This is a practice for the morning.
Your body lies down.
And your mind chooses that exact moment to come alive.
If this has happened to you.
You've probably done what most people do.
You try to relax.
You told yourself to stop.
Thinking.
Maybe you breathe deeper.
Maybe you counted backwards.
And the more you try.
The more awake you became.
Here's why.
Sleep isn't something you achieve.
It's something that happens.
When the nervous system decides it's safe enough to let go.
And the nervous system reads effort.
Has alertness.
When you try to fall asleep.
You're actually doing the opposite of what sleep requires.
Researchers call this paradoxical insomnia.
The harder you work to sleep.
The more your body interprets that work as a signal to stay awake.
There's another piece.
When the body finally lies still.
And all the day's distractions stop.
The mind doesn't go quiet.
It goes the opposite direction.
It starts cataloging.
Tomorrow's tasks that conversation from earlier something.
You forgot.
This isn't your mind betraying you.
It's your mind doing what it was waiting all day to do.
Process.
And bedtime.
Is the first quiet moment.
It's head.
So the practice tonight.
Is not to silence the mind.
It's not to clear it.
Those things don't work.
The practice is to give the body somewhere else to focus.
Somewhere that signals safety.
Because once the body feels safe,
The mind slowly follows.
Not the other way around.
We're gonna do that now.
We're going to bring your attention to the body in a specific way.
That the nervous system reads as.
We are landing now.
You don't need to do anything to make sleep happen.
You just need to stop.
Interrupting the conditions for it.
Let's begin.
Lie on your back if you're not already.
Let your arms rest where they want to.
We're gonna do something called landing.
Not falling asleep.
Just landing.
Your body is already on the bed.
But your awareness might still be in the day.
In tomorrow.
And some thought you didn't finish.
We're gonna let your awareness come down to her.
Your body already is.
Start with the back of your head.
The weight of it against the pillow.
Just notice it's there.
The shoulder's next,
Not relaxing them.
Just noticing.
They might be lifted slightly.
They might still be holding the day.
That's okay.
You're just here.
Noticing.
The chest rising and falling on its own.
You don't have to breathe deep.
Just notice it's already happened.
The belly's soft.
Either is fine.
The hips against the mattress.
The weight of them settling down.
The legs long,
Heavy,
The feet Far from the head,
Falling slightly outward.
You've landed the bodies on the bed.
The awareness has joined in.
If the mind drifts back to thought.
That's okay.
Just bring attention back to one part of the body Any part.
The weight of your hands.
The temperature of your foot.
One detail.
You don't have to stay awake to finish this.
If sleep comes.
Let it come.
Practice.
Is already working.
