So welcome,
Welcome to this practice of NSDR.
If you found this practice today,
It's likely that something in you already knows it needs to stop.
This is an NSDR practice.
Non-sleep.
Deep rest.
And it's been created for the moments when everything feels like too much.
The mind won't quiet,
When the body is wired and exhausted all at once.
When you simply cannot switch off.
You don't need to feel calm to begin.
You don't need to clear your mind to begin.
Just give yourself permission now to arrive exactly as you are.
All you need do is find somewhere comfortable to lie down.
And allow yourself to be guided to rest,
Deep,
Restorative rest.
So begin to settle yourself.
Take any pillows,
Blankets,
Bolsters,
Anything you need to be really,
Really comfortable.
And take time to build yourself this little cocoon of comfort.
The ideal position is lying down on your back.
With your arms a little away from your sides,
Palms facing upward or gently resting on your belly.
Your legs flat on the floor,
Hip-width apart.
And if you'd like a low support under your neck.
Or a bolster beneath your knees to support your lower back.
Please take that now.
However you come to comfort,
Take all the time you need.
Let this preparation become part of your practice.
And know that I'll be guiding you through with my voice,
And if for any reason you prefer to let go of my voice,
That's absolutely fine.
Likewise for any invitation I make,
If you'd prefer to follow your own intuition,
Go with your flow,
Trust yourself.
Know that there'll be moments of silence in this practice,
But that I'm here holding the silence for you,
So you can really relax and let go into those spaces.
And I'll guide you back at the end of practice to everyday awareness.
Give yourself permission to be in this practice.
This is your practice.
Take what you need and leave what you don't.
So now take a long slow inhale through your nose.
And exhale.
Sigh it out.
Let it go.
Again,
Breathing.
And exhale through your mouth.
Let it go.
One more breath in.
Filling the whole body with fresh air.
And then release and let it go.
This time is for you.
You can let go of the world around you.
Let go of everything that's expected of you.
You have permission to put it all down,
Just for now.
Let go to stillness.
To calm.
To comfort.
Notice your body here.
The weight of your body,
The connection of your body with the support beneath.
Notice your breath,
The sensation of air moving in and out of your nose.
Effortless.
Gentle.
SOFT We're going to move through the body now,
Not to fix anything,
Not to change anything,
Simply to notice,
To give your attention.
To yourself.
Whatever you find here.
Tension.
Discomfort,
Restlessness.
You don't have to resolve it,
You only have to meet it.
Bring your attention to your right hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger Ring finger.
And little finger.
All five fingers together.
Palm of your right hand.
Back of the hand.
Right wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow APA-AN.
Right shoulder.
Armpit.
Right side of chest.
Right side of waist.
Thigh.
Me.
Car.
Shin.
Ankle Heal.
Soul of the Right Foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
2nd toe Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And fifth toe.
Move your attention to your left hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Littlefinger all five fingers together.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the hand.
Your left wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Open your eyes.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
The left side of your chest.
Left side of your waist.
You're here.
Your thigh.
And your knee.
Your breath,
Your breath,
Your breath.
Shin.
Angle Heal.
Soul of the Leffer.
Top of the foot.
Your left big toe.
2nd toe third toe fourth toe and fifth toe.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Right side of the back.
Left side of the back.
Lower back.
Middle back.
Ah,
Papa.
The whole of your back.
The top of your head.
The crown of your head.
Your forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
And the space between your eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek.
Left Chi Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Both your lips together.
Your teeth and your tongue.
Your jaw.
And your chin.
Your throat.
The right collarbone.
The left collarbone.
The right side of your chest.
The left side of your chest.
The centre of your chest.
Your heart center.
Your navel.
Your belly.
The whole of your right leg.
The whole of your left leg.
The whole of your right arm.
And the whole of your left arm.
Both your arms.
And both your legs together.
Now become aware of the whole body at once.
The right side and the left side.
The front of the body and the back.
From the crown of your head.
