Breathing For Deep Sleep

We can use the breath to energise,

To balance and to relax.

In this practice we'll be breathing for deep sleep,

Preparing you for a restful and smooth transition from your day into the night,

Allowing you to get deep restorative rest.

Lie down in bed,

Flat on your back,

Ready to fall asleep through the night,

And slowing down the exhale even more than the inhale to encourage our nervous system to flick out of stress and into relaxation.

So close your eyes,

Inhale and allow all the busyness and worries of your day to fill you up.

Now open your mouth and exhale them out with a big sigh.

There's work to be done with all these things,

All the thoughts,

All the worries,

But not now.

Now you need sleep.

Inhale the worries and the busyness,

And then open your mouth and exhale them out.

Allowing yourself to find stillness in your body and beginning to notice the breath as it rises and falls in your body.

Open your mouth,

See if you can make an ocean sound with your breath by narrowing the airways at the back of the throat,

It's like narrowing a hose to focus the water,

So it sounds like a whisper or the ocean at the back of your throat as you breathe in and out through your nose.

Placing one hand on your heart and the other on your belly,

Allow yourself to find a comfortable position.

We'll be breathing through our nose and out through our nose,

Breathing in for a count of four and we'll be breathing out for a count of eight.

The hand that's on your belly will rise as you breathe in and it will fall as you breathe out.

The body rises and falls,

The hand will rise and fall,

And the hand on your heart will stay mostly still as you breathe slowly and deeply into the belly.

Let's begin.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

And then let go of that conscious controlling of the breath.

Notice the hand that's on the belly still rising and falling as you breathe.

As you breathe in,

The body rises.

As you breathe out,

The body falls.

Noticing the rib cage that just slightly opens and expands as you breathe in and falls as you breathe out.

Noticing the weight of your legs.

Noticing the weight of your arms.

You can allow the arms to fall back by your side if that's more comfortable.

Noticing your shoulders,

Your jaw,

Your cheekbones,

Your whole body.

Letting go of the day,

Being right here in this moment.

Drifting,

Sinking.

Maybe there's a heaviness or a lightness to the body.

Maybe there's a warmth.

Maybe there's a color.

Just allowing the body and the mind to come together and settle into this moment.

Bringing your attention back to the breath.

Noticing that rising of the hand and falling of the hand.

You can gently note in your mind if it helps to anchor you to the breath.

Rising,

Falling.

Rising,

Falling.

Rising,

Falling.

Allowing yourself to drift into a restful sleep.