Tonight.
There is nothing to achieve.
Nothing to understand.
And nothing to force.
There is only you.
Your breath.
And this night opening before you like a quiet refuge.
Tonight.
Together.
We are going to take care of a precious thread that runs through your whole body.
The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your nervous system.
It starts at the base of your skull.
Travels down your throat.
Brushes your heart.
Strokes your lungs.
And dives down into the hollow of your belly.
It is sometimes called.
The great nerve of peace.
Because it is the one that whispers to your body that it can finally rest.
That it can finally lay down its arms.
When life goes too fast.
When days pile up one after another.
This nerve stays on alert like a sentinel that has forgotten how to find its way home.
The breath shortens.
The belly tightens.
Sleep slips away at the last moment.
But tonight.
Very gently.
We will remind it of the path to rest.
Breath after breath.
We will teach it again that there is nothing left to watch over.
Nothing left to carry.
Nothing left to fear.
Tonight.
Your body has the right to be safe.
And the good news is that this great nerve responds to very simple things.
It loves slow breaths.
Long exhalations.
Warmth.
And the feeling of being safe.
You have no effort to make.
You only need to let yourself be guided.
And your body will do the rest.
It is your body,
Not your will.
That knows how to find calm again.
Our only task tonight will be to give it permission.
I invite you to listen to this session every evening for 30 consecutive nights.
Your nervous system learns through repetition.
Just as you eventually know by heart.
Path you take every day.
And if you fall asleep before the end.
That is perfect.
It is even a sign that everything is going well.
Your unconscious continues to listen.
And the work of soothing carries on while you sleep.
So if you have not already done so,
Switch off the lights around you.
Settle yourself comfortably in your bed.
The meditation will begin shortly.
Let the full weight of your body be welcome.
Support it.
Held by the mattress.
And I invite you to place one hand on your belly.
And the other on your chest.
The way we place our hands on something precious and fragile.
Under your palms.
Without forcing anything.
Feel the very small movement of your breath.
Coming and going.
You have nothing to change.
You are simply here.
Listening to the life that is breathing softly within you.
Now let your eyelids grow very heavy.
And close your eyes.
With each exhalation.
Imagine that you breathe out a little longer.
Inhale effortlessly.
And let the air flow out slowly.
Like a long sigh of relief.
And this breath.
With its prolonged exhalation.
Speaks directly to your vagus nerve.
With each breath out.
You send it the same tender message.
You can rest.
Now bring your attention to the very top of your head.
And imagine that a gentle golden warmth.
Like a late afternoon ray of light.
Settles on your skull and relaxes it.
This warmth moves down over your forehead and smooths away.
One by one.
The little lines of thought.
It glides over your eyelids.
And your jaw finally releases.
Your teeth can even part slightly.
While your tongue rests in the hollow of your mouth.
And the warmth continues to descend.
It envelops your throat.
Where this great nerve of peace passes.
And your whole neck softens.
Your shoulders.
Which you so often hold high without even knowing it.
Now drop down.
Heavy and free.
The warmth flows along your arms to the very tips of your fingers.
Which can finally open and let go.
It reaches your chest.
Feel your heart there.
Beating at its quiet rhythm.
And imagine that each beat becomes a little broader.
A little calmer.
The warmth surrounds your lungs.
Which open a little more with every breath.
Then it descends again all the way to your belly.
And there.
In the hollow of your belly.
Your vagus nerve comes to rest.
Place your attention right there.
Feel your belly rising as you breathe in.
And falling as you breathe out.
Like a slow ocean.
And the wave of warmth continues on its way.
It relaxes your back.
Vertebra by Vertebra.
From top to bottom.
It spreads into your pelvis.
Into your hips.
Which sink a little deeper into the mattress.
It travels down into your thighs.
Your knees.
Your calves.
And all the way to the soles of your feet.
Your whole body is now filled with this quiet warmth.
And you feel heavy.
You are grounded.
Safe.
Take another long breath in.
And release everything through your mouth.
In a very long sigh.
And once more.
Breathe in the calm of the night.
And let go of all that was left of the day.
With each of these exhalations.
Something inside you loosens a little more.
Your body has done this all by itself.
Because it has finally understood that it can lower its guard.
And that is exactly what the great nerve of peace does.
When we stop asking it to keep watch.
And now that your body is resting.
Let your mind open to an image.
Imagine you are standing at the top of a valley.
At the gentle hour when the day slowly fades into evening.
The sky is pink and gold.
The air is mild.
And everything is calm.
In front of you.
