Welcome to everyone on this Insight Timer live session from April 4th,
2026 on mindful rest as nervous system regulation.
So we are all in desperate need of rest.
And it's not just sleep that many of us.
.
.
Need.
Although most of us can use better quality sleep.
But we need lots of rest in many different dimensions.
And so.
.
.
In this live session today,
I'll give a little information about the different kinds of rest.
That we can focus in on throughout our day.
And have that as a practice so that our rest.
.
.
Doesn't just come at the end of the day when there's often so much pressure.
To rest and to slow down.
So we will be.
Going over a number of different practices today.
If you wish to get pen and paper,
I know some of you like to take notes as I do my educational piece.
So that is always,
Always welcome.
I think one of the biggest nuggets that I want to share with you is that For us to have restorative rest,
We need to feel safe,
Or at least safe enough.
And safety is a challenging experience to step into,
To create,
To have in our lives in these challenging days.
And.
If we can't feel safe enough as we rest,
Our body is always.
.
.
On alert in our protective nervous system states.
Of either our sympathetic nervous system,
Our fight-flight mechanism.
Where we might be more vigilant and aware and scanning for danger.
Or if we are at that deep exhaustion,
We can drop into.
.
.
Our dorsal vagal system,
Where we feel some threat,
And that's when we experience a freeze response,
A collapse,
A disconnect.
And when we're in those protective states,
It's very difficult for our bodies.
And our hearts and our minds to get restorative rest.
And so what our body is asking of us is to notice the safety that we do have as we step into restful practices.
We need to have some intentionality.
To our our rest and how we go about it.
As we get older,
We often lose our ability to sleep as easily as when we are children.
And so we need to prepare our bodies for rest.
And.
.
.
Slowly step into it.
And this is because our nervous systems go into protective states of our fight,
Flight,
And freeze responses.
Much more quickly than when we come to come out of it.
So we can go up into our alertness and our protection very,
Very quickly.
But to come down out of it into more of a.
.
.
Parasympathetic,
Ventral vagal restful state.
It takes time.
It takes time for our body to metabolize.
All of the stress hormones that are released the adrenaline the cortisol all of those things need to be metabolized,
Broken down and processed in our body.
To allow ourselves to settle.
And so this takes time.
And often we're busy right up until we try to go to sleep.
And then we have a hard time falling asleep.
So I'm going to offer a number of different focuses for our rest today that can help you.
Settle hopefully more quickly.
So.
A little bit more about our dorsal vagal system.
It's part of our parasympathetic rest and digest.
And we have.
.
.
Kind of two ways of this dorsal vagal system to operate in our bodies.
And.
.
.
When we perceive threat,
We shift into our dorsal system that is.
.
.
More about hiding and freeze response and collapse and disconnect.
Because we're trying to be invisible to protect ourselves.
But we also have the capacity to be in our dorsal vagal system when we're feeling safe.
And this is a very powerful,
Wonderful state.
Of where we feel more connection.
We feel like we can really relax.
We're not bracing against anything.
And we can have restorative rest.
This is where the body can really heal.
We have good digestion.
You know,
Our systems are operating smoothly.
And I know that each one of us has some memory.
Of being in this deeply restful dorsal state.
It could be You know,
Being with your partner when you're feeling very safe with each other.
It could be that beautiful state in yoga nidra practice where you're just deeply relaxed.
It could be in nature,
Listening to the waves come in.
And feeling very slow and very settled and very safe.
And that is the state that will allow us to receive good rest.
And we can also heal better and we can connect with others.
This is.
.
.
A goal that you can begin to practice right it's a cultivation practice of this restful state And we can do it in many different ways.
So the first rest that I'll share with you is physical rest,
Right?
We need sleep.
We need to not be moving all the time.
And that can be during the evening time.
It can be some nap times.
And this does require us slowing down,
Having intention to rest.
Practicing sleep hygiene techniques,
Which I won't go into today,
But you're all familiar.
Turning off devices,
Not listening to anything,
Activating or charged.
To help us go into sleep.
We also need mental rest,
And this is a much more challenging one.
And this is where your mindfulness practice can be so helpful.
Like,
How can we.
.
.
Slow down our mind,
Turn off our mind,
Put our mind off to the side for just a bit.
So that we can experience some mental rest.
And this is shifting away from planning and organizing and logistics and doing,
Doing,
Doing with our minds.
And one of the.
.
.
