This is a meditation to support you in resting.
Simply that.
So whether you're about to take a little nap or you just want to lie down and be with your own breath,
In your own space and with your own thoughts for a moment.
Or whether you're preparing for your night time sleep.
This is an opportunity for you to soften into any resistance your body is feeling to stopping or surrendering into the beautiful nutrient of rest.
And instead to welcome rest with reverence.
Rest is one of the most powerful nutrients on earth.
And all animals and plants and flowers do it.
And the day rests into night.
And stillness and peace and quiet exist everywhere in nature.
All of these qualities are part of the rhythm of life.
Thank goodness we have the magic of rest.
And you will know for yourself what a difference it makes to you when you feel rested.
What a difference it makes to your thoughts and the ways you're thinking.
To how you're approaching the things you need to do in life.
And to the way you receive and welcome others.
Just really the difference it makes to your clarity of mind,
Your energy and your feelings of security.
That's how powerful rest is.
And as you remember that,
Let's begin.
So just settling into some kind of position that feels comfortable and at home to you right now.
Your body might be buzzing with energy from the last action phase of your life.
And that's absolutely okay and perfect.
You can imagine that that buzzing in your body is everything that you've been doing,
Processing through your nervous system.
And that will continue while you rest,
Like an inner massage.
There's no need to force anything here.
In the act of reverence for rest,
You're welcoming rest and allowing its processes in your body,
Which can be delicious and so,
So good for you.
Softening in.
And as you find ways to feel softening in your body,
Maybe taking a little tour around your body with your breathing,
With your sensing of parts of you,
Physical parts,
And what feels like it's still holding on to the idea it must go,
Go,
Go.
And not condemning those parts.
They work hard for you,
For all the parts of your life,
So you can show up and enjoy your life and contribute.
They just don't always know that they're allowed to take a break,
To pause,
And to sink into the other important rhythm of life,
Which is resting and regenerating.
So as you breathe into where there might be bracing,
Or parts that are finding it hard to soften,
Can you approach them with love and gratitude for all they do for you,
All the work they've been doing for you,
And let them know you're pleased with all their efforts.
And now it's time for them to be off duty,
And to relax and let go.
And they can take their time.
Let's take that body tour together.
So simply breathing out,
Breathing in,
And savouring again that long out breath.
As you visit different parts of your body,
Starting with your face,
Softening the muscles of your face,
And all of the expressions it's had to be holding today,
Including any masks.
You can let go of those now.
You're in your own private space.
You've done well today.
You've done well all your life.
Your brow can soften and melt.
You can release your eyebrows.
You can soften your lids and your eyes behind your lids.
You might even stretch your eyebrows up and then down a couple of times to really feel how much they can release.
As you raise them,
There's a feeling of a stretch,
An opening.
And then as you completely soften and relax your eyebrows down,
You let them fall into a natural resting place.
You might do the same,
Breathing,
Softening your lids,
Your eyelids,
Fluttering them open,
And then letting them drop closed a few times.
And only let your eyes close when they feel safe to do so,
Otherwise just keeping a soft,
Dreamy gaze is perfect.
And continuing down,
Releasing your cheekbones and letting your jaw go.
Letting your tongue fall back to its natural resting place.
Softening and releasing the backs of your ears,
Letting your whole head fall back and your brain fall back into its resting place at the base of your skull.
And simply breathing some breath into the space of your beautiful head and your precious face and saying,
It's time to let go into rest and healing and refreshment.
You've done well for me today.
You've been done well for me all my life.
And now feeling and sensing around your shoulders,
And if you want to even bringing fingers there to any tight places around your neck and shoulders.
We have so many muscles here and they do so much for us.
Sometimes they carry things that were never meant for them to carry and don't belong.
You might shrug your shoulders up to your ears,
Feel that stretch and then let them simply fall away,
Fall back and down into their natural resting place.
And thank them for the work they've done for you and all they've carried and let them know you don't want them to carry anything now.
There's nothing to be carried right now.
Is there time for rest?
And all the way down your whole back body,
Your spine.
Sometimes we hold on tight in that channel.
