Sleep Recovery Practice: Relax
Busy mind? Can't "turn it off"? Need to return to sleep but struggle? Be constructive about your rest and train your body and mind to relax through this guided Sleep Recovery Practice. Set yourself to be comfortable, in a cool, quiet, dark space. Ideally lay on your back, palms face up (correction on the audio suggestion palms down, the intention is palms face up for optimal alignment in this resting supine position), cover your body with a blanket, close your eyes and listen. Relax and enjoy!
Transcript
Welcome to your sleep recovery practice.
Shake off the day and anything that preceded this moment.
Let it go and lie down on your back.
Body stretched along.
Let your feet flop out to the side.
Be natural with your breath.
Simply empty out your thoughts of everything that has occurred in this day.
Notice how your breath comes in and out of your nasal passages.
On your exhale,
Visualize all of the day flowing out of you.
The things of the past have already happened.
They have gone.
Accept that.
Your to-dos will still be waiting for you tomorrow,
So there's no need to concern yourself with the future.
Dedicate this time,
This moment,
For you.
Take a deep breath in,
And as you exhale,
Notice your cares and worries flow out of you.
The only thing needed for this practice is listening.
If thoughts arise,
That's natural.
All you need to do is return and listen to my voice.
Follow along.
As we begin,
Scan your body.
Notice your body from head to toe.
Make any adjustments needed to be as comfortable as possible,
As there's no movement in this practice,
Just stillness.
So as you find yourself in a comfortable position,
Lying down,
Feet flopped to the side,
Palms face down,
Take a deep breath in,
Repeat,
I am practicing deep relaxation.
Mentally repeat,
I am practicing deep relaxation.
Give yourself some time to become calm and steady.
Take a deep breath,
And as you breathe in,
Feel calmness spreading throughout the body.
And as you are breathing out,
Say mentally to yourself,
Relax.
Become aware of sounds in the distance.
Let your sense of hearing operate like a radar beam,
Searching out distant sounds and following them for a few seconds.
Move your attention from sound to sound without attempting to identify the source.
Simply bring your attention to closer sounds,
To sounds outside this building,
Then to sounds inside this building.
Now develop your awareness of this room.
Without opening your eyes,
Visualize the four walls,
Ceiling,
The floor,
Your body lying on the floor or bed.
See your body lying down,
Stretched along.
Become aware of the existence of your physical body lying down.
Feel awareness of your body lying in perfect stillness.
Become aware of the natural breath.
Become aware of the deep,
Natural,
Spontaneous breath.
But do not concentrate too intensely,
For this will interfere with the natural relaxation.
Just notice.
Continue listening,
Knowing that you are breathing.
This relaxation practice begins now.
Say mentally to yourself,
I'm going to deeply relax.
I will remain aware.
Remain aware.
Do not become lost in any thoughts.
Remain still.
Now I will quickly take you through the different parts of your physical body and you will visualize them and repeat their names mentally as I say them.
Start from the right side,
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth.
All right,
Five fingers together.
Feel sensation in your right hand,
Right palm.
Feel the sensation.
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Waist,
Hip,
Buttock,
Thigh,
Hamstring,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
Fifth.
All five toes together,
Visualize all your right toes together.
Go to the left part of your physical body.
Start with the thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth.
All five left fingers together,
Feel the sensation in the left palm.
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Waist,
Hip,
Buttock,
Hamstring,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole.
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
Fifth,
All five toes together.
Make yourself aware to travel alternately from the right to the left side of the body,
From the toes up to the top of your head.
Start from the right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
Fifth,
All right five toes together.
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
Fifth,
All five left toes together.
Right sole,
Left sole,
Both soles,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Both heels,
Right ankle,
Left ankle,
Both ankles,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Both calves.
Right knee,
Left knee,
Both knees,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Both thighs,
Right hamstring,
Left hamstring,
Both hamstrings.
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Both buttocks,
Right hip,
Left hip,
Waist,
Lower part of the abdomen,
Upper part of the abdomen,
The whole abdomen,
Navel,
Stomach,
Right side,
Left side.
Right chest,
Left chest,
Center of the chest,
Depression of the chest,
The whole chest,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Right armpit,
Left armpit,
Right arm,
Left arm,
Right elbow,
Left elbow,
Right forearm,
Left forearm,
Right wrist,
Left wrist,
Right palm,
Back of the hand,
Left palm,
Back of the hand.
