Good evening.
As you settle into bed with your head resting into your pillow,
Pillow underneath your knees so your low back can soften and lengthen,
Let yourself arrive here.
Exactly as you are.
Nothing is required of you now.
Nothing needs to be managed or held up.
This is your time to release,
To return,
And to be carried.
Take a slow breath in.
And let the exhale soften everything it touches.
Bring your awareness to the very top of your head.
Soften the scalp.
Let the crown feel spacious,
Open,
Unburdened.
Any thoughts from today can loosen here as if the mind is unwinding a thread that no longer needs to be held.
Let the top of your head release what isn't yours to keep.
Let your forehead smooth.
Let the muscles around your eyes soften.
Let the space behind your eyes feel warm and wide.
If you've been reading people today,
Tracking moods,
Noticing details,
Holding expressions for others,
Let all of that melt out of your eyes now.
Nothing to watch,
Nothing to anticipate,
Just rest.
Bring awareness to your ears,
Soften around them.
Let the sounds of the room grow gentle and distant.
If there were words today that weighed on you,
Tones that tightened you,
Conversations that left residue,
Let all of that fall away.
Let the ears clear themselves the way a window clears in the evening air.
Now soften the base of your skull.
Feel the gentle lift of your pillow supporting the base of your skull.
Let the tension you held in your head drain down the back of your neck,
Down and out.
Out of the muscles that grip when you're overloaded.
This is where the holding it all together lives.
Let it go.
Bring your attention to your throat.
Let the front of the neck soften.
Let the muscles around your voice release.
If you spoke more than you wanted today,
Or swallowed feelings to get through something,
Or held back words that were too heavy to carry,
Let your throat open in safety and relax with ease.
This is your exhale zone.
Let it clear.
Let your shoulders drop into the bed.
Into the bed.
These muscles hold what isn't yours every single day.
Let the weight you picked up from others slide off your shoulders now.
Quietly,
Gently,
And fully.
Bring awareness down your arms.
Let your elbows soften.
Let the forearms feel warm and heavy.
And let your hands unclench.
If you held tension,
Held responsibilities,
Held yourself together,
Held others emotionally,
Let your hands let go.
They don't have to carry anything right now.
Place gentle awareness around your heart.
Noticing the quiet pulse beneath your sternum.
Let the chest soften.
Let the heart open.
If you absorbed anyone's emotions today,
If you took on stress that wasn't yours,
If your empathy stretched too far,
Imagine sloughing it off like dust shaken from a soft cloth.
Your heart is allowed to be your own.
Move awareness into your upper abdomen.
Soften the place that tightens when you worry.
When you brace for others.
When you hold expectations or pressure.
Let this whole area grow warm and wide.
Let breath move through it like calm light.
You release whatever you carried here that never belonged to you.
Bring your awareness to your lower belly and pelvis.
Let the belly release outward.
Let the pelvis feel supported by the bed.
Let the low back melt.
This is where the body holds survival energy.
Old stress,
Old stories,
Old bracing.
Tonight you don't need any of it.
Let the exhale empty it out.
Let your hips grow heavy.
Let the muscles around them loosen.
Let the deep emotional storage here soften and dissolve.
If there were places you stood your ground today or places you wished you had,
Let all of that release.
Your hips can rest.
Move awareness down to your knees.
Then your calves,
Your ankles,
And finally your feet.
Feel the whole length of your legs letting go bit by bit.
Your feet have carried you all day.
Let them be done.
Let the ground beneath you hold all of it now.
Sinking,
Sinking,
Sinking into further relaxation.
Further letting go.
Further release of what is not yours.
Holding space for what is.
Take a long,
Full breath in.
And a slow,
Releasing breath out.
How much of the day has already left your body?
Feel what is yours.
Settle back into place.
Everything else can fall away.
You are held.
You are safe.
You are allowed to rest.
Let the day be done.
And let yourself rest.
