Welcome to this meditation for sleep.
Use this meditation if you have trouble falling asleep or you're awakened and unable to go back to sleep.
This tool is to help guide you to a place of deep relaxation.
Please lie down and prepare yourself for your practice.
Become as comfortable as possible.
Prop yourself up with pillows,
Blankets.
Your goal here is to become supremely comfortable.
Create a little nest,
A nest for deep rest and once you feel this sense of comfort,
Begin by feeling your body resting on the ground.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Notice your body breathing,
The gentle rise and fall of your breath.
Listen for the most distant sounds that you can hear.
Let go of any judgment or the need to analyze and let your attention move from sound to sound to sound.
Imagine the sounds in your environment simply exist.
Allow them to just be there and just be.
Observe your body breathing.
Feel the earth beneath you as you watch your navel rise and fall.
As you inhale,
Feel the earth rising up to greet you.
And as you exhale,
Allow your body to release back down to gravity.
Feel the support of the earth and let gravity receive your body.
Feel your body breathing and imagine you can direct the breath,
Direct it in through your left nostril and out through the right.
Imagine this in your mind.
Imagine receiving the breath in through the left nostril and exhaling out on the right.
And after a few rounds of this,
Switch.
Inhale through your right nostril and exhale through the left.
Gently inhaling through the right and exhaling through the left.
Feel the breath traveling through your lungs,
Filling your lungs and your belly.
The expansion of the breath and the diminishing of the lungs and the belly and the chest with every exhale.
Now begin to count the breath backwards from 18 with every exhalation.
Inhaling 18,
Exhaling 18.
Inhaling 17,
Exhaling 17 and so on.
Continue as you exhale,
Feeling your body and your mind releasing deep layers of tension and continue breathing in this manner until you come to zero.
Don't worry if you miss or can't remember a number.
Simply start back at 18 where you began.
Release all counting and simply be.
Notice now the flow of the breath.
Feel it moving in your spine and imagine a light,
A full light at the base of your spine.
As you breathe in,
Feel this light travel from the base of your spine up to the crown of your head.
Breathing in this energy and exhaling that light from the top of your head back down into the entire body.
Sensing the light at the base of your spine,
Slowly moving up every vertebrae until landing at the top,
The crown of your head and then exhaling,
Allowing the breath to flow back down to the base of your spine.
Continue breathing in this manner.
Allow your body returning to its natural breath and bring your awareness to the space between your eyebrows,
On the surface of your skin,
Just between the eyes.
Sense a drop of light there.
Feel that light moving through your entire body,
Filling your whole body with light.
And as we begin the rotation of the body,
Sense the light moving from point to point on your body.
The right eye being touched by light.
The left eye being touched by light.
The right ear touched by light.
The left ear touched by light.
The right nostril.
The left nostril.
The right cheek.
The left cheek.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Upper teeth.
Lower teeth.
Throat.
Center.
The right shoulder.
The right elbow.
Right wrist.
Right thumb.
Right index finger.
Right middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky finger.
The right wrist.
Right elbow.
Right shoulder.
Throat.
Center.
Left shoulder.
Left elbow.
Left wrist.
Left thumb.
Left index finger.
Left middle finger.
Left ring finger.
Left pinky finger.
Left wrist.
Left elbow.
Left shoulder.
Throat.
Center.
Left side of the chest.
Right side of the chest.
Navel.
Pelvis.
Base of the spine.
Right hip.
Right knee.
Right ankle.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Right ankle.
Right knee.
Right hip.
Pelvis.
Left hip.
Left knee.
Left knee.
Left ankle.
Left toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Pinky toe.
Left ankle.
Left knee.
Left hip.
Pelvis.
Navel.
Center of the chest.
Right side of the chest.
Left side of the chest.
Throat.
Center.
And back to the center between your eyes.
Feel that your whole body has been filled with light.
Your whole body vibrating and radiating this beautiful light.
Feel yourself completely enveloped by the light.
Floating in the light.
Being held by the light.
Allow this light to warm every part of your body.
Return your awareness to your throat center and see a point of light at the center of your throat as you breathe in and as you breathe out.
Now let your attention rest in the center of your chest and the space around your heart.
Allow the light to fill your heart.
To surround your heart.
Now slowly begin to deepen your breath.
Come back to the room that you're resting in.
Begin to wiggle your toes and your fingers.
Noticing the sensations of the body and how you feel.
And when you're ready,
Turn onto your side and curl up your knees to your chest.
Lay on your side for a few breaths.
Becoming grounded to the world around you.
And when you're ready,
Come up to seated.
Open your eyes.
Allow yourself a few breaths and thank yourself for this time of deep rejuvenation and refreshment.
Your practice is now complete.
