Welcome,
This is Daphne.
Before we begin.
Just notice that you've already arrived here.
There is nowhere else you need to be right now,
And nothing you need to solve or force This practice is simply a space for your nervous system to soften and for you to receive support.
Take a moment now to get comfortable in whatever way feels most supportive for your body right now.
You might want to cover yourself with a blanket as the body naturally cools during relaxation.
If you're lying down,
Allow your arms to rest easily beside you or somewhere comfortable on your body.
Let your feet fall gently outward.
Your neck or lower back would appreciate a little extra support.
Take your time now to adjust.
Using a pillow,
A rolled blanket,
Whatever helps your body feel truly at ease.
If you're seated,
Let your spine be supported in a way that allows you to relax fully without effort.
And let your hands rest softly in your lap.
If it feels safe to do so,
You may allow your eyes to close.
And you're welcome to gently cover them with an eye pillow,
A scarf,
Or a small towel.
Highly sensitive nervous systems take in a great deal of information throughout the day.
They notice more sound,
More emotion,
And more subtle shifts in the environment and in the people around you.
And because of that,
Rest is not optional.
Rest is how your nervous system restores its balance.
This practice is a space where your nervous system can settle naturally in its own time at its own pace.
There is nothing you need to accomplish here.
You are not here to perform relaxation.
You are here.
To receive it.
If you can,
Allow yourself to remain awake and aware as the body moves toward deep rest.
And if you do drift towards sleep.
That's okay too.
Your subconscious will still receive the benefits of the practice.
Take a slow breath in through your nose.
And let it go gently through your mouth.
Before you settle fully into your yoga nidra posture.
Take a moment to set an intention for your practice so it can sink into your subconscious.
This intention is called a Sankalpa.
This sankalpa can be a short,
Positive statement that reflects something you would like to remember.
Strengthen.
.
.
Or grow into.
You may already have a sankalpa that feels meaningful to you.
If not,
Simply notice whether a few words naturally arise.
Perhaps something like,
I trust myself.
I am safe to rest.
I can soften here.
Choose whatever feels most supportive and true for you today.
And if nothing comes to mind,
That's okay.
You can simply hold the intention to rest and receive.
Once you have your words,
Repeat them silently to yourself three times.
Let them settle gently without needing to make anything happen.
Now begin by noticing the surface beneath you.
The way it supports your weight without asking anything from you in return.
The ground beneath you is steady.
Reliable.
Holding you completely.
You do not need to hold yourself up right now.
You are being held.
Let your body begin to feel that support even just a little.
Even if it takes a few moments to fully arrive.
Notice the natural rhythm of your breathing.
No need to change anything.
Just noticing the breath moving in and moving out.
Allow your jaw to soften Let the muscles around your eyes rest.
Let your shoulders rest a little more heavily into the surface beneath you.
Each exhale is an invitation for your body to release a little more effort.
A little more holding.
Releasing what you no longer need to carry in this moment.
Now gently bring your attention back to your breath.
Notice where you feel it most easily.
Perhaps at the nostrils where the air arrives cool and leaves warm.
It might be in the gentle rise and fall of your chest.
Or in the soft expansion of your belly.
Begin to gently lengthen your exhalations.
Not forcing or straining.
Just allowing each breath out to be a little longer a little slower… and a little more complete than your inhalation.
Sensitive nervous systems often stay alert longer than they need to.
Even after the day is over.
Or when there is nothing left that requires your attention.
Breathing like this,
Slowly with a longer exhale… help send a signal to your body that it is safe to soften now.
There's nothing you need to fix,
Solve,
Or prepare for in this moment.
Just breathing in… and breathing out.
And if your mind wanders,
That's completely natural.
Simply noticing that it has wandered and returning gently to the breath again.
Each return is its own small act of care.
Now we'll gently move attention through the body.
Not analyzing anything.
Just noticing.
And softening wherever softening is available.
Bring your awareness to your right foot.
The heel resting against the surface beneath you.
The sole of the foot.
