Welcome to this nighttime restorative session.
This practice is designed to regulate your nervous system which helps us in accessing a state of deep relaxation for both mind,
Body and soul.
We start by getting into a comfortable position,
Preferably laying down.
Really setting yourself up for the ultimate comfort and eventually falling asleep.
Make sure your head is comfortable.
Nothing else is bothering you.
Perhaps place a pillow below your knees.
Once you're settled in,
Gently allow your eyes to close down and simply notice how it feels like to make the shift from focusing on the external world to now focusing on your internal world.
With your eyes closed,
We're moving our attention inward now,
Back inside.
Notice what you can feel in your body,
What you can hear in your mind.
We'll start with a little cleansing,
A cleansing of the energy of the mental clutter,
The mental tension that you might be holding on to and you wish to release it right now.
Imagine that there is some gentle rain,
Soothing,
Cozy,
Comforting rain coming from the heavens above and dripping onto your scalp,
On your head.
Imagine that this rain has magical abilities and the power to cleanse your mind.
Allow this rain to clear your mind and see any negative thoughts,
Any limiting beliefs wash away with the rain.
Take as much time as you need to allow the rain to work on your mind.
Perhaps you can imagine the sound of rain or you can imagine the therapeutic effects of a rainy shower on your head and as your mind feels more and more light,
Allow this rain to ripple down over your face,
Through your throat,
Cleansing your throat,
Removing and releasing any and all heaviness or blockages in your throat that are stopping you from speaking your truth,
From sharing your voice.
Allow the rain to do its job and gently move down in your shoulders.
Often we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.
We can put so much pressure on ourselves.
Allow the rain to take away the heaviness and then allow the rain to move into your heart,
Your sweet tender heart that's maybe been bruised or maybe it's open and filled with love.
Allow the rain to work its magic on your heart,
Washing away any pain,
Any left residue and then the rain is now gently moving down through both your arms.
It's almost becoming a waterfall of pure cleansing,
Bringing in relaxation into your whole body.
Allow the rain to move from your heart into your stomach,
Clearing any knots in your stomach,
Shifting down into your lower belly,
Into your gut,
Cleansing your gut.
Finally the rain reaches your hips.
We store a lot of trauma in our hips.
Allow the rain to alleviate some of your pain and finally the rain reaches down into both your legs,
Rippling through your thighs,
Your knees,
Your calves,
Your ankles and your feet.
Now notice how your body is feeling,
Still tuning into our inner world.
As you have gained this awareness,
You can now ask your body,
Body what can I bring in for better sleep,
For safety,
For relaxation or you can ask anything else you wish to ask your subconscious,
Your body in this moment.
So often in life we are looking for answers or solutions outside of ourselves but it's actually all inside of us.
Even the art of meditation should be about bringing yourself back in connection with yourself,
Not to be distracted by mantras or breathing.
It should be a vehicle to bring you closer and back in attunement with your own body and nervous system.
And you can ask yourself this question also during the day.
What do I need?
What can I bring in?
And maybe an answer has come up,
Maybe it's a vision of somebody,
Maybe it's a place in nature,
Maybe it's an object.
Imagine you are picking this up and dragging it towards your body.
You are bringing it in and notice how your body responds.
Beautiful.
Now as you're laying down you might notice your mind is calm,
Your body is relaxed and perhaps you feel like there are still some thoughts running through your mind.
Is this working?
I can't fall asleep.
This or that happened today and you're still processing things and that's okay,
It's normal.
In this moment we will shift and we will let our minds know that this is the time for restoration,
For sleep.
The time to process things,
The time to plan our day is not for now.
So you can tell your mind that you'll get back to this in the morning and imagine as you're laying down now at the back of your head there is a beautiful door and you allow this beautiful door to open and as it opens it allows all the worries,
All the concerns,
All the thoughts that were still racing in your mind to leave.
Sometimes we forget the thoughts and emotions are visitors,
Guests.
They're not meant to hang around forever.
They can also leave anytime you want them to leave.
So open the door and imagine your mind is just being emptied out of all negativity or anything that was really bothering you,
Not aligned with who you really are.
Take a comfortable breath in and exhale through your nose or mouth.
Let's do that again.
Take a comfortable breath in and exhale through your nose or mouth.
Give yourself permission to rest,
To enter deeper into a state of relaxation and finding safety within your own body.
You are your own home.
You are your own safe haven.
No matter what is going on in your life,
May you always return home to yourself,
To your heart and perhaps you can try to extend your exhales if you feel like there's some energy you want to release.
By extending your exhales and making your exhales longer than your inhales you are sending signals to your body and mind to relax.
Your body is soft and relaxed.
Your mind is clear and spacious.
I wonder if you can find the places in your body where you notice softness.
Where can you locate the feeling of softness in your body?
And I wonder if you can now locate a feeling,
The sense of stillness in your body.
Where in your body can you locate stillness?
And perhaps before you drift away,
Setting an intention to access deep and restful sleep or anything else you'd like to invite into your life and you can now begin to let go of being awake and make the transition into being asleep.
Your body already knows how to access the state of deep restful sleep.
Sweet dreams.
