Reclaiming Rest: A Guided Relaxation For Deep Renewal

This deeply soothing relaxation practice is designed to help you reclaim the rest your body and mind crave. Not a traditional Yoga Nidra, this session guides you into a profound state of relaxation, inviting you to release the weight of responsibility and the need to "try." You’ll be gently encouraged to let go, allowing rest to become sacred once again.

Perfect for those feeling worn out from life’s demands, this track offers a healing space to pause, breathe, and restore, leaving you feeling replenished and at peace.

Transcript

Beautiful,

So do your fussing around,

Make sure you've got all the support you need for this pose of Shavasana.

We're going to do a little bit of gentle movement first,

So just have a few extra pops handy when we finish,

So you don't have to get up again,

And we'll just take a few moments to settle in with our nice big sighing breaths,

And as you do this tonight,

Consciously sigh with a smile on your face.

Let's notice how different it feels,

How fun it feels.

That's just such a nice little pattern interrupter,

Just smile.

And I made it to the end of the day,

Yay,

Go me!

And I made it here to this practice for myself.

There's so many things to smile about,

Even if you are having a rough time.

I appreciate this can be challenging,

This practice,

So if it's too much,

Just do whatever you can,

But just find a few positive chemicals,

Swirling around with a nice big sighing smile,

Just another few rounds.

And then slowly start to head into closed mouth,

Nostril breathing.

And we'll take the awareness to your toes,

So have a feel into your toes,

Notice how they're feeling.

Notice any sensation in terms of heat,

Coolness,

Numbness,

Tingling,

Nothing.

Aching,

Pain,

See if you can notice all of it,

Or any of it,

Or none of it.

And then we're going to give the toes a gentle little squeeze in,

And a gentle opening out,

Like a slow flower opening to the sunshine of the day.

And just continue doing this a few times.

See if you can find your breath in,

As you open all your toes out as much as possible,

Not too much strain,

And then a breath out as you squeeze them in.

Three more rounds.

As you relax your toes now,

And thank your toes.

And then move into your ankles,

The soles of your feet,

The tops of your feet.

It's a little bit harder to access a squeeze,

But have a go at squeezing just that part of your body,

The ankles,

The feet.

Leave the toes still,

And leave the cast still as best you can,

And then release.

A squeeze,

And release.

Breathing in as you squeeze the feet,

Breathing out as you release.

A couple more of these.

And relax the feet.

Thank you feet.

And you can embellish that if you want.

Thank you my fabulous feet,

My awesome ankles,

All that you've carried around today.

As we move into our theme of reclaiming rest,

Reclaiming your right,

Your permission to rest without guilt.

And it's a little bit preaching to the Converter,

To all of you here tonight,

Because you all are here,

Because you know how good it is for you,

Which is awesome.

So giving yourself a pat on the back for that.

As you move up to sensing into your calves,

Your shins,

Your lower legs,

See if you can isolate that area,

Starting to squeeze and release.

The knees might get involved,

But see if you can leave them out.

It's a little tricky,

But have a go.

So you're inhaling on the squeeze,

Exhaling on the release.

Thank you calves,

Thank you shins.

Moving up to your knees,

Squeeze and release,

Squeeze and release.

Just a few more here as you thank your wonderful knees,

And all that they do.

Another major joint that does so much to carry you around in your mobility.

And they often get a pretty bad rap from ourselves.

So take these moments to give them some gratitude,

Some love,

Some compassion.

As you move that squeeze up to your thighs,

See if you can isolate the thighs,

Front,

Sides and back,

Inner thighs,

Outer thighs,

Squeeze,

Squeeze,

Squeeze and release.

Nice big breath in as you squeeze,

Exhale,

Release.

Three more of these.

Thank you thighs,

Relax them,

Thank you upper legs,

Thank you quads,

So much power.

And moving into awareness of your pelvis,

Your buttocks,

Lower pelvic floor,

The hip flexors,

The three lower chakras there,

So much,

The hip joints,

The womb space,

So much going on in this part of our sacred bodies.

As you start to gently squeeze through this whole part,

Squeeze through the buttocks,

Clench through the belly and release.

Let's go at your own pace,

Nice and slowly,

Five rounds of inhaling with a squeeze,

Exhaling release.

Activating,

Releasing,

Appreciating,

And resting.

This part of your body,

Allow your pelvis to be cradled by the earth beneath as it starts to sink and release.

Soften and relax,

Thanking this whole area for all that it does and has done,

So much.

