Maybe it's late.
Maybe it's early in the morning.
I know you're worried.
Am I going to get enough sleep?
Am I going to be able to do what I need to do tomorrow?
The first thing is leave the clock aside.
Let go of calculating hours and minutes and take a few moments to just be here.
Feel the support of the surface beneath you,
The bed,
The floor,
The couch.
Feel how it holds you,
Supports you.
Feel the temperature of the air on your skin and take a deep breath in,
Belly rising slightly.
You might even place a hand on your belly to feel it rise with your breath as you inhale.
And pause.
And slowly exhale out through the mouth,
Smooth and slow.
Another inhale and pause.
And out through the mouth as slowly and smoothly as you can.
Just continuing to breathe in this way,
Becoming aware of the sound of your breath as it comes in through the nose and out through the mouth.
As you breathe,
Remember you'll be fine.
Tomorrow may be uncomfortable.
You might feel tired.
That's happened before and you've gotten through it.
Perhaps you can promise yourself a nap or an early bedtime.
If not tomorrow,
Then another day.
Or promise yourself some sort of treat in the middle of your day.
Even if it's just taking a few moments to breathe like this.
Even if the mind is awake,
The body is at rest.
You might even try keeping your eyes wide open like an owl and not allowing them to close.
And see if that brings some heaviness to the eyelids.
Arrange yourself comfortably in whatever surface you're on.
Just bring attention to sensations in the inside of the mouth,
The teeth and tongue.
You might swallow a few times to relax the throat and allow the back molars to part slightly to ease the jaw.
Feeling the eyes heavy in their sockets.
Sensing the scalp and back of the head,
The forehead cool and smooth.
And noticing sensations in the left shoulder,
Bicep and tricep,
Elbow,
Forearm and wrist,
The back of the hand,
And the palm of the hand,
And the left hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
The whole left hand and arm is feeling heavy and warm and fully at rest.
And bringing some attention to sensation in the right shoulder,
The bicep and tricep,
Elbow,
Forearm and wrist,
The back of the hand,
And the palm of the hand,
And the right hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
The whole right hand and arm,
Just heavy and warm and at ease.
And then sensing both arms together,
Just heavy and warm,
Fully at rest,
Fully supported.
And bringing attention to sensation in the front of the body,
The chest and belly,
The back of the body,
The upper back and middle and lower back,
The whole torso,
Front and back,
Soft and warm.
And that rest.
And sensing the left hip,
The thigh,
The knee,
Calf and ankle,
The top of the foot,
And the sole of the foot,
The whole left leg and foot,
Just heavy and warm and at ease.
And then sensing the right hip,
The thigh and knee,
Foreleg and calf,
Ankle,
Foot,
Sole of the foot,
Toes.
Sensing the whole right leg and foot,
Heavy and warm,
Soft and at ease.
And sensing both legs together,
Heavy and warm and at ease.
And then sensing the whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body,
Heavy,
Warm,
Soft and at ease,
Feeling fully supported.
Knowing that whatever tomorrow brings,
You will have all you need to face it and address it,
Maybe even enjoy it.
Nothing more to do now,
But just be.
Just rest and just be,
Allowing all the sounds around you to be part of your experience.
Thank you for joining me.
May you have a pleasant evening.
Many blessings from Dr.
Jo.