Can you visualize your spine releasing vertebra by vertebra as you breathe slowly up from the base of your spine to the top to your neck and just underneath your skull and all the way down again.
That beautiful channel of buoyancy and light within you.
Knowing that as you breathe the oxygen you're taking in is bringing flexibility and space to every muscle like a massage.
Breathing through this channel of buoyancy and light from where you move and express in the world your own light,
Your own wisdom.
From where you are attracted to what you love,
What gives you pleasure,
What gives you meaning.
This channel of you that works so hard for you and is so precious and so wonderful.
Right here on the inside of you as you let your whole back body melt and spread out like butter on a warm floor in the sun.
Saying,
Thank you for all you do for me and have done for me.
Now it's time to recharge by dropping into rest where the magic happens.
Where every little atom and molecule of this channel of you that is connected to every connection in your body and in your life gets the grace,
The power,
The magic of regeneration.
Simply by resting,
Spreading out and melting into the support of the earth.
And all the way down through your tailbone and your pelvis,
To your thighs and your legs,
To your ankles,
Feet and toes.
Where there might be any resistance remembering these legs have worked hard for you all your life and you love them and they love you back.
And maybe they need to know they can stop moving now.
And that the light that is extending from the channel of your spine can continue on down through your legs and right into your tippy toes and spread and melt like butter in the warm sun.
And from your shoulders all the way down your kind and loving arms that reach out and extend from your heart space to gather in more love to your life.
To reach out and touch and hold and tend to all the connections you nurture in life.
The hugs you give,
The strokes of the pets,
The skin of others,
The creativity you make,
The welcome you extend and the kindness.
And of course also the things your hands push away and say no not for me because they are energy drains.
And please as you let your hands and arms completely soften,
Relax and melt to let go of any holding or gripping.
Check out your fingers.
Let them be like jelly.
Please thank your arms for all they've brought in,
All they've tended to and for sending away those things which don't serve you and your energy.
And say to your whole body I am safe to rest.
I am safe to refresh here in restful energies.
To rest and refresh in a pool of well-being.
I am safe to rest in my own goodness and in the knowledge that I have shown up and done my best and that there are good things coming my way and for now I get to linger.
I get to luxuriate in the spaces between things where everything comes to rest.
I'm safe to rest.
I'm safe to soften my breath and soften into my breathing.
I'm safe to soften into my own thoughts again as they come in,
Go out,
Come in again and drift away.
Just processing beautifully through my nervous system.
And if any are demanding attention I go into my body and feel them there and soften into that place with kindness,
With the best of all I am and all I can offer.
Enjoying resting in the goodness that I am and the goodness that I have.
Putting my cares away for this time because this time is magic.
And when I come back I'll come back feeling stronger and refreshed and energized.
Peaceful and whole.
Because rest is always a strengthener and its whole job is to let you regenerate and let your cells regenerate.
Its whole job is healing and renewal.
To let your muscles release tension.
To let dreams come into your dream space.
To bring you calm and quiet.
And maybe you need lots and lots of rest because there have been lots and lots of times without rest.
So have lots and lots of rest.
Your body is giving you complete permission.
Your wise body knows.
Knows what you need.
When you're very hungry you need more food.
So you have lots and lots of food.
When you're so thirsty you need a big drink.
So you pour a big glass instead of a small one.
And when we rest we're not apologizing or stepping down from somewhere more important.
Doing isn't better than resting.
It's all a rhythm.
We rest and we go back to action and we rest again.
We create harmony that way and the whole picture.
Sun and moon.
Yin and yang.
Not one is better than the other.
They're part of the whole.
So I'm happy you're resting.
And your body is happy you're resting.
And your being is happy you're resting and receiving the magic.
Resting in your wholeness and knowing that every time you drop into rest of any kind,
Whether it's daydreaming rest or listening to music or meditative rest,
A little nap or a full sleep,
Your body is getting goodness flowing through you like liquid gold.
And you need to do nothing but allow that to happen.
To surrender into your reverence for this magical space of rest and let it receive you.
Being gracious towards your body as it offers you this magic of rest.
