NSDR is non-sleep deep rest and it's a simple guided meditation intended to get you into a state of rest and to reset your nervous system.
So all you'll need to do is either sit down or lay down and listen along.
Coming into a comfortable seat or laying flat on your back,
Just make sure that your spine is supported and also that your neck is supported.
Giving yourself a moment to settle here.
And perhaps you're able to come into stillness right away.
You might also take a moment just to shrug those shoulders or maybe stretch out your neck.
Any little wiggles that you need to get out before you can become still.
And we'll begin with some intentional breath work.
When you breathe with a long exhale,
That signals your nervous system to slow down.
It starts to activate that relaxation response.
So the breath I'll invite you to try is an inhale through the nose and an exhale through the mouth like you're blowing through a straw.
Let's give that a try.
Inhaling through the nose and blow out through a straw.
And if you'd like to add a count to that,
We could try inhaling for four and exhaling blowing out through that straw for six.
So in.
And out.
In.
And out.
In.
And out.
We'll take one more in through the nose.
And blowing it out through your straw.
Getting all of that air out.
And letting the natural rhythm of your breath return.
Taking an easy breath,
Maybe that's in and out through the nose,
Or it might be in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And closing down the eyes if you haven't done that already.
Bringing a gentle focus to the point between your eyebrows.
And I'd like you to imagine your body just as it is in this moment.
Whether you're laying down or sitting down,
Visualizing your own body and imagining yourself as an observer above.
And as that observer,
Bringing a spotlight,
So shining a circle of light to encompass your whole body.
And letting this light guide your attention as if you could turn down the sensations from the environment around you and just focus on yourself in that center,
That spotlight of light.
Drawing your focus back to your body.
Now imagine that spotlight getting smaller and smaller and smaller until it's just a little dot of light.
And we'll shine that dot around the body,
Noticing the sensations present for us,
Beginning at the soles of the feet.
So imagine shining that light at the soles of the feet.
And noticing the sensation.
What are your feet touching?
Socks,
Shoes,
Air.
And then shining that spotlight on the knees.
Noticing any sensation here.
And shining that spotlight up to the hips,
Feeling the hip joints and the back of the hips and the bum.
And bringing that spotlight to the belly.
And as you sense into the belly,
You might even feel the movement of your breath.
And bringing that spotlight up to the center of the chest.
Again feeling that movement of breath in and out.
Just sensing the rhythm of your own heartbeat.
And then bringing that spotlight to the shoulders,
And to the elbows,
And to the palms of the hands.
Bringing that spotlight to the back of the body,
The tailbone.
Gliding that light up the spine,
Sensing into the whole length of your back.
The back of the head.
The top of the head.
Now imagine that spotlight getting larger again,
Covering the whole head.
And that spotlight gets larger again to cover the head,
The arms,
The chest.
And making that light even bigger,
Covering the head,
Arms,
Chest,
Lower abdomen,
Hips and legs,
And feet.
Did you sense your whole body all together as one unified field of sensation?
Your whole body.
And imagining your body becoming a little bit heavier,
Sinking down into the surface that supports you.
And I'd like you to count the rhythm of your breath,
Counting from 10 down to 1.
And with each breath,
Feel like you're sinking deeper and deeper into the support beneath you.
Inhale 10.
Exhale 10.
Inhale 9.
Exhale 9.
Continuing at your own pace,
Sinking back into the support beneath you.
Letting your body soften.
Letting your mind soften.
And we'll bring back that breath from the start,
Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through pursed lips as though you're blowing through a straw.
We'll take five rounds here.
In and blow out the air.
In and blowing it out.
Two more breaths.
Seeing if you could inhale a little more deeply.
You might even bring two sips of air in.
And one more.
And if you have time to continue resting,
You're welcome to stay here as long as you need.
And if you're ready to end the practice with me,
I invite you to bring some movement back in the fingers and toes,
Giving them a little stretch and scrunch,
Or perhaps rotating ankles,
Rotating wrists.
And if you're laying down,
You can roll to one side.
Then press yourself up to a seat.
And we'll close our short practice today.
Thank you for joining today's NSDR Coffee Break.
