Good evening.
Take your preferred sleeping position and allow the body to begin to relax.
Become aware of your breathing.
Just feel the sensations of the breath deep in the body.
The day is over.
All situations can be taken off.
In the present moment,
There are no situations,
No circumstances.
So these can be taken off just as you take your clothes off before sleeping.
Take off all situations,
All circumstances,
And leave them in a box by the side of the bed.
This moment before sleep is a profound opportunity to let go.
Let it all go.
There is nobody you have to be now.
Breathe deep and just be.
No more stories.
The mind is not necessary now.
So just breathe and be.
Feel the sensations of this present moment.
How does the bed feel?
What is the texture of the fabric?
Feel the temperature of the room.
Finding the breath will naturally slow down.
Allow the breath to naturally deepen.
Allow yourself to feel the deep sensations of breathing.
Feel this pure awareness of being in the present moment.
Aware of the sensations in the body,
In the here and now.
There is no next moment.
There is no tomorrow.
There is no previous moment.
There is no day just gone.
There is only this in the here and now.
Inviting the awareness of being into the body.
Like pulling blankets of peace over yourself.
See how much the body is willing to let go of its tension at this time.
We cannot force the body to relax.
Just let it go.
Let it relax naturally in its own time.
Forming a gentle and compassionate agreement with your own body.
A quiet encouragement to let go.
Release.
A sense of melting.
A sense of dissolving.
Bringing this pure,
Peaceful awareness to the entire bodily sensation.
You will find it surprising just how much you are able to release tension in this way.
There is no rush.
There is no hurry to fall asleep.
This moment before sleep is perfectly relaxing,
Enjoyable and restful in itself.
You are already at rest.
Feeling tension dissolve.
Just let yourself enjoy this period of calm and peace.
It is perfectly enjoyable to rest like this.
All stories,
All situations,
All circumstances stay outside the door.
In this moment,
Just be.
Just rest.
Just enjoy.
There is no need for the mind.
No thoughts are necessary for sleep.
So,
Disengage from thoughts and thinking and instead just feel the deep peace of bodily sensations.
The fabric of the bed.
The temperature in the room.
The sensations of slow,
Deep breathing.
The enjoyable and healthy sense of peace and inviting these deep and thick blankets of peace into the body.
Pure awareness flushing through the entire bodily sense.
Feel the sensations of the breath rising and falling.
Nice and slow.
Nice and deep.
Allow the body to release the stored tension in all of those dense,
Tight areas.
Slow,
Gradual,
Gentle release.
Open your awareness to your whole body.
Allow yourself to feel all of the sensations present.
Do not analyze any of these sensations.
Do not place labels or words on any of these sensations.
Just feel them.
Raw.
How does the body feel in this moment?
Feel the body as though this were the very first time you've ever experienced having a body.
New.
Fresh.
Empty.
Pure.
Clear.
This is pure awareness in the here and now.
Not referring to any history,
Any past.
Removing all history and past from the body.
Just be the body now.
Just this.
Just this.
Now,
Releasing tension from each area of the body in sequence.
To release this deep tension requires an intentional letting go.
This is not an action,
But a non-action.
Stopping the previous action of holding on tightly to these areas of the body.
Like noticing that you are clenching your fist.
You had forgotten that you were clenching your fist.
And the resulting tension had fallen into the background of your awareness.
The deep,
Tight areas of the body are exactly the same.
You have forgotten that you are holding them so tightly.
And this can require focus.
To become fully aware we are holding on to certain areas.
That tension is being unconsciously stored.
And so we will flush through each area of the body in sequence.
And simply explore.
Seeing if there are any pockets of tightness,
Density or tension that we can choose to release.
If any areas feel reluctant to release tension,
This is okay.
There is no need for frustration.
The body lets go in its own time.
Only when it feels comfortable and safe to do so.
So with a gentle and loving encouragement.
