Restoring Your Capacity Through Deep Rest

Sometimes we override our capacity and in the process, we exhaust ourselves. This guided meditation invites you to pause, reflect, and sense the difference between pushing through and replenishing your inner resources. In this meditation we explore a practice of deep rest that nourishes your body, mind, and spirit, allowing you to reconnect with your natural flow and restore the energy needed to move forward with ease and clarity.

Transcript

Sometimes I think we can give ourselves a really hard time.

We push through,

We work harder,

We get upset at ourselves when we think our lack of energy equates to somehow a lack of willpower.

I've been sitting with this a lot lately as I bump up against an inner voice that says,

Why can't I just be more disciplined?

Why can't I focus harder?

Why am I procrastinating?

So this is a practice for anyone who feels as if their willpower is lacking,

Their self-control is not there.

These things are not infinite resources.

They fluctuate with stress,

With how much rest we've had,

And our capacity for self-compassion.

If you have been running for a while on borrowed energy,

If you have been traveling fast and far over unsteady ground,

I invite you now into this practice of deep rest.

Because there is a difference between discipline and capacity.

And this is your opportunity to restore your inner resources through deep rest.

Allow yourself to find the best position for you.

I would invite you today to lie down,

To gather as much comfort as you can around you,

Even placing an eye pillow on your forehead,

Over your eyes,

On your chest,

Or whatever you have available that helps you to feel a sense of sinking down into the support you have beneath you.

A little bit of weight on your body as your body meets the supportive foundation of what is beneath you.

I invite you to yield into that soft support,

To allow the resting tension in your body to be held by those supportive structures.

Allow yourself to start to bring your attention to just your breath as it moves in and out.

This simple process of watching,

Of noticing,

Of feeling.

Almost as if your attention can gently rest into the rhythm of your breathing pattern.

As if you were gently riding the waves of your breath as they flow in and flow out.

And for the rest of this practice,

I invite you to do whatever feels necessary.

Maybe you decide to follow along with my words,

Or maybe you allow yourself to drift into a deeper state of rest or even sleep.

You might notice there's still a sense of striving,

Of needing to do,

Of wanting to move,

Of having to take care of something else,

To grow in a certain way or push yourself towards a certain goal.

Notice perhaps that there is effort and focus or discipline that you have been applying to yourself with determination and consistency.

And then ask yourself,

Is this a matter of discipline or am I simply running low on energy?

Can you imagine discipline as a flame?

It's bright and steady but consuming.

It requires oxygen.

It requires fuel.

It requires tending.

Capacity,

On the other hand,

Is like a stream.

It flows,

It's flexible,

It's replenished by the waters that spring forth from the earth.

Much like yourself,

It can be replenished.

You are replenished by rest and nourishment.

See if you can sense the difference between pushing yourself through fatigue and moving from a place of available inner resources.

Allow yourself to picture now,

Quiet,

Beautiful space,

Your own personal sanctuary.

Where is that place?

Is it in nature?

Is it in your home?

A sunlit room,

A beautiful forest,

A gentle seaside.

Imagine as if you could sink deeper into that space.

Letting the weight of expectation,

Obligation,

And responsibility melt away.

Take a moment to acknowledge your inner resources,

Your energy,

Your clarity,

Your capacity for patience.

All of these things gathering like a pool of fresh spring water within you.

Feel all of these resources filling your body,

Easing tension,

Softening your tired muscles,

And quieting your mind.

Allow the flow of this energy to replenish what has been spent,

Gently restoring your capacity.

Visualize the warm glow of a sunbeam,

Warming your body,

Softening your tension,

Warming your tired muscles,

Allowing the flow of that warm sunshine replenishing all of your energy.

Gently inviting a sense of restored capacity.

You can acknowledge your effort and at the same time give yourself permission to receive care.

A gentle reminder to your body and mind that replenishment is not optional.

It is necessary.

See if you can begin to become aware of the sensations in your body now as you feel that pool of replenishing energy,

That beam of warming light gently pouring into your body.

Notice if there's any places where tension lingers and imagine it being softened by this nourishing energy.

Bringing your attention back to your breath,

Noticing,

Sensing,

And feeling the way each breath moves in the body,

Fills up your lungs,

And that it doesn't stop there.

Your breath delivers nourishment to every cell,

Every muscle,

And every thought.

As you breathe in,

Notice that gentle flow of nourishment.

As you breathe out,

Notice that softening,

That dropping deeper into a sense of rest.

The breath in,

Nourishing,

Revitalizing.

The breath out,

Softening and deepening into rest.

If it feels right,

You might even say to yourself,

I am allowed to rest.

I am allowed to feel replenished.

My capacity is as important as my willpower.

My time for rest is as valuable as my ability to contribute to the world.

My nourishment is as important as my ability to accomplish my tasks.

My time to restore is as valuable as my time being present and caring for those who I love.

Bring your attention to your head.

Allow there to be an invitation towards rest,

Towards replenishment in the muscles of your face,

Your eyes,

Your jaw.

Bring your attention to your neck,

Front and back.

Allow there to be a sense of ease around the space of your neck.

Bring your attention to your shoulders.

Allow your shoulders to rest back and down,

Gently supported,

Gently softening into the soft support beneath you.

Bring your attention to your chest.

Allow the muscles in between each rib to feel a sense of ease,

Less effort.

Bring your attention back up to your arms,

Your hands and your fingers,

Allowing each finger to gently soften and let go of its effort.

Allow your attention to gently rest in the palm of your hand,

Sensing and feeling the gentle softening in the muscles in the palm of your hand.

Bringing your attention back up the body into your belly,

Allowing the muscles here to gently soften,

Having a sense that even your internal organs can gently rest in this moment.

Bring your attention to your lower back.

Allow there to be a sense of resting,

Of ease in the space of your lower back and your hips.

Bring your attention to your legs,

Fronts of thighs,

Backs of thighs,

Allowing yourself to scan and notice if there's any holding,

If you can soften into the support beneath you a little bit more.

Bring your attention to your knees,

Front and back,

Relaxing the muscles around your knees.

Bring your attention to your lower legs,

Front and back,

Allowing your lower legs to relax any effort they might be holding.

Bring your attention to your feet,

Toes and sensing and feeling the sole of your foot.

Notice any sensation here and notice if you can invite a sense of no effort into the muscles of your foot,

The sole of your foot.

Notice perhaps that your whole body is gently resting and replenishing in this moment of deep time.

This is your time.

Nothing to do but allow the gentle flow of replenishing energy like a river flowing,

Like a warm sunbeam filling you up,

Restoring your capacity,

Restoring your sense of ease.

As you slowly begin to emerge from this practice,

Noticing a little bit of movement coming back into fingers and toes,

Sensing and feeling your body here as it rests.

Knowing that you can return to this practice whenever you need.

Knowing that that capacity for resourcing yourself lies within moments of deep rest.

Take your time now,

And if you have more time,

You might stay and rest for longer,

Or you might start to gently ease yourself back into your day,

Slowly opening your eyes and taking in this moment,

Taking in the feeling in your body,

What you notice now,

And what you gained from your practice today.

Thank you so much for joining me in today's practice.

Reviews

This was extremely helpful, especially visualising self-discipline as a flame and capacity as something linear.
It really helped me to relax

Thank you 🙏

Loved this so much i felt so deeply rested after. I did find in a few places the music balance overshadowed your beautiful voice. But overall i really benefited from this practice. Took me ages to come back into wakefulness. Which was perfect. Xx