As you rise up through the mid torso,

Now try and isolate that area,

The stomach,

The ribs at the side,

The mid back,

Right up to under the chest,

So it's a little more tricky to isolate,

But have a go at squeezing in there and releasing.

Remember to inhale as you squeeze and hold for a bit,

Exhale release with that sighing energy.

And if you feel like throwing another smile in,

Go for it,

If that feels right,

To help elevate your practice,

Bringing in the positive vibes and hormones.

As you release through that middle part and slip up to the upper torso,

So you've got your shoulders,

Your chest,

Your upper back,

The shoulder blades at the back,

The top of the shoulders again,

A lot going on here with your precious heart and lungs as well.

So a nice gentle compassionate squeeze in this part,

Like you're giving yourself a tight hug.

We've all got a friend that gives a really tight hug,

Feel into that for yourself and then relax that area.

And we love those tight hugs,

Inhale as you hug yourself,

Exhale release.

Beautiful,

Do a few more through that chest area.

And then letting go through that area,

Allow it to soften.

Thank you torso,

Thank you all of those organs,

My heart,

My lungs,

My stomach,

All of those organs that do so much every day,

All day even.

Right now as you rest,

They're at work.

Shoulders,

The joints,

The spine,

Just taking a few gentle breaths up and down your spine,

As you visualize this incredible feat of engineering that is your body.

And then we go out to the arms specifically,

So you're going to squeeze through the biceps,

The elbows and the lower arms,

All the way to the wrists,

See if you can isolate that area and release.

Inhale as you squeeze from shoulders to wrists,

And release with an exhale.

Three more.

Beautiful,

Relaxing down those arms,

Letting them rest heavily on the floor.

And then starting to feel into your hands,

Your fingers,

Starburst them in a gentle way,

Not too rigid,

But spread the fingers wide,

And then make soft little fists.

Just like you did with the toes,

Inhale and exhale.

Gently moving through those amazing fingers and hands.

And then relax.

And as we start to move up to the face and commit to stillness with the rest of the body,

If there's something else you'd like to put in,

In terms of props,

Would be a good time now,

But hopefully you're all already settled with blankets and cushions and pillows.

As we start to move into a bit more stillness,

But we're coming up to the neck,

Head and face now.

This is the fun part,

So you can smile again if you like.

As we start to squeeze through the neck again,

This is a little bit challenging,

But feel that grow up behind your head,

Top of the head,

And then all the way into the face,

As we squeeze,

Squeeze,

Squeeze,

Like we're eating a very sour lolly.

And then release,

And when you release,

Have a big old stretch through your face.

Open the mouth,

Take it long ways,

Sideways,

Diagonally,

Lift the eyebrows up,

Take the eyes,

Roll them around under the eyelids,

Relax,

Flare the nostrils,

Then relax.

And we're going to do two more of those.

So let's go with a nice big breath in,

And then start your squeeze of head,

Neck,

Face,

Lips,

Eyes,

Nose.

Hold,

Hold,

Hold,

Squeeze,

Squeeze,

Squeeze.

And release with an exhale,

Stretch,

Open,

Sigh,

Move,

Even if you want to take your head from side to side.

Beautiful,

One more,

So finishing with a nice big breath in,

And start your squeeze,

Neck,

Head,

Face,

Squeeze,

Squeeze,

Squeeze.

And release,

Beautiful,

Lift the eyebrows,

Open the mouth,

Stretch through your whole face,

Your jaw,

Your teeth.

And then let that go,

Giving that thank you and gratitude and energy to your face,

Your head,

Your neck,

Shoulders and arms,

All of these amazing areas of your body,

As you relish in this permission to rest.

Letting yourself arrive here in this pose of Shavasana,

The resting pose.

You deserve this.

There's nothing to fix here,

Nothing to strive for.

Your body can lie heavy,

And the breath can just be easy.

As you begin to feel the support beneath you,

Whatever you're on,

Blanket,

Mat,

Whatever props you have under your body.

Notice the places your body's in contact with the earth beneath.

Maybe your heels,

Parts of your legs,

Your buttocks and hips,

Shoulder blades,

Backs of the arms,

Back of the head.

As you let this support rise up to meet you,

Let the body be held.

Noticing your mind,

If it's still busy,

That's okay,

You're not doing anything wrong,

You're perfectly human.

In fact,

The mind is trained to be alert,

Go through scenarios.

So right now,

We're offering the mind something new,

A possibility of stillness.

