Hi,
My name is Ashley.
Maybe you've been lying here for a while now.
Watching the ceiling,
Checking the clock.
Shutting your eyes and hoping sleep finds you.
That's okay.
There's nothing wrong with having a little quiet time to yourself.
In the middle of the night.
It can be a time for your mind to rest and relax.
While you enjoy a chance to think your own thoughts.
In the quiet.
And the stillness.
And maybe just in pressing play.
Something in you is already softening just a little bit.
Maybe something in you is already beginning to let go.
So here is your invitation tonight.
To simply rest and relax.
This is your time.
This is your space.
Your chance to just be still.
And let the world keep spinning.
Without you needing to do anything at all.
Sleep arrives in its own time,
In its own way.
And resting exactly as you are.
Eyes closed.
Body still.
Is already doing so much for you.
Your body benefits just from being here.
Lying down with nowhere else to be.
Your muscles are relaxing.
Your nervous system is downshifting and settling.
Your breathing can slow down.
Your mind can take a break from doing,
Solving,
Planning,
And carrying the weight of the day.
In the middle of the night.
The brain has a chance.
To shift away from stimulation.
Into a different mode.
Processing experiences.
Organizing information.
And integrating what we've learned throughout the day.
Like giving a bustling office some much-needed time at the end of the day to sort through paperwork after the doors have closed.
Resting wakefulness can support memory,
Learning.
Emotional processing.
And mental recovery.
Giving the brain a chance to slow down from the demands of thinking,
Deciding,
Responding,
And staying alert.
You are creating space for restoration.
You are giving your mind a gentler environment than the busy pace of daytime life.
And when sleep arrives sooner or later.
You've already given yourself.
A period of genuine rest.
And your body benefits too.
Your muscles have a chance to relax and let go.
Your heart and lungs can work a little less intensely.
Your nervous system can take a break from all the activity,
Stimulation,
And demands of the day.
Simply being still.
Comfortable,
And allowing yourself this pause is restorative in its own way.
And it can be a chance to quiet the mind.
By tuning in with the body.
Beginning now with all the places where your body is touching the bed beneath you.
Noticing all the places where your body is being held.
The mattress pressing up to meet your shoulders.
You're back.
Your hips.
All the way down to your feet.
You might see what it feels like to be alive in your body right now.
In the quiet.
Innosomus.
Maybe there's a heaviness to your body.
Or a gentle hum of awareness.
You might see how it feels to let the bed beneath you Do all of the work.
Giving over your full weight trusting it to hold everything for you.
Sinking down a little deeper with each breath.
And bringing a soft attention to your jaw.
Letting the teeth part lightly.
The tongue resting gently in the roof of the mouth.
The whole jaw relaxing and letting go.
Letting your eyes rest behind your eyelids,
Soft and dark.
And quiet.
Settling into stillness.
Your shoulders may enjoy melting away from your ears.
Spreading wide across the bed.
And now finding your breath.
Just as it is.
Noticing if it's deep or shallow.
Fast or slow.
Steady or varied.
Not trying to change it.
Just observing with curiosity.
And after a few breaths,
You might start to experiment.
With letting each exhale.
Grow a little bit longer.
A little bit deeper.
A little bit slower than the last.
Like a long smooth sigh.
Breathing in.
.
.
And breathing out slowly and completely.
Each exhale carrying you a little further down.
A little closer to sleep.
Breathing in,
I am resting.
Breathing out,
I am ready to let go.
If thoughts are visiting you tonight,
Plans,
Conversations,
Ideas.
.
.
You might imagine gently gathering them up.
The way you'd gather scattered papers from a desk.
And placing them in a drawer.
In a safe and secure place.
The conversations you'll have tomorrow,
Into the drawer.
The decision you're trying to make.
Into the drawer.
The thing you need to focus on tomorrow.
Into the drawer.
One by one.
Setting down each thought for the night.
And then closing the drawer softly.
Knowing it will be here in the morning.
And everything you've placed inside will be waiting for you if and when you need it.
Your thoughts will all be there tomorrow.
Exactly where you left them.
And you can pick them up.
When the time is right.
The clear and rested mind.
Tonight,
The drawer is closed.
And your only job.
Is to relax.
Right now.
There is only this.
Lying here.
Breathing.
.
.
Resting.
And shifting.
From thinking?
Into feeling.
Noticing your hands resting.
Sorry.
Loose.
Growing heavy.
That heaviness traveling slowly up your arms.
Your arms settling in.
Pleasantly heavy.
A quiet ease spreading through your chest.
Your belly.
Breathing becomes softer.
And slower.
Your legs now.
Heavy.
And still.
Sinking deeper into the bed.
Your whole body.
Soft.
Heavy.
Completely at ease.
You might let these words drift through your awareness.
Receiving whichever ones are right for you tonight.
I am resting.
I am here now.
I am safe and comfortable.
My body knows how to relax.
My body knows how to rest and restore.
My only job right now is to be here.
Everything else can wait until morning.
This is my time to simply be.
Breathing in,
I am aware.
Breathing out,
I relax and let go.
Breathing in,
I drift.
Breathing out,
I dream.
Simply drifting.
Like a small boat untethered from the dock.
Lightly popping.
On slow gentle water.
The light growing dim.
Soft.
Distance.
The night settling quiet.
Around you.
Heavy.
Soft.
Drifting.
Deeper and deeper.
And deeper still.
Interesting.
Away.
