Relaxing Visualization: Preparing For Deep Rest

This meditation is an invitation to let go of thoughts and find ease before sinking into a deep sleep. By using cognitive behavioural-inspired visualization techniques, follow my voice as I guide you through a relaxing imagery exercise in preparation for rest. Be prepared to sleep - wrapping yourself in blankets, your favourite sweater, socks, and any other comforting supports - and let yourself drift off.

Transcript

Welcome to your sleep meditation.

My name is Kelsey and I will be guiding you through.

Let's take the first few moments to get settled.

Whether you're seated or lying down,

You might wiggle from side to side,

Stretch out your arms,

Stretch out your legs,

And then soften completely.

Let the earth hold you,

Giving yourself permission to release any unnecessary tension from your bones,

Ligaments,

Tendons,

Muscles.

And to support you in doing this,

Let's take a big breath in together.

Inhale,

Watching the ribcage expand,

Perhaps your belly,

Pause at the peak,

And then open up your mouth and sigh it out.

Let's do that one more time.

Sealing your lips and then breathe in through your nose,

Fill your lungs,

Fill your ribcage,

Pause at the peak,

And then let it go.

If it's comfortable for you,

You can close your eyes.

To start navigating our inner landscape,

We will begin by attending to our senses.

Start to call in any sounds you might hear,

Either far away or perhaps within the four walls of your room.

As you notice the sounds,

There might be a title or a name for them.

Acknowledge that and then slowly let that go.

Now using touch and your skin to notice what you can feel,

The ground beneath you.

Perhaps you can sense the temperature of the air on your skin,

The pressure of your limbs against the earth,

The weight of your head on your pillow.

And whatever you feel,

Whatever you sense around you,

Take it in,

Take inventory,

And then let it go.

Turning your awareness now to your sight.

With closed eyelids,

You might just notice shades of darkness,

Of gray tones.

And if you do have your eyes gently open,

Just notice the different shades of color or textures you might see in front of you.

Take note and then let that go.

Turning now to your sense of smell.

There might be a clear,

Obvious smell lingering in your nose.

Or perhaps notice the absence of smell.

Notice it,

Acknowledge it,

And then let that go.

Shifting now to taste.

You might slowly run your tongue along the top teeth,

The bottom teeth.

Noticing any taste you might have within your mouth.

And then again,

Let that go.

Turning now from the external world to your inner landscape.

Noticing the heart beating inside your chest.

Noticing the rise and fall of your ribcage as you breathe.

You might take notice of the stillness of your toes,

Your fingers,

Your hips,

Shoulders,

And head.

Doing a check-in with the emotional body.

With one or two words,

Maybe even a short phrase.

How do you feel?

What emotion is apparent in you right now?

And if this emotion causes you to feel judgment towards yourself,

Notice that.

And if it feels big and heavy,

Just know that this space that we're in together,

We will begin to carry whatever it is.

We'll begin to lighten your load.

And if it feels like an emotion that is pleasant,

Wrapped in warmth and compassion,

Notice that as well.

Savor it.

Noticing how it feels in your body.

And then checking in with the mind.

There may be many thoughts chatting away,

Telling you stories.

Or in this moment,

Are you feeling quiet?

Is the mind subdued and listening?

And just know that whatever answers arise,

Whatever is coming up for you right now,

All of you is welcome.

All of you.

And as we lie here,

We'll begin a meditation where we not only attend to the breath,

But we visualize letting go thoughts,

Worries,

Ideas,

Concerns,

And stories.

We will do this by first giving our thoughts space to be heard.

And then,

With care and compassion,

The space to be swept away.

We often attach ourselves to our narrative,

Using that one storyline,

That one perspective to frame the rest of our thoughts,

Which can influence how we feel,

How we think,

And how we behave.

Sometimes these thoughts,

These narratives,

Based on old stories,

Can cause a little bit of tension,

Can cause us to feel attached,

To feel a sense of resistance or gripping in our lives.

A practice that is really wonderful to start to ease this experience is calling in the concept of non-attachment.

By practicing letting thoughts arise in our minds,

Acknowledging them for what they have to say,

And then letting them go,

We help the power of our thoughts soften,

And over time,

Become not as loud or demanding as before.

In this space together,

We will not focus for too long on the content of the thoughts,

But rather the structure of the thoughts themselves.

Whether they're black or white,

If we tend to catastrophize or assume the worst,

Or if we focus on one point within a big broad story,

Neglecting all other things because of a confirmation bias.

And perhaps maybe the thought is a worry of the future,

Or a rumination about the past.

To begin this practice,

I ask you to cultivate a vision of somewhere that brings you a great deal of calm,

Whether that be your bed,

Whether that be the imagery of sitting beside a creek,

A river,

Or maybe it's sitting underneath the stars on a dark night.

Just as we did before with the use of senses,

Perhaps you can cultivate this sensory landscape in your mind,

Where you can hear,

Smell,

Feel,

Taste,

And see everything around you.

If you're sitting beside a creek bed,

Maybe you can harness the feeling of soft moss or grass underneath your body,

The murmuring of water against stone as it rushes past you,

The rustle of leaves in the trees,

And smell the fresh air with a hint of humidity,

Pretending you can feel the sun kiss your face.

And as you lie here and bask in this image that you have made for yourself,

Feeling a sense of ease,

Calm,

Inevitably you might notice your mind attaches to a thought.

It might have to do with the image you have around you,

But often it'll be something about the future or the past.

Notice that thought.

You might repeat it again to yourself.

And then you can say,

I hear you.

I hear what you're saying.

Thank you.

And then imagine that thought being tucked away,

Perhaps on a leaf you place onto the water,

Watching it as it drifts away with the river.

If you're imagining a night sky,

You might think of that thought as a falling star slowly fading out of your awareness,

Leaving you again quiet and calm,

Attending once again to the senses around you.

Imagine yourself in this relaxing scene.

And every time a thought comes up,

Repeat it to yourself.

Notice whether it's a worry of the future or rumination of the past,

And then let it know that you can hear it.

Thank your mind for this information and then place it onto something around you and let it drift off out of your vision where you can resume just lying here with yourself.

Keep breathing.

Keep noticing.

As you continue this practice over and over again,

Just know that you will strengthen the ability to soften the tension around your thoughts,

Around the mind.

Starting to navigate this idea of attachment to non-attachment,

Where we get to intimately know the story that we're so used to telling ourselves,

To allow that story to unravel,

To shift,

To change to what we need now.

This is where I will leave you.

Please take as long as you need with this image to ease yourself into a sense of sleep,

A sense of deep rest.

Good night.