This meditation is designed to help you switch from the busy doing mode of your day into relaxation so that you can drift into a deep and restful sleep.
So start by getting comfortable.
Sitting up in bed with your lower back supported but your head not resting back on anything.
This is so you can stay aware during the meditation and allow your nervous system to switch into a relaxation response.
Closing down the eyes,
Lights down low or off.
Just feel your whole body in the bed.
We'll start by taking your attention to the fingertips.
Let your full focus rest there.
See if after a moment you feel a gentle tingling or humming in the fingertips,
Like a buzzing or vibration.
Just stay with it.
Let your nervous system responding to your attention.
Your fingers preparing for movement.
Now see if you can add your toes to your awareness.
Keeping that tingling in the fingers if you're feeling it and taking your attention to the toes.
If you get distracted by thoughts,
Just gently bring the attention back.
No judgment or effort.
Your mind will naturally wander and all you need to do is notice and come back to the fingertips and the toes.
See if you can feel that same tingling and vibration in the toes as you do in the fingers.
Just notice whatever sensations are there.
From there see if you can add the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet to your attention.
Now your whole hand,
Your whole foot on each side,
Your awareness.
Just noticing what that feels like.
Allowing that sensation to spread from the feet up the ankles and the calves and the shins all the way up to the knees.
From there travelling up the thighs and into the hips.
Now you can feel your whole leg on each side.
Noticing if there's a heaviness or a lightness to the legs now.
From your hands travelling up the wrists,
Up the crook of the arm and the elbow.
From there travelling all the way up the arms,
Up to the shoulders and the shoulder blades.
Across the chest,
Down into the belly.
Your whole body in your awareness now.
Perhaps noticing the cheeks,
The jaw,
The forehead.
Just noticing the muscles in your back.
Perhaps feeling the shoulders lower down away from your ears.
Just being aware of a feeling of relaxation beginning to emerge in the body.
Your whole body is in your awareness.
Being out of that busy doing.
Allowing the body to drift off.
Whenever you feel that your thoughts have wandered,
Just set an intention to be here.
Resting in your bed,
Preparing to sleep.
Your body and your mind coming together,
Tuning into that nervous system.
Allowing it to calm and releasing all the tension from your day.
Imagine letting it all go.
And setting an intention.
I am exactly where I'm meant to be.
There's nothing else to do.
There's no more that I need to achieve.
Now it's time to rest.
Leaving the day behind,
Allowing your body to be still.
Feeling that stillness throughout your body.
Now allowing yourself to lie down into your bed.
Continuing to focus on that whole body awareness.
Sinking into the mattress.
Focusing on that whole body awareness.
I am ready to sleep.
My mind is ready to calm.
My body is ready for stillness.
It's time to be still.
It's time to sleep.
