This month.
So we're going to dive right into this meditation.
So you can go ahead and just get comfortable in bed or wherever you like to sleep.
You can get comfortable,
You can settle in,
Get cozy,
Maybe taking a moment to set up your space the way you like,
Turning off distractions,
Any little thing that you can do to make your space even better for sleeping.
Go ahead and do that.
And then give yourself permission to set your worries,
Your stress,
Anything that's happening in everyday life,
Set it aside just for the next 10 minutes or so.
And to take this time to honor your need for rest,
Relaxation,
And sleep.
Now feel where your body meets the bed.
So feel all of those points of contact between your body and your bed.
Really focusing on those areas that feel extra heavy.
Maybe it's your shoulders or the back of the head or your heels.
Just grounding down through these points of contact between your body and the bed beneath you.
And then tune into your breath.
Bring your awareness right to the space just above your lip.
And as you inhale,
Feel the cool air brush right across this space,
Right above the lip,
Into the nose.
Then on the exhale,
Feel the warm air leave the body,
Brushing again past the space as you breathe out.
Inhaling,
Feeling that cool air move in.
And exhaling,
Feeling it just glide out of your nose.
Just checking in with your breath here.
Maybe taking a few big deep breaths if that feels right to you.
And now begin to slow that breath down.
Maybe expanding the inhales and exhales just by a little bit.
When imagining that you're breathing down,
Almost down towards your feet,
Letting the belly expand with each inhale and gently fall with each exhale.
Letting that breath be low and slow and deep.
Now sticking with that breath,
Bring your awareness down to your feet.
Take one inhale and one exhale.
And as you breathe out,
Feel the feet just fall asleep on that exhale.
And then moving up to the shins and the calves.
Breathing in and breathing out naturally.
And after that breath out,
Just feel your calves and your shins just shut down and go to sleep for the night.
And then moving up to the knees,
Doing the same thing.
And inhale and exhale.
After that exhale,
Letting the knees just shut down and go to sleep.
And then moving up to the thighs.
Inhaling,
Exhaling.
Just letting them rest and drift off to sleep.
And then doing the same thing to the hips and the pelvis.
And if you are currently pregnant or if baby is near you,
Maybe just wishing them a little good night.
Letting them drift off for the evening.
And then moving up to the abdomen and that mid-back.
Inhaling,
Feeling this area expand and exhaling.
Just letting it shut down and go to sleep for the evening.
And then moving up to the chest and the upper back.
Same process here.
Take that inhale,
Take an exhale.
And after that breath out,
The chest and upper back just go to sleep.
And then moving up to the shoulder blades and the shoulders.
Breathing in and out.
Just letting the shoulder blades and shoulders go to sleep for the night.
And then moving up to your upper arms and then the elbows.
Taking a breath,
Letting those elbows just drift off to sleep.
And then the forearms.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And just saying goodnight to the forearms.
And then the wrists,
The hands,
And the fingertips.
Taking those breaths in and out.
And on the exhale,
Just letting these areas go to sleep for the night and get some rest.
And then moving up to the neck and the throat.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And letting the neck and throat just drift off.
And moving up to the face and the head.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Letting this area,
Including the thoughts running through your mind,
Just shut down and go to sleep.
And now just continuing to breathe.
Just feeling that effortless inhale and exhale as the belly rises and falls with each breath.
And with each exhale,
Feel yourself moving just one step closer to sleep.
Just inhaling and exhaling.
One more step,
Like one percent closer to sleep.
If the mind is wandering,
That's okay.
You can use a mantra.
You can inhale,
Exhale,
And say,
I give myself permission to rest.
Inhale,
Exhale,
I give myself permission to rest.
Just continuing to breathe.
Each exhale brings you a little bit closer to sleep.
We're not worried.
We're not stressed about sleeping.
We're just taking this time to rest.
Allowing ourselves to take whatever we need as we drift and sink off into a place of deep relaxation and sleep.
