Hi,
My name is Josh Schmidt and this is a guided meditation to help you fall asleep.
So I imagine you might already be in a comfortable place,
Maybe it's your bed,
And maybe you're already even lying down.
But wherever you are,
I invite you now to take a moment to simply get comfortable and maybe even close your eyes.
Now I've always found it helpful to listen to these types of guided meditations lying on my back.
But you of course can take whatever sleeping posture feels most comfortable to you tonight.
Let's give ourselves a moment just to notice what sounds are around us,
Knowing that we don't need to block anything out,
That those noises can still be there as we begin the process of falling asleep.
So when you're ready,
Close your eyes and simply tune in to the feeling of the breath move in and out of your nose gently and smoothly.
Allow yourself to enjoy this simple pleasure of just breathing.
Take a moment to feel your head resting into the pillow and to feel the muscles in your face,
Your jaw,
Your eyes all start to relax.
And as you notice your body softening,
You can feel the backside of your body just gently sinking into the mattress,
Relaxing into the comfort of your bed.
And let's bring our attention all the way down to our feet.
I wonder if you can feel that one foot feels heavier than the other.
Or maybe one foot feels slightly warmer or cooler than the other.
Let's bring our attention down to our feet.
And we can feel our heels and lower legs simply soften and relax into the mattress.
And let's bring our attention down to our feet.
And then let's move our attention into the back of the knee,
Into the sides of the knee,
Into the front of the knee,
Almost as if we were breathing down into the knees,
As if there were space for the knees to expand and soften.
Good.
Allow your attention to move up into the inner legs,
The outer legs,
And the hips.
And I wonder if you can ask your legs and hips to release,
To let go of any tension so your whole lower half is being supported by the bed without any extra effort.
And I wonder if you can feel that one foot feels lighter than the other.
Good.
As you continue to breathe in and out,
I wonder if you can feel a sense of relaxation,
Of rest,
Especially on your exhale.
Simply surrendering our body to the mattress now.
Allowing each exhale to help soften the muscles of our body,
Of our belly,
Of our chest,
So that we might fully enjoy the sense of breathing here.
And now you can direct your attention into the inner legs.
Into your hands.
Allowing the hands to rest into the mattress or onto your body,
Wherever they are right now.
Feeling the muscles in the fingers,
In the palms,
The wrists,
All can relax and let go.
Good.
Feel your arms and shoulders begin to spread.
And let go of any tension in the shoulders or neck by feeling the weight of your head rest into the pillow.
Melt the muscles of the face,
Jaw,
And eyes.
And let go of any tension in the shoulders or neck by feeling the weight of the face.
And if you're still awake now,
Direct your attention back down to the feet and the legs.
And this time,
I wonder if you can feel the legs spreading out and melting into the mattress.
Allow the breath to continue to support you and to help soften the muscles of your back,
Of your belly,
Of your core.
With each breath,
We can find ourselves a little more relaxed,
Our body a little softer.
And let go of any tension in the shoulders or neck by feeling the weight of the face.
And just allowing yourself to continue to breathe gently and feel your body release.
If you need to start this over again,
Go ahead and replay.
Otherwise,
Sleep well.
Thank you.
