Nothing needs to be fixed tonight.
Not you.
Not your thoughts.
Not the things that didn't go the way you wanted not the conversations you're still replaying.
Not the plans that fell apart.
Nothing.
This is a different kind of practice.
We're not going to try to clear your mind.
We are not going to push anything away.
We are simply going to stop.
And let the body do what it already knows how to do when you stop interfering So let's begin where we always begin with the breath Not a special breath.
Not a controlled breath.
Just your next natural exhale Let it be a little longer than usual.
Little slower.
Like you're quietly signaling to your body,
We're done for the day.
Breathe in naturally.
And the slow long exhale,
Let it go all the way out.
Again,
Breathe in.
.
.
And out,
Slowly,
Feeling your body soften just lightly as the air leaves.
One more in.
And out all the way.
Your nervous system just received its first signal Three slow exhales is often enough to begin shifting your body out of alert mode.
You don't need to do anything else with your breath now.
Just let it return to its natural rhythm.
And now bring your attention to the places where your body meets the surface beneath you the back of your head against the pillow.
Your shoulder blades against the mattress.
Your lower back.
Your hips,
The back of your legs.
Your heels.
Feel how you're being healed completely.
There's nothing you need to do to stay here gravity is doing all the work you can release the effort of holding yourself together Now do a slow scan.
Not to fix anything.
Just to notice.
Starting at the top of your head.
Moving gently downwards.
Your skull.
Your forehead.
Is there any tightness there?
Just notice it.
You rise.
Let them be completely still behind your eyelids Soft,
Your job.
This is where so many people hold the day.
Let your back teeth part slightly.
Let your tongue rest on the floor of your mouth.
Your throat soft and open.
Your shoulder.
Let them draw.
Just a little.
Let them sing.
Your chest.
With each exhale a little more open.
A little less guarded.
Your belly.
You don't need to hold it in right now.
Let it rise and fall freely.
Your lower back heavy against the bed.
Your hips,
Wide and settled.
Your legs heavy going nowhere.
Your feet all the way to your toes.
Releasing.
You've done something important.
You've moved your attention through your body without trying to change anything Just witnessing.
This is enough.
This is the practice.
Now,
Your mind may still have things moving through it.
Thoughts,
Images,
Fragments of the day.
This is completely normal.
The goal was never to empty your mind.
Instead try this,
Imagine your awareness as a vast open sky and your thoughts are clouds moving through that sky.
Some are small and wispy.
Summer,
Large and dark,
But none of them are the sky itself You are the sky.
Not the clouds.
Let the clouds move.
You don't need to follow them.
You don't need to push them away.
Just rest as the open sky.
Spacious,
Still.
Undisturbed by whatever passes through.
A thought comes,
You notice it,
You don't engage,
It passes.
Another thought.
You see it.
You let it move on.
You are the sky,
Still.
Open.
Unbothered and now return gently to the body feel its weight.
It's warm.
The subtle rise and fall of your breath.
There's nothing to fix here,
There never was.
The day happened.
Some of it went well,
Some of it didn't.
And now it's over.
Completely irrevocably over.
Whatever is unresolved,
We'll meet you tomorrow with fresh eyes but tonight it gets to rest you get to rest.
Take one more slow breath in and a long,
Easy exhale,
Letting everything go with it.
Your body knows how to sleep it has done it thousands of times without your help Your only job right now is to stop interfering.
Stop fixing,
Solving,
Planning,
Replaying.
Just be here.
This body.
In this breath.
In this stillness.
Nothing to fix.
Nothing to solve.
Nothing to be other than exactly this.
Let sleep find you.
It knows where you are.
Good night.
