Rest is the best medicine for any illness.
True rest.
Deep rest.
Not the kind of rest while you're lying down worrying about being sick.
Some sicknesses don't like to let us sleep,
So it's important to remember that rest is the goal here.
If you happen to fall asleep,
That's great.
But if you don't,
You are still receiving the deep medicine of rest simply by laying down and listening to this meditation with me.
If you haven't already,
Get as comfortable as you can be right now.
Do you need another pillow?
Some water by your bedside?
Maybe an eye covering to help soothe your eyes with a bit more darkness?
Do you need to wiggle or fidget?
Turn on your heating pad?
Go ahead and do what you can to be a little more comfortable here.
And it's okay to pause this meditation if you need a little bit more time to do that.
When you've done the best you can to get comfortable,
Take a deep breath.
Maybe two or three if that's helpful.
Notice if there's something there that your breath wants naturally.
Take a moment to acknowledge the land that you are on and your relationship with this land.
Notice the season,
Time of day,
The quality of light or darkness right now.
Notice if there's any tension in your body that you could release in this moment.
Letting go of your jaw,
Your shoulders,
Your lower back.
Imagine sinking into the bed,
Releasing your weight,
Letting it be held by the bed and the earth.
You do not need to hold yourself up right now.
The earth has got you.
You can relax.
Now,
I invite you to imagine yourself in a beautiful place where you feel safe and comfortable.
Maybe it's on the beach at sunset.
Warm colors glowing over a gently lapping ocean.
Maybe it's in a natural hot spring in winter,
Your body immersed in the warm,
Soothing water.
Surrounded by beautiful evergreen trees blanketed in snow.
Maybe you're at home in your bed,
Snug under the covers.
Maybe you're in some totally imaginary place.
Allow yourself to be wherever that is,
To feel the sense of safety and calm around you.
And now I'd like to invite you to call someone into this space to be here with you.
This could be someone that you love,
Who loves you unconditionally.
Someone who can just be with you in this moment of discomfort and exhaustion.
It could be a real person,
Someone still living.
But it could also be an ancestor or a loved one who has passed on.
It could be an animal,
An angel,
A god or goddess,
An imaginary being.
Whoever you might need to be here with you can be here with you.
As you invite them,
Imagine them greeting you.
Feel their presence,
Their warmth.
Maybe an animal snuggles up at your feet.
Maybe a person lays a cool hand over your forehead,
Soothing your pain.
Rest in the presence of this love and care.
Allow yourself to receive it fully.
Now imagine that a healing light is surrounding your body.
You could imagine a white light,
A golden light.
Maybe there's another color that feels right right now.
Imagine that it's bathing your entire body in wellness,
Love,
Health and care.
Feel this light soothing your forehead,
Your neck,
Your sinuses.
The feeling is so gentle,
So soothing.
It only brings gentleness and care.
It moves down to your jaw,
Which softens and relaxes,
And your throat,
Calming any inflammation,
Soothing any discomfort.
The liquid of this light fills your chest,
Soothing your heart.
It relaxes your shoulders,
Smoothing any tension there.
It warms the back of your heart,
Moving all the way down each arm to the wrists and fingers.
This light moves through your lungs,
Gently loosening anything that doesn't belong there,
Teaching your body to rebalance for health and wellness.
It attends to your spine,
All of your internal organs,
Soothing and correcting any imbalances,
Cooling inflammation,
Healing anything that's a little off anywhere in your stomach or your belly.
This gentle light fills the bowl of your pelvis,
Attending to your hips,
The joint at your lower back,
Your sacrum,
And all of your pelvic organs.
Your breath is invited to move deeper down into your belly and hips,
For you to flow within your body as you rest and heal.
Each of your legs is soaked in this healing light,
From the hip to the knee,
And all the way down to the ankle and the foot.
Everything is surrounded by love and care.
This healing light gently rebalancing whatever is out of balance right now.
And deep within your body,
You can feel this liquid light in your blood coursing through your body,
Helping to nourish your organs,
Filter out toxins,
To push the flow of lymph through your body.
It fills and soothes each of the organs in your belly,
Holding them so gently so that they can do the work they need to do.
Your thymus gland near your heart is warmly held,
Like a soft hand on your heart,
Supporting and boosting your immune system to care for whatever might not be working optimally.
Your breath is infused with this gentle light,
Moving in and out of your lungs rhythmically,
Clearing any debris,
Opening the flow of oxygen and energy.
Allowing your body to be rocked gently by the breath.
Soothed into rest and sleep.
There is time to rest now,
Time to sleep,
Sleep comes.
The healing light will stay with you,
As will your companion.
Resting with you as long as you can right now to best support your body's healing.
Rest and heal low.
Good night.