Inviting this peaceful and calm awareness of being into the body.
So that gently and gradually the body can begin to soften and melt.
Breathing deeply.
Begin with the head.
The crown at the top of the head.
And all around the skull.
The tension behind the eyes.
And at the side of the eyes,
Around the temples.
This tension can be released.
A feeling like taking off a tight hat.
Or a tight pair of glasses.
Just taking this off and letting go of tension.
Is there a tightness in the jaw?
A tendency to clench?
Feel the areas around the teeth and tongue.
It can be surprising to find the residual tension that remains there.
Just open the mouth and breathe all of that tension out of the mouth.
The jaw,
The teeth,
The tongue.
Let it evaporate out of the body.
Bringing this gentle,
Peaceful awareness down into the neck.
The muscles around the windpipe.
Inside the throat.
Loosen the area around the full circumference of the neck.
The soft skin at the front.
The bones at the back.
The muscles around the side.
Just like loosening a tie or scarf.
Begin to undo those knots.
Pull the tie or scarf loose.
Breathe freely.
Release and relax.
Relax.
Bringing this open,
Empty piece of awareness to the muscles at the base of the neck.
Around the collarbones.
Is it possible to feel the entirety of the collarbones?
The back of the neck.
These muscles at the base of the neck,
Often scrunched up.
Held tightly as though we are shrugging our shoulders.
Just encouraging that feeling,
Like releasing a shrug.
Dropping the shoulders down.
Feeling that tightly held,
Scrunched up shrug.
Let the shoulders drop and release.
Around the shoulders,
Deep into the joints.
There can be a feeling as though we are wearing a heavy backpack.
Just pull the straps off of that backpack and let the shoulders expand,
Dissolve,
Melt.
Just be aware of the tension deep in that shoulder joint.
And let it go.
It's task is long over.
Nothing to hold on to now.
Continue to breathe.
Deep.
Slow.
Calm.
Flow down into the arms,
Through the elbows.
The wrists and hands,
Now open and relax.
Let tension flood out through the fingers.
Breathe awareness into the muscles at the front of the chest and around the ribs.
Notice if there's any constriction there.
Do the heart and lungs feel constrained,
Imprisoned within the chest?
Release the cage of the ribs now.
Like unzipping the front of the chest straight down the middle.
All the way down to the belly button.
However much the body is willing to release this tight jacket of tension.
Let go.
Breathe freely.
Allow blood to flow through the heart unrestricted.
Breathing awareness of being into the spine.
Notice just how deeply it's possible to release tension all the way down the spine to the base of the back.
Breathing waves of relaxation.
Flowing down.
Deep into the muscles and bones of the spine.
Really do this.
Release and let go.
Safe and unburdened.
Upper back.
Mid back.
Lower back.
Feel the sensations of each individual vertebrae.
Unbinding.
All tension dissolving now.
Release.
Within the lowest part of your back,
Where the spine connects to the hips.
Feel as though you are loosening tight screws.
Slow and gradual.
No forcing is needed.
But some strength and encouragement is required to unscrew the tension in this area.
Like opening a tight jar.
Firm but gentle pressure.
Release the tension.
Relax,
Relax,
Relax.
Release.
Unbind.
Let go.
Safe here.
Secure here.
Let the bed take your weight.
The back is released from service.
The bed can take the burden.
That lower back.
From its duty.
Released from service.
Unscrew the tension and tightness.
And give the lower back the rest that it deserves.
Its day is done.
Bringing this pure,
Innocent awareness around to the muscles at the front of the stomach.
Breathe awareness into these muscles.
They may be tight,
Bunched up.
As though they are braced for impact.
So breathe safety into this area.
There is no need to guard yourself here.
Safe to release.
A sense of letting everything just hang loose.
Flowing out.
Deep blankets of peaceful awareness.
Within the stomach.
Deeply into the belly.
This area may feel clogged up or blocked.