To the tips of your toes.
Feel the whole body lying still.
Rest.
Notice a feeling of stillness in your body.
The silence of stillness.
Nothing moving.
Nothing asked of you.
Complete.
And utter.
Inside.
And out.
Stillness.
Then notice the smallest of movement in your body.
Your breath.
Your beating heart.
Movement.
Be aware of the difference here between stillness and movement.
Movement.
And stillness.
Move your awareness between these two states.
Of Being.
Perhaps that sense of movement may transmute itself to a feeling of fullness,
A density.
No space left.
Heavy with everything that has accumulated.
Of fullness.
Now invites a feeling of emptiness.
Of everything being released.
Of their being space.
A lightness.
Emptiness.
Fullness and emptiness.
Emptiness and fullness.
Now invite the sensations of fullness and emptiness to be present at the same.
Time.
Gently let go of that now.
And return.
To rest.
Giving yourself permission to simply rest.
With your breath now.
No effort required.
No technique to master.
Give yourself permission to simply receive the breath as it moves through you.
Bring your awareness to the left side of the body first.
Notice the breath arriving here into the left nostril.
Down into the left lung.
The left side of the chest softly expanding.
The left shoulder,
Releasing with the exhale.
The left arm heavy and still.
The left side of the belly rising and falling.
The left hip.
The left leg.
All the way down to the left heel.
Breathing into the whole left side of your body.
Receiving.
Now move your awareness to the right side,
The breath arriving at the right nostril.
Into the right lung.
The right side of the chest.
The right shoulder.
The right arm dissolving into stillness.
The right side of the belly.
The right hip.
The right leg down to the right heel.
Breathing the whole right side.
Receiving.
And now,
The centre.
The midline of the body.
The throat.
The sternum.
The navel.
The spine running deep.
Through everything.
Move the breath here.
Through the very core of you.
Rising and falling along the center line.
Slow,
Steady,
Balanced.
And now the whole body at once.
The left side.
The right side.
I'm the center.
All of your body breathing.
One complete entity.
One being.
One breath.
Keep returning to the breath.
To the body.
Keep returning.
To this.
I'm now going to offer you a series of images.
Let each one arrive,
And then Let it go.
Imagine in your mind's eye.
A vast open sky.
A single candle flame.
The ocean at dawn,
Still and quiet.
An empty room filled with light.
A forest after the rain.
A stone dropped into dark water.
Warm sand beneath bare feet.
A wide horizon,
Spacious and clear.
An open door welcoming you to a warm,
Soft home.
And now.
Nothing.
Here.
Nothing is required.
Nothing is asked of you.
You are allowed.
To let go.
Give yourself.
Permission.
To let.
Rest here in the knowing.
That something in you is still.
Is present.
Is observing.
Awareness aware of itself.
Rest in this.
Just this.
And gently now begin to notice your breath again.
Not doing anything with it yet.
Just being aware of it.
Moving.
Present.
Start to become aware of the sounds around you,
Near and far.
Sense any aroma in the air.
Feel the temperature of your surroundings,
The air on your skin.
The texture of your clothes,
Or the coverings over your body.
Let a small movement arrive,
Perhaps in the fingers or toes,
Waking up the body.
Gently as you arrive back into this space.
When you feel ready,
Gently begin to give movement to your whole body,
Stretching the arms above the head maybe,
Rolling the ankles,
Drawing the knees into the chest.
There's no rush.
Take all the time you need.
When you're ready,
Roll to one side and just stay for a few moments as you arrive back.
And using your hand to slowly push the floor away from you.
Come to a comfortable seated position,
Gently,
Slowly,
Without any hurry at all.
Open your eyes.
Welcome back.
Notice how you feel.
How your body feels,
How your mind feels.
And carried that permission with you as you return.
To your day.
This practice of NSDR is now complete.
Thank you so much for taking your time to practice with me today.
I wish you a wonderful rest of your day or evening ahead.
Thank you.
