Welcome to this track,
Falling asleep for kids.
You may like to use this track to help you to fall asleep.
Before we start there are a couple of things to do.
If you have a mobile phone near you please either turn it off or put it on silent and if you don't need to use the alarm maybe even get it out of your sleeping area.
The next thing to do is to have a pen or pencil and paper beside you.
This is so that if there is something that comes to your mind that you were worried you will forget by the morning you can just write it down and know that it will be there for you in the morning.
As you prepare to come into this meditation time stand up,
Open your arms out wide and stretch and yawn and then like a dog shaking off water give your whole body a bit of a shimmy shake.
There might be another stretch or movement even a roll around on the floor that might feel good to your body before you get into bed.
Take a moment and ask your body what would feel good right now?
You know our bodies are very clever and they tell us stuff if we choose to listen.
Just like your body tells you when you're hungry or when you need to go to the bathroom it's got a lot more to teach us.
Take a moment now to ask your body do you want to stretch or have a quick roll on the floor?
Listen for the answer.
Now when you are ready hop into bed and then take a few minutes to get your position just right.
You may have seen a dog prepare his bed to rest,
He adjusts the space to be just so.
A good position for this routine is on your back.
You might like to have a pillow or not,
You might like to have covers up under your chin or not.
Your arms can be long beside you,
You may wish to rest a hand on your belly or on your chest.
Find that position of comfort.
Before you close your eyes allow your eyes just to look straight ahead and then imagine you can loosen and expand the area that you can see.
Widen your area of vision.
Easily be able to notice things at the edges of your visual field.
Not shifting your eyes but softening your gaze.
No effort here and let your breath go softly and now rest your eyelids gently closed now please.
Now notice what your mind and thoughts are doing right now.
Just as if you were tuning into a radio station start to tune in to the chatter in your head.
Just listen in for a bit,
No need to change it,
Just become aware of it.
Our minds really are amazing but sometimes we need our mind to just give it a break.
No thank you mind,
Not now.
I'm going to listen to this audio track.
You can take a break.
Often our mind will be like an energetic puppy and jump back with more but you can choose to turn down the volume of those unwanted thoughts.
Not now,
I've heard all of that before.
Pipe down or if a thought comes up that might be helpful to remember then write it down on your piece of paper and now your mind can let it go.
Thank you mind for reminding me I've got it now.
You can leave that one.
Perhaps your mind today is just having floaty random thoughts.
That's fine.
They can potter around and when we start noticing your body your attention will move to the body.
So you're comfortable.
Check again if you need to tweak your position.
Now we're going to begin with breath.
Start by just watching how your wonderful body breathes itself.
Where do you feel that breath moving?
Can you feel the sensation of breath coming through your nose or your mouth?
Can you feel coolness traveling up the nostrils?
Can you feel how the breath moves your chest and belly?
Maybe you can even feel it slightly bold around your low back.
On your next breath in direct the air to the belly.
You might like to put your hand on your belly to feel that as you breathe in your belly rises and as you let the air go your belly drops.
Next time that breath comes into the belly straight away breathe a little bit more into the chest then let go.
Try it again so you're breathing in belly then breathing in chest then breathe out.
So this breathing pattern is in in and out.
There is a feeling of drop and release on the out breath.
Take one last in in and out breath then let any effort go and just watch again how your body breathes itself.
Now we move to noticing the muscles.
Our muscles are busy all day and sometimes we can hold on to some tension just out of habit.
Notice your scalp.
I need to touch it but just feel how it feels.
Now imagine it being soft and loose.
Notice your forehead and allow it to be smooth.
Sometimes we hold a tight frown.
Let your jaw drop.
Your teeth will come a little bit apart and just let your tongue be fat and soft in the bottom of your mouth.
Feel the heaviness of your head.
Notice the back of your shoulders,
Neck and arms,
Back body,
And your belly,
Your legs and feet.
Let your whole body go and feel that the muscles are just draping over the bones.
Sometimes this can feel a little bit strange but tighten your hand and see that you are in control.
You can activate in an instant but to rest and sleep our body needs to let go.
What more can you let go of in your muscles?
Let your body be heavy and soft on the bed.
And now your body is quiet,
Your breath is soft.
Check in again with your thoughts.
Very easily like you were rewinding a movie of your day,
Find something that you were grateful for today.
Maybe you were grateful to have time to do this routine.
Grateful for a safe warm bed.
Grateful for a meal you ate or someone you chatted with today.
Put one hand or two hands on your chest and think for a few minutes about some of the things you are grateful for.
You might like to use words like today I appreciated my tasty meal.
Today I really appreciated talking with my friend.
Today I appreciated my healthy body.
Today I appreciated the beautiful sky and perhaps today you were proud of yourself.
Recall that too.
Were you kind to someone?
Give them a smile or help?
Did you make a good effort in something?
And you might use words like good on me for being kind to that person today or good on me for picking up that bit of rubbish.
Good on me for smiling to that other person.
Good on me.
Come back to feeling your body in your bed now.
I'm going to go through each body part noticing.
This is like a journey through the inside and outside of your body.
Sometimes you will notice that you feel things like the temperature or the texture or pressure or when we go inside you might feel an emotion or a color or a shape.
It's all interesting so it's slow and easy so just keep bringing your attention back to my voice.
Remember you can tell your busy mind to be quiet.
Feel the back of your head on the bed or pillow.
Sense the heaviness of your resting head.
Then travel a bit upwards and notice if you can feel the hair on the top of your head.
Sense the shape of your skull like the top of an egg.
Then imagine traveling inside to your amazing brain.
Sometimes our brain feels full or perhaps light.
Then calm a little lower and notice your nose right on the tip.
Feel the air going in as you breathe.
Feel your face,
Your cheeks,
Your lips,
The softness at your jaw.
Feel how moist and warm it is on the inside of your mouth.
You might even sense your teeth and tongue.
Now travel down your neck and feel your throat.
Let it go.
Sometimes we feel tightness here.