Rest As Medicine

Welcome to this 10-minute practice of Rest as Medicine featuring music by Charlie Gates (Ocean) from the album Yoga Nidra (purchased with licensing rights to share on recordings).

In our busy (busy!) lives, it can be difficult to truly pause. This practice invites you to release tension and reconnect with your body in stillness. Through gentle body awareness and breath, you’ll journey into a space of deep rest, replenishment, and healing potential.

Find a comfortable, quiet space where you can lie down and relax. Gather your blanket, cushions, or any softness to support you. This time is for YOU, to let go of effort and simply be present with your body. Allow yourself to receive the medicine of rest.

Transcript

Hi, This is Emma and welcome to this 10-minute guided body awareness practice for deep replenishment. This is rest as medicine. Gather your blanket, Your cushions, Your softness and let your body know now it's safe to rest. Begin by lying down or sitting back against a chair or the sofa. Let the earth hold you just as you are. Close down the eyes. Feel the weight of the bones in the legs, The arms and the head resting into the ground. There is nowhere else to be, Nothing you have to do. Welcome, Beloved body. You have done enough. You can rest now. Begin to sense the breath, Like a tide gently rising as you inhale. Gently falling, Exhale. Letting go of effort, Just be with the breath, The inhale, The exhale. Just present. Let the bones grow heavy and the weight of your spine rests like stones through water onto the riverbed. Bring awareness to the crown of the head. Soften here and through the forehead, Smooth, No thoughts to hold. The space behind the eyes, Vast, Empty, Spacious. Soften the cheeks, The jaw, The tongue resting in the mouth, Nothing to hold, Nothing to say. Feel the throat, Open and spacious, Like the sky after rainfall. Let the breath flow here, Gentle and smooth. Moving into the heart space, Feel the quiet pulse of the breath and the heart within. You are here. You are safe. You are loved. Let the shoulders soften and the arms grow long, Resting like river stones by your sides, Joining the spine. Feeling into the belly, The gentle rise and soft release. Tides of your body in perfect rhythm with the tides of the earth. And now bring your awareness to the soles of the feet. Let the ankles and feet become soft and wide. Drifting awareness to the calf, The back of the knees, The thighs. Allow each part of both legs to grow heavy, Warm and still, As if the earth is drawing the tiredness from your limbs, Inviting them to rest. Bring awareness to the pelvis, The bowl of life. Imagine a gentle glow here, Golden, Warm. Let it spread through your belly, Your lower back and hips. Now the spine, From the tail to the crown, Bathed in stillness. Bathed in golden light. Each vertebra held like the stone on the riverbed. Feel the back of the heart, The back of the neck, Shoulders resting with the spine. Notice the hands, The palms, The length of the fingers. And now rest in this whole body awareness. A field of warmth and quiet presence in the cradle of breath. In the arms of stillness. The earth is breathing with you. Let yourself be held in this sacred pause. Beyond doing, Beyond striving, Beyond who you think you should be. You are here. You are home. You are health. Let yourself be nourished in stillness, In rest. This is a homecoming. This is medicine. This is enough. Returning gently, Bring back only what nourishes you. Invite a gentle wiggle to your fingers and toes. Perhaps feeling the breath deepen, Generous inside the body. Generous, Slow release. And when you're ready, Either rolling on one side or staying resting in this space for a while. And when you're ready, Ever so softly rise. Carrying with you the memory of rest. As your birthright. As your nourishment. As your way home.