Hello and welcome to the Daily Insight.
My name is Annemarie Rowley and I am a meditation teacher in Melbourne,
Australia and it's a pleasure to be with you here on Insight Timer today.
This session is a mindfulness practice guiding you into a peaceful,
Relaxing state to be ready for bed and a deep,
Nurturing sleep.
Whether you are actually in bed or lying in some warm,
Cozy space,
Ensure you are in a place where it is unlikely you will be disturbed and where darkness prevails or lighting is dimming.
Cover yourself in a blanket or wrap for a sense of safety and comfort.
Your feet are separated about hip-width distance apart.
Your legs are long and loose and the little toes are gently falling outwards.
Be as still as you can be.
But if you need to,
Do shuffle a little with complete awareness.
You could rest your hands one over the other over your belly seated on top of the water bottle if you are using one,
Unclenched and the fingers soft.
Snuggle into the warmth and textures around you.
We are about to journey through the body.
Hear my voice and allow it to guide you peacefully and gently.
Your eyes are softly closed.
Drop the jaw and again and again.
Feel all tension,
Leave your face.
Roll your head from side to side slowly a few times and with full awareness,
Relaxing the back of the neck,
The throat and the shoulders.
And soften the lower back.
Bring your awareness to the soles of your feet.
Be intensely aware of how your feet are feeling,
What you can feel in the soles of the feet.
Perhaps warmth or tingling or cool or a gentle pulsing.
Thousands of nerve endings make up the map of your feet.
Energy flowing through.
Imagine energy flowing through the soles of your feet and out through your toes.
And if thoughts are arising,
Allow these thoughts to gently float by like clouds in the sky.
Just let them float by.
The mind will frolic and at times annoy you.
Just bring your mind back to my voice.
The mind is playful but often full of nonsense,
Worries and concerns,
None of which are useful to you.
Now become aware of the top of your feet and all of the tiny bones and ligaments in your feet.
Now notice your toes.
Move your attention to every toe without moving any of them.
The tips of the toes,
Beneath the toes,
The top of the toes.
I am relaxing my toes.
I am relaxing my toes.
My toes are relaxed.
Sometimes you'll also be aware of the sounds around you.
We live in a soundscape,
Sound constantly streaming through our lives.
Hear them but don't attach to them.
Move your attention from sound to sound without attempting to identify where or what they are.
Bring your attention to your shins,
The sensitive shins.
Sense the weight of the calves and feel them sinking,
Sinking.
Notice the thighs and then the buttocks,
The heaviest muscles of all.
As you release through the buttocks,
Notice what happens to your lower back,
How it softens,
How it releases too.
Become aware of the natural breath,
Become aware of the deep,
Natural,
Spontaneous breath and hear my voice.
You don't need to stay at the surface to hear my voice,
Just allow some part of you to be listening.
Keep listening to me and know that you are breathing.
I know I am breathing in.
I know I am breathing out.
Drop throughout the shoulders.
Feel the tension leave the front,
Back and side of the shoulders.
Unleash any knots that you may feel between the shoulder blades.
Sense the upper arms,
The wrists,
The fingertips.
Unclench the fingers.
Feel the softness in the palms.
You may sense a gentle pulsing in the palms of your hands,
A gentle throbbing,
A gentle tingling.
Open out your fingers and then let them curl in again.
I am relaxing my fingers.
I am relaxing my fingers.
My fingers are relaxed.
Now draw your attention to the top of the head,
The crown of the head.
Perhaps you can sense a slight tingling or pulsing at the crown of the head.
Feel the forehead,
Both sides of the head.
The right eyebrow,
The left eyebrow,
The space between the eyebrows.
The right eyelid,
The left eyelid.
The right eye,
The left eye.
The right ear,
The left ear.
The right cheek,
The left cheek.
Enter the cheek simultaneously and feel the inside of the cheeks.
Be aware of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
The right nostril,
The left nostril,
The wings of the nose,
The sides of the nose,
The bridge of the nose.
Can you sense cool air crossing the bridge of your nose?
Now bring your attention to the upper lip,
The lower lip,
The chin,
The jaw,
The throat,
The right collarbone,
The left collarbone,
Right chest,
The left chest,
The middle of the chest,
The navel,
The belly and in your imagination,
Just watch and feel the belly rising and falling with the breath.