Best ways that I have found for myself.
Is to come back to awareness of body sensations.
Because the body is always in the here and now.
And so when I drop down from my mind to my body.
That helps me slow down and give my mind some rest.
Another type of rest that our body is really asking for in these days is sensory rest.
There's a lot of stimulation in our world,
From devices,
From multiple news sources,
From sounds,
From traffic.
All of these things are,
It's a lot for our systems to take in.
So sensory rest is closing the eyes.
Closing the ears.
Turning inwardly.
To a place of refuge within that is quiet,
Is settled,
Where there's,
You know,
Could be even dark.
Where there's not so much sensory input.
And this might be during the day that you give yourself two or three minutes of closed eyes,
Close the door,
Turn off any sounds.
You know,
Even put in headphones or earplugs.
And just give your body and your nervous system.
Rest from sensory input.
Another type of rest is emotional rest.
Oftentimes when we are.
Processing something.
It's exhausting,
And it takes a lot of energy.
Emotions can run high and This is challenging also,
Like giving ourselves mental rest.
Emotional rest is challenging.
And again,
I find that coming back to my body.
Getting out of the storyline of what happened and what my feelings are and what I should have said.
Coming back to my body without the story can be.
.
.
A place where I can give my heart some rest.
Social rest.
This is something that you.
.
.
May or may not have a lot of control over depending on the size of your family.
But.
.
.
Look at your obligations.
Look at what you're saying yes to.
And I know on holiday weekends,
There's usually a lot of family around,
So that can be difficult.
But even during a social event,
To take time to step outside by yourself.
You know,
To give yourself some quiet time alone,
Or after social events to give yourself some quiet downtime without social obligations.
Can be very helpful.
Because being so social all the time can really stretch us and narrow our window of tolerance.
And then there is spiritual rest.
And this can be all sorts of things.
So it's turning our attention to our soul.
What does my soul need right now?
What will fill me in the spiritual sense?
Is it time in nature?
Is it praying?
Is it reading inspirational material?
Is it stepping into a cathedral?
Is it listening to a choir?
It's something that's a little more spacious and you know,
Stepping into a larger than myself space.
For giving you know for spiritual rest And then the last one is creative rest.
And this,
As I was exploring this,
It can be in two different directions.
If you are a doer and a creator and always busy,
Coming up with ideas and putting them into reality.
Just leaning back and giving yourself time to not have to generate.
Anything?
Can be really restful.
And the other sign.
Can be that for some people,
Stepping into a creative activity.
Art,
Music,
Dance.
Can be incredibly restorative.
So those are the different types of rest that we can build into our daily routine,
Physical,
Mental,
Sensory,
Emotional,
Social,
Spiritual,
And creative rest.
So our practice today.
.
.
Is you're going to choose one of these.
Mindful restfulness practices.
And we're going to have some quiet time in our practice too.
To do your rest.
And so.
.
.
I'll ask you,
I'll go through the list again as we do our practice.
I'm going to read a poem to you first.
And then you get to choose and just experiment.
You might try one and then.
.
.
Say,
Ah,
This is hard.
Let me shift to another one.
That's perfectly okay.
And this is,
Again,
Stepping into the laboratory of our own beings so that we can.
.
.
Apply a practice and see what the effect is on our system.
And I'll be periodically guiding you to notice how your body is responding.
To your restful practice,
Just so you can stay curious.
All right,
So.
.
.
Settle into a posture that supports your rest.
I'm going to read a poem by John O'Donohue.
To start our practice together.
It is entitled,
Blessing for the One Who is Exhausted.
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks.
Then all the unattended stress falls in on the mind.
Like an endless increasing weight.
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before.
Now become laborsome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out and you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down.
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest.
And patiently learn to receive the self you have forsaken.
In the race of days.
At first your thinking will darken and sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept tears will frighten you.
You have traveled too fast over false ground.
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses.
Open up to all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain when it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of Twilight.
Taking time to open the well of color that fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease.
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually you will return to yourself.
Having learned a new respect for your heart.
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
So,
Yes.
We step into a practice of rest.
You can ask yourself the inquiry question.
What is it that I need now?
Right now.
Do I need some physical rest where I can just lie down?
And not have to do anything or effort.
Do I need mental rest?
Can I allow my mind to recline in the back of my skull?
And a beautiful lawn or beach chair and just be quiet.
Do I need sensory rest?
