Good evening and welcome.
This meditation is designed to help you ease into sleep.
We'll start with a guided breathing exercise to calm the mind and to begin to switch on the body's relaxation response.
Then I'll guide you through a gentle body scan.
Before we begin,
Just make sure you're comfortable and cosy.
So lying on your back with your legs straight and arms resting by your side.
Close your eyes and take a moment to feel the weight of your body on the bed.
Allow your body to sink deeper into the mattress with each breath.
Begin to let go of the day and bring your awareness to your breath.
We're going to take a few deep slow breaths together now.
Breathing in to the count of four,
Briefly holding,
And then breathing out to the count of six.
As you breathe,
Feel or imagine the air flowing into and out of the body.
So breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And hold.
And breathing out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
And in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold.
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
And in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold.
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Continue on your own now for the next few cycles of breath,
Counting silently to yourself.
And return your breath to its natural rhythm now.
And gently shift your awareness from your breath to your body.
And let's bring the attention and our awareness down into our feet.
So allow everything else to fade into the background.
It's just you and your feet.
Feeling the heels and soles of your feet.
Feeling your toes.
Noticing any sensations in the feet.
Coldness tingling.
Or perhaps you can't really feel your feet.
Also noticing what this lack of sensation is like.
And for your next few cycles of breath,
Breathing down into the feet.
So feeling or imagining the air travel down,
All the way down into the feet on the inhale.
And then traveling out of the body on the exhale.
And letting go of the feet now.
And allowing your awareness to move up through your legs.
So scanning through the legs,
From the lower legs to the upper legs,
Through the knee.
Just observing any sensations here in the legs.
And for the next few cycles of breath,
Breathing down into the legs and breathing out from the legs.
And when you're ready,
Letting go of the legs and bringing your awareness to the front of the body now,
Into your belly.
Notice the gentle rise and fall of your belly with the breath.
Feeling the changing sensations in the torso as you breathe.
And letting go of the belly now and bringing your awareness to your chest.
Feel the expansion and contraction of your chest and ribs.
Notice changing from moment to moment with each breath.
And letting go of the chest and the front of the body and moving to the back of the body.
So bring your full awareness into the lower back.
Observing any sensations that you find here.
Any tension,
Any tightness.
And for the next few breaths,
Breathing down into the lower back.
Breathing down into any sensations,
Any feelings here.
Moving your awareness to the upper back now.
Notice the sense of contact between your back and the bed.
Noticing your shoulders and allowing them to sink with awareness into the bed.
Noticing the change in pressure as you breathe the back against the bed.
And letting go of the back of the body.
Letting go of the back now and bring your awareness to the arms and down into the hands.
Letting everything else fade into the background,
Just you and the sensations in your hands.
And noticing where your attention is.
And if it's wandered off from the body,
If it's been distracted by thoughts,
Sounds,
Memories.
Just notice where the mind's gone and then gently guide your attention back to the body.
Allow your awareness to move through the arms from the hands up to the shoulders.
Just observe any and all sensations throughout the arms.
And bring your awareness into your neck and shoulders.
Notice the muscles of the neck,
Noticing any tension in this area.
And now bringing awareness into the face.
So notice any sensations in your mouth,
Lips,
Tongue.
Noticing your jaw.
Noticing your cheeks.
Noticing the air flowing in and out of your nose.
Noticing your eyes and the area around the eyes.
Noticing your eyebrows and your forehead.
And allowing your face and the muscles in your face to soften and relax.
And now from your head,
Expanding your awareness to include your whole body.
So holding your whole body in awareness now.
For the next few cycles of breath,
Breathing into your body as a whole and breathing out of your body as a whole.
And begin to give in to rest or sleep.
Allow yourself to let go completely,
Sinking down,
Deeply down into rest.
And now from your head,
Extending your awareness to include your whole body.
And now from your face,
Expanding your awareness to include your whole body.
