Hello and welcome to this evening's yoga major practice.
My name is Caitlin Griffin.
Thank you for joining me for this guided meditation to help you fall asleep and get better quality of sleep.
I'd like us to begin by laying down flat on your back.
You can do this in your bed or anywhere else,
Getting as comfortable as you can,
Even using pillows and blankets to prop you up.
And once you arrive,
Laying flat on your back,
Closing down the eyes.
We're going to take the next minute or so,
Draw the senses inward by bringing awareness to your breath,
To your physical body,
And to your mind,
Your thoughts.
Using this next minute or so to leave today in the past,
Releasing any attachment to things that occurred prior today,
And beginning to transition our bodies and our minds into a state of deep relaxation,
Preparing for sleep.
And taking a moment,
Reminding yourself that I give my body and mind permission to release any pain or suffering experienced today.
And telling yourself that I feel safe and comfortable in my body and in this space.
And with that,
Drawing attention back to the breath,
Taking the deepest inhale you have all day,
Really filling up the belly.
And exhale out through the nose or mouth,
Allowing your body to fully release and fully relax into the floor beneath you.
Losing the rise and fall of your belly and your chest.
In the next inhale,
I want you to make tight fists with your hands,
Tense,
Squeeze them as hard as you can as you fill up the belly.
And on the exhale,
Releasing your hands,
Releasing any tension,
And exhaling fully and completely.
Taking that one more time,
Squeezing the hands with a nice tight fist,
Even tensing up your whole body,
The glutes,
Every muscle you can think of.
And on that exhale,
Sighing breath out through the mouth as you release every muscle you just tensed up.
And taking that full body once again,
Inhale,
Squeezing every single muscle as tight as you possibly can,
Full body awareness here.
And exhale,
Release all muscle and all tension.
Exhaling completely and fully.
And as you continue to cultivate that nourishing,
Deep inhale,
Deeply fulfilling exhale,
I want you to bring your attention all the way down the body,
Down the right leg and into that right big toe.
Inhaling all of your attention down to that right foot,
Noticing all your toes this time.
Moving that awareness into the sole of the foot,
The top of the foot,
And just noticing your whole right foot.
The right ankle.
And the next inhale,
Moving up the right leg,
Into the calf,
The shin,
Drawing attention to the right knee.
And then bringing our attention to the right thigh.
And then on the next breath,
Noticing the right leg as a whole and how it feels.
Not judging it,
Just noticing how it feels.
And moving that awareness down through the left leg and into that left big toe.
Deep nourishing inhale,
How you bring attention to all the toes on the left foot.
Moving that attention now to the sole of the foot.
The top of the foot.
Now taking note of the whole left foot and how it feels.
Next inhale,
Draws your attention up into that ankle.
Up through the calf and the shin.
And into the left knee.
Noticing the left thigh.
And then taking that left leg as a whole,
Noticing how it feels.
Does it feel different than the right side?
If so,
How?
Moving that breath and awareness into your hips,
Your pelvic floor,
Your root.
Inhaling all the energy into the hips.
And on the exhale,
Allowing them to relax and release deeper into the floor beneath you.
Inhaling into the belly,
Filling it up fully and completely.
On the exhale,
Allowing that lower back to touch the earth,
Noticing how it feels.
Inhaling into the heart space,
Feeling full of love and gratitude.
On the exhale,
Releasing any tension in the torso and the back.
Moving into the shoulders,
Noticing how they feel.
Before traveling down the right arm,
All the way to the right elbow.
Right forearm,
Wrist.
And into the palm of the hand and up through each finger,
One at a time.
And drawing awareness to your right hand as a whole.
And moving on to the left shoulder,
Down the left arm,
Into that left elbow,
Forearm.
The left wrist,
Into the palm of the left hand.
And drawing awareness to each finger,
One at a time.
Inhaling all the way into the fingertips.
And drawing your attention to your neck.
Releasing any tension you might be holding onto in the back of the neck.
And bringing your attention to the jaw,
Unclenching it if you are.
Allowing the face to soften as you unfurl the brow,
Relaxing the forehead and the third eye.
Bringing that attention to the crown of your head.
And next inhale,
Taking a moment to scan up and down your entire body.
Giving any extra love to any places your intuition calls you to.
And letting go.
I'd like to leave you with a couple affirmations as you begin to drift off into sleep.
Reminding yourself that sleep comes easily for me.
My body is heavy and relaxed.
I feel a sense of calm,
Peace and tranquility.
Embracing stillness as I lay here ready for deep rest.
I deserve quality healing sleep,
Allowing me to feel renewed and restored in the morning.
I am now entering a deep healing state of rest and relaxation.
