Welcome,
Thank you for joining me to practice today.
This practice is one of deep relaxation.
It is a practice that we can use whenever we have a few moments to calm the body.
Maybe that's in preparation for sleep or for when we just want a period of deep relaxation to recharge at any point in the day when we have the time.
This type of practice has been studied quite a bit,
And the studies show a variety of benefits for our physiological and mental health,
Like stress reduction and improved heart rate variability,
Fewer insomnia-related issues.
These are just a few of the types of benefits associated with deep relaxation practice.
This type of practice helps guide us into a state where we experience more alpha and theta brainwaves,
And these are the types of brainwaves associated with what we call relaxed consciousness.
So we're very relaxed,
But we're still awake.
We have a calm,
Inward focus,
And they're often associated with increased creativity.
This is very different than deep sleep,
Where we see more delta waves.
So let's get comfortable for this deeply relaxing,
Rejuvenating practice.
I recommend lying down if you have the space.
Just get really comfy.
Make sure you're warm enough.
Maybe a blanket.
Finding your position.
Getting any wiggles out.
Allowing any settling movements that want to occur.
Knowing as we enter this practice that everything offered here is a choice.
If something is uncomfortable,
It's okay to skip it.
Or if the attention wants to linger in a particular area,
Just letting that happen.
You can always join us later or not at all.
This practice is yours,
So make it something that feels good,
Not something you have to power through or suffer through.
Noticing the eyes,
And if they'd like to close,
If closing them feels uncomfortable,
Just allow the gaze to soften,
Get a little fuzzy.
Don't focus on anything in particular.
Gently drawing the attention to the breath,
Wherever it's noticeable in the body.
At the tip of the nostrils,
Maybe at the back of the throat,
Or the chest,
The belly.
Just noticing here that the body is breathing.
Taking a deeper inhale,
And a long,
Slow,
Deep exhale,
Letting it go.
Another deep inhale,
Drawing there in,
Filling the lungs,
And letting it go,
Exhaling long and slow.
Inhale,
Inhale together,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Letting go of the control of the breath,
Letting it return to whatever feels natural,
Whatever the breath wants to be.
Watching it shift as it goes through a few cycles,
Taking a few cycles to reach whatever the natural rhythm is for right now.
Seeing if you can allow it to just be without controlling it.
Drawing the attention to the tip of the nose where the air comes in.
Feeling the whole nose,
The cheekbones softening there.
Feeling the temples and the forehead,
The whole scalp softening.
Feeling the whole head,
The jaw,
The throat,
The neck.
Letting go of any holding and softening there.
Sensing the right shoulder,
Top of the shoulder,
Around the back and the side.
Feeling the right upper arm,
The elbow,
The forearm,
The wrist,
The back of the hand,
The thumb,
The index finger,
The middle finger,
The ring finger,
The pinky finger,
Softening the whole hand.
Feeling the whole palm of the right hand,
The inside of the forearm,
The crook of the elbow,
The biceps,
The armpit,
The front of the right shoulder.
Softening the whole right arm,
Right shoulder,
Letting it be heavy.
Noticing the right side of the chest,
The sternum,
The left side of the chest,
The left shoulder,
The top of the shoulder,
The back,
The side,
Down the left upper arm,
The elbow,
The forearm,
The wrist,
The back of the hand,
The thumb,
The index finger,
The middle finger,
The ring finger,
The pinky finger,
Softening.
Feeling the whole palm of the left hand,
The inside of the forearm,
The crook of the elbow,
The biceps,
The armpit,
The front of the shoulder.
Softening the whole left arm,
Whole left shoulder,
Letting it be heavy.
Feeling the left chest,
The sternum,
The right chest,
The whole upper chest,
Softening there.
The rib cage,
The sides of the torso,
The belly,
Softening the whole abdomen,
Letting go of any holding,
Any tension.
Feeling the front of the pelvis,
Softening the whole pelvis.
