Hi,
I'm Chris McDonald,
Licensed therapist,
And welcome to my easing into sleep meditation.
So this one is best to do while lying down in your bed.
And I know how hard it can be to get to sleep and your mind may be racing.
It may be difficult to relax,
But hopefully through this meditation that you're able just to tune in and it's best to listen through earbuds or some kind of headphones so that you can really tune in and settle into this meditation.
Just try to get yourself into the most comfortable position,
Whether on your back relaxed or on your side.
Notice how your body feels in this moment.
And if you need to shift again to get a little bit more comfortable,
Do that now.
Use pillows if you need to prop yourself up.
Just observe the state of your body,
Just seeing where you are in this present moment and see if you can do a quick body scan,
Noticing from your feet all the way to the top of your head.
Just scan slowly,
Noticing any areas of tension.
Just taking your time,
Going up through your legs,
Up to the middle part of your body and your belly,
Your back,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Arms and hands,
Fingers,
Noticing your neck and your head and face.
Just noticing any tension,
Anything that's trying to get your attention.
We'll start with some slow,
Deep breaths.
Take a slow breath in,
Breathing into your nose,
Pausing at the top and exhale.
Breathing out through your nose.
Nice long exhale.
Let's try that again.
Breathing in through the nose,
Pausing at the top and exhale.
Nice long exhale.
And breathing in,
Pausing at the top and exhale.
Letting go,
Letting go.
One more time,
Breathing in,
Pausing and exhale,
Letting go and release.
Just allow your breath to go back to its natural rhythm and pace.
Imagine those areas of tension in your body,
Relaxing a little more with each exhale.
And you're not changing your breath now,
Just allowing it to go back to what it normally does,
Slowly inhaling and exhaling on its own.
But each exhale a little bit more relaxed,
Taking its time.
So going to your feet,
Just notice your feet for a moment.
Notice if there's any tension there still.
Breathe into your feet,
Releasing any tension,
Lightening up and exhale.
Notice both feet becoming warmer and heavier.
Noticing your toes relaxing,
The balls of your feet,
The arches and heels.
Relax.
Now just focus on the left foot.
Notice how warm and soothing it's feeling now.
Notice the top of your foot,
That left foot,
Relaxed.
Now your right foot,
Feel that getting a little bit warmer,
Relaxed.
Notice the top of the right foot,
Your whole right foot is warm and heavy,
Sinking gently into the bed.
And noticing this warmth and heaviness is feeling very good in your body.
Feel the warmth in your feet increasing and now it's shifting a bit,
Moving up to your ankles and your lower legs.
Noticing your calf muscles,
Tension is draining out,
Soothing any tight muscles that warm this,
That have been that heaviness is coming up.
At the same time,
The warmth is growing in your feet and legs.
Just notice your breath,
Where you are,
If it's getting a little bit deeper and moving up to your knees,
Feel that warmth and heaviness deep down into your bones,
Soothing you and moving up to your thighs,
Feeling that warmth and heaviness release,
Top of your thighs,
Bottom of your thighs.
See that your legs and feet are completely relaxed.
And moving up,
Noticing your hands,
Notice your right hand warming up,
Feeling that warmth spreading to each finger through to the fingertips,
Spreading through your thumb,
Continuing to the palm of your right hand.
Feel the back of your right hand as it gets warmer and heavier until your entire hand and fingers of your right hand are completely relaxed,
Heavy and warm.
Turn your attention to your left hand,
Feel those warming sensations soothing,
Soothing you to the core.
Feel the warming sensation going to the tip of each finger and your thumb until that left hand and fingers and thumbs are warm and heavy,
Spreading to the palm of the left hand.
Notice the back of the hand,
Heavy,
Warm,
And relaxed.
That warmth is increasing,
Moving up to your wrists,
Easing any tension from the day,
Slowly moving up to your lower arms,
Soothing you,
Calming you,
Feeling this warmth moving to your elbows,
Your upper arms,
Your shoulders,
Your arms and hands,
Both are very warm,
Heavy,
And sinking into the bed,
Melting any stresses,
Melting away as you feel so relaxed.
Turn your attention again to your feet and legs,
Notice the warmth in your feet and lower legs,
Just noticing how that warmth is continuing to release anything that you don't need.
Your legs are continuing to feel warm,
Heavy,
Pleasantly relaxed.
Now notice the core of your body,
Relaxing,
That feeling of warmth starts in the center of your body,
Near your belly,
Lower belly,
Mid-belly,
All the way to your chest,
Feeling that warmth and heaviness,
Calmness,
Very relaxed and peaceful.
Notice this warmth and heaviness into your low back,
Mid-back,
Upper back,
Releasing in warmth,
Tuning you in to these sensations and present moment awareness,
Sinking a little more into the bed,
Feeling the feeling the comfort of the blankets on you,
Moving up to your neck,
Feeling how warm and relaxed your neck has become,
Moving up to your head,
Releasing any headache,
That warmth and soothing energy coming to the top of your head,
Sides of your head,
Smoothing out any tension in your forehead,
Loosening muscles in your jaw where you may hold tension.
Now just notice that relaxation in your whole entire being,
That feeling of warmth and heaviness,
So pleasant and relaxed.
Just take a few moments just to relax and just enjoy,
Relish this feeling of warmth and relaxation,
The peaceful,
Calm feeling,
And relax a few moments longer,
Luxuriating in the feelings of calm and relaxation.
That brings us to the end of this meditation.
Hopefully this helped to get you to sleep,
And again,
Anytime you want to listen to this before you go to sleep,
Make sure you favorite it and come back to this anytime that you need that calm before rest.
I wish you a wonderful good night,
And until next time,
I'll talk to you then.
Sweet dreams.