As you train gently the mind for your breath,

Don't need to change the breath,

We're just meeting it.

As you observe the gentle rising of the inhale,

And the soft falling of the exhale.

Like a tide,

Like a wave,

And trusting that the breath just knows the way.

You might like to say silently,

I'm allowed to rest.

It's safe to rest.

As you begin to bring your awareness through the body,

Following along with my voice,

The guidance,

Layer by layer.

As you let your forehead be smooth,

And allow the eyes to rest heavily into their socket,

And let the jaw soften.

Allow the tongue to fall away from the roof of the mouth.

Sensing into the neck lengthening,

And your shoulders dropping.

Feel the space under your armpits.

Feel your arms landing heavily on the floor.

Allow the hands to be soft,

And open or cool gently,

There's nothing to grip.

Allowing the chest and belly to move softly with your breath.

No effort,

Just breathing as it is.

Belly rising,

Belly falling.

Notice your pelvis,

The warm space.

Feel it anchored and wide.

Allowing the hips to rest.

Just let them be what they are.

And not held,

Not pushed,

Just dropped.

No need to carry anything right now.

As you feel your legs stretching away from you,

Long and supported.

Let the weight of your thighs,

Knees,

Calves,

And heels sink down.

Nothing to hold up,

Nothing to do.

And now shift your awareness to the back of the body.

Back of the head,

Shoulder blades,

The whole spine,

From bottom to top.

Top to bottom.

Back of the pelvis,

Buttocks,

Backs of the legs,

And heels.

This part of you is held.

Let it widen,

Let it soften.

And as you rest here,

Begin to imagine a quiet,

Natural place.

Maybe a forest,

Or a sun-warmed patch of earth,

Grass,

Or a quiet spot by a lake.

Just whatever feels right for you.

Under a tree.

You're lying in this place completely safe.

The air is soft,

There's nothing loud or harsh.

The world has stepped back,

And time has slowed.

Stay connected to the flow of your breath.

Aware of your softening body.

You are not asleep,

But you're not fully awake either.

You're drifting.

In that liminal space where healing happens,

Where your body knows what to do.

The nervous system begins to whisper,

You're safe,

You can let go now.

And now tune in with the breath as a gentle wave.

Rolling in with your inhale,

And retreating out with your exhale.

Rolling in with your inhale,

Retreating out with your exhale.

Let this wave move through the body.

The wave comes into the chest,

And the exhale is a release.

The next inhale waves into the belly.

Exhale softens.

Inhale into the pelvis.

Exhale grounding.

Let the whole body follow this wave.

Like a shoreline softening into stillness.

Let this rhythm continue,

Slow and soft,

Wave by wave,

Breath by breath.

Hang with the waving rhythm as you repeat inwardly,

I don't have to try.

I don't have to hold at all.

I am allowed to rest.

My rest is sacred.

My rest is sacred.

My rest is sacred.

Let these words settle into your body,

Like seeds finding soil.

You might feel warmth or space,

Or simply stillness.

Whatever is there is welcome.

Staying here,

Held in this quiet,

Where there's no rush,

No pressure,

Just being.

Allowing this rest to wash over you.

Body,

Mind,

That breath.

And then starting to bring a light effort deep down in your belly.

A slow,

Soft breath,

As you gently awaken with pranayama.

Deep in the belly.

Bringing that awareness and effort with the breath up into the heart space.

And as you gently expand and soften in and out of the heart space.

Feeling into a full body breath with a gentle awakening.

From your deep rest,

Bringing this breath out to the whole body.

Helping the wave with a soft effort,

In and out.

Gently starting to awaken from the practice of complete stillness.

Keep it super slow and gentle,

As your breath arrives to your fingertips and toes.

And you start with a little bit of movement.

And if you're lying back with a bolster under your legs,

See if you can slowly move your legs to be on top of the bolster.

So your feet sit on top of the bolster or the cushion.

Or if you don't have any props there,

Your feet will just go straight on the floor.

Nice.

Have your feet about hip width apart.

As you start a really gentle movement from side to side with your knees.

To awaken a little bit of a gentle spinal twist.

Form some nice nourishing movement through the pelvis.

And then coming back to the middle and if you can,

Gracefully move that bolster off your mat with your feet.

So we've now all got the feet on the mat.

And slowly and gently closing your practice in your own way as you awaken.

Either coming up to sitting or taking a little bit more time lying down,

You choose.

And making your way into the rest of your day or evening.

Hari Om Tat Sat