Welcome.
You don't need to do anything right now.
You don't need to fix anything,
Understand anything,
Or calm yourself down in any special way.
Just being here is enough.
Let your body settle into the surface beneath you.
Feel how the bed is already holding you,
Supporting your weight without effort.
You can let the day go now.
You don't need to carry it into the night.
Take a slow,
Easy breath in through your nose,
And release it gently through your mouth.
Again,
Breathing in,
And out.
If your mind is busy,
That's ok.
Anxiety often tries to keep watch at night.
It's as if staying alert might somehow keep you safe.
But tonight,
You don't need to stay on guard.
Nothing is required of you.
You are allowed to rest.
Bring your attention to your feet.
Notice any sensation there.
Warmth,
Heaviness,
Or maybe nothing at all.
Let them soften.
Let them feel heavy and relaxed.
Now your calves.
Your knees.
Your thighs.
If you notice tension,
You don't need to push it away.
Simply imagine the breath moving through that area.
Like a gentle warmth loosening what has been held too tightly.
Your hips and lower back can rest now.
You've carried enough today.
You don't need to hold yourself together anymore.
Let your belly soften.
There is nothing you need to brace for.
Nothing you need to anticipate.
Your chest rises and falls in its own rhythm.
Your heart knows how to beat without instruction.
Your breath knows how to breathe without effort.
You are being breathed.
Let your shoulders drop away from your ears.
You may carry anxiety.
Right here.
So many people with anxiety carry the world in their shoulders,
Holding themselves up,
Staying ready,
Staying strong.
You don't have to be strong tonight.
You are allowed to be supported.
Your arms grow heavy.
Your hands rely.
Fingers uncurling gently.
Your neck softens.
Your jaw loosens.
Your tongue rests easily in your mouth.
Let the tiny muscles around your eyes relax.
Your forehead smooth.
Let your thoughts drift by like clouds.
You don't need to follow them.
You don't need to solve them.
They can wait until morning.
Now imagine you are wrapped in a feeling of quiet protection.
Not something you have to earn or deserve,
But something that simply exists around you.
Like being held in warm air.
Like being covered by a soft blanket of calm.
You may say quietly to yourself,
Or just let the words land.
In this moment,
I am safe.
In this moment,
Nothing is being asked of me.
In this moment,
I am safe.
Rest is allowed.
Your nervous system is learning something new tonight.
It's learning that it can stand down.
That the watch can end.
That you are not alone with the night.
If anxiety is still present,
That's okay.
You don't need it to disappear in order to sleep.
It can sit quietly at the edge of awareness.
While you drift deeper and deeper into rest.
Your body knows how to sleep.
It has done this before.
It remembers.
Each breath out carries you further down.
As if you are sinking into something warm and steady.
There is nowhere you need to go.
Nothing you need to become.
Just rest.
Just soften.
Just allow.
And as sleep comes,
Slowly or quickly,
It doesn't matter.
Nothing is going to stop you.
Know this.
You are held.
You are safe.
You are allowed to rest now.
