Start by lying down.
Finding the most comfortable position that your body can find right now.
This might mean that you lie on your back.
Letting your legs just be further than hip width apart.
Letting the arms just rest by your side or maybe even placing your arms,
Your hands on your belly.
Snuggle the shoulder blades underneath your back.
And if this isn't comfortable enough you might turn onto one of your sides,
Curling your knees in towards your chest.
Taking a few moments to settle in.
Wiggle around and find the most cozy position.
Perhaps there's even a blanket on top of your body keeping you warm.
Closing the eyes.
Maybe taking a deep breath in through your chest,
In through your belly and then letting a sigh out your mouth.
Doing this a couple times to fully land.
Fully taking your awareness into the present moment.
Oftentimes when we settle into sleep our brains will start to narrate stories for us.
We can get caught in these patterns of thought.
And it can oftentimes alert the nervous system rather than slowing it down.
So this meditation will help calm and soothe the nervous system,
Quieting the mind and preparing you for a deeper sleep.
And starting to soften now.
And if it's comfortable for you,
Breathing in and out of the nose.
Starting by just taking note of the environment around you.
Any sounds you might hear in the distance.
Perhaps it's cars on the highway.
Maybe it's the low vibration of your furnace.
Maybe you can hear the patter of feet of children running around outside your room.
And then allowing that noise to simply be and just drawing your awareness back to your breath.
Breathing in and out of your nose.
Making this relationship with your awareness.
Knowing that attaching to thought patterns is part of our evolution.
It's what we have been wired to do.
And so if you get caught in a story that your mind wants to tell you,
That's okay.
The practice is simply allowing that thought to be and bringing the awareness again and again back to the breath.
Taking deeper breaths now.
We will start by doing a balance meditation.
Inhaling for a count of three or four,
Pausing at the top and then exhaling for the same amount of time.
Widening your eyes.
Widening the back of your throat so that the quality of your breath remains smooth like honey.
And if you found that you've been quite stressed or overwhelmed or anxious today,
I invite you to make your exhale just one or two counts longer.
This will stimulate the nervous system,
Allowing it to really rest and slow down.
Every inhale filling up the chest,
Expanding through your rib cage ever so slightly,
Pause at the top and then slowly release the air out,
Perhaps holding for a couple of seconds on empty.
Being soft.
Bringing this compassion to your own body,
To your own breath.
Keep breathing here.
Every exhale sinking a little bit deeper into your bed.
Releasing the weight of your shoulders,
Your hips,
Your legs into the ground,
Into the earth below you.
I rest here now with you,
Wishing you a very,
Very pleasant and long,
Deep sleep.
