Let's get back into the body.
If you're lying here worried that you won't sleep tonight or worried about how tired you'll be tomorrow because of it,
You're in the right place.
The harder we try to force sleep the further away it tends to get so this won't be about trying hard but trying to give your body permission to stop working so hard.
You don't need to fall asleep for this meditation to work even if you're awake the whole way through the body will still get benefit out of this time So let's begin Let your body find its place in the bed.
Just settling.
In a way that you feel comfy and cozy.
Take a breath in through the nose.
And let it go slower than usual out through the mouth.
One more in and out.
And then let the breath return to whatever rhythm it wants now Right now there might be a thought running underneath everything.
Something like I need to get to sleep or what if I don't sleep by X time?
You don't have to push it away.
Rather.
Notice that it's there.
The way that you'd notice a sound coming from another room.
Your body knows how to sleep.
It's done it almost every night of your life.
It doesn't really need you to supervise it or force it.
Or stay awake worrying about whether it's working.
For the next while,
Your only job is to stop the supervision.
And let your body do what it already knows how to do.
If you're laying there working at it,
Just for now.
Let that idea go.
There's nowhere you need to arrive or nothing that you need to achieve.
Let's just rest,
Eyes closed in the dark.
It's enough.
If sleep comes.
It comes on its own.
You don't have to invite it.
Notice the weight of your body against the bed.
Heavier than a moment ago maybe.
Let the mattress hold all of that weight.
You don't have to hold any of it yourself.
Notice your jaw.
If it's holding some tension.
Let it loosen just slightly.
Notice the space between your eyebrows.
And let that soften too.
Let's find a quiet place to rest the mind.
If it helps picture a quiet room with a window.
It's night time here too.
Any light coming through the window is dim.
Nothing needs to happen in this room.
It's somewhere you can simply be.
For as long as you need.
You're welcome to stay in this room for a while now.
Resting in it at your own pace.
If a worried thought drifts in.
Just let it pass through the room and then out again.
The way that a breeze might move through an open window.
I'll come back to guide you again with the sound of the bell.
And until then.
.
.
There's nowhere else you need to be if you're still with me.
Welcome back.
And if you've already drifted off somewhere along the way,
That's exactly what this was for.
And there's nothing more to do now.
Just let yourself rest here in the dark,
In the quiet,
For as long as you need.
Sleep well.
