Welcome to another StressFit meditation.
Count into Sleep is part of the Sleep Aid Series,
Exclusive to StressFit.
Sleep is not just a passive process or a time when our normal mental and physical activities shut down.
Sleep is actually an active and dynamic physiological process essential for our normal motor and cognitive function.
Sleep is the foundation of all health and well-being.
It's where we recharge our batteries.
This is a space and time for your body to heal and your mind to process the day.
As you slip into the sheets and relax into your bed,
Take a moment to communicate to yourself that sleep time is approaching.
For full effect,
I highly recommend you listen lying down where you expect to sleep.
This will allow you to receive my instructions on a deeper level as you peacefully drift into a deep sleep.
Allow this meditation to be a time for you to let go of all your stresses and peacefully drift into a deep sleep while listening to my voice.
By the end of this practice,
Your mind will loosen its grip.
Your body will be liberated,
Giving way to the tranquility of a free and open heart to be peacefully delivered into the land of sleep.
Sleep is the receding of the tide,
And wakeful life is the rush,
Rise,
And immersion,
The seed,
Growth,
And evolution.
What we think can only be taken from what we know,
And we do not know everything.
What can be known is through experience,
Not the mind's games.
And how we have dared to let life touch us,
Knowing that we are as limitless and imaginative as the night sky.
Let's begin to signal to the body that it's time to let go of the day's tension.
And we'll do this by tensing all the muscles in the body on the inhale to the count of eleven,
And then release all the tension during a long exhale from my count of eleven.
As you exhale and deliver your muscles to a relaxed state,
Feel them slowly loosening and lengthening into the softness of your bed.
Inhale,
Tense.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
And exhale,
Release.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Let's start by taking a deep breath in through the nose,
And out through the nose.
Rest your attention on the breath.
It will serve as an anchor throughout this meditation.
If thoughts arise,
Acknowledge them and let them go.
Simply return to the breath.
Allow each inhalation and exhalation to gather more presence in your field of awareness.
Give yourself permission to relax,
Unwind,
And allow the natural state of being to fill this space.
Breathe in relaxation,
And breathe out stress.
Get in touch with the body.
Release your awareness on every cell in the body.
A large part of falling asleep is being reminded that we can relax.
Without this reminder,
The mind and body can send other signals that make it difficult to sleep.
This meditation has been designed to bring awareness of any sensations that you may experience at the end of your day through gently scanning the body.
In turn,
This will send the mind a strong message that you can fully relax,
Let go,
And peacefully fall into a deep sleep.
Just relax into this moment while I introduce the body scan to you.
Let go of any judgment or critical thoughts.
Just pay attention to my voice.
Remember,
There's no correct way to feel during this exercise.
How you currently feel is perfect.
Permit yourself to sense whatever you can.
There's no need to manipulate anything.
Just open your senses and focus on your breathing and my voice.
Participating is not the goal here.
Bearing witness to the tranquility of mindfulness is our aim.
Breathe fully and deeply into the belly.
Allow the breath to flow freely into and out of the body.
Simply notice the rising and falling of the abdomen.
Again,
There's no need to control the breath.
Just noticing the rhythm and flow of your breath and body.
Think of it as allowing the breath to breathe you.
See how you go.
If any thoughts,
Emotions,
Or sensations arise,
Use the breath to wash them away.
Let them drift to the far reaches of your field of awareness and let them dissolve into the darkness.
Imagining that the bed is your beautiful resting spot.
That bubble of peace.
That bed of clouds.
Feeling the skin.
Feeling the air temperature.
Feeling the cool air on the inhalation.
Feeling the transformation occurring in the body as the air warms up and there's that little space between breaths.
And it feels good to just be aware of those moments.
Feeling being alive.
Being at rest.
That precious space of time and energy that arises after you've inhaled.
Before you begin contracting the abdomen.
And then after you've exhaled and before you begin to pull in air once more.
Feeling the warmed air on the exhalation.
Feeling the touch of the clothes and bedsheets.
Feeling the support of the bed.
Ground.
Earth.
The entire universe is working in order and you are peacefully resting and being mindful.
Remember.
The breath is the anchor of your awareness.
It is the natural cycle that indicates we are alive.
Feel how awareness of the tide of your breathing can deepen the awareness of the flow of all life.
We breathe.
And we live another breath.
It's alive.
It's a birth and a death.
It's amazing and natural and simple.
We need to honor the exhalation and allow ourselves to completely surrender.
We need to let it go.
As you breathe out for the next few moments,
Focus on how the exhale represents another energy.
Like day and night.
Birth and death.
The exhale is the release and the presence of what completes the cycle and makes room for a new.
Creation is inspired by destruction.
And we can choose to completely release and rest now.
Allow all the organs to be committed to rest.
Allow the eyes to rest and maintain your inner vision.
Allow the mind to be liberated by resting it upon the breath.
And the sensations of the air changing within your body.
Now on the next exhalation,
Direct your attention away from the breath and onto the crown of your head.
What do you feel?
Are there any sensations?
Is there an ache in some area of the body?
How deeply involved do you feel with the body right now?
Or are you feeling nothing?
Or is there a particular quality of consciousness?
Can you let the body just be right now?
Can you watch the body simply breathe?
For the next few moments,
Just focus on allowing the breath to breathe you.
When going into deep trance,
Remember to gait,
Meditate,
And get relaxed.
Now gently move your awareness to the back of the head.
Become aware of any sensations.
Open your senses.
Just observe.
Move your awareness to the face now.
Get in touch with any sensations there.
Now,
Become aware of the neck.
What can you feel?
Is it tense there?
Move your attention to the shoulders.
Observe what you feel.
Gently move your awareness down the back.
First acknowledge the upper back.
The middle back.
The lower back.
Breathe in relaxation and upon exhaling,
Feel any tension in the spine being released in your breath.
Free up the space where the tension is located to allow the breath to fill that space with loving relaxation.
And then channel it out with the air leaving the body.
Now,
Move your attention to the legs.
Breathing with the hips.
Thighs.
Knees.
Calves.
Ankles.
Feet.
And ending at your toes.
Become aware of any sensations in the legs and feet.
Now,
Place your awareness on the feet.
Do you feel heaviness?
Burning.
Throbbing.
Movements.
Lightness.
Weightlessness.
Slowly move your awareness up to the chest now.
Can you sense any tightness?
Ease?
Or any sensations?
Now scan both the arms.
Start with the shoulders and move down.
Biceps.
Elbows.
Forearms.
Wrists.
Hands.
Fingers.
The tips of the fingers where they meet the air.
Now bring your awareness back to the breath.
Breathe fully and allow the air to flow freely in and out of the body.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Expanding.
Contracting.
Rising.
Falling.
Notice how regular the breath has become.
How peaceful the breath has become.
Just noticing the rhythm and flow of the breath and body.
You are simply allowing the breath to breathe you.
You are simply allowing the breath to breathe you.
You are the ocean.
You are the ocean.
The breath is the moon's effect on the tides.
Pulling and pushing.
The tides are the air within the body that you breathe.
