Inviting Rest

This meditation is an invitation to rest, for those who may be struggling to fall asleep or finding it hard to allow themselves to slow down. We begin by giving ourselves permission to simply rest. Awareness of the body, and the breath in the body, brings ease to the mind. As the body finds stillness through the breath, the mind follows, gently transitioning into a state of rest and creating the conditions for sleep and renewal.

Transcript

Greetings and welcome to this meditation inviting rest. Before we even begin this meditation, I invite you to just take a moment, Find yourself in a comfortable place, A place where you can feel the support of the seat below you, Or even lying down on the floor. Start by simply taking a deep breath in. Put your hand on your heart. Exhale. And give yourself some kindness and some care such that you can approach rest with ease. Take another deep breath in, Keeping your hand on your heart. Pause at the top of that breath. And then just exhale a really gentle, Slow exhale. Giving yourself permission. To approach rest. Find a natural cadence of your breath. Remind yourself that this is your body's time to relax and release. Let the mind do what the mind wants to do and don't even bother chasing sleep. Just remind yourself. That you are simply here to rest. Take another nice long inhale. Hold at the top of that inhale. And then gently. And slowly exhale, Release, Relax, Let go. Feel the seat below you or the floor underneath you. Allow the body to be heavy, Feeling that gentle pull of gravity. Allowing you to sink into the seat or the floor below you. Let your body be heavy. Find a natural rhythm of your breath breathing in. And breathing out. Bring your awareness to the sensation of that breath in your body Again, Let there be ease. Let the body be breathed. In this moment, Let the mind do what the mind wants to do. Simply place your awareness on the gentle feeling of the breath. Inside the body. If there's any measure of anxiousness or stimulation with the breath, Just bring that focus of awareness to the very tip of your nose. Feeling the sensation simply where the breath enters the body. And where the breath leaves the body. Bring your awareness to your exhales. Exhaling gently. Inviting any muscles to release and relax in the body following that exhale. Let the exhale be gentle. An invitation to the body to also find gentle ease. The in-breath will naturally follow. No need to bring any effort here. Simply focus the awareness on the exhale. Imagine at the top of the head there is a gentle light or warm breeze. As that gentle light passes from the tip of the head down to the brow. Let it be the invitation to relax and let go. Any points of tension. Across the brow. Cross the eyes, Let the eyelids rest gently. Across the jaw. Even the lips and the tongue can release. Let the lower jaw be heavy and let go. Releasing those muscles all the way down to the shoulders. Let the shoulders drop down. The shoulders to the arms, Letting the hands rest heavy wherever they are. Feel that exhale once more inviting that release, That letting go. All the way down through the back, Feeling the softness of the belly. The legs hang heavy. Across the thighs and the knees down to the legs. Let the feet go. Feel the breath again. The exhale. Followed by the effortless inhale. Rest your awareness here at the center of your being. Let the breath be a gentle massage. One more nice, Gentle, Long exhale.

Reviews

Beautiful meditation! Much needed. I appreciate how my body really relaxed into your words and the music. I was completely ready for sleep at the end.