Hello everyone and welcome to this evening down regulation practice where we'll be working towards bringing both the mind and the body into a state of lovely rest and relaxation at the end of your day.
So you can do this practice seated or lying down depending on whether you want to transition straight into a restful sleep or not but wherever you find yourself just make sure you're really nice and comfortable and your whole body is supported.
And then whenever you're ready you can allow your eyes to close down.
And really giving yourself a moment,
A little space,
A little time to transition into this evening practice and leave the day behind you.
So seeing what comes naturally and intuitively to you and your body as you make this transition.
Maybe it's a big sighing breath,
Maybe it's a stretch,
Maybe just a release in some way.
No right,
No wrong,
Just an exploration of how your unique body begins to come into a place of rest and beginning to notice where your body is being supported by whatever is underneath you.
Noticing those points of contact.
Maybe the back of the head,
Maybe the back of your body,
Maybe it's your legs,
Just noticing those points of contact.
And noticing how it feels in your body in this moment to now have that support beneath you.
Almost that sense that you no longer have to hold on,
You no longer have to hold yourself.
You can just release your body into that support,
Just allowing it to become a little heavier,
A little softer.
Almost like the support beneath you can take the weight of your day away.
That sense that with every exhale you can release a little more into the ground,
Release a little more tension,
Release a few more thoughts and worries,
Releasing whatever you want to leave behind today.
And as you focus on that release and being grounded and supported on your exhale,
You may already notice that your exhales are beginning to slow down as you relax.
That out breath becoming a little longer,
A little softer.
I just want you to really lean into that,
Enjoying the feeling of the flow of air in and out of your body and finding anything soothing in that.
And when we move into this place of relaxation and we extend our exhale,
We're really encouraging our nervous system to move into this lovely rest and digest state,
Healing state.
And we're going to build on that now with a breath pattern.
So just continue to breathe in through your nose naturally as you are.
But now on the exhale,
I want you to breathe out through your mouth as if you're breathing out through a straw with pursed lips,
Allowing that exhale to be really slow and long,
Almost as if you were telling someone to be quiet.
So a normal,
Natural breath in through the nose and then out very slowly through the mouth,
Breathing in through the nose and then out super slowly with pursed lips,
Making that kind of ocean,
That noise as you exhale.
You can make that exhale as long as is accessible for you.
So just take some moments now to flow through this at your own pace,
Your own rhythm,
Noticing the sinking feeling on the exhale,
Noticing the soothing sound,
Noticing the grounding.
If your mind wanders,
Know that's totally normal.
Just gently bring it back to the feeling of your breath,
The feeling of that support beneath you and the sound of your long,
Slow exhale.
And then just do two more breaths like this,
In through the nose and slowly out through the mouth with pursed lips.
And then at the end of your next breath,
Just allowing your focus for a moment just to release from the breath,
To let it return to its natural rhythm,
Let it do its thing.
Just pause,
Notice how you feel,
Noticing maybe any shift in the speed of your mind or the speed of your body and the sensation.
And using this little space and this time of reflection to think about something that you're really proud of from today.
And so often when we reflect on this,
We're naturally drawn to things that maybe we did or achieved or accomplished.
I just want to encourage you maybe to broaden that horizon,
To maybe think about how you might be proud of how you interacted with yourself,
How you cared for yourself,
Your needs,
And maybe how calmly or compassionately you responded in a situation,
Really an opportunity to build those neuropathways of self-compassion,
Of care,
Of support for ourselves,
Of recognizing as hard as today might have been,
We did our best and we have moments,
Even if they're only moments,
That we can be really proud of and really feeling that in your body.
So whether it's a hand on your heart or another part of your body,
Just integrating and adding that little bit of physical touch to support yourself and give yourself that love and that praise and that validation.
And then we're going to be bringing this practice to a close just by,
Again,
Re-grounding.
So,
Allowing your body just to be fully,
Fully supported by what's beneath you,
Feeling those points of contact and with that deeper connection you now have with yourself and your breath,
Just allowing yourself to melt,
To soften into it,
To appreciate there's nothing now you have to do,
There's nowhere for you to go,
No one for you to be.
You can just let go and be supported by whatever's beneath you.
So whether you're transitioning into the rest of your evening or whether you're staying exactly where you are,
Ready for sleep,
Thank you for practicing with me.
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you did and you'd like to give any feedback,
Just pop a like or give me a comment below.
Always lovely to hear from you all.
And I look forward to seeing you all soon.
