Hello and welcome.
I'm Ashley.
Thank you so much for setting time aside to focus on yourself today.
Before we begin,
Please make sure you are settled in a safe,
Comfortable space where you can fully relax and let go.
Because this recording is designed to guide you into a state of deep relaxation,
Please do not listen while driving,
Operating machinery,
Or doing anything that requires your full attention.
Now take a deep breath in and let's begin.
Welcome.
This is a time to set the day down.
Wherever you are.
Let your body find a position that feels supportive.
You don't need to arrange yourself perfectly.
Just good enough.
Sleep isn't something you have to force or accomplish.
It is something that comes to you the way the darkness comes when the sun sets.
And resting is already happening.
Let your eyes close or let them soften and go still.
Take a breath in through your nose.
And let it go with a long sigh out through your mouth.
Once more,
Breathe in and out.
And release.
Now let's let your breathing return to its own rhythm.
You don't need it to control it.
Your body knows how.
There is nothing to accomplish tonight.
Only rest.
Let's help your body settle.
One part at a time.
The way the woods settle at dusk.
Let's begin with your feet.
Imagine them sinking into the soft carpet of leaves.
Heavy,
Warm and still.
Let any tension in your toes,
Your arches,
Your heels drift out of you and into the ground.
Let that heaviness travel up into your calves,
Into your knees.
Let your thighs grow heavy and supported.
Your hips sink and widen.
The weight of your body is fully settled now.
Let your awareness rise to your belly.
With each breath,
It softens and rises,
Soften and falls,
Like a slow tide.
There's nothing to hold on to.
Nothing told in.
Let your chest open and ease.
Your shoulders,
Which may have been carrying so much today.
Begin to drop away from your ears.
Let them melt as though they are made of warm wax.
Your arms grow heavy from your shoulders to your elbows,
And then from your elbows to your wrists.
And your wrists to the very tips of your fingers.
Your hands rest open and loose.
Soften your neck.
Let your head be fully supported as though it were being cradled.
Let your jaw unclench,
Your teeth part slightly,
Your tongue rests heavy in your mouth.
The tiny muscles around your eyes let go.
Your forehead smooths.
Like still water.
Your whole body is heavy.
Warm,
Quiet,
And resting.
Now with your body already beginning to settle.
Let's imagine that it's early evening on a cool autumn day.
The light is low and golden,
Shining softly through the trees.
You're walking on a quiet path at the edge of the woods.
There's no hurry at all.
Know where you need to be.
Nothing you need to finish.
The air is crisp and clean,
Carrying the faint sweetness of the fallen leaves and the damp earth.
A gentle coolness brushes your cheeks.
While the warmth within your body stays steady and close.
With each step,
The path softens beneath their feet.
Layers of leaves,
Amber,
Rust,
And deep gold.
They make a soft papery sound as you pass.
Notice that you're breathing a little more slowly now.
And with every exhale,
A little more of your day leaves your body the way a leaf lets go from a branch.
Not with effort.
Simply because it's time.
Now picture a tall old tree beside your path.
Its branches are full of leaves.
Each one a slightly different color.
A light breeze moves through the tree.
And one leaf lets go.
It drifts down slowly,
Turning,
Taking its time,
With no destination to reach.
It lands softly on the ground.
Another leaf lets go.
It sways and floats.
And then it settles.
Now your thoughts can be like these leaves.
When a thought appears,
A worry,
A reminder,
A replay of the day.
You don't need to chase it or fight,
Fight it or solve it.
You can simply watch it let go.
Let go of the branch and drift down.
Landing softly.
Becoming a part of the quiet ground.
If a thought comes,
Let it fall.
If another thought comes,
Let it fall too.
The tree doesn't hold on to its leaves overnight.
And you don't have to hold on to your thoughts tonight.
They will still be there in the morning if you need them.
And they will be lighter in the daylight.
Whatever is unfinished can't stay unfinished until tomorrow.
Whatever is unsolved can rest,
Is not the time for solving.
The night is for restoring.
Ahead of you now through the trees there's a small light,
A warm glow in a window.
It's a little cabin and you know it's yours for tonight.
Smoke rises in a thin lazy line from a chimney.
You step inside and the air is warm.
It smells faintly of cedar and wood smoke.
The low fire glows in the fireplace,
Crackling softly.
Study.
And unhurried.
There's a bed here,
Heaped with thick blankets,
Soft and heavy.
In just the right temperature.
You slide beneath them.
The weight settles over you like a gentle hand singing.
You are safe.
You can stop now.
Outside the wind moves through the trees in long slow breaths.
This soft patter of leaves.
Hit against the window.
Maybe you hear a faint call of an owl.
And every sound only deepens the quiet.
Because you're inside warm and sheltered.
And nothing out there needs you tonight.
You are safe here.
You are held here.
You are allowed to rest.
Now bring your attention back to your breath.
And let it follow the rhythm of the season.
As you breathe in,
Imagine the cool,
Clean air of the autumn night.
As you breathe out,
Imagine the warmth of the fire spreading through you.
Cool in.
Warm out.
Cool in.
Warm out.
Each breath is a little slower than the last.
Each pause between breaths is a little longer.
The way the autumn slows everything.
Growth settles,
Sap draws inward.
The whole forest turns toward rest.
This is what nature does every year.
It lets go and it rests.
It trusts that rest is part of the cycle,
Not a failure of it.
And you can trust it too.
If you should wake during the night.
You can come back to this place.
Just remember the cabin.
The warm glow,
The heavy blankets,
The soft sound of the leaves.
You do not need to look at the clock or measure the hours.
You can simply close your eyes and remember,
I am resting.
My body knows how to return to sleep.
And even if sleep takes a little while to come,
Resting is still nourishing.
Lying quietly,
Warm and still,
Is still a kind of healing.
Let's let everything grow quieter now.
The fire burns low and steady.
The leaves continue to fall one by one outside the window.
Your breath is soft and even.
Your body is heavy and warm and deeply still.
There's nothing left to do.
Nothing left to figure out.
Nothing to hold on to.
Let yourself sink down.
Into the softness beneath you.
Settling into their curse.
Becoming part of the quiet.
Sleeping.
Or simply resting.
Either one is exactly right.
The night will carry you from here.
Breath by breath.
You can drift a little farther from the day.
A little deeper into the quiet.
Nothing is needing you right now.
Nothing is asking for your attention.
You cannot let the world fade.
Got the wrong fade.
Let sleep come in its own time.
