Welcome to this restorative yoga for sleep practice.
My name is Dania and I'm honoured to guide you through this gentle restorative ritual designed to help you unwind,
Release tension and prepare your body and mind for deep restful sleep.
I suggest making your space cosy,
Grab some blankets or pillows and place them beside you.
Let's meet in a seated meditation or if you prefer to experience the meditation lying down,
You may do so.
If you notice restlessness in your body,
Take a moment to gently roll your neck,
Twist from side to side or take any little movements your body is calling for to dissipate some of that energy.
Whether you're sitting or laying down,
Allow your body to settle into stillness now.
Close your eyes gently and turn your awareness inward.
For now,
Your only task is to be at ease.
I invite you to welcome the spaciousness of silence,
To connect with the stillness of this moment.
As you commit to stopping the doing,
You settle into presence and see there is nothing to do as you let go of thinking.
The freer you become to simply observe the arising of pure awareness,
Bring your awareness to your breath and come to sit with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor.
Bring your feet close and wrap your arms around your knees and round forward,
Releasing the weight of your head down if that feels good.
Breathe deeply,
Letting your inhalation fill your upper back and travel across your shoulders.
As you exhale,
Purse your lips and softly release your breath like you're blowing out a candle.
Inhale deeply and imagine you are filling all of the tight spaces with the lightness of your breath and let your exhale be long and soft through pursed lips.
Continue breathing like this for a few rounds.
To move into our restorative pose,
Simply drop your knees to the side where you have placed your bolster or pillows,
Turn your torso in the same direction and slowly lower your belly onto the support for a restorative mermaid pose.
With each nourishing breath,
You are bathing yourself in the life force energy of prana.
As you inhale,
Feel the energy of your breath flowing deep into your body.
As you exhale,
Relax any effort in your shoulders and upper back.
Each breath is a coming home to a body more deeply relaxed and more deeply present,
The all the little muscles and tendons in the upper back unravel,
Back body becoming more spacious,
Trust your own sweet breath to do the work,
Be still,
Breathe,
And really taking your time to very slowly roll up into a seat,
Perhaps looking around the room and allowing the body to acclimatize to being upright or just pause for a moment in stillness to notice what comes up.
Perhaps you can tune into the subtle shift in your nervous system,
Perhaps you can sense the aliveness of you and bring the soles of your feet to the floor and wrap your arms around your knees and fold forward,
Taking five rounds of pursed lip breathing,
A long deep inhale through your nose and a slow exhale like you are blowing through a straw.
And return to the steady rhythm of your natural breath.
Place your props to the other side and let your knees fall and gently twist to rest your belly onto the support below.
Make any adjustments so you feel completely supported and at ease.
Allow the muscles of your arms to soften,
Remembering that nothing is happening,
You don't need to do anything at all.
Just breathe,
Just be present,
A witness to the already happening now of this moment and the aliveness of your body.
Feel the weight of your lower body,
Hips,
Thighs,
Ankles,
Feet.
Whole body effortlessly resting in this shape,
Supported,
At ease.
And slowly make your way back up to sit.
Take your time.
Pausing for a moment once you have come up to sit.
Noticing how your breath has slowed,
Your heart rate steady and calm.
And the sense of ease that now floods your body.
Bring your hands together at your heart.
Take a moment to feel the gratitude radiating from your heart space.
Letting the warm glow of gratitude expand to someone who is supporting you at this time in your life.
And then thank yourself for the generous gift of this time to care for your nervous system.
Thank you for taking this time for yourself today.
Even small moments of stillness create big shifts.
I look forward to sharing more gentle practices to calm the nervous system with you.
Namaste.
