Hi,
Hello and welcome to Take20.
My name is Julie and I'll take you through a special bedtime relaxation in just a moment.
This is the first episode in a series focused on sleep.
For now,
I've planned 5 episodes for different situations that might occur during and around sleep.
Two of the exercises will be released exclusively on Patreon.
You can find more info about my Patreon in the description of this episode.
Sleep is a very normal,
Natural part of life on earth,
But for many of us it doesn't always feel this way.
Humans are the only mammals to willingly delay sleep.
And apart from our high pressure,
Striving cultures,
There are many physical,
Psychological and even environmental factors that may make it hard for you to sleep.
Whatever the cause may be today,
We'll take a careful step to see if together we can alleviate some of your sleeping issues.
More specifically,
The difficulties some of us have to fall asleep in the first place.
You can do this exercise before you go to bed,
Or even if you should ever wake up in the night and find it hard to fall back asleep.
This exercise is especially helpful if you notice your thoughts jump around in your head,
Or if you're worried about something,
A very common occurrence for those of us with insomnia.
The general idea is to keep your attention with your breathing and with your body every time you notice yourself becoming lost in thought.
First of all,
Find a comfortable position in your bed.
Don't worry if later you should feel the urge to change positions,
But try to find a position that you've fallen asleep in before.
Let's begin by becoming aware of our breathing.
Take a nice,
Slow breath in through the nose,
If that's possible for you today,
And then breathe out slowly through your mouth.
Breathe in through the nose,
And breathe out through the mouth.
Breathe in,
And if you want to,
You can sigh while you breathe out.
That can feel very nice,
And perhaps help to relieve some tension in the face.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
Hold your breath for just a moment,
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
And breathe out slowly.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
And take your time to notice your body.
See if there's any sensations that are present in your body at this moment.
If it's difficult for you to focus on your body,
You can try to feel the points where your body and your bend meet.
Take a moment to feel the blanket,
The pillow,
Your clothes.
And maybe where different parts of your body meet each other.
See if you can find the space to slowly start to relax your body.
Allow yourself to relax.
See if you can notice any tension in your body.
And if there is any,
See if you can release a part of it with your next breath out.
Take another breath in,
And breathe out slowly.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Allow your muscles to soften with every breath out.
Take another slow breath in,
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Let your muscles relax.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Breathe in,
And feel how your belly swells while you breathe in.
Breathe out,
And feel how the belly moves back in the direction of the spine.
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
If you notice your thoughts come to disturb you at some point,
Don't worry.
Don't be too hard on yourself.
Slowly bring your attention back to your body.
It's very normal to be worried before you go to sleep.
Then you can take some practice to keep your attention with your body.
Then start to notice the breath.
Take a look and see where you can feel the breath in the body.
Perhaps you can feel it in your belly.
Maybe in your chest,
Your throat,
Or your nostrils.
Notice then where the breath begins.
Notice where it travels to.
Breathe in and see how the breath travels back out of the body.
Follow the breath in,
And the breath out.
Bring your attention to the full breath.
If you notice your thoughts wandering,
Bring yourself back,
Softly,
Ever so gently,
To the breath.
Follow the breath in,
And follow the breath out.
On our next breath,
We will try to breathe deeply in our bellies.
Breathe in and feel your belly swell up with air.
And then let go of your breath.
Notice how your belly rises while you breathe in deeply,
And falls while you breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Continue breathing softly.
If your thoughts come to disturb you,
Return to your breathing.
See your belly filling with air,
And see it deflate.
Breathe on slowly and gently.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
And feel yourself relax.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
If you like,
You can scan your body from head to toe,
And see if you can find any remaining areas of tension.
Take a gander through your body and see if you can release these points of tension while you breathe out.
Breathe in and slowly breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Bit by bit,
Part by part.
Let your breath relax your body.
Breathe in and breathe out.
After you've scanned your body,
Return your attention to your breathing.
Keep noticing your breaths as they flow in and out of your body.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Thank you.
Thank you.
