A very warm welcome to this guided non-sleep deep rest exercise,
Also known as NSDR.
It's a really powerful tool that teaches you to deliberately turn off your thinking and calm your nervous system.
Also to a certain extent it can help you to catch up on some rest if you haven't slept well.
So when you're ready,
Finding a comfortable space to sit or lie down,
And just making sure that you're nice and warm and that your whole body feels supported and at ease.
And you can pause the recording if you need time to get set up.
And as you start to settle in,
Just beginning to allow your body to sink into the support beneath you.
Noticing the points of contact between your body and whatever you're sitting or lying upon.
And maybe just experimenting with what it's like to give up the weight of your body to gravity.
So to really let the surface beneath you fully take your weight.
And if it feels right for you,
Just gently closing your eyes,
Allowing the external world to softly fade away.
Allowing your jaw to relax,
Letting your shoulders drop down away from the ears,
Relaxing your belly,
And letting go of any gripping in the hands.
And as you rest here,
We'll take a gentle journey through the body.
You don't need to do anything,
No effort is required.
Simply allowing your awareness to travel to each part of the body as it is mentioned.
And let's begin by slowly becoming aware of your mouth,
The feel of your tongue in your mouth.
Feeling the entire tongue from the tip to where it anchors in your mouth,
The hollow in the middle of the tongue,
Feeling your teeth and your gums,
The roof of the mouth,
The inside of the right cheek,
And the left cheek,
And the lips.
Becoming aware of the skin on your face,
The gentle touch of air,
And the nose.
Feeling the right eye,
The entire right eye,
Warm and filled with sensation.
The entire left eye,
Filled with light and sensation,
And all of the tiny muscles behind the eye,
Softening and relaxing.
Feeling the whole forehead,
The entire scalp,
Both ears,
Both ears listening,
Attention gently moving down to the throat,
The centre of the chest,
The right shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist,
The palm of the right hand,
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
And the little finger,
And back to the centre of the chest,
And the left shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the hand,
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
And fifth finger,
Centre of the chest.
Feeling the gentle rise and fall of the diaphragm,
And the navel,
And the pubic bone,
Allowing your awareness to envelop the right hip,
Thigh,
The right knee,
Lower leg,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
And the right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the little toe,
Shifting gently to the left hip,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the little toe.
Awareness spreading through the body,
The whole right side of the body filled with sensation,
The right side of the body soaked with awareness,
And the left side of the body,
The whole left side filled with sensation,
Warmth,
Energy,
And now the whole body,
Both sides of the body together,
The whole body filled with awareness and sensation,
The whole body yet awake at the same time,
Taking time to savour this state of deep rest,
To take in the benefits to your nervous system,
Just enjoying this space where you don't need to do anything,
It's enough just to be here,
And then gradually now just beginning to deepen your awareness of the room around you,
Feeling the surface beneath you,
The sound in the building or outside,
The light filtering in through your eyelids,
And when you feel ready,
Maybe gently beginning to move your fingers and your toes,
Slowly allowing movement to return to your body,
In whatever way feels natural to you,
You might take a yawn or a full body stretch,
Like you're waking up first thing in the morning and just taking your time,
There's no rush,
But when you're ready,
Just gently opening your eyes,
Reconnecting with your surroundings,
And noticing the quality of light,
And as you transition back into your life,
Perhaps setting an intention to go more slowly for the rest of the day,
But for now thank you so much for joining me for this non-sleep deep rest exercise today,
And i wish you all the best,
Thank you.
