Let's start by getting settled.
Lying down in your bed.
Getting under the covers and finding the most cozy position you can.
This might feel like lying on your back.
Maybe it's on your side with your knees slightly curled to your chest.
Taking a few moments to find this position.
Letting your head rest heavy into your pillow.
Closing the eyes.
And we'll start by doing a little check-in.
How was your day?
Maybe answering this question with a phrase or just a word that comes to mind.
And then I'll ask you,
How does your body feel?
Again,
Just a phrase,
Even just a word.
And then I'll ask you one more question.
What do you hope for tonight's sleep?
Let that word or phrase land.
Repeating it several times to yourself.
And placing that in your mind's eye as we start to settle down into a long and restful sleep.
And then we'll start to take our awareness to the environment around you.
Noting any particular sounds you might hear in the distance.
Taking note of the temperature of the air around you.
And then allowing whatever exists beyond the four walls of your room to just fade away.
The ending of your day means the ending of the outside world and this drawing in to your own body,
To your own self.
And as you draw your awareness back to yourself,
We'll do a little body scan.
Maybe giving the toes a wiggle.
Maybe the feet,
The ankles can stretch and rotate.
And then allowing them to become still.
Drawing the awareness up through the calves,
The knees,
The thighs.
Perhaps giving them a little bit of a stretch.
Tensing the muscles and then letting them release.
And drawing your awareness up through the hips,
The sit bones,
Into the lower belly.
Perhaps you can feel the subtle rise and fall of your breath.
And then we'll draw that awareness up the spine and the front line of the body to the shoulders.
Perhaps you feel the heaviness of your arms.
Give your fingers a little wiggle and then let them fully relax.
Drawing your neck muscles,
Allowing your head to fully rest again into your pillow.
And I invite you now to take a deep breath in.
Try to fill up your belly,
Expand through the rib cage and hold at the top and let it go.
We'll do that one more time,
Really allowing that exhale to be big.
Inhale.
Draw the air in all the way to the peak.
Hold.
And let it go.
Allowing your body to settle.
Allowing your breath to settle.
Our breath is such a wonderful tool to allow us to start to completely relax.
It's a tool to signal to the nervous system that it's time to settle down.
Time to rest.
We can even use the breath as a tool to communicate with the heart.
So if you've had a particularly hard or challenging day,
Our breath can communicate to our body that it's okay.
It's time to let that go.
And time to settle in to sleep.
Every exhale,
Allow the body to settle into the mattress.
Take a little bit heavier.
During our days,
We can spread ourselves so thin,
Giving parts of ourselves to our job,
Our relationships,
Our responsibilities.
And so in these moments right before sleep,
We can all gather ourselves back.
Being whole once again.
Making sure your eyes are closed now.
Starting to watch the waves of your breath.
Young Every exhale,
Allowing yourself to sink deeper.
Feeling your body,
Your skin was made of honey.
And you could just melt a little bit further into the ground.
And then again,
Doing another body scan.
From the feet,
Up the legs,
Through the pelvis,
And then up the spine.
To the shoulders,
Down through the arms.
To your hands.
And then finally the head.
Softening the jaw.
And the space between your eyebrows completely softening.
And then maybe drawing the awareness to your heart.
Maybe you can hear or feel the beat of your heart within your chest.
Maybe it's still making its transition to become a little bit more steady.
And then returning back to your breath.
I invite you now to get 10% more relaxed.
How would that feel in your body right now?
And as you continue to breathe,
I ask you again,
What do you desire for this sleep?
Keeping up that word or that phrase,
Repeating it in your mind's eye.
And resting now,
Dear one.
Turning your body to fully let go.
And I hope you have a lovely sleep.