Do I need emotional rest?
Honoring all the emotions that are swirling inside of me.
And stepping back from the storyline and from the intensity.
Perhaps feeling the sense of sitting on a park bench with your heart next to you.
Both just resting.
And social rest.
Right now for this practice.
No need to interact in the chat.
You can just lean back.
Spiritual rest.
What does my soul need right now?
Or creative rest.
No need to fix or generate.
Or you may have images or ideas flowing.
That are restorative.
So pick one of these types of restful practices.
And let yourself fall into rest.
Sensing your safe enough place here.
With all of us.
Practicing together.
And as we.
.
.
Continue to move and to rest.
Be excessively gentle with yourself,
Like John O'Donohue said in the poem.
It's not that easy to rest as us humans.
So if your mind is active,
That's okay.
Remember it takes time.
For our body to slow down.
And to give patience to ourselves.
In our bodies,
In our minds and hearts.
One thing that you can be curious about as you.
.
.
Coming to rest is Noticing how your body is responding.
And typical.
Sensations of our body shifting into more of a parasympathetic,
Dorsal restful state.
Our changes in our breathing.
Often it can get slower.
Or we may have longer exhales.
You may notice a shift in.
.
.
Body tension,
Muscle tension.
And I always notice that I have to keep.
Checking in with my body because I have such habitual bracing patterns.
In my jaw and forehead and shoulders.
That I have to remind my body.
That it's okay to soften even just a little bit.
So you may notice.
A softening in your tissues.
Some of you may notice gurgling or digestive noises.
And this is a beautiful response of your body.
To coming into a more deeply felt parasympathetic state.
It means your digestion is coming.
Coming back online in this restorative state.
You may also notice yawning.
So yawn widely and freely.
It opens up tension at the base of the skull when we yawn widely.
Just allowing that air to come in.
And.
The exhale to happen.
And if none of these signs are showing up in your body,
Don't get discouraged.
Again,
Depending on How busy you have been.
And how tired you are.
It can take some time.
For the body to respond.
And so giving ourselves all the time in the world.
To come into rest however long that may take.
And I also invite you to trust your own.
Inner impulses,
If you have All of a sudden a desire to just sigh audibly.
Or shake out your arms.
Or hum,
Or move a little bit,
Or rock,
Whatever.
Follow these impulses that your body is showing you.
Sometimes a bit of gentle movement can sort our musculature out.
So that we can come into more softness.
If you have been around animals.
Dogs or cats.
Other animals.
Notice how they come into rest.
They may yawn,
They may stretch.
They may find their spot in the sun.
They may twitch.
They may move.
Rest is a deeply instinctual process.
That many of us have lost touch with.
So this is an opportunity to listen,
To settle.
Come into a bit of rest.
And sometimes we need to pace our rest.
So often when we slow down,
And lean back.
Other emotions start to arise or other body sensations start to come up into our awareness,
Other thoughts.
And this is very common.
And so if you need to open your eyes or step out if it's a bit too much,
Do that,
Please pace yourself.
For many people,
Staying busy is a way to not feel.
What's under the surface?
And so when we pause,
Sometimes those things arise.
And you can say,
Ah.
Sadness,
I see you.
Oh,
Pain,
I feel you.
I do.
I see you.
Oh,
My worry,
My dear worry in my mind,
I see you too.
And it's okay.
We can all be here and maybe rest for a bit more.
All those things don't need to be fixed quite right now.
But they oftentimes need to be acknowledged and seen.
These very tender places that.
.
.
Don't know how to get our attention when we're so busy.
As we begin to bring this practice to a close,
I send each one of you wishes of deep rest.
During your day and at night.
And may we all feel safe enough to.
.
.
Slow down.
Come to rest.
And feel restored.
And I'll close with a poem.
From Rosemary Watola Traumer.
Entitled With the Stars All Around.
I wish you the peace of sleep.
Your breath,
A canoe that carries you toward the next moment.
Without any need for you to touch the oars.
How easily you arrive.
Oh,
To trust the world like that.
Trust you will be carried.
Not just in sleep.
But in waking dreams.
Trust no matter how high the waves,
The skiff of grace has a seat for you.
Oh,
To let go of the oars.
There is no steering towards what comes next.
So as you emerge from your restful state,
Come out slowly.
Orienting to the space around you if your eyes were closed.
Maybe stretching or moving your body.
So thank you for practicing with me today.
