Hi,
This is Alexis,
And you're about to begin a mindful evening exercise.
This is a practical tool for implementing mindfulness into your bedtime routine.
This practice will welcome in a deep sense of relaxation,
And it is intended to be the last step you take before falling asleep.
So if you haven't already done so,
Get comfortable by putting on your sleep attire,
Shut down your devices,
Dim the lights,
And then hop right into bed.
Now,
As you lay your body down and find a comfortable position,
Take care to support the head,
Neck,
And shoulders with a pillow.
Cover your body with your favorite blanket or bedsheet.
Get really cozy and warm.
Letting any last wriggles of the body breathe deeply through your nose,
And as you sigh the breath out through the mouth,
Close down your eyes,
And then allow your attention to drift down to your toes.
You might give them a little wiggle just to feel into the toes,
And then go ahead and point and flex your feet.
You might circle the ankles a little bit in one direction and then the other,
And then relax your feet.
Relax your calves,
Your knees.
Relax your upper legs and hips,
Tuning into the hands.
Give the fingers a little wiggle.
You might open and close your palms,
Stretching the fingers and then closing them in to make little fists,
Perhaps rolling the wrists a few times in one direction and then the other just to let any tension melt away,
And then relax your hands.
Relax your wrists,
Your forearms,
Your elbows,
Upper arms,
And shoulders.
Feel into the connection that you have between your body and the bed.
Allow the body to be heavy.
Relax your stomach,
Your ribs,
Your chest.
Relaxing your lower back,
Mid-back,
And upper back.
The whole body is resting now.
Relaxing the neck,
The cheeks,
The lips,
The eyes,
Allowing the whole body to be at ease now.
And now I'd like to invite you to practice some deep breathing.
This breathing exercise is a retention practice.
In a moment,
I'll be asking you to inhale through your nose,
Filling up to your comfortable capacity,
And then you'll exhale through the mouth,
Nice and slow,
As if you are blowing through a straw.
I'll ask you to hold the breath at the bottom,
And then I'll instruct you to inhale again and we'll go through this cycle of breathing together a few times.
Right now,
I'd like you to just continue to relax and let your breath be as gentle and as simple as it wants to be,
And then we'll take a nice deep breath in as a way to prepare the body.
And sigh the breath out.
Good.
And now let's take our first deep breath together.
So breathing in through your nose,
Just filling all the way up to your comfortable capacity,
And then sigh the breath out,
Nice and slow,
Just exploring the depths of your exhalation.
Breathing all the way down to the bottom of the breath.
And when you get to the bottom,
I'd like for you to hold the exhalation.
You might push out a little bit more air so that you're at your emptiest.
And then breathe in,
And as you breathe in,
Allow the breath to flood back into you,
And then return to natural,
Easy,
Gentle breath.
Breathing easy now.
Noticing how in touch you are with your body.
Noticing the flow of the breath.
Allow your attention to be on the breath,
Watching it as if you are watching the tide flowing in and out.
Noticing how when you breathe in,
The body expands a little bit,
And then shrinks back and relaxes down as you exhale.
Staying with the breath in this way.
Good.
And now you're going to breathe in again.
Nice full inhale through the nose,
Filling all the way up to your comfortable capacity,
And then let it go.
Breathing out through the mouth,
Slowly and intentionally,
All the way to the very,
Very bottom of your breath.
And then you're going to hold the exhalation out,
Holding here,
And then inhale and allow that breath to flood in,
And then back out again.
And then returning back to that gentle,
Easy,
Natural breath.
Staying with the breath,
Noticing the breath,
Paying close attention to where you feel the breath the most in your body.
It might be around the nostrils,
Tuning into the temperature of the air here,
And feeling that coolness as you inhale,
And a warmth as you exhale.
Perhaps even noticing the touch of the breath on the upper lip,
Maybe noticing the touch of the breath in the chest,
Shoulders,
Ribcage,
And belly,
And picking one spot where you can really feel and focus on the breath the most,
And staying with it right here.
Just this breath,
And then the next.
Good.
And now taking another deep breath with me,
Filling up to your comfortable capacity,
And then exhaling nice and slow,
Letting the whole breath release.
When you get to the bottom,
You're going to hold the exhale,
And this time,
You don't have to wait for my instructions to breathe in.
This time,
I want you to trust in your body.
You'll know exactly when that time is,
Exactly when your body is ready to take a breath in,
And when that time comes,
Allow it.
Allow the breath to flow back into you,
Into every muscle,
Every bone,
Every cell,
Every nerve,
Washing through you like a fresh wave of energy.
And then once again,
Returning to that natural,
Easy,
Gentle breath.
Sense the ease and tranquility washing over your entire being.
Notice how very capable you are of deeply relaxing your body and mind,
Observing the imprint that the practice has on you.
Now I would like to invite you to bring your full attention to your heart space.
Here we are going to state an affirmation.
These are words of positivity,
A way of sealing in your efforts of deep rest.
If you'd like,
You can repeat this affirmation to yourself,
Or you can just listen.
Whatever you are most comfortable with is perfectly okay.
I am deeply relaxed and tranquil.
I wake up fully rested and welcome the day with a smile.
I am deeply relaxed and tranquil.
I wake up fully rested and welcome the day with a smile.
I am deeply relaxed and tranquil.
I wake up fully rested and welcome the day with a smile.
As you continue to rest,
Know that I wish you a deep and restorative night's sleep.
May you be happy,
Healthy,
Peaceful,
And safe.
Thank you for your practice this evening.
Good night and namaste.
