Restore, Refresh, Renew

Transcript for Restore audio

Hello this is Christina, from Christina Transformational Coaching. As an accredited personal and professional coach I help compassionate people who want to make a positive difference and have a positive impact in the world – without losing your sense of self and wellbeing, or burning out.

Welcome to this guide to help you with your DIY micro-retreat to restore, refresh and renew.

Starting with Restore, I’d like to invite you to take a few moments with me, to step away from the world, relax and reconnect to your sense of inner calm, feeling grounded and present.

You can join me standing or sitting, whatever is good for you today. If you can, start by shaking out your body – like you are trying to shake off some sticky liquid. Shake your arms, shake your legs, your whole body, all and any part of your body that is available to you and feels good to shake today.

And then fidget, wriggle and stretch, take up some space, move whatever part of you needs and wants movement.

Then come gradually to a place of stillness, you might want to sit now if you are not already, or you can stay standing if you prefer. See if you can align yourself so that you are perfectly supporting your own body, with each vertebra supporting the one above, all the way up your spine and right at the top, there is your head, supported as effortlessly as possible.

Come to notice the contact points between your body and external support, perhaps your seat or the ground beneath you. If you can, whether sitting or standing, try to maximise contact with the ground, lifting and pressing different parts of your feet so that you can raise your awareness of the support beneath you. As your feet make contact with the ground, tens of thousands of nerve endings pay attention and send the message all the way up your body to your brain: you are here, in this space, in this moment. And perhaps your brain sends a message back down through your body all the way to your feet (and perhaps you can follow the progress of that message as it travels through your body): message received. I am here, in this space, in this moment.

Let your feet and whole body relax into place.

And now bringing your attention to your belly, breathing into that space and from that space. Notice how your belly expands, allowing air to come in, inflating like a balloon, and deflates, sending the air back out. Breathing at whatever pace feels just right for you in this moment. Perhaps you notice or imagine, your body shifting and everything in your belly making space to accommodate the incoming air, and then settling back into place as the air leaves.

Stay breathing into and from your belly at that comfortable pace, sometimes returning your attention to your feet or your seat, noticing that you are still physically here in this place, in your body, and then back to that nourishing breath filling your belly.

I’m going to leave you now, breathing to and from your belly in a comfortable way for you. Carry on for as long as you want. And whenever you are ready, you can return to your DIY micro-retreat guide and begin the ‘Refresh’ section.