Welcome friends,
My name is Amy Rutledge and I am so honored and grateful to be your guide for this sleep meditation.
Begin by taking a comfortable lying down position,
Maybe doing a stretch if that feels nice today.
Taking a few deep breaths and as we begin to sink into the bed,
Maybe beginning to softly close the eyes and releasing the day.
If there's anything that's causing you worry or anxiety,
You can imagine that there's this container and it can look like anything you like.
I invite you to visualize placing anything that's causing you trouble or worries,
Placing it into this container and sealing it up shut tight,
Just giving yourself some space.
You can imagine placing that container someplace far far away and reminding yourself that it's safe to let go just for now.
If it feels right,
Maybe placing a hand over your heart,
The other hand over your belly.
Just for a moment,
Just feeling the sense of connection,
Feeling the warmth against your heart space.
Maybe you can feel your heart beating or just get a sense of your heart beating.
Feel the rise and fall of your hands as you breathe in and breathe out.
I invite you to affirm this with me silently in your mind or out loud if you'd like.
I forgive the past,
I release the future,
And I honor how I feel in this present moment.
You can release your hands if you like or you can leave them there.
I invite you just to focus on one thing that you can be grateful for today and it can be as simple as having shelter or fresh drinking water.
Perhaps with gratitude for your bed,
Your pillow,
Blankets,
And very slowly and gently guiding your attention to notice the breath as it moves in and out of the nose,
The mouth.
Feel the rise and fall of the belly or the chest and if it feels right,
I invite you to breathe in through the nose for the count of four and then on the exhale producing the humming sound.
Breathing in through the nose for the count of four and then on the whole exhale producing the humming sound.
This helps calm the nervous system and to signal to our mind and our bodies that we are safe in this moment.
I invite you to practice this just for a few rounds at your own tempo,
Your own pace.
Just allowing these vibrations to soothe you,
Your face,
Your skull,
Your throat area,
Your chest.
And practice for one more round.
Beginning to let it go,
Take a few deep breaths in and out.
Beginning to become aware of the weight of your body against whatever you are resting on today.
Feel that pressure against the back of your head and the pillow or your back and legs against the bed.
Just noticing what it feels like to be fully held and supported in this way.
Noticing the temperature of the air on your skin.
Notice any warmth from the clothes or your blankets.
Very slowly and gently invite you to notice the top of the head.
Noticing any sensations with loving awareness,
Any movement,
Pressure.
We're noticing with curiosity,
With non-judgmental loving awareness of what is in this moment.
Beginning to relax and soften the forehead.
Relaxing the brow bone and the space in between the eyebrows.
Just letting everything go.
Noticing the eyes and all the tiny little muscles behind the eyes.
Softening the mouth,
Maybe releasing the tongue to the bottom of the mouth.
Maybe gently parting the lips.
Noticing if you are clenching the jaw and if you are just softly releasing the jaw.
Noticing the neck and the throat area,
The sensation of swallowing.
Relaxing down the shoulders.
Noticing your left shoulder,
The left upper arm,
The left elbow.
Noticing the left lower arm,
The left wrist,
The left thumb,
The left pointer finger,
The left middle finger,
Left ring finger,
Left pinky,
Left palm,
Back of the left hand,
Whole left hand.
Slowly guiding attention to notice the right shoulder,
Right upper arm,
Right elbow,
Right lower arm,
Right wrist,
Right thumb,
Right pointer finger,
Right middle finger,
Right ring finger,
Right pinky,
The right palm,
Back of the right hand,
Whole right hand.
Gently guiding your attention to the upper back,
Middle of the back,
The lower back.
Noticing the chest area,
The belly,
Pelvic area,
The left hip,
The left upper leg,
Left knee,
Left lower leg,
The left top of the foot,
The left bottom foot,
The left toes.
Gently guiding attention to the right hip,
The right upper leg,
The right knee,
The right lower leg,
The right ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Bottom right foot,
The right toes,
Whole right foot,
Whole left foot,
Both feet,
Both legs,
Whole torso,
The whole head,
The whole body.
