Welcome to this nervous system unwind before bed.
This meditation will help you balance your nervous system,
Whether you are anxious,
Stressed or depressed.
You can use this practice before bed or at any time during your day when you need a bit unwinding.
Let's start by making yourself extremely comfortable,
Especially if your goal is to fall asleep,
Go ahead and lay down,
Place a pillow below your knees,
Below your head,
Leaning into feeling supported.
The nervous system has gained a lot more popularity lately and for a very good reason.
It wasn't too long ago that we all thought that anxiety,
Depression,
Stress were just mental health concerns.
It's not until now that science is looking beyond the mind and into the body.
Let's take 3 physiological sighs which are clinically proven to be highly effective at releasing stress.
Exhale completely,
As you inhale,
Inhale deeply,
Take a full breath in,
Now take a second breath in,
Even if it's a small sip of air,
And now as you exhale,
Make any sound like a sigh As you are releasing your exhale,
Repeat this 2 more times,
2 inhales,
1 big sigh out.
Allow your breath to settle into it's natural rhythm and bringing your awareness into your body.
This meditation is an act of surrendering,
Letting go,
Feel yourself settling in,
Feel your body heavy,
Releasing any activity,
Any activation of the muscles and allowing relaxation to spread,
Like butter melting in a hot pan.
Once you've settled in,
Let's bring our awareness into our breath.
Your breath,
A beautiful rhythm,
A soothing pace,
In and out.
It's a beautiful indicator of how your nervous system is feeling.
Maybe your breath is short and shallow and fight or flight is activated.
Can you observe your breath without the need for judgement,
Finding a sense of compassion for yourself.
As you breathe in,
Focus on this feeling of compassion and kindness for yourself and your body.
As you breathe out,
Exhale out the gratitude for realizing that your nervous system,
Your body are here to keep you alive,
To protect you.
Breathe in compassion,
Kindness.
Breathe out gratitude,
Giving thanks.
Repeat this for your next 10 breaths,
Making your inhales and exhales a bit longer each time.
And now we'll start to unwind different parts of your body and spreading this blanket of relaxation further along every cell in your body.
Whenever you bring your awareness into a body part,
We'll breathe into it and as you exhale releasing any heaviness,
Any tension,
Sending signals to the nervous system from the spinal cord all the way to the brain that it's safe to relax and that it's safe to activate the parasympathetic nervous system which allows the body and mind to rest,
Digest everything that has entered into your space today and to heal any emotional residue,
Any scars or wounds you might have.
So let's begin,
Bringing your awareness into the soles of your feet,
Breathe into them and release as you exhale,
Spreading out to both your feet and all 10 toes.
Take a soft breath in and release any heaviness through your mattress down to the earth.
Your calves,
Your shins,
Breathe into them and release all the activity of all the tiny muscles running through your calves,
Moving up into your knees,
Breathe into them and relax as you exhale,
Your thighs and hamstrings,
Breathe in soothing,
Healing,
Exhale heaviness.
Your hips,
Pushing down into your bed,
Breathe into them and release.
We store so much trauma in our hips,
Allow yourself to send it out with your breath.
Your lower belly,
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath into your lower belly,
Massaging the nervous system,
The organs and as you exhale,
Releasing any tension.
Your abdomen,
Ribcage,
Breathe in,
Relax.
Your heart,
Your chest,
Send it soothing energy with your inhale and release any tension with your exhale,
Both your shoulders running down into both your arms,
Take a deep breath in,
Relax your arms,
Allow them to become heavier,
Melting in your mattress.
Your hands,
Softly touching your sheets,
Breathe into the palms of your hands and release any tension,
All ten fingers,
Breathe into them,
Feel your fingers and release.
Take a deep breath in here,
Maybe you feel like yawning or sighing,
This is your nervous system balancing itself,
Give your body what it's asking for right now,
Wrapping around to your back,
Your spine,
The gateway between the brain and the gut,
The mind and the body.
Take a deep breath from your lower back all the way up to your upper back and as you exhale,
Releasing any pain,
Any tension,
Allowing your face to become mellow,
Your eyelids,
Breathe into them,
Allow them to relax,
Your cheeks,
Breathe into them and release,
Allow your face to melt like an ice cube in warm water,
Your eyes weighing heavily,
Leaning back in their eye sockets,
Your jaw unclenched,
Your tongue relaxed,
Softness is spreading into every cell in your body and deeply nestling in,
Bringing soothing,
Healing into all the systems in your body,
Breathe into your brain,
Sending it soothing,
Healing,
Exhale,
Release any mental tension and so even the mind is brought peace,
Can you sense stillness within yourself,
Like the quiet night sky right before the sun rises again,
When everybody,
All animals,
All people,
Even plants are in their own natural rhythms,
Resting,
Releasing,
Surrendering to the night and so are you,
Surrendering,
Softly,
To sleep,
Sweet dreams.
