Welcome.
I'm glad you're here.
This is Sarah Dabney,
And I will be your guide for this evening's down-regulation practice.
The human body is wonderfully engineered to respond to nighttime stimuli,
Such as the sunset,
In order to downshift toward a deeper rest and digest state before sleep.
In case you weren't able to catch the sunset tonight,
I will be offering imagery to your mind that will create a similar nervous system cascade inside the body.
To begin,
Please position yourself comfortably,
Either sitting or lying down with the body fully supported.
If you'd like,
You can place a pillow beneath your head or underneath your knees.
Take a few deep,
Slow,
Cleansing breaths.
Feel yourself grounding down through the feet and the back of the legs.
When you're ready,
Allow your eyes to droop closed and find yourself in a little wooded clearing on top of a low hill,
Looking down on the horizon.
The sun is just now coming to rest at the edge of the earth,
The sky still bright and lemon-colored.
You can hear birds settling down from their evening busyness,
Sharing their satisfaction about the day,
Each finding a comfortable nook in the trees above you.
Feel your feet resting in the cool grass and soft earth.
Take an even deeper breath and feel your pulse begin to slow.
Shoulders soften and drop down.
Watch as the sun comes to kiss the edge of the earth and then slowly sink beneath it.
The sky begins to blush orange,
The feel and smell of the earth changing.
Twilight is here.
Nearby,
A dove begins its slow,
Rhythmic call,
Heralding the threshold between day and night.
Your eyes soften in their hollows,
The muscles behind the eyes unwinding and letting go.
Ears melt down the sides of the head and neck.
Breathing is becoming more and more rhythmic and easy,
Sinking deeper into the belly.
The back third of your tongue and the back of the throat also melt,
Becoming deliciously fluid and soft.
The sky is joined by streaks of rose and mauve,
Gold fading into copper.
The sleepy clouds are magnificent,
Mirroring color and feathery texture as far as your soft,
Wide gaze can see,
Like pillows of glory and gossamer softness.
The birds are nodding off to the slow song of the dove.
A single star appears high in the sky.
Your spine and neck are fully at rest,
Your body broadening to take in the support of what you are leaning against or lying upon.
You feel the softness of your belly and the easy flow of energy throughout the body.
Every joint,
Along every muscle,
Within every heartbeat.
Your limbs feel pleasantly heavy.
More stars have come to freckle the blue and lilac sky.
The sun almost fully set in its coral pink glory,
One last burst of love and color before sleep.
Even the dove is drowsy.
You hear the chirp of crickets in the undergrowth around you,
Sweetly inviting creatures of the light to take their rest and relinquish the stage to smaller wings and softer songs.
You are nearly asleep.
The waves of your breath and your mind,
Wide and deep and slow.
Your energy fluid and expansive like rippling grass in a gentle breeze.
Your eyelids blink heavy and slow.
The color of the darkening,
Shimmering sky seems the same,
Open or closed.
The moon has risen to watch over you.
You are here.
You are safe.
You are loved.
Sleep now.
All is well.