A wide.
Peaceful river winds its way.
A river whose water is warm.
Almost golden.
Flowing unhurriedly down to the bottom of the valley.
You walk closer to this river and lie down in it.
Without the slightest fear.
Because here the water holds you perfectly.
You float on the surface.
Your face turned toward the sky that is slowly darkening.
The warm water.
Embraces every part of your body.
It supports your neck.
Your shoulders.
You're back.
Your legs.
And you have nothing to do to stay afloat.
The river takes care of everything.
And slowly the current carries you away.
And you glide over the water.
Effortlessly.
Along the valley.
On each side,
The banks are covered with tall grasses that barely sway.
And you hear the very gentle lapping of the water.
The distant song of a bird returning to its nest.
And the vast benevolent silence of the falling night.
And with every meter you travel.
You sink a little deeper into rest.
As if the river were washing you clean of all the accumulated fatigue.
The water is at exactly the temperature you need.
Neither too hot nor too cool.
A perfect softness.
Like a hand resting on the forehead of a child who is falling asleep.
In some places.
The river passes under trees whose branches form a vault.
And the evening light there creates little golden spots that dance on the water.
And on your skin.
And you have nowhere to go.
No one is waiting for you.
There is only this very gentle journey and time stretching out.
Lazy.
As if it too had lain down for the night.
The golden water soaks into your skin and flows inside you.
It moves up along this great nerve.
That begins in the belly and rises to your head.
And everywhere it passes.
It soothes.
It loosens.
Commends.
Your belly becomes warm and supple.
Your heart slows and softens.
Your throat opens.
Your head empties.
And the river carries downstream everything that weighed on you.
The thoughts of the day.
The words left unspoken.
And the tensions you were holding without knowing it.
All of this drifts away.
Born by the current.
And disappears behind you.
Farther on.
The valley opens out even more.
And the river slows until it becomes a great mirror of still,
Warm water.
And you are now floating in a perfectly calm expanse.
Beneath the first stars.
There is no more current.
No more direction.
There is only this warmth rocking you in this deep space.
Ancient.
Reassuring feeling.
You are safe.
The world is holding for you tonight.
And you have nothing left to carry.
And there.
In this warm,
Golden water.
You are going to begin letting yourself drift even farther.
You almost no longer feel the boundary between the water and your skin.
The gentle warmth and you have become the same thing.
But what was a river is no longer quite a river.
It is a sheet of slow warmth that moves through you.
Fills you.
And gently tells you to let go.
And your edges grow vague.
And you no longer know where your body ends.
And where the night around you begins.
A very gentle heaviness.
Spreads through your limbs.
A heaviness that feels like tenderness.
And the rocking becomes barely perceptible.
Like a subtle sway deep within you.
A swaying that no longer needs water to exist.
And every part of you that has been keeping watch for so long finally understands that it can switch off.
The sentinel lays down its arms.
The great nerve that was standing guard on coils.
Stretches out.
And is the first to fall asleep.
And the colors of the evening dissolve.
The gold turns into a glow.
The glow turns into a warm mist.
The mist merges with the soft darkness behind your closed eyelids.
You have nothing left to follow.
Nothing left to imagine.
Everything becomes sensation.
And every exhalation settles you a little lower.
A little farther on.
Like a leaf carried by an invisible current.
Toward a place where all we do is sleep.
And you drift as the last light of day slips below the horizon.
Soundlessly.
Like warm water embracing the earth.
You drift.
Carried.
Welcomed.
Perfectly safe.
Toward the sleep that is already coming to meet you.
But if you are not yet asleep.
I invite you to let the following affirmations carry you into sleep.
Your unconscious will then take over.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
Warm.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
Warm.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
Warm.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
I breathe.
And each breath lays me down into calm.
With each exhalation.
My body relaxes a little more.
My belly is soft.
Warm.
And peaceful.
My heart beats at a gentle rhythm.
My throat is open and relaxed.
Calm circulates freely within me.
My nervous system returns to its rest.
I let the great nerve of peace unwind.
I allow my body to feel safe.
Rest is my natural state.
I deserve this moment of deep tranquility.
Every cell in my body relaxes.
The gentle warmth surrounds me and rocks me.
I set down the weight of the day.
Everything I had to carry.
I let it go.
The night holds me and supports me.
The night keeps watch over me.
My breath slows and carries me towards sleep.
Peace settles deeply within me.
My body heals while I sleep.
I trust the night.
I am exactly where I need to be.
Calm grows with every moment.
I let go in complete safety.
