Welcome,
My name is Sue.
This is an exercise to help you unwind and let go of any tension in your body in preparation for sleep.
Start by setting yourself up in bed,
On a mat,
Or wherever you like.
Lie down on your back.
Make yourself comfortable.
Move around a bit until you feel just right.
Take your time.
Once you're comfortable,
Settle the body into stillness.
Know that you're welcome to fall asleep at any point during this meditation.
We're going to focus on engaging and then relaxing parts of the body and use that process to methodically let go,
Bit by bit.
Before we do that,
Let's first give attention to the breath.
As we engage different muscle groups,
There's a tendency to hold the breath.
Instead of holding,
We want to invite a smooth and calm breathing pattern.
So bring your attention to how the breath feels in your body,
Maybe by noticing a little lift and lowering in the chest as you breathe in and out.
Basically bringing your focus to how your breathing might slow down the breath.
The other thing we can do to calm our breathing is to lengthen the exhale.
So maybe add another beat or two to your exhale,
Slowing the breath and then the mind begins to quiet.
As we progress through this exercise,
We'll check in again with the breath.
Start at the feet.
Engage the muscles in the toes by curling your toes.
Squeeze and hold.
Breathe in and out.
Relax your toes.
Flex the feet and press your heels away.
Now release and allow your feet to splay open.
Check in with your breath and maybe slow it by adding length to the exhale.
We'll move next to the legs.
Contract the muscles in the legs,
Both upper and lower.
Thighs hug inward.
Squeeze and hold.
Relax the legs.
Flex the glutes.
Release the glutes.
Your lower body is now completely relaxed.
Contract the belly and chest like you're squeezing the front of the body down to meet the back body.
Hold.
Relax the front body.
Allow the belly to be soft.
Squeeze the shoulder blades together underneath you and move the shoulders gently away from the ears.
Relax the shoulders.
Make fists with your hands.
Tighten the arms,
Upper and lower.
Hold.
Relax the arms.
Relax the hands.
The fingers gently curled.
Next we'll move to the face.
Close your eyes tightly.
Hold.
Let go and relax the eyes.
Make a big smile.
Hold.
Relax the mouth.
Relax the cheeks.
Now squeeze the eyes shut and smile big at the same time.
Hold.
Relax your face.
The forehead.
The eyes.
The cheeks.
The mouth.
Put a light swallow in your throat.
Let the neck be soft.
Breathe gently.
Your body is heavy,
Fully supported,
Relaxed and peaceful,
Ready for sleep.
Sleep well.