Feeling the right front hip,
The right upper thigh,
The quads,
Soften there.
The kneecap,
The shin,
The right ankle,
The top of the foot,
Softening.
The big toe,
The second toe,
The third toe,
The fourth toe,
The baby toe,
The whole sole of the foot,
The heel,
Heavy on the ground,
Softening.
The back of the calf,
The back of the knee,
The back of the upper leg,
The hamstrings,
Soften.
Feeling that right glute,
Heavy on the ground,
Softening there.
Softening the whole pelvis,
Feeling both glutes heavy on the ground.
Feeling the left front hip bone,
The left upper thigh,
Those quads,
Releasing them,
Softening.
The kneecap and the shin,
Down to the left ankle,
Top of the foot,
And soften.
The big toe,
The second toe,
The third toe,
The fourth toe,
The baby toe,
The whole sole of the foot,
The heel,
Heavy on the ground,
Softening.
The back of the calf,
The back of the knee,
The back of the upper leg,
Softening that whole left leg,
Letting it be heavy,
Letting go.
Feeling the left glute,
The whole pelvis,
Heavy,
Letting go of any holding in the pelvis.
Feeling into the lower back,
Softening.
The back of the lower ribs,
The ground beneath you,
Heavy.
The middle back,
The bottoms of both shoulder blades,
The space in between the shoulder blades,
Softening there.
Feeling both shoulders,
The whole back,
The whole spine,
Softening.
Feeling the whole body now,
Allowing the attention to shift to wherever in the body it wants to go.
Let it wander,
Allowing wherever the attention shifts to soften,
Releasing any tension.
Letting each area be heavy,
Allowing the whole body to just relax.
Starting to draw the attention gently back to the tip of the nose,
Noticing as the air comes through the nostrils.
With each inhale,
Bringing air in and out with each exhale.
Visualizing the air coming in the nostrils,
Through the back of the throat,
Down the windpipe,
Filling the lungs,
Filling the belly.
Visualizing that same air coming back up from the belly through the lungs,
Up the windpipe,
Passing by the back of the throat,
Out the nostrils.
Visualizing the next breath coming in the nostrils,
Down the back of the throat,
Through the windpipe,
Filling the lungs,
Filling the belly.
Seeing it exit out the belly,
Through the lungs,
Through the windpipe,
The back of the throat,
Now through the nostrils.
Seeing the air come in down the throat,
Down the windpipe,
Filling the lungs,
Filling the belly.
Exhaling and seeing that air leave the belly,
Leave the lungs empty,
Through the windpipe,
Back of the throat and out the nostrils.
Letting go of the breath.
Letting it settle back to its natural rhythm,
Whatever feels normal and right.
Feeling the whole body heavy,
Soft,
Supported by the surface beneath it.
Noticing wherever the body is touching a surface,
Sensing into that connection.
Feeling the body heavy on those points of connection.
Letting go of any holding anywhere.
Gently allowing the attention to widen.
Starting to sense the space around the body.
Letting the attention become wider,
Taking in the whole room without looking,
Just sensing.
Knowing the whole space.
And feeling the body in that space,
Maybe starting to gently bring some movement back.
Gentle rock of the head slowly back and forth,
Gripping and releasing the fingers and the toes.
Bringing movement to more of the body,
The rolling,
The ankles and the wrists.
Maybe taking a full body stretch or a yawn.
And if you're moving on with your day after this practice and you're not going to sleep,
Curl yourself up onto one side,
Just resting the head on the arm for another moment.
Really savoring these last bits of relaxation.
Maybe noticing here how you feel.
Gently bringing yourself back up to a comfortable seated position if you're moving back into your day.
If the eyes are still closed,
Gently allowing them to reopen,
Refocus the gaze.
Enjoying these last few breaths,
These last moments before transitioning back into the day.
Thank you for joining me for this deep relaxation practice.
I'll see you next time.
