your eyes close if you're comfortable with that. Or you can keep them softly open. (long, deep breath) And just drop in so it's within these times of deep breaths that we actually get stronger. And as a mother I've noticed that sometimes 10 or 15 minutes of deep, conscious rest can be like three hours of sleep or maybe even more. Maybe even a really bad night of sleep.

So, start to feel like your body is letting go of all of the little skyhooks that are holding you up. And make contact with the parts of you that are touching the floor. And the parts that are touching the floor just give them a little bit more weight. Not by pushing or forcing but by relaxing. With your eyes closed we're gonna cycle through just touching different parts of the body with our awareness and then relaxing them.

We'll start with the awareness in the right hand. Right thumb. Feel that, relax it. Right index finger. Right middle finger.

Right ring finger. Right pinky. Palm of the hand. And then the whole hand together. Whole right hand.

Feel, sense and relax. Then the right wrist. Right forearm, relax. Right upper arm. Right shoulder.

Coming closer to the ground, to the earth. And the whole right arm. Relax. And the right lung nice and heavy on the earth. Right side waist.

Pelvis. Right upper thigh. Leg bone. Right knee. Relax around the knee.

Right calf. Right ankle. Right bottom of the foot. Then the big toe. Second toe.

Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe, and then the whole leg and foot together. Relax. Relax.

Relax. Switching your awareness to your left thumb. Feel that, relax it. Left index. Middle.

Ring. And pinky. Palm of the hand. The whole of the right hand. Relax and soften.

(deep breath) Right wrist. Forearm. Upper arm. Shoulder. And then the whole of the left arm.

Close contact with the floor softening the grip. Right side. So the lung. The waist. And the pelvis.

Heavy. The left thigh. Knee. Calf. Lower leg.

Ankle. Bottom of the foot. Big toe. Left second toe. Third toe.

Fourth toe. And fifth toe. And then the whole left leg from the hip to the toe is relaxed. Relax. And let go.

Coming into the belly. Whole of the belly. Soft organs, soft. Breath, easy and natural. The front of the chest, heart area.

Relax. Whole of the back body. Buttocks. Low back. Mid back.

Upper back. Heaviness. And relaxation through the entire back body. Throat. And now into the skull.

Feel the heaviness of the head. Like a giant bowling ball is inside the skull. The weight of that. Facial muscles, relax. Eyes sinking.

Pulling away from the eyelids like stones falling in water. Personality drains from the face. Wrinkles slide away from the face. As the temple skin and the jaw widens and softens. Now feel the whole body as one piece.

Relaxed and heavy. Notice yourself as the background observing the tension-free body. The easy breath. The emptiness. The space.

And allowing yourself to feel the heaviness of the body. Heavy. Heavy. Heavy. And then allowing yourself to feel the lightness of the body.

Light. Spacious. Energized. And from this place of space allow your breath to move inside your body to places that might feel injured or where trauma is held or where there's chronic pain, chronic tension holding... And inhale.

Just feel the pain of that area inhale it in hold space for it and as you exhale, send healing... Relaxed... energy to that space. Inhale, hold your own pin there hold space and as you exhale breathe healing energy into the area maybe a couple of areas. Continue that for a few more rounds of breath.

And from here starting to take a few deeper breaths and start to feel the skin touching the air. And it might feel really good for you to stay here a little while longer. If you feel that there's some healing of your tissue happening or of your nervous system or sense some opening happening in the mind then please stay as long as you like. (deep breath) But if you feel that you're ready to come back then start to maybe wiggle and flicker your fingers and your toes. It might feel good to take a nice, long stretch.

And stretch from the belly out into the toes and from the belly up into the fingertips. And it's nice to come out slow just so if you've managed to relax yourself quite a bit you can keep a little bit and stay there throughout your day or throughout your evening. And rolling over onto one side. And taking your time to come up. (clears throat) (inhales deeply) And place your hands somewhere comfortable.

(deep breath) And thank you so much for taking the time to take care of yourself today. Namaste.