Welcome to your nighttime practice.
Begin to settle in,
Let the body land and feel supported beneath you.
Take a slow inhale.
Bring to mind one thing from today that you feel grateful for,
Whether it be big or small.
And then notice if the mind brings forward any other things to be grateful for,
Whether big or small.
Take a breath.
Now notice the momentum of your day,
Anything you've been holding,
Managing,
Muscling through,
Pushing aside,
Even suppressing.
Maybe notice where it's held in the body.
And then allow yourself to release it through breath.
Maybe inhale.
Feel the front of your body soften.
Now the back of your body soften.
Nothing to control right now.
You are safe to let the day go.
Slowly inhale again.
Bring your awareness now to the crown of your head.
Feel it soften.
Move down to the space behind the eyes.
Release any holding there,
Soften.
Bring your awareness to the jaw.
Let it loosen,
Relax.
Feel the throat.
Maybe imagine the throat widening just a little bit as you relax and settle.
Drop into the center of the chest.
Create some space.
Move into the belly.
Let it relax completely.
Let it go.
Bring awareness down into the hips.
Let the hips feel heavy.
Down the legs,
Through the knees.
Into the feet.
Soft.
Now let the whole system begin to downshift.
Let's inhale for four.
Hold for eight.
Exhale for eight.
Repeat again,
Breathing in for four.
Hold for eight.
Exhale for eight.
And then breathe in for four.
Hold.
Exhale.
Breathe in.
Release the technique.
And then begin to sip in through a straw.
Feel the belly.
Gently pause at the top of that breath.
And then exhale through the nose.
Take a brief pause at the end of the exhale as well.
When you feel ready,
Begin to sip through the straw again.
Brief hold.
And then exhale through the nose.
Feel that nourishing internal breath.
Just a brief pause at the end before you begin to exhale.
You begin the cycle again at your own pace,
Sipping in through the straw,
Filling the belly.
Again,
We're downshifting the system,
Grounding in,
Preparing for rest.
As we notice here,
It doesn't take that much work to really allow the system to move into deep rest relaxation.
Continue to breathe with this cycle.
Exhale.
With each breath,
Let what's left of the day fall away.
Let the body settle into its natural rhythm.
Let the mind grow quiet.
No need to hold on to anything here.
Let the breath release.
Finish off your last round.
Maybe place one hand at the heart,
One hand at the belly.
Thank yourself for taking the time to practice,
To restore.
One more inhale and exhale together to complete your practice.
Breathe in through the nose.
Exhale all the way down.
Your practice is now complete.
Feel free to move into meditation,
Sleep,
Rest,
Restore.
