Restorative Yoga Meditation Practice - Receive & Allow

What if, for a few minutes, you didn't have to hold everything together? This deeply restful guided meditation invites you to step out of doing, striving, and managing - and into the experience of simply being supported.
You don't need to make yourself relax. You don't need to release anything. You don't need to fix, understand, or accomplish anything.
Instead, you'll be guided to soften your grip, settle your nervous system, and notice what happens when you permit yourself to receive.
Let yourself be held. Let the breath arrive and leave. Let your body remember that rest doesn't have to be earned.
You don't have to hold it all.
Note: Play your own background track or add ambient sounds directly in the app.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this restorative practice. I invite you to get really comfortable. So you could be lying down on a yoga mat or your bed. In a way that's very supportive. If you're on a mat, I invite you to grab a couple of blankets, Maybe a couple of firm pillows or blocks. And create yourself a little nest so that you can fully soften. And melt into your mat. You can pause this until you're ready. And if you have a weighted blanket or a weighted stuffed animal or sandbag, Keep that close by too. I'm Tamara. I'm a Reiki master, Teacher, And yoga teacher, Among other things. And today, There is no goal. Today. The Invitation. Is to stop. And allow. Being to occur. So as you get settled into this comfortable, Supported place, You might take that weighted object over your belly. You could put your calves or knees over top a pillow or a few blocks. And you might rest a blanket rolled up underneath your shoulder blades so that your arms can rest completely on the surface below you. Shoulders and heart open. Head falls back ever so gently. Throat. Opens softly. Take a moment to take a few gentle breaths and scan the body, Noticing if there's any tension that's been created by the props or the surface that you're lying upon. And make adjustments necessary to get 10 or 20 or even 50% more comfortable. Once you've settled in. Will begin a more conscious scan of the body. First, A few breaths. Take one full deep breath through the nose, Filling belly, Ribs. Chest feeling yourself lift and open as you fill, Fill, Fill on the inhale and then open your mouth and sigh it out. Be willing to make a little noise as you inhale once more. All the way, Filling up. Pausing at the top for a beat or two. And then opening that mouth and sighing it all out. Maybe your sigh is a little bit more vocal, A little more throaty. Fully releasing whatever it is you've been carrying or holding. Now is your time to set it all down. And as you let your breath return to a more natural rhythm, Though still deeper. And longer. Breathing in and out of the nose, Filling belly, Ribs, Heart space, Throat, And then releasing it all back down. Squeezing out every last bit of air, But without effort. See if you can soften. Setting it down Breathing in. Not trying to accomplish a deep breath. Or achieve anything. Simply allowing the inhale to arrive. The exhale to leave the body. Slowly. Gently. Now with your eyes closed, If that feels safe, Or the gaze soft. And a little. Unfocused. Notice the top of your head. Notice any tension in the forehead. The eyes or the cheeks. Inhale to notice. Exhale to release. Observe the jaw. The placement of your tongue in your mouth. Your teeth, Are they clenched together or softly falling apart? Inhale to observe. Exhale to soften and release. Notice the neck. And the shoulders. Is there tension or is it already soft? Inhale to notice. Exhale. Relax. Soften. Release. Coming down into the shoulders and the arms. Notice your elbows. Breathe into those spaces of tension. Exhale to let go and get loose. Notice your wrists, Hands, And fingers. These areas where tension may collect. And we may hold it without even being conscious of it. But now we consciously. Inhale to observe. Exhale to soften. You may notice an overall softening of the body by this point. And if not? If you're not feeling like it. Gravity. And that surface beneath you is supporting you. What do you need? A slight shift in position. Another pillow under the low back. What can you do? To support yourself. In this active rest. Inhale to notice. Exhale to release. Observe the belly and the back. The glutes. Your thighs, And needs. Inhaling. . . With objective observation, No judgment. There's no right or wrong way to feel. Exhale. Consciously soften. All the way down the shins, The calves. Ankles and feet. Now inhale, Imagining you're filling the very tips of your toes with breath. All the way up the legs. Belly. Ribs and chest. Into the throat. Pause at the top and let all that energy that is not here, Not now, Gather in this moment. And then another sigh out the mouth. Notice how naturally the next inhale occurs. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to try to breathe. Is simply allow. Nothing to accomplish. Nothing to achieve. Notice. What happens in your body when it realizes it doesn't have to work. Or try to support itself. Here you are. In the doing of nothing but breathing and softening. Stepping into being. If you'd like, You can stay right here in this pose. If you're feeling a desire to move. I encourage you to change positions and a couple of options. Would be to simply roll right over. Into a child's pose, Bringing any of the pillows or blankets that you have nearby right underneath the torso. Spread the knees a little bit wider than the hips. The toes may come closer together, But in a restorative child's pose, They don't need to meet. Inhale to open that heart, Lengthening the spine, And then exhale. Exhale to come on down. Arms could either reach out in front of you. Or if it feels better. You could bring them alongside the body, Palms up or down, Whatever feels comfortable. And know that you don't have to move at all. The next few minutes, I'll be quiet. And the only job you have is to simply receive. You don't have to make yourself