Welcome,
Let this be a quiet return,
Not to a better state,
But to the space that was always here,
Beneath the day.
You don't need to fix anything,
You don't need to quiet your mind,
You don't even need to fall asleep.
Sleep isn't something you chase,
It's what returns when you stop trying.
So tonight,
We're not going to push,
Or strive,
Or manage,
We're going to rest.
Softly,
Gently,
Gradually.
If you haven't already,
Allow yourself to get physically comfortable.
Let the pillows hold you,
Let your bed be your anchor.
Allow your body to settle,
To sink,
Even slightly.
Let your arms rest,
Let your hands unclench.
Let your eyes soften,
Or close fully.
The space around you is safe now,
The world can wait.
There is no more to carry,
No more to solve.
Let's begin together,
Slowly,
Kindly.
Take a gentle breath in,
And let it fall out on the exhale,
No pressure,
No pattern,
Just an arrival into being.
And now,
Let's normalise night-time thinking.
If your mind is still active,
That's okay,
It doesn't mean anything is wrong,
It doesn't mean you won't sleep,
It simply means the momentum of thought hasn't quite come to rest.
That's natural.
The mind is used to doing,
It's used to planning,
Remembering,
Protecting,
Analysing.
It doesn't yet know that the day is over.
You don't need to wrestle with your thoughts,
You don't need to quiet them,
You don't need to replace them with better ones.
They'll slow on their own.
That'll happen when they're not being fuelled,
Just like a spinning top eventually slows down.
The mind will find stillness when left alone.
So,
If thought arises,
Let it,
Notice it,
And gently let it pass.
Thoughts are like clouds,
They move,
You don't need to follow them.
Just let them come and go.
The part of you that sees the thought,
That's who you are.
That witnessing space,
That awareness,
That's home.
And it's always still,
Even when the clouds are fast.
So we're not trying to quiet the storm tonight,
We're remembering that we are not the storm,
We're the sky.
Now we'll begin to move gently through the body.
Not to relax it,
Not to fix it,
Just to come home to it.
Let's begin at the feet.
Feel your feet wherever they are.
Notice any sensation,
Warm,
Weight,
Tingling,
Or nothing at all,
It's all welcome.
There's nothing you need to notice,
Nothing you need to feel.
Just let the attention drift there.
Now the ankles,
The lower legs,
Calves and shins.
Feel the weight of your legs being held.
No need to grip,
No need to brace.
Now the knees,
Let them soften,
Even in stillness.
Let them be exactly as they are.
Now your thighs,
Let them drop into the support beneath you.
Heavy or light,
Both are okay.
Now your hips and pelvis.
This part of the body often holds emotion,
Effort and old tension.
You don't have to release anything,
But if it softens,
That's okay.
And if it doesn't,
That's okay too.
Now the lower back,
Let it sink.
Feel the contact or the space.
Let's drift up to the middle back,
The shoulder blades,
And now the shoulders.
See if they can fall just a little further from the ears,
And if not,
Let them stay as they are.
Now your arms,
Let them hang in rest.
Let your elbows release.
Let the wrists feel heavy.
Let your hands do nothing.
The hands are always doing during the day,
But now they are allowed to simply be.
Bring attention to your neck,
Your jaw,
Unclench the mouth if you can.
Let your tongue rest gently against the roof of your mouth,
Or just let it fall.
Soften the face,
The eyes,
The brow.
You are safe now,
Everything is being held.
You can let go,
And if sleep hasn't come yet,
That's okay.
We're not chasing it,
We're just remembering how to rest.
There may still be movement in your body,
There may still be sensations in your body.
This isn't a problem,
There is nothing to manage now,
Nothing to figure out.
Every breath is a reminder,
You are already being taken care of.
You can trust the moment,
You can trust the space.
Even now,
The part of you that is aware is quiet,
Untroubled,
Whole.
Let yourself be breathed in and out.
And in between,
Just space.
No doing,
No role,
No performance.
You don't need to visualize anything,
You don't need to concentrate.
You are already enough.
This moment is already enough.
Let everything dissolve if it wants to.
Let silence stretch as long as it needs.
You are not waiting for sleep,
You are resting in presence.
Sleep will come if it comes,
And if not,
You've still returned to something real.
Let the gaps between my words become longer now.
Let the silence become your teacher.
You are being held.
Your thoughts do not need your help right now.
Your body is already unwinding in its own time.
There is no state to achieve.
No perfect outcome.
Just this.
Just here.
You can let your attention float like a feather.
Resting.
Rising.
Returning.
All of it allowed.
And if you've drifted off,
That's beautiful.
And if not,
That's beautiful too.
Rest is not the absence of thought.
It's the absence of resistance.
So let yourself rest now.
With nothing to prove.
Nothing to change.
Nothing to hold.
Sleep will find you.
Or not.
Either way.
You're already whole.