The toes.
Letting the whole foot soften and relax.
Now the right lower leg.
The ankle Cath?
Shin,
Allowing tension to simply release.
The right knee.
The right thigh.
Letting the muscles of the leg grow heavy.
Sense the whole right leg.
Soft,
And supported.
Now bring awareness to your left foot.
The heel the soul.
The toes.
Letting them soften.
The left lower leg.
The ankle.
Care.
Shin.
All releasing.
The left knee.
Left thigh.
Letting the muscles relax and settle.
Sense the whole left leg.
Resting now.
Heavy and completely supported.
Bring awareness to the pelvis and hips.
This area holds so much.
The weight of the day.
Of responsibility.
Of everything you carry for yourself and for others.
Let the weight of your body be a little heavier now.
Allowing the ground beneath you to receive it.
Sense the lower back.
The belly gently rising and falling with the breath.
No need to hold anything in.
Let the belly be natural.
Let it be soft.
Bring awareness to the ribs and chest.
Notice the quiet movement of breath.
The gentle expansion of the inhale.
The soft release of the exhale.
Let the chest be open.
Easy unguarded.
Bring awareness to your right hand.
The palm the fingers.
Letting them uncurl naturally.
The rest.
The forearm.
The elbow.
The upper arm.
The right shoulder settling down and back away from the ear.
Let the whole right arm be heavy and soft.
Now shift attention to the left hand.
The palm.
The fingers.
The rest.
The forearm.
The elbow.
The upper arm.
The left shoulder.
The whole left arm resting now.
Soft.
Heavy at ease.
Bring awareness to the throat.
The jaw.
Let the teeth part slightly if that feels comfortable.
Let the tongue rest softly in the mouth.
The cheeks softening.
The space around the eyes releasing.
The muscles of the forehead smoothing.
The space between the eyebrows gently easing.
The whole face resting now.
And now sense your whole body together from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet Resting.
Supported.
Breathing.
.
.
The whole body held by the surface beneath you nothing to manage nothing to maintain just resting here.
Become aware now of the feeling of heaviness.
The weight of the body resting downward.
The heaviness of your legs.
Your arms.
Your whole body being received and held by the ground.
And now imagine the opposite sensation lightness.
As though the body is becoming spacious,
Almost weightless.
Light and easy.
Heavy and light.
Simply noticing both experiences.
Now notice warmth somewhere in the body.
Perhaps beneath the blanket.
Through the chest.
The belly,
Or the hands.
And now notice or imagine coolness.
Perhaps the air touching the skin.
A gentle coolness around the face.
Warmth and coolness both experiences allowed.
And now let go of both,
Returning to a simple awareness of the whole body resting.
Highly sensitive nervous systems are designed to notice subtle information quickly,
To pick up on the tone,
On atmosphere.
On the emotional world of the people around you.
That sensitivity is not a flaw.
It has never been a flaw.
It is a form of awareness.
A depth of perception that the world genuinely needs.
And awareness needs recovery time.
Depth needs rest.
Right now your nervous system is allowed to soften.
Allowed to settle at its own pace in its own time.
Even if part of you still feels alert,
Your body can begin to rest anyway.
Even if thoughts are still moving through your mind,
Your body can soften.
Rest doesn't always arrive all at once.
Sometimes it comes gradually.
Quietly.
Almost without being noticed.
A small release here.
A little more heaviness there.
A breath that goes just a little deeper than the one before.
That is enough.
That counts.
Now imagine your body resting on soft,
Safe earth.
Perhaps a bed of moss,
Cool and cushioned beneath you.
Perhaps in a hammock beneath the canopy of tall,
Quiet trees.
Or simply the sense of solid,
Steady ground.
Ancient and unhurried.
Rising up to meet and hold your body completely.
The earth knows how to hold weight without strain or effort.
Without expectation.
Feel the surface beneath you receiving your body.
Your back.
Your shoulders.
Your hips.
Your legs.
Each part of you settling a little more deeply into that support.
You are safe to soften.
