Drifting Off With Gratitude

Enjoy this guided sleep meditation to support you in ending the day with presence & gratitude or falling sweetly back asleep if you wake up in the middle of the night. You’ll use techniques of grateful reflection and body sensing to settle in for deep rest.

Transcript

Welcome to this sleep meditation to support you in ending the day with presence and gratitude.

No matter what has happened today,

The day is over,

And the best thing you can do for your body and your mind now is to let go,

Reflect,

And settle in for a restful night's sleep.

If you haven't already,

Go ahead and make your way into a supportive position for sleep,

Feeling free to use pillows to support your body.

As you settle in,

Notice if you could be just 10% more comfortable,

And if so,

Make any adjustments that would serve you.

As you get comfortable,

Maybe you can already source a sense of gratitude for the cozy sheets,

Blankets,

Pillows around you.

Maybe your sleeping area is temperature controlled.

Maybe you're able to enjoy partial or total darkness.

Maybe it's even quiet,

Conducive for sleep in other ways.

Feel yourself nesting comfortably in your supported sleep position,

Appreciating that in this moment,

You have what you need.

Perhaps you can also begin to remember some other instances of having what you needed today.

Perhaps there was someone who supported you,

Whether it was as simple as a stranger who smiled at you,

A friend or family member or colleague who supported you.

Perhaps remembering a friendly interaction,

Savoring that feeling of connection,

Support.

Maybe there are other moments from your day that you can savor.

Perhaps remembering something delicious that you had to eat or drink,

Remembering that feeling of nourishment and satisfaction.

Maybe you can also remember something that made you smile or laugh during the day.

Maybe a joke,

Something someone said.

Maybe the first time you stepped outside and felt sunshine in your eyes,

You smiled.

Recalling a pleasant moment and letting that feeling of smiling,

Laughing,

Soak into your body.

I'm taking one more moment here to acknowledge anything else that happened today that you'd like to express gratitude or appreciation for.

Maybe a person or a pet,

An activity,

An opportunity,

Maybe even something slightly challenging that you know will help you grow.

As you practice in this way,

Notice what it's like to look for what's right.

Oftentimes,

Our human mind is focused on what's wrong.

Especially as we get ready for sleep or if we wake up in the middle of the night,

It's easy to think about things that are challenging.

So this practice is all about learning to focus your mind on things that you can be grateful for,

On the positives.

This mindset will support you in continuing to activate the parasympathetic side of the nervous system,

Help you drift off into a restful slumber.

Just as you practice recalling these positive moments from the day,

You already feel connect with a sense of gratitude in the body,

Maybe feelings of warmth,

Ease.

For the remainder of this practice,

We'll bring our awareness through the body,

Continuing with this theme of gratefulness,

Helping us to continue supporting this parasympathetic nervous system,

Helping us to drift off with ease.

At any time during the practice,

Feel free to let your mind go,

To let it wander,

To let it drift off into sleep.

Maybe starting by feeling the body as a whole,

Noticing the surface sensations where the body makes contact with clothing,

Sheets,

Pillows,

The air.

Noticing those areas of sensation,

Perhaps connecting again with that feeling of being supported,

Being held by your environment.

Letting the awareness now pool in the lower body,

Feeling all the way into the toes and the feet,

Maybe even wiggling the toes,

Nesting into the support of the sheets and the bed.

Noticing sensations here in the feet,

Maybe even appreciating these feet,

These toes for connecting you to the earth,

Holding your weight,

Supporting you as you move through life.

Taking a deeper,

Grateful breath into the feet and the toes,

And releasing the breath as you release the feet into the support beneath them.

Take the awareness gently upwards now,

Sensing into the ankles,

The length of both legs,

Seeing if you can feel the weight,

The volume of the legs,

Heavy against the bed.

Noticing different sensations here in the lower and upper legs,

The knee joints.

And as you feel into the legs,

Perhaps connecting with a sense of gratitude for all the places these legs carry you.

Take a deeper breath into the legs,

Filling with gratitude for them exactly as they are,

And then release the breath as you release the legs into the support beneath you.

Letting the awareness shift upwards now,

As you feel into the hips,

The pelvis,

This place that joins the upper and lower body.

Noticing sensations here at this junction point,

Perhaps connecting with a sense of gratitude to these areas for being your seat,

Your landing place,

Your joining place.

Take a deep breath into the area of the hips,

Filling with gratitude,

And then release the breath,

Release the hips,

The pelvis into the support beneath you.

Feeling into the area of the torso now,

Feeling the belly and the chest,

The lower back and the upper back.

Noticing sensations on the skin,

And also deeper within.

Maybe you can feel the rise and fall of the breath here.

Appreciating your torso as the center of vitality,

Perhaps thanking it for housing and protecting your inner organs,

For being your source of core strength and support.

Taking a deeper,

More grateful breath into the torso,

And as you exhale,

Releasing this part of the body into the support beneath you.

Feeling now into the area of the shoulders,

The arms,

Noticing sensation along the length of both arms,

Maybe feeling their weight,

Their heaviness into the bed.

Appreciating that these appendages allow you to reach out and connect with what matters most.

Taking a deep,

Grateful breath into the shoulders,

The arms,

The hands,

And as you exhale,

Releasing these parts into the support beneath you.

Gently directing your attention to the tops of the shoulders and the neck,

Feeling into the throat,

The circumference of the neck,

Perhaps appreciating this part of the body that is a bridge between the head and the heart.

Take a deep breath into the neck,

And exhale to soften and release.

Gently feeling now into the area of the head,

Maybe sensing the skin of the scalp and the face,

Letting the jaw soften,

The tongue release away from the roof of the mouth.

Feeling the eyes melt back into their sockets,

Maybe even feeling the brain floating in cerebrospinal fluid,

Letting it be fully buoyant,

Softening.

Appreciating this part of the body for being your seat of wisdom,

And knowing that your head has done its part for today,

Letting it take this time to release,

To rest and restore,

Fully let go.

Take a deep breath into the area of the head,

And as you release it,

Let the head soften into the support beneath you.

Feeling the body as a whole,

Letting it be warmed and comforted by your practice of presence and appreciation,

Perhaps setting the intention here to continue drifting off,

Easing off with this focus on gratitude and appreciation.

In this moment you have everything that you need,

In this moment there is more right with you than wrong with you.

Continuing to let the breath be easy and soft,

Letting the body fully release into the support beneath you,

As you drift off into a restful,

Peaceful sleep.

Thank you so much for practicing with me,

Wishing you sweet dreams tonight and every night.

Reviews

I loved this meditation- thank you so much. Definitely one to come back to.
🙏

Excellent meditation. Very relaxing and great guidance.

Your thoughtful words, voice and delivery really reached my mind and heart. A keeper.

Thank you for sharing. I am feeling calmer more happier ,drifting off feeling relaxed ☺️🙏💖🌸💜🫶