Rising and falling,
Rising and falling.
Now just visualize your body as lying on the floor.
See your body lying perfectly still on the floor in this space.
And now begin to float upwards as though you are floating out of your body towards the ceiling.
Looking down upon your body.
Noticing how relaxed it is becoming.
The whole body and this space that is occupied by your body.
Body and space.
Look down upon your face.
See the lines between the eyelids.
How complete and rested the eyes appear to be.
And the lines between the lips.
How soft and rested they too appear to be.
Soft eyes,
Soft lips.
And the lips just in a very slight smile.
Soft and smiling.
Feel the breath moving along the passage between the navel and the throat.
On inhalation it rises from the navel to the throat.
On exhalation it descends from the throat to the navel.
Navel to the throat.
Throat to the navel.
As you breathe softly in and out,
Feel as though you are floating on the waves of breath amongst the clouds.
Rising higher and higher into a bright blue sky.
Your body floats like a cloud wherever the wind blows the clouds.
Your body is also blown.
Wisps of cloud brush past your face.
Warm and cool.
Cool and warm.
Your body is lifted by currents of air and carried over the sea.
A bright blue tranquil sea.
Sun is glistening on the water.
The rays of warmth are penetrating your whole being.
Your body becomes immersed in the soft golden hues passing through your whole being.
Filling it with warmth and light and peace.
Feel yourself awashed in soft gentle hues.
Colors penetrating your whole body.
Nourishing and invigorating you at a deep,
Deep,
Deep level.
Feel the light penetrate your eyes.
Feel the light illuminate your face.
Feel your skin glowing.
It's as though you're in the middle of nowhere.
Lightly floating.
Without burden,
Without cares,
Without concerns.
Just in this moment feeling light,
Soft,
Calm.
And now you float back down into your body and allow the sweet murmurs of slumber to soothe your body and mind.
Drifting,
Drifting,
Drifting.
Light,
Soft,
Easy.
Nowhere to go.
Nowhere to be.
In the middle of nowhere.
In the middle of nowhere.
And now be aware of how your body feels.
Are you feeling a little lighter or perhaps a little heavier?
A floating sensation or a sinking sensation?
Just notice the sensations through your body.
Allowing yourself to let go.
The breath will guide you,
My voice will guide you.
Going deep within.
Going deeper and deeper still.
Letting go,
Letting go.
And again and again.
Drifting deeper.
Drifting deeper and deeper.
And deeper into relaxation.
At this very moment there is nothing for you to clutch onto.
Nothing for your mind to figure out.
Nothing to weigh you down.
No sadness to hold onto.
Just letting go.
Resting.
Releasing.
And as you inhale notice how free you are feeling to draw in a long,
Deep,
Quenching breath.
Allowing the breath to draw you inwards to that place of serenity and harmony.
Go deep.
Deep within.
Deeper still.
As you relax more deeply.
Going deeper.
Going deeper.
The body becoming softer and softer.
Deeper still.
A soft,
Flowing feeling.
Coursing through your whole being.
A gentle flowing feeling.
Streams of relaxation and calmness flowing through your body.
Streams of relaxation flowing through your body.
Drifting deeper and deeper.
Still.
Your breath draws you within.
Still listening to my voice.
And now as you breathe out your body is relaxing more and more.
And even more deeply.
And you realise that with each breath you can go deeper and deeper.
There is no end in sinking into relaxation.
Withdrawing into this place of serenity and security.
This place that's yours.
This place of softness and silence.
And peace and pure calm.
A peaceful place.
Just a state of silent being.
Quiet within quiet.
Peace within peace.
Stillness within stillness.
This inner haven of calm.
This place where serenity reigns.
Somewhere within you.
Deep within you.
Deep deep within.
Deep peace from the glistening sun to you.
Deep peace from the mellow moon to you.
Deep peace from the sweeping plains to you.
Deep peace from the billowing waves to you.
Deep peace from the gentle breeze to you.
Deep peace from the infinite universe to you.
Deep peace to your body.
Deep peace to your breath.
Deep peace to your mind.
Deep peace to your heart.
Deep peace to the spirit within.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om.
Peace peace peace.