Right thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
All five fingers together.
Left thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
All five fingers together.
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Center of the collarbones,
Depression of the neck,
Back of the neck,
Whole neck.
Chin,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
Both lips,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Both cheeks,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Both ears,
All the teeth,
Tongue,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Nose tip,
Root of the nose,
Whole nose,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Both eyebrows,
Eyebrow center,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Forehead,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Whole face,
Whole head.
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Center of the shoulder blades,
Upper back,
Center of the back,
Lower back,
Right side of the back,
Left side of the back,
Whole spinal cord.
From the base of the spine,
Visualize the whole spine.
Not only the external bony vertebra,
But the delicate internal spinal cord as well.
Visualize the whole spinal column like a rod,
A corrugated rod,
Lying on the floor.
It is like a chain made out of rings of a living bone,
Which have been laid out in a straight line on the floor.
Bring your attention to the natural quiet breath.
Become aware of the breath through the nostrils.
The natural breath flows through both nostrils and meets at the top of the nose to form a triangle.
The spontaneous breath enters through the nostril openings,
Moves upwards,
And draws together to form a triangle with its apex in the center of the eyebrow.
Become aware of the breath passing through both nostrils.
Become aware of both breaths separately and simultaneously.
Imagine the breaths starting separately from a distance,
Drawing near,
Breathing up through both nostrils,
And uniting in the eyebrow center.
Now concentrate on each breath and try to determine its temperature.
Move back and forth and compare the temperatures.
The left side breath is cooler,
The right side breath is warmer.
Continue your awareness of breathing and imagine now that you are breathing through alternate nostrils,
In through one,
Out through the other,
Up and down the sides of the triangle,
And back again.
Maintain your awareness and start counting each breath with full attention.
Inhale left,
54.
Exhale right,
54.
Inhale right,
53.
Exhale left,
53.
And so on.
Continue counting and breathing until you arrive to zero.
Maintain your awareness and start counting each breath with full attention.
Inhale right,
54.
Exhale left,
53.
Inhale left,
54.
Exhale left,
53.
Total awareness of counting and breathing.
If you make a mistake or reach zero,
Start again from 54.
Inhale left,
54.
Exhale left,
53.
Inhale left,
54.
Exhale left,
53.
Inhale left,
54.
Exhale left,
53.
Inhale left,
54.
Stop your counting and remain aware of only the breath.
Breathing evenly through both nostrils.
Total awareness.
Remain aware.
Breathing.
Remain aware of your slow,
Elongated breathing.
Withdraw your mind and concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyes.
Imagine before you a transparent screen through which you can see infinite space.
A space that extends as far as the eyes can see.
Concentrate on this dark space.
Become aware of any phenomena that manifests within it.
Just become aware.
Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.
Continue your awareness of this space,
But do not become involved.
Practice detached awareness.
Now draw your attention down the spine into your heart center.
Simply observe the rhythm of the heartbeat in your chest.
Notice your heart.
Feel it effortlessly beat as it pumps blood through your circulatory system.
Feel the good work of your heart.
Breathe into your heart as it expands and contracts to your inhale and your exhale.
Bring your whole awareness into the belly.
Notice your navel rise and fall effortlessly with the breath.
Continue lowering your awareness down to the sacrum,
The base of your spine.
An area associated with feeling grounded.
Secure.
Follow your breath.
Come back to your awareness of your physical body.
Lying down.
Breathing.
We're lying down in this room.
Stretch your arms long above your head as if you were waking up from a deep meditation.
Breathe in deep into the belly.
Bring fresh energy into the whole body.
Wiggle your toes.
Wiggle your fingers.
And when you feel ready,
Roll onto one side.
Using your arms to help press you up into a seated position,
Take your time in doing so.
No need to rush.
Slowly sit up.
This practice is now complete.
You may gently open your eyes and move on with your day.
4.6 (146)
Recent Reviews
Rebekah
April 14, 2021
If you do shift work and you've missed out on some sleep, this is a great way at catching your body up on some much needed rest!
Gail
August 28, 2020
Asleep before it finished. Thank you