Welcome to ADHD Sleep Meditation.
My name is Sandhya.
I'll guide you through some gentle breath work and a body scan and we'll then travel in our imagination to a quiet riverside in northern Thailand.
The air will be warm and the water will be gentle and the glow of paper lanterns will be waiting to rise.
Each lantern will carry away a thought or label that no longer belongs to you.
Words like lazy,
Unmotivated,
Not enough.
They're only stories and you don't need them.
You'll release these and make room for calm and kindness.
Let's begin.
There's nowhere you need to go and nothing to do.
Take a slow deep breath in and a long breath out.
Take a deep breath in and a long breath out.
As you breathe deeply notice the movement of the body rising and falling.
Feel the air as it enters cool and light and feel it leave warm and calm.
If you like to deepen your breath and encourage the exhale to be longer than the inhale.
You can breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth as you're blowing out through a straw.
In through the nose,
Belly expanding wide and out slowly through the mouth.
Each breath inviting you into rest.
Give yourself permission to pause to surrender into this moment.
Bring the awareness to the top of your head and slowly down to your forehead to the eyes and the muscles around the eyes.
Allow the muscles to soften aware of the cheeks the mouth and the jaw.
Awareness to your ears noticing what you can hear.
Every sound only takes you deeper into a state of relaxation.
Every sound invites you to rest completely.
Awareness to the back of the head heavy against the surface beneath you.
Down to the neck and the shoulders.
Shoulders releasing any weight they've been carrying.
Arms are heavy.
Hands relax.
Scanning back up the arms and feel the steady rhythm of your breath.
Awareness to the abdomen and allow the muscles around the stomach area to release.
Awareness to the hips and the legs.
Legs that have taken you so many places.
Feeling gratitude for your legs.
As you scan down to your knees calves all the way down to your feet and toes.
Your entire body knows what rest feels like.
Allow every muscle to become a little heavier.
Imagine now a scene unfolding in your mind.
You're beside a quiet river in northern Thailand.
The air is warm and carries the scent of jasmine.
Perhaps you sense a friendly presence beside you.
Someone kind and calm.
Or maybe you're here alone.
In the distance a soft bell rings from a temple.
You gaze at the water's surface and see tiny ripples glimmering.
As you gaze up at the night sky stars appear one by one.
Until the sky becomes a gentle field.
Of light.
Nearby there's a quiet gathering.
People are preparing lanterns that will rise into the darkness.
You move toward that area.
And you see a basket of paper lanterns resting nearby.
Of a small light in sight.
And as you pick up your lantern in light you notice any thoughts you might hold upon yourself.
Old words or labels you've carried.
Maybe things like lazy and motivated.
Or not enough.
These are old stories,
Not truths.
Take a slow breath in and gather any words.
Any words you've been holding.
As you exhale place them gently inside the lantern.
Pick up the lantern.
And you take a slow breath in and a long easy breath out.
The lantern begins to rise.
As you place it up above your head.
The air gently catches.
The lantern.
And the gentle breeze begins to move the lantern up.
Slowly at first.
And then freely climbing higher into the sky.
This belief you have about yourself.
Begins to travel further.
And further away.
Higher and higher.
Climbing so high now that it becomes as small.
As a star.
Rising higher.
Until they dissolve into the night sky.
What remains is the real you.
You are not lazy.
You are capable.
And you are enough.
You've released what is heavy.
What's left is steady and quiet.
Resting in the peace of this moment.
If there's anything else heavy on your mind.
You can pick up another lantern.
Place that thought within the light.
Begin to lift the lantern up.
And again it begins to travel.
Travel away from you.
Floating upward.
Floating away with the breeze.
Here you feel lighter.
And the night has grown quieter now.
You gaze back down at the water's surface.
The moonlight shimmering across its surface.
You feel peaceful here.
Calm and rested.
Allow the warmth of the night to hold you.
And you rest here.
