Hello,
Welcome to this sleep meditation.
We will be using in this meditation a couple of different techniques to really help us relax and settle into sleep,
To enable us to calm down,
To quiet the mind,
And to have a restful night.
So first we will be starting with some breathing that really allows us to calm the central nervous system,
The autonomic nervous system,
And to push us into a state of rest and deject.
Then we will be using techniques from Yoga Nidra that will allow us to gradually relax different parts of the body and quiet the mind.
So let's get started.
I'm assuming you're already in bed,
Have a comfortable position,
Maybe on your back,
With your eyes closed.
If you have an eye bag,
Eye mask over your eyes,
That's wonderful.
And first let's start with three release breaths.
So what a release breath is,
Is you're going to breathe in,
Hold at the top and squeeze every muscle in your body,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
So that your face clenches up,
Your hands,
Fists,
Everything clenches,
And then you relax.
So let's do two more of those together.
So breathing in,
Holding at the top,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Every part of you,
Every muscle,
So your face squishes and relax.
One more time,
Breathing in,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze at the top,
Continue to squeeze,
Let it all go.
So good.
Now let's place our attention on our breath,
Allowing ourselves to relax into the surface beneath us.
Allow yourself to feel so held by this surface.
Allow yourself to feel so safe in this space and so loved.
You are safe to release all the thoughts of the day.
You did the best that you could.
You are ready for BEM.
Bring your breathing,
Your attention to your breath as you bring your breathing into a deeper,
Slower breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
We're going to try to slow down the breath.
By slowing down the breath,
We actually trigger our parasympathetic nervous system so that it pushes us into a state of rest.
It slows down heart rate.
It allows us to relax.
So follow your breath in and out and see if you can bring your inhales to around five seconds and your exhales to five seconds.
So breathing in,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And releasing two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
In two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Out two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
In two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Out two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Continue doing this on your own at your own pace.
Bring your breath down,
But not to a point of discomfort.
Breathing in and out through your nose.
And as you exhale,
It might be helpful to restrict your throat so that the exhale comes more slowly.
The same general feeling as when you're trying to fog up a window,
But with your mouth shut.
In two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And out two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
I'm going to give you two more minutes to do this breath on your own,
Following your breath,
Slowing it down,
Relaxing the body.
Hello,
Good morning.
If your mind has begun to wander,
That's so okay.
Just noticing where it's at and bringing it back to the breath.
Let's do a couple more breaths together,
Breathing in 2,
3,
4,
5 and out 2,
3,
4,
5.
Now allowing your breath to come back to normal,
In and out through the nose.
And now we'll be following a gradual body relaxation.
And how this will work is I'll simply say different body parts and you'll place your attention on that part of your body.
And as you place your attention on that part,
Allow it to relax more deeply into the surface.
Allow it to feel heavier as if it fell asleep.
So first we'll start with the right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Right wrist,
Right palm,
Right pointer finger,
Right thumb,
Right pinky,
Right middle finger,
Right ring finger,
Right chest,
Right rib cage,
Right waist,
Right hip bone,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right calf.
Right ankle,
Right heel,
Right top of the foot,
Right bottom of the foot,
Right pinky toe,
Right thumb toe.
All of the right toes.
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Left forearm,
Left wrist.
Left top of the hand,
Left bottom of the hand,
Left thumb,
Left pinky toe.
Right knee,
Left ring finger,
Left middle finger,
Left pointer finger,
Left collar bone,
Left chest,
Left rib cage,
Left waist,
Left hip bone,
Left left cheek,
Left thigh,
Left knee,
Left shin bone,
Left calf,
Left ankle,
Left heel,
Left top of the foot,
Left bottom of the foot,
Left pinky toe,
Left thumb toe,
The rest of the left toes,
The back of the neck,
The front of the neck,
Left jaw,
Right jaw,
The lips,
The nose,
Right eye socket,
Left eye socket,
Forehead,
Scalp,
Crown of the head,
Back of the head,
Relaxing your whole body into the surface beneath you,
Allowing yourself to fall into a deep sleep.
You are tired.
You are relaxed.
You are safe.
You're beginning to feel more drowsy.
You feel cozy.
You feel loved.
You are loved.
I hope you have a wonderful night's sleep.
Namaste.
