Hi.
My name is Karen.
We're going to take a few minutes to really just sort of arrange ourselves into a space where we feel comfortable,
Where we feel at ease,
And ready to just let go of the events of the day.
So set yourself up to be really,
Really comfortable,
Using as many pillows as you wish,
And drawing up the blankets,
Breathing in deeply,
Catching that wonderful scent of crisp linens,
And feeling the softness of the blankets wrapped around you.
We're going to take ourselves into a really soft and welcoming space.
No effort.
Allowing yourself to simply be.
Notice the weight of the body in the bed.
Breathing in through your nose,
And exhaling slowly.
Breathing in through the nose,
And as you exhale,
Willingly giving away anything that can't be solved.
Not putting it away forever.
Not putting it away forever.
Instead,
Setting it aside for tomorrow.
Giving permission to all of those puzzles from the day.
To wait patiently.
So that tomorrow when you wake up with fresh eyes and clarity,
You can deal with whatever is on your plate.
But for now,
Just set each thought down that comes.
Breathing in deeply through your nose,
And exhaling slowly,
Whether sighing out or through the nose.
Let go all those things that you think you should be doing.
Let go all responsibilities.
Just be in this beautiful,
Soft moment.
This safe place.
Lying quietly in this space.
Breathing in through the nose,
And slowly out.
Breathing in through the nose,
And releasing the breath.
Maybe being even slower now.
Maybe you can imagine breathing in and opening up all the nooks and crannies in your body.
Breathing deeply in,
All the way down to your toes.
And then exhaling very slowly.
There's no rush,
No expectations.
Simply breathing.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
With each exhale,
Slow and easy,
Allowing your body to soften just a little bit more.
Noticing the sensation of breathing.
The rise of the belly.
The fall of the belly.
Perhaps hearing the sound of the breath.
Bring your full attention,
Your full undivided attention to breathing.
So yummy.
So easy.
The body breathing.
Can you shift your notice of the breath inward?
What does it feel like to breathe into the belly?
A shift of fabric against your belly.
Its expansion.
The sinking sense of an exhale.
Noticing how the body naturally breathes.
Both in and out.
If you notice your body has any tension at all,
See if you can let your breath move into that space.
Inhaling,
Expanding it.
Exhaling,
Softening.
In this moment,
There is nothing that you need to do.
Nowhere that you need to go.
No one that you need to be.
Simply breathing.
If thoughts come,
As you exhale,
Just set them aside.
They can wait till tomorrow.
And the solutions will come quite naturally tomorrow when you're better rested.
And you can give yourself completely to it.
But for now,
Allow yourself to be in this beautiful,
Sinking,
Surrendering sensation.
Notice how supportive the bed is beneath you.
No pressure points.
Feeling your back expand into the mattress with each breath in.
Melting deeply with each exhale,
Deeper and deeper.
Allowing yourself to surrender.
Letting the weight of the blankets.
Letting them hug around you.
Where you are right now is safe and easy.
There's nothing to manage here.
Breathing.
Something you've done since the moment you were born.
You've got this.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Take a moment now.
To invite an open and spacious awareness of your body.
Maybe beginning at your feet.
Noticing your toes.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth.
Fifth.
All the toes.
Notice the feet now.
Notice the heel.
The sole of the foot.
The tops of the foot.
Noticing the ankles.
The lower legs,
The muscles.
Relaxed and flat.
Your knees.
The upper legs.
Feel the weight of the entire leg now.
And the feet.
No tension.
Noticing the hip girdle.
The buttocks.
The pelvic floor.
Genitalia.
Low belly.
Breathing.
Breathing in,
The belly rises.
Breathing out,
The belly falls.
Mid torso.
Breathing in,
The belly rises.
Breathing out,
The belly falls.
The upper torso.
Rib cage rising and falling.
Shoulders relaxed.
Sinking in heavily into the bedding.
Relaxed and easy.
Noticing your fingers and thumbs.
The palm of the hand.
The back of the hand.
The whole hand.
Wrist.
The upper arms.
So relaxed.
The elbows.
The upper arms.
The whole arm.
And hand.
Noticing the neck.
The throat.
Allowing the lower jaw to soften.
To relax its muscles.
No longer clenching the jaw.
Easy.
Allow the tongue to fall back slightly.
Notice the muscles of the face.
The eyes.
The brow line and forehead.
Notice any areas of the head which might be tense.
The skull cap.
The base of the skull.
Nothing to do except let go.
The own.
The only thing that matters right now is to allow the thought to move freely.
Dancing lightly.
Both in and out of your notice.
And you can nod off to sleep at any time.
How perfect.
How lovely.
To allow yourself to fall back.
To fall back into sleep.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Simply being.
