35 minutes

Guided relaxation meditation Deep Rest to ground into your most empowered state of being, feeling restored and at ease. 

What we practice strengthens; things like stress and tension can accumulate in our bodies the more we react to them. When you become more reactive to stressful experiences, the brain shifts, specifically the amygdala, which is the fear and worry center of the brain that takes in all our sensory information and lets our nervous system know if it’s a threat or nonthreat. When we react to stressful experiences and activate the stress response, the amygdala becomes more reactive and connected to other parts of our brain, which means our stress response becomes the dominant aspect of our nervous system – the leader of who is in charge of how we respond to our daily lives around us and within us, from our experiences to our thoughts, and stories. As our brain and body shift to accommodate the more reactive behavior of the dominant stress response, our inner critic of the mind grows more robust, louder, and in charge.

I like to think of the nervous system as a light switch dimmer. The stress response is valuable; we need it to survive and interact with our external world. We don’t want it to dominant and be the one in charge, or we end up in chronic stress, which deteriorates the body and overwhelms the mind with fear and worry. We want to move from the stress response to the relaxation response, like the light switch. Conserving energy and our well-being by cultivating the relaxation response as our home base, allowing our inner wisdom to take the seat of the throne of our mind and heart so that we are more open, receptive, intuitive, grounded, aligned, authentic, confident, understanding, nourished, and resilient, connected to the whole mind-body, and heart. We need to strengthen the relaxation response daily with this profound tool of Deep Rest.

• Your mind will wander to different thoughts, sounds, feelings, daydreams, old conversations, or what you will eat for dinner. Wandering is a natural part of mindfulness. All you have to do is become aware of when the mind wanders away, with no judgment, no resistance to where it’s gone, and you can even label it “sensation” or “thought.” Then, come back to the present moment awareness, the feeling of the breath, or the sound of my voice.
• Each time you choose to come back to present awareness, you’ve strengthened the relaxation response, your inner wisdom, and the space within you that is always aligned, centered, and grounded. Confident to handle whatever life throws at you, no matter what.
• Recommended to practice resting on your back with a rolled-up blanket under the knees, a pillow under the head, and a blanket covering the body.
• Bodyscan and breath awareness
• Yoga nidra