Welcome to Unwind: A Quiet Place to Land at the End of Your Day
In this five-session series of micro practices, I’ll be guiding you through short sequences of between 5-10 minutes long to help you find rest. You’ll feel your body soften, your mind settle, and your heart held. The practices include a soothing breath practice, guided relaxations and some gentle movement patterns. Nothing complicated. No experience is needed, just a willingness to slow down and tend to yourself with care before you go to sleep.
No props are required for any of these practices, you can simply follow the guidance here or listen to the accompanying audios – just 5-10 minutes is all you need!
🌿 Session 1: The Power of the Exhale
Focus: Breath awareness & letting go
Why it helps: A long, steady exhale tells your body: “It’s safe to rest now.”
We begin with the breath – your constant companion and the most direct route to consciously accessing your nervous system. In this session we’ll learn how to slow things down by gently extending the exhale. You’ll feel your body soften – and your whole nervous system begin to settle.
Practice includes:
- 4-count inhale / 6-count exhale
- Hands to heart and belly grounding
You can do this either lying down or seated. Begin by gently tuning into your breath, noticing its rhythm and perhaps how the belly or chest rises and falls as you breathe. After a few breaths, begin to extend the exhale to whatever count feels right for you: perhaps breathing in for a count of 4, and then seeing if you can softly extend the exhale to a count of six. Place one hand over your heart centre and the other over your belly for a sense of comfort and connection.
🌿 Session 2: Melting Tension into the Floor
Focus: Grounding through stillness
Why it helps: When you let yourself be held by the earth, your body feels safe enough to soften.
Lie down and feel the support of the ground beneath you. I’ll help you explore with a mindful body scan that gently invites tension to melt away. Perfect for heavy, tired bodies.
Practice includes:
- Constructive rest (knees bent, feet on floor)
- Guided body scan
Begin in constructive rest, with the knees bent and feet connected to the floor. Allow the knees to fall inwards and rest against each other, creating space in the lower back. With each exhale bring your awareness to all the different points of contact the back body makes with the floor and, using the exhale to focus on release, allow your body to melt into the support that the earth offers.
🌿 Session 3: Gentle Rocking & Rhythmic Movement
Focus: Soothing through motion
Why it helps: Slow, repetitive movements can calm your nervous system.
In this session, we use soft rocking movements which the body finds very soothing – think of how we instinctively soothe a crying baby! These simple movements calm the mind and body, especially after a busy or overstimulating day.
Practice includes:
- Circling the knees
- Rocking the pelvis side-to-side
Begin in the constructive rest position as above. Drawing the knees into the chest begin to slowly circle them one way, and then the other. Then release the knees, connecting the feet to the floor and allow the pelvis to rock gently left to right, allowing the knees to travel easily through the air.
🌿 Session 4: Leg Elevation for Lightness & Calm
Focus: Inversion for improved circulation
Why it helps: Putting your legs up helps your heart rest and your energy settle towards the earth.
Let’s gently elevate the legs and let the blood flow shift. This session helps with tired feet, anxious thoughts, and racing hearts.
Practice includes:
- Legs up the wall (or on a sofa/bed)
- Mindful stillness
You can practice either with your seat right up against a wall and your legs extended up above, or on the floor by a bed or sofa, with the knees bent and lower legs resting on the cushion or mattress. Allow yourself to find softness and practice either a body scan or bring awareness to the breath extending the exhale if you wish.
🌿 Session 5: Soft Belly, Soft Body
Focus: Releasing the belly and twisting gently
Why it helps: A soft belly supports digestion and emotional release.
Many of us hold tension in the belly. Here, we soften that area with gentle twists and an easy breath. You may find your thoughts slow down, too.
Practice includes:
- Reclined spinal twist
- Guided image of unwinding
Begin on the floor in the position of constructive rest and slowly find the rocking movement of the pelvis allowing the knees to slowly windscreen wiper left and right. When you feel ready, allow the knees to settle on the floor first one way, allowing the arms to rest wherever feels good. Take a few breaths here. Imagine the spine unwinding and releasing anywhere you can feel held tension. Then gently take the twist to the other side. Stay for as many breaths as you need.
Guided Audio available
If you’d like a little extra support in these practices, you can find my five accompanying audio guides for each micro practice here.
Improve your sleep
Give all of these practices a go – I’d love to know how you get on. You might find that some of them work better for you than others, we’re all different. Or perhaps your prefer a different practice according to how you feel that evening. There’s no right or wrong here, it’s just finding what’s right for you!
Sleep course
If you found these practices helpful and would like to delve a little deeper into the science of sleep in midlife, you might enjoy my Reclaim Your Rest: The Seven Day Sleep Solution for Women in Midlife. Seven easy written lessons accompanied by companion audio relaxations, designed to support women in peri-to-post menopause searching for a good night’s rest.
Restorative yoga classes in Bristol
If you’re local to Bristol, then you could join the growing community that finds quiet rest in my monthly restorative yoga classes. You can find more information about these sessions and book here.