Perhaps there is a gentle warmth around you.
The kind that comes from soft afternoon light filtering through leaves.
Just enough warmth to feel comfortable,
Safe.
Enveloped.
You might sense the hum of the living,
Breathing world that is entirely at peace around you.
Nothing is asking anything of you here You are safe enough.
Held here.
Completely supported in this moment.
Allow your body to receive that support as fully as it is able to right now.
With each breath in,
Feeling yourself arriving a little more into this moment.
With each breath out,
Feeling yourself releasing the effort,
The alertness,
The holding.
.
.
Letting it pass out of the body like a long slow exhale into open air.
You don't have to carry anything here.
No worries or plans.
No conversations turning over in the back of your mind.
The earth can hold all of that for a while.
Simply allow yourself to be held.
Bring your attention gently back to your breath.
Notice the inhale arriving.
And the exhale releasing.
Each exhale is a small signal to your nervous system.
It is safe enough to soften now.
You are held in this moment fully supported.
Sensitive systems respond really well to small repeated signals of safety.
You don't need a dramatic shift.
You don't need to feel completely different all at once.
Even 1% softer.
Even one breath slower… That is the nervous system gently learning that it is safe enough to rest.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now I'll offer a few gentle phrases.
You don't need to repeat them,
And you don't need to believe them.
Simply allow them to land wherever they can.
And notice without judgment how your body responds to hearing each one.
Some of the phrases may settle easily.
Others may feel like something you're still growing into.
Both are welcome here.
My nervous system is allowed to rest.
I do not need to stay alert right now.
My sensitivity is not something to fix.
It is part of who I am.
I am allowed to take up space.
I am allowed to rest without earning it.
My body knows how to soften in its own time.
Rest supports my sensitivity.
Rest strengthens my capacity.
I am allowed to receive support.
I am allowed to feel held.
In this moment,
I am safe enough to let go.
Now allow yourself to simply rest.
There's nothing to follow.
Nothing to listen for.
And nothing to do or figure out.
Your body already knows how to restore itself.
Your nervous system already knows how to find its way back to balance.
You don't have to guide it.
Or manage it.
Or make it happen.
You only have to give it time.
And permission.
Simply resting here.
Supported by the ground beneath you.
Supported by your breath.
If thoughts arise,
That's okay.
Let them pass like clouds moving slowly across a wide open sky.
You don't need to follow them.
You don't need to push them away.
Just letting them move through and returning gently to the stillness underneath.
The stillness is always there.
Beneath the thoughts.
Beneath the alertness.
And beneath your sensitivity.
Rest into it now,
As deeply as you are able.
Now from this quieter place,
Gently bring your Sankalpa back into awareness.
The same simple intention you chose near the beginning of your practice.
There's nothing you need to make happen with these words.
Simply repeat your sankalpa silently to yourself three times.
Allowing each repetition to settle a little more deeply.
And then let the words go.
When you feel ready to begin returning,
Start by noticing your breath again.
The gentle rise and fall.
Notice the surface beneath you.
The weight of your body being held.
Just as it has been this entire time.
Begin to notice the air on your skin.
The temperature of the room around you.
Any sounds that are present in your environment.
Allowing them to come back gradually.
Without urgency.
You might allow small gentle movements to return to your fingers.
And your toes.
And a soft deepening of the breath.
There is no hurry here.
Take all the time you need.
And when you feel ready.
You might gently flutter your eyes open.
Letting in just a little light at first.
Or simply rest here a little longer if your body is asking for that.
Before you move on.
Take one final moment to notice how your body feels right now.
Even the most subtle shift matters.
Even a small softening counts.
Sensitive nervous systems recover through moments like this.
Moments of stillness.
Moments of support.
And moments of genuine permission to rest.
Bring one hand to your heart.
Take a slow nourishing breath in.
And let it go gently.
Carry this steadiness with you into the rest of your day.
Or into the quiet of your evening.
Your nervous system knows the way back here,
And you can return to this practice anytime you need to.
