Nightly Somatic Practice For Deep Relaxation

Prepare your body and mind for deep rest with this calming somatic movement practice. Gentle, effortless twists help release accumulated tension from the spine, soften the nervous system, and invite a sense of safety and ease throughout the body. As your muscles unwind and your breathing settles, you'll feel more grounded, relaxed, and ready for sleep. A perfect bedtime practice for quieting a busy mind and easing into a peaceful night's rest. Please note: as this practice encourages deep relaxation and sleep, please do not listen while driving or operating heavy machinery.

Transcript

Laying flat on your back. Relax the muscles in your face. Separate your teeth. Let your shoulder blades sink down into the floor. Take this time. To feel the contact of the left and right shoulder blades to the ground. Notice if there's any imbalance here. Bring your focus to your lower back Notice if it's touching the ground. Or if there's any arching here. Feel your glutes on the floor. Notice if your weight is distributed evenly. No need to change anything. Just note. We're going to begin. By loosening up through the feet, Knees, And hips. Start to wave your feet. In and out. Like your feet or your hands. And you're waving at someone. This is a quicker movement. Feel the rotation of your hip bones in the socket. Relax your feet. Let the ankles loosen all the way up And bring your legs back to stillness. Notice the change that this short movement has made through your pelvis. Bend both of your knees. Feet flat on the floor. Hip width apart. Knees pointing up to the ceiling. Cross your arms over your chest. Giving yourself a hug. Fully relax your shoulders. And let your arms become heavy. During this next movement. Use the weight of your arms. To lock down the chest and the head. Keep the upper body completely still. And from here. Keeping the feet flat on the floor. Very slowly. Move your knees about two inches to the right. Feel how this lightly engages your core. And keeping that same slow pace. Move them back to the center. And then two inches to the left. Back to center. And to the right. Continue moving. At this slow pace. Shifting the knees. From left. To write. Feel how your weight transfers from the left glute. To the right glue. Feel the subtle movement of your hips. In the sockets. And now let your knees go a little further. Allow your glute. To lift up off the floor. And then slowly bring it back. Keep the movement small and controlled. Allow the knees to get around halfway to the ground. Before bringing them back up. To center. Keeping the head and chest. Completely still. Isolating all the movements. To the lower back. And hips. Complete your last movement. Bring the heat. Back to center. And very slowly straighten out your legs and arms Returning to our first position. Note any changes in the lower back and hips. Note the relaxation in your lower back. Note the contact. Of the lower back and your shoulder blades to the ground. Bend your knees again. Feet flat on the floor. Knees pointing up. And give yourself that hug. This time we're going to keep the feet and pelvis completely still. And we're going to isolate the movement. To the mid back and shoulders. Keeping your head. Straight up facing the ceiling. Shift your weight. In two. The right. Ribcage and shoulder blade. And use your right hand. To pick up. The left shoulder. Bringing it up towards the ceiling. And slowly relax the shoulder blades down to the floor. Bring your weight over to the floor. The left shoulder blade. And use the left hand. To pick up. The right shoulder. And coming back to centre. This is a very small movement. Shift the weight to the right. Pick up the left shoulder. Back to center. Shift the weight to the left. And pick up the right shoulder Continue slowly and smoothly. Rocking the mid-back. Through this movement. Completely relaxing your head and neck. Moving only the mid back and shoulders. And fully enjoy this new movement. Complete your last one. Return back to center. Keep your arms crossed. Let them get heavy. Use the weight to block any movement in the mid back. And we're going to loosen up through the neck. Using only 10% of your effort. Turn your head to the right. And let gravity Bring your face. All the way to the right. Rotating the neck. Using almost no effort. Bring the head back to center. And bring it to the left. Letting gravity do all the work. Letting the head roll. And back to center. Rotate to the right. Center. Center. Continue with this movement. Never forcing any movement. Letting the head travel. To where it feels comfortable. Moving within. Your comfortable range of motion. Notice how this relaxes your eyes. How your jaw wants to open and become completely slack. And bring the head back to center. Feel that relaxation spread through the neck and head all the way down through the body. And for our last movement, We're going to combine. All three movements. First, Let your knees drop to the right. And from here move your weight into the right shoulder blade. And lift up. The left shoulder. And lastly, Let your head turn all the way to the right. And bring all the parts of your body back to center at the same time. Knees to the left weight to the left shoulder blade. And head to the left. And everything back to center. Knees right. Shoulders to the right Head right. And return to center. Continue moving in this way to the left. Separating the three parts of the body. And letting them all return to center at the same time. Each movement using only 10%. Of your effort. Allowing your body to float. Through the movement. Letting each movement. Flow into the neck. I got it. Fully enjoying how this feels on your system. And bring everything back to center. Straighten down your legs and arms. Feel the surface. Beneath your body. Notice how more of your body. Is grounded. Into the ground. Open your mouth wide. Stretching through the jaw. Allowing any remaining stress or tension. Leave your body through the mouth. And this may turn into a yawn. Allow it. And close down your jaw. There's nothing else to do. But simply enjoy this feeling. Allow your emotions to express through your face. Allow yourself to smile. Frown. Whatever needs to come through. Let it. Stay in this space. For as long as you need.