relax or force anything. To let go. See what happens when you. Simply create the conditions for your body. To soften. If your mind has gotten busy. Telling you things that you should do. That are more important than this rest. Anchor the mind to the breath. Following the breath with your mind's eye all the way up. And all the way down. You might even imagine. A light. Trailing up from the lowest part of your belly. All the way up until the breath's end. And following it all the way back down. Take a few more breaths right where you're at. Permission to stay. Or After a few more exhales, You might begin to transition again to another yoga restorative. Pose. If you're in child's pose. You can gently press up on your inhale and come back to your back. Inhaling to stretch long fingertips and toes reaching in opposite directions. Exhale to hug the knees in. And now take one of those pillows or blankets and place it gently between the knees as you let your knees fall over to the right. You could come into a fetal pose. Shoulder above shoulder, Head resting on another pillow. And you could stay there or. . . After a few moments and another breath or two. You could inhale to open the arms out to a T. Creating a gentle twist. Allowing the left hand to rest on a surface so that this is not intense. If there's intensity, If there's a deep stretch, Back off a little. The practice here is in doing that. And allowing instead of trying. Let yourself open if that feels good, If you've moved, And if you'd stayed right where you are. And write. Where you want to be, Get to be. So often we think strength means that we have to hold ourselves together. But another kind of strength. Is softening. Having the strength to slow down. And soften. When you've created the conditions of safety that allow you to do so. Inhale to notice any areas of tension that have crept in and exhale to soften. Inhale, Anchoring mind to breath. Breath to body. Notice forehead. JAW. Neck and shoulders. And hips, Back. Softening any areas of tension that you discover along the way. Breathing in. Breathing now. Exhales take you gently deeper as you soften in. Melting into your mat. Or your bed. If the breath grows shallow, Lengthen it again. And take three conscious breaths. Really filling up with air. And feeling the softening of every part of you on the exhale. Letting inhale expand you ever so gently. And the exhale drop you in a little bit deeper. One more just like that. If it feels good to sigh it out here, Go ahead. And then if you've taken a twist. Ever so slowly. And ever so gently. Begin to take it to the other side. Maybe passing through center with a stretch. Or a little rocking of the hips side to side. And if you've stayed. Right to where you've been since the beginning. Three cheers for you, War. Excelling in the practice of resting. Being. Not trying to do a single thing. Be there. Be here. Right now. And if you're beginning to move to the other side, Notice how it might feel to Bring a blanket behind the back for a little more support. And check in if fetal pose is what you're aching for or If on an inhale, You want to open up that right arm. Again, Being certain to plant the top of the hand on. A surface. Not letting it float. In the air. And then again. Check in with the breath. Observe any areas where tension or doing might have crept in. And release them with the breath. Inhale to notice and expand. Exhale to soften. And release. Set down any expectations. And notice if there's any part of you trying to do. Meditation or restorative yoga. Correct. Or to be the best relaxer, The best meditator. You can set that down too. Let it go. Right along with your exhale. Take three more breaths. Full inhales. Long, Slow, Full exhales. Right where you're at. If you are still in that opening pose. Take a quick scan to notice if there's anything you want to shift and change for the next few minutes. An adjustment of a pillow. Or a stretch, And then bringing a blanket over top of you. If you've moved into a twist or fetal position, Come back to center and take that stretch on your inhale. On your exhale, Let everything soften back to center and add any props that you want right now. Pillow under the knees or on top of the belly. Maybe something under the shoulders to open them up. And let the neck and throat open. Take five breaths, Making any adjustments that feel good to you. That your body is asking for. Once you land in this final pose, Notice the body. Notice the breath. Inhale to observe. Exhale to let go and soften. If the eyes have opened, Allow them to close or soften. A reminder that. For the next few minutes, You don't need to change anything. You don't need to release. Anything. You don't need to understand. Anything. Your job is simply to breathe. And be. Noticing what it feels like to be supported. To be held. How the body has its own wisdom. Around softening. It knows how when you create the conditions to allow it. The nervous system knows how to soften and regulate. Sometimes we don't need to make them. Letting go happen. I just need to. Stop holding on. So tightly. Fill the body with breath. And sigh it out. Softening. And lacing. Restore. Allow your breath. To be the first movement back into your body. Feel it fill. Toes, Knees. Valley. Ribs and chest. Shoulders and throat. And then slide yourself back to life. Before you move. Fingers or toes. Or eyelids. Notice how it feels. To be supported. Notice how it feels to allow the breath to simply move. Within you. Notice what happens when you move from a place of being supported instead of from a place. Where you have to hold yourself together. Feels good. Maybe from here you stay. And drift off to sleep. And maybe you're ready to move back into your day. Whichever direction you are headed. If you're still awake. Bring your hands to your heart and give yourself a moment of gratitude. Some love, Appreciation. Thank yourself for giving you this time. This practice of rest. It isn't always easy. It is a necessary part. Of being human. Thank you for taking care of yourself. See you next time.