It is healthy and good to let go of the blockages here.
Allow the area within the belly to be soft and wobbly.
Free.
Fluid.
Nothing held onto.
Let everything flow freely.
The whole belly.
Digestive area.
Release.
Free and natural.
Just as it is.
No more tightening up.
No more holding on.
Just allowing the flow of life to freely move throughout the stomach area.
Deep blankets of peaceful awareness into the hips.
Special attention to the muscles between the pelvis bones.
Releasing the tightness here is like undoing the top button on a tight pair of jeans.
Unbutton now.
Unbuckle.
Let this area fall outwards.
Around the top of the hips.
This area can feel like a tight belt.
Pulled too tightly.
Too restricted.
Unbuckle this belt.
Release the muscles around the pelvis.
At the back and the front.
Down the sides.
Release.
And going down deeper.
Into the areas where the legs connect to the hips.
This area can feel as though it's being pulled upwards and pushed into the pelvis.
So now allow the legs to dangle away from the body.
Just letting gravity pull the legs away from the hips.
Softening all the muscles as gravity just aids in pulling the legs free.
Let them dangle,
Become loose.
Let go.
Let go.
Simply stop holding on so tight.
Releasing that expectation of a next moment.
There is no next moment.
In this moment now,
Safe to let go.
Let go.
Let the body dissolve and melt into the bed.
Let the bed take the burden.
Around the groin,
Genital region now.
Notice how curiously tight this area may feel.
Uncomfortable and uneasy.
Breathe an innocence into this area.
A gentle and playful letting go.
In this present moment,
There is no history,
There is no story.
There is a fresh innocence here.
Let this area be new.
Free.
Innocent.
Calm and safe.
And notice if there is a denseness or heaviness in the buttocks.
Notice just how clenched and tensed up this area could be.
And just like we often are unaware,
We are clenching our jaw.
And finding it quite easy to unclench the jaw.
Realise that you are clenching your buttocks right now.
And finding it quite easy to simply unclench this area too.
Just noticing all unconsciousness.
Unconscious tension patterns.
Deep into those muscles.
Let go.
The muscles in the thighs.
Often tense as though braced for impact.
Expectant and ready.
Just gently allowing these muscles to let go.
Released from their service.
In this present moment,
There is nothing to expect.
There is nothing we are about to do.
Just release.
Relax.
Pay special attention to the muscles around the top of the knees.
And letting go of the muscular tension here.
Releases the pressure in the knee.
Like opening a tap.
Releases the tension of the water pressure.
Release the muscles above the knee.
It's like turning the handle on a tap.
And let the pressure flood out of the knees.
So too,
The hamstrings.
The muscles at the back of the legs.
Feel like a steel cable wound so tight.
Gently and gradually.
Just turning the handle on that steel cable.
Slow.
Gradual.
Allow that creaking release of tension.
You may feel the area crack and click.
As it lets go.
There is an old tightness there.
Ancient release.
Letting the pressure flow out of the knees.
Let them expand and relax.
And this flood of release of pressure down into the calves.
Unzip and open the calves.
Let them fall away.
The muscles around the shins at the front.
Release.
Breathe awareness into the shins.
Do not let any area be unconscious.
Or hidden from awareness.
Allow yourself to feel the bones at the front of the shin.
Sensitive.
Breathing safety into the shins.
Safe here.
Nothing is about to happen.
Relax.
Melting the calves and shins together.
Bring blankets of peace now down into the ankles.
Let them expand.
Open.
Release.
No more pressure here.
The bed is taking the burden.
Let the body melt into the bed.
It will take the weight.
Gravity will do the work of this relaxation now.
Blankets of peace through the feet.
Feeling the skin underneath the feet.
And the light,
Sweet,
Tickly nature of letting go of tension here.
And playfully releasing the tension out through the toes.
The entire body now released from service.
Pure awareness of being only.
Into the deepest.
Most peaceful.
