Welcome to this guided meditation for preparing for sleep.
Getting settled for this practice to help you wind down and prepare for sleep.
Get yourself into a comfortable position,
Sitting supported or lying down in a position for sleeping and stillness,
Similar to how you would usually sleep.
The purpose of this practice isn't to put you to sleep but to prepare you for sleep.
But if you happen to fall asleep that's okay.
Go ahead and create the most comfortable setup for yourself.
Adjust anything you need now.
Take a breath in and as you breathe out settle into the comfort and stillness.
Relax.
Your body will soon sleep.
Yet awareness may continue on.
Effortless awareness.
And if you lose awareness and begin to drift into sleep this is perfect too.
You will now begin the process of withdrawing your senses from the outside world.
Begin by becoming aware of any scent or smell in the room.
Notice any scent in the room.
Now release awareness of scent.
Notice any taste in your mouth and notice what you see behind your closed eyelids.
And keeping your eyes closed visualize your body relaxing as if you were viewing it from above.
In your visualization see the space around you,
The furniture in the room,
The walls.
Now releasing awareness of sight.
Move awareness to the sensations of your body.
Notice the contact points between your body and the bed or chair.
Notice the air on your face.
Notice the temperature of the air moving through your nostrils.
Now become aware of sounds.
Notice the sounds you can hear outside the room.
Move from sound to sound.
Now notice sounds within the room.
Perhaps you may hear your own breathing.
If thoughts come to disturb you from time to time do not worry.
Just allow the thoughts to pass by like clouds floating in the sky.
Resist the temptation to jump on any of these clouds or analyze them.
Just let the thoughts pass by.
Let them be.
You have finished your actions that you need for this day.
This is the time to state your resolve for this meditation with the knowing that you will sleep well tonight.
Repeat three times in your mind,
I sleep well tonight.
Now you will begin to move awareness through your body.
I will name a body part and you will become aware of that part of the body.
We begin with the right side of your body and the right hand.
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Down your fingers to the palm of your hand,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
The lower arm,
The elbow,
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The underarm,
The right ribs,
The right waist,
The right hip,
The upper leg,
The knee,
The lower leg,
The ankle,
The heel,
The sole of the right foot,
The top of the foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Moving now to the left hand,
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Down your fingers to the palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
The lower arm,
The elbow,
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The underarm,
The left ribs,
The left waist,
The left hip,
The upper leg,
The knee,
The lower leg,
The ankle,
The heel,
The sole of the left foot,
The top of the foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Move now to the shoulders,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder.
Allow any tension to release from the shoulders and the neck.
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Right side of the back,
Left side of the back,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
The whole of the spine,
The whole of the back together.
Feel the whole of the back and let go of any tension.
Move to the top of the head.
Allow any tension to be released from the top of the head down through the rest of the head.
Bringing awareness to the forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between the eyebrows,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
The right eye,
Left eye,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Ridge of the nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Top row of teeth,
Bottom row of teeth,
The chin,
The jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Middle of the chest,
Upper abdomen,
Lower abdomen.
Release and relax the front of the body,
The whole of the right arm,
The whole of the left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole of the right leg,
The whole of the left leg,
Both legs together,
Arms,
Legs,
Back,
Front,
Head together,
The whole of the body together,
The whole of the body together,
The whole of the body together.
You can let that go now and gently move your attention to your breath.
Notice the natural in-going and out-going breath.
Feel the flow of breath in and out of your lungs.
Allow your breathing to remain natural and relax.
Now concentrate your awareness on the movement of your navel area.
Concentrate on your navel movements.
Your navel is rising and falling slightly with each and every breath.
With each breath it expands and contracts.
Concentrate on this movement in synchronization with your breath.
Now start by counting your breaths backwards from 54 to 1,
Like this.
54.
.
.
.
Navel rising 54.
.
.
.
Navel falling 53.
.
.
.
Navel rising 53.
.
.
.
Navel falling 52.
.
.
.
Navel rising 52.
.
.
.
Navel falling and so on Say the numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths down to one.
Never mind if you make a mistake,
Just go back to 54 and start again to count down to one.
You may let the breath focus and counting go now as we come to visualize images.
There is nothing you need to do.
A number of different images will be mentioned.
Simply notice what arises,
Either from your memory or from your imagination,
Just watching with detached awareness.
Stars in the night sky Stars in the night sky Stars in the night sky Peaceful garden Peaceful garden Peaceful garden Birds flying across the sunset Birds flying across a sunset Birds flying across a sunset Soft waves on a lake Soft waves on a lake Soft waves on a lake A circle A circle A circle Endless desert Endless desert Endless desert Crescent moon Crescent moon Crescent moon Clouds in a blue sky Clouds in a blue sky Clouds in a blue sky Birds flying across a sunset Birds flying across a sunset Birds flying across a sunset Still ocean at night Still ocean at night Still ocean at night Peaceful garden Peaceful garden Peaceful garden Stars in the night sky Stars in the night sky Stars in the night sky Lotus flower Lotus flower Lotus flower Field of lavender Field of lavender Field of lavender Night sky Night sky Night sky Soft waves on a lake Soft waves on a lake Soft waves on a lake Lotus flower Lotus flower Lotus flower Crescent moon Crescent moon Crescent moon A circle A circle A circle Night sky Night sky Night sky Still ocean at night Still ocean at night Still ocean at night Stars in the night sky Stars in the night sky Stars in the night sky Stars in the night sky Night sky Night sky Night sky Eternal night sky Eternal night sky Eternal night sky
