Welcome to Day 8 of the Burnout and Exhaustion Challenge here on Insight Timer.
So many of us are always available,
Never switching off and never saying no.
This challenge is a chance to remind your body what stopping actually feels like.
Let's jump in to today's session.
Hello and welcome back to the 10-Day Burnout and Exhaustion Challenge.
My name is Aileen Rose Miles.
The nervous system doesn't always distinguish between what's vividly imagined and what's physically experienced.
By envisioning a place that feels safe and deeply restful,
You can begin to experience many of the same calming effects.
When life isn't offering much space to rest,
Your imagination can.
Today's practice will gently guide you there.
Let's begin.
Slowly arrive just as you are right now.
Choose a meditation posture that would serve you and your body in this very moment.
Maybe you gently close your eyes if that feels safe.
Allow this softness to wash over you.
There's nothing you need to force here.
You only need to let go.
Give yourself a deep breath in through your nose.
Big exhale out your mouth.
It is safe to slow down.
It is safe to let your mind carry you somewhere calm,
Steady,
Peaceful.
Begin to bring into your mind's eye a place that feels really safe,
Warm,
And completely free from any demands.
What is the ground like beneath your feet?
Orienting yourself in this space.
As you look around gently,
What do you see?
Are your surroundings vast and open?
Cozy and secluded.
Are you alone?
Or are there strangers,
Friends or loved ones nearby?
See yourself.
Take a seat.
Or lay down.
This is your safe place to land.
Where you can completely exhale.
Where you can completely let go.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Notice the temperature.
Maybe the warmth of the sun.
Or the fresh gentle breeze.
What sounds do you hear near you?
And far.
Becoming aware of the surface beneath you and how it holds you.
If you were to reach out your hand,
What would you touch?
Allow your imagination to gently take over.
Let yourself fully embody what it feels like to be in your safe place.
There's nowhere to go but here.
There's nothing to prove.
There's nothing to do.
You are allowed to settle and slow down in this space.
If your grounding place could whisper something to you,
What would it say?
What would it remind you?
Allow yourself to linger here and take all the time you need.
Aware of all your senses.
Noticing how your nervous system feels now.
Breath in.
Breath out.
Bringing yourself back into this present moment.
Allowing your visualization to gently drift away.
Still holding the feeling in your heart.
Knowing that you can carry how this place makes you feel within your heart always.
You can live from this feeling of steady energy.
A sense of calm,
Bliss.
Trust.
Complete peace.
Zaina Keithley writes,
In between the beautiful days and the devastating days,
There are miracles disguised as ordinary days.
I hope you cherish those ones the most.
My friend,
You are exactly where you need to be.
May you continue to do what's best for you.
May you continue to rest and turn inward and go to that place that holds you so tenderly.
You are the safest place to land.
Gently wiggling your fingers,
Your toes.
Reawakening the body.
Breath in and let it all go.
From my heart to yours.
What did safety feel like in your body during the visualization?
What did it feel to really embody what your safe place feels like?
Share what you noticed with the community in the forum.
Tomorrow we return to the body for a practice specifically designed for the kind of tiredness that sleep alone cannot reach.
Good luck with the rest of the challenge.
