Welcome to this power nap.
Make your body really comfortable now.
Closing your eyes and mentally repeating these words.
For this power nap I allow my body to relax,
My mind to be calm and my nervous system to be soothed and I trust that my body will awaken in 20 minutes feeling refreshed and alert.
Let's begin with some really slow and deep breaths.
Inhaling right down into your belly,
Holding your breath for a moment and exhaling with a long and soft sigh.
Breathing in,
Retaining your breath for a moment and breathing out slowly and deeply.
Inhaling,
Holding the breath and exhaling.
Breathing in,
Holding and breathing out.
Inhaling,
Retaining and exhaling.
Going at your own pace,
Really taking your time,
Feeling the sensation as you hold the breath and feeling the release as you let the exhalation go.
Let your breath carry away all that's not needed right now.
And now let your breath be natural,
Not changing it,
Not controlling it.
Just let your body breathe all by itself.
As we journey around the body now,
Tensing and releasing the muscles,
Really get a sense of how it feels to hold and to grip and feel the wave of relaxation that naturally arises at the very moment that you let go.
Starting with your feet,
Curling your toes tightly,
Holding and then releasing and letting go.
Tensing and holding your legs,
The calves,
The knees and the thighs and then releasing and letting go.
And again,
Tensing both legs together,
Noticing how it feels to hold and tighten,
Then releasing and letting go.
Giving up the full weight of your legs,
Lifting your hips slightly and squeezing your buttocks,
Holding,
Clenching and gripping and then gently lowering your hips back down and completely abandoning the weight.
Sensing how it feels to soften and let go.
Gently pressing your lower back into the surface beneath,
Then releasing and letting go.
Letting go.
Lifting your upper body just slightly,
Tensing your abdomen,
Your chest and all the muscles in your back,
Then gently lowering your upper body back down and completely releasing the weight,
Squeezing your shoulder blades together,
Holding for a moment and then releasing and letting go.
Shoulders softening back down and giving up their weight,
Then releasing and letting go.
Shoulders sinking down,
Raising your arms just slightly and making a tight fist with your hands,
Pressing your fingers into your palms,
Holding and gripping and then spread your fingers out wide,
Tensing your upper arms and allowing your arms to float back down,
Completely releasing the weight,
Lifting your head just slightly,
Feeling the weight of your head and then gently offering it back and completely abandoning the weight,
The weight.
Opening your mouth wide,
Sticking your tongue out and rolling your eyes right back and then releasing and letting go.
And now tensing the whole body all at once,
The whole body,
Holding and then releasing and letting go.
And now just let the weight of your whole body drop into the support beneath,
Inhaling right down into your belly and exhaling with a long and soft sigh.
Whole body emptying out,
Completely giving up any last traces of holding,
Clenching or gripping.
Tongue resting in the mouth.
Hinges of the jaw loosening.
Lower jaw falling softly away from the upper jaw.
A softening of the whole face.
The eyes resting right back.
Forehead smooth.
The feeling behind eyes softening.
Shoulders sinking down,
Giving up the weight of the arms.
The lower half of your body resting open.
Hips releasing their weight,
Giving up the weight of the legs.
The whole body softening maybe just a little more.
Let your body sleep if it wants to.
Or simply let yourself rest in the soothing,
Healing balm of just being.
And now let your breath deepen again,
Taking a few more slow and low breaths,
Inhaling right down into your belly and exhaling with a long and soft sigh.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Let your body receive that gift really generously,
Nourishing every cell of this body.
It's time to wake up now.
Let your body move and stretch in whatever way it wants to now,
Returning to its wide awake state alert,
Calm,
Rooted in being and ready to continue with your day.
Thank you for joining me for this power nap.
