Welcome to day three of the nervous system relaxation series.
Today is all about being calm.
We'll do everything lying down.
All you will need is a mat,
So go ahead and grab that.
And we'll get started You can start with me lying down on your back,
Settling into the practice.
Feels more comfortable to bend your knees,
Feel free to do so.
Have your feet resting on the mat.
Taking a few moments of stillness.
Keeping that breath calm and relaxed.
Maybe setting an intention for this practice.
Choosing a word or a phrase that feels good for you.
I deserve rest.
I deserve relaxation.
I deserve calm.
Ever feels good.
Taking a nice breath in,
Bring your knees to your chest.
Rock gently side to side,
Getting a little bit of a massage to the low back.
Maybe doing little circles or back and forth movements.
When you're ready,
Letting those legs fall down straight.
Bringing your arms above your head and doing a nice reach of the whole body,
A big stretch.
Inhale and exhale.
Bringing your body back down.
And once again,
Taking a nice deep breath where you are,
Inhale.
Exhale.
Relax the jaw and the face.
This practice is meant to calm,
To relax as we move through these shapes on the ground.
If it feels okay to you,
I invite you to turn over on your side.
And have your knees bent.
And your bottom arm straight out.
We'll do something called open the book to get a nice stretch throughout our mid-back.
Taking that upper arm and sliding it over that lower one.
And then reaching above your head,
Twisting your body open to the side.
Big stretch.
I can just hold here for a moment.
And exhale,
Bring that arm back,
Going back to the starting shape.
And then doing that once more,
Top arm reaches up above head,
Going backwards,
Twist.
Open.
Relax.
Let the body fall where it feels good.
And then twist that body back.
Taking your top leg here with the knee bent,
Seeing if you can get your hand to grab the foot and do a bit of a quad stretch here.
Now,
If that doesn't feel good or you can't grab the whole foot,
You could just grab the thigh and push it back a little bit.
You could grab a strap and use a strap as well.
I'm doing a little stretch here for a moment.
You can let the head rest too if you'd like.
And then when you're ready,
Letting go.
Rotating to the other side.
I'm going to turn so you can still see my face as I do this.
That you could just turn over.
And then same thing here,
Knees bent,
Bottom arm out.
We're going to open the book on this side.
So this top arm is going to reach,
And we're just going to twist,
Open,
Turn.
He might feel some cracks and creaks,
That's normal.
Exhale back to center.
One more time.
Let that top arm slide.
And then reach up above your head.
Backwards.
Twist.
And back to center.
Great.
Same thing on this side.
We can do a bit of a quad stretch here.
You can reach back and grab the quad or grab the foot or use a strap.
Anything that feels comfortable.
Moment here.
Rest that head.
Letting go.
Coming onto your back again.
Hamstring stretch here.
You can keep the right knee bent or straighten it,
Whatever feels good.
Take that left leg,
Wrap your hands around the back.
And then stretch that left leg up in the air until you feel a gentle pull,
A gentle sensation to that muscle in the back of the leg,
The hamstring.
You may hold this or you may decide to bend and straighten the knee,
Getting a little bit more motion as you do the movement,
Whatever works for your body.
One more breath wherever you are.
And if your leg is up,
You can let it go.
Switch to the other side.
Bring that right leg up.
Wrap that hand behind it.
And straighten that leg.
You can bend and straighten.
Or you can just have it all the way up.
One more breath wherever you are.
Lowering that leg down in your own time.
And you can rest with your knees bend where you can straighten them,
Finding that final resting shape.
You could even lie on your side or your stomach.
You could grab a blanket and a pillow,
Anything to help calm the body.
We'll end the practice with a bit of a breathing exercise to relax.
You're going to take an inhale in.
And then when you're at the top of that inhale,
You're going to inhale even more.
And then let it go.
So inhale.
Again.
Exhale.
Through the mouth.
Once more inhale again Exhale through the mouth.
Let everything relax.
Sing that body into the surface beneath you.
Thank you for choosing to practice with me today.
I hope it was calming for the nervous system.
I'll see you next time
