This is a simple meditation for use as you are falling asleep.
It ends open-ended allowing you to just continue into a deep sleep.
Start by making yourself comfortable,
Shift as you need to,
To make sure that you're completely comfortable within your space,
Lying down ready for sleep.
Start by just paying attention to what you can hear.
Noises within the room,
Noises outside,
Even paying attention to what you hear within your body.
Next,
Start paying attention to what you can feel physically.
The material of your clothes,
The air against your skin,
The mattress or the surface below you supporting you,
The blanket,
The pillows,
The sheets.
Just paying attention to what you feel without trying to change anything.
Next,
Shift your attention to just noticing your breathing.
Don't try and change anything,
Just notice.
Feeling the in-breath,
Feeling the out-breath,
And all the sensations that go along with breathing.
Lastly,
We're going to just gently scan through the body,
Again just noticing what you feel.
Just paying attention to sensations within the body,
Starting at the soles of your feet,
The tops of your feet,
And your ankles.
Allowing your attention to shift upwards into the calves and the shins,
Noticing what you're feeling.
Allow your attention to drift up into your knees and your thighs,
Front and back,
Without trying to change anything,
Just with a gentle curiosity.
Moving your attention up into the pelvis and hips,
Noticing what you are feeling within your lower back,
And allowing your attention to circle around to what it is you're feeling in your stomach.
And then circling around up into your middle back,
Noticing any sensations,
Noticing temperature,
Noticing any tension or looseness.
Circling around your body to your chest,
Just noticing what is happening there.
Shifting your attention now to your upper back and shoulders,
And then letting your attention slide down your arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Into your hands,
Just noticing,
Not changing anything.
Feeling,
Noticing the tips of your fingers.
And then gliding up your arms back into your neck,
Going over your head,
Noticing your scalp,
Paying attention to your forehead,
Your eyes,
And the muscles around your eyes,
Your mouth,
Your lips,
Your tongue,
Just noticing,
Not changing anything.
Paying attention to your jaw,
And lastly,
Any sensations you may be feeling in your ears.
And now,
Allow your attention to just gently rest across your whole body,
Perhaps allowing yourself to let go of any tension.
Let your muscles go limp and loose,
As you allow yourself to drift away into sleep.
