Welcome to Day 10 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.
A very warm welcome to the final day of this burnout and exhaustion challenge here on Insight Timer.
My name is Neil Tranter and I'm your guide for today.
Over the past nine days you've experienced a range of approaches to help you rest,
Reset and come back to yourself.
You've spent time arriving in the body and listening to the signals of exhaustion.
You've worked with the breath.
Sense your own limits.
And met yourself with a little more kindness.
And along the way,
You've been invited to step back from busy thoughts,
Reconnect with small moments of ease and allow the body and nervous system to rest.
Today we close in the body with a gentle guided muscle relaxation.
We'll move gradually through the body,
Bringing attention to each area.
And in this session,
The intention is slightly different from simply noticing the body.
Rather,
We'll gently invite each area to soften,
Relax and release.
This kind of relaxation has been a core part of my own personal recovery from burnout.
It's helped me to release years of stored tension and bring my nervous system back towards balance.
And now I'm really excited to share this technique with all of you on Insight Timer.
So let's begin.
Getting yourself nice and comfortable.
And you can do this either seated or lying down.
Just taking your time to get settled checking if you need to make any small adjustments for your comfort maybe grabbing a pillow or a blanket Gently allowing the mouth to close if that feels comfortable.
And we begin just by pausing.
Taking some time to slow down.
To drop down into body speed.
And as you rest here your body is already beginning to relax The weight of the body is just beginning to sink down into the surface beneath you.
So it's just a sense of letting go.
Just giving up the weight of the body to gravity.
Just letting the whole body go floppy.
And as the body becomes heavier,
All of the muscles in the face are just slowly beginning to release and soften and let go.
The cheek muscles.
The jaw and the tongue.
Nothing that you need to do,
No need to tense and release.
Just allowing the body to relax in its own time.
To the whole of the lower half of the face,
Gradually becoming loose and slack.
Muscles down the sides of the neck.
Beginning to lengthen.
And open up.
There's a softening through the front of the throat as the tops of the shoulders just gradually begin to drop down away from the ears.
And the arms and the hands become heavier.
Might notice if there's any sense of holding or clenching in the hands and just inviting the fingers to begin to uncurl.
So it's just a sense of letting go,
Putting down whatever we've been holding on to.
And as the arms become heavier,
The tops of the shoulders continue to soften.
Opening across the collarbones.
As the muscles across the front of the chest begin to soften.
And the belly is relaxing.
Belly becoming nice and relaxed.
Soft like jelly.
And as we come down to the pelvis,
This can be a place where many of us hold or clench or brace.
Can just invite the buttocks to begin to soften down into the surface beneath us.
Allowing the upper legs to begin to unclench.
Allowing the pelvic floor to begin to release.
The whole of the pelvis is just slowly melting downwards,
Releasing and softening.
The upper legs begin to release.
And there's a sense of letting go in the knees.
A sense of release.
And as the calves begin to melt downwards.
.
.
There's a sense of lengthening in the lower legs.
And a softening in the ankles,
The feet,
And the toes.
So the whole body is just slowly beginning to relax.
The arms and hands are relaxing.
The legs and the feet.
Relaxing.
Whole body.
Relaxing.
And as you sit or lie here.
Just really soaking up any sensations of ease or wellbeing in the body.
Taking in the good.
And as we begin to bring this relaxation to a close,
Perhaps taking a moment to notice how your body feels right now.
And how that may or may not be different to how you felt 10 days ago.
These approaches are not exclusive to a challenge.
The breath you worked with on day three is available at your desk or while you commute.
The self-compassion from day five is available any time self-criticism shows up.
And the boundary sensing from day four is available whenever a yes is forming in your mouth,
But your body is signaling something different.
Burnout recovery often happens slowly.
And in the spaces between effort.
It isn't something we can force or rush.
Is something the body gradually learns through repeated moments of rest and safety.
I wonder,
What are you choosing to carry forward from these 10 days?
If it feels right,
Perhaps sharing your reflection with the community in the forum.
Thank you so much for being part of this challenge,
And we wish you all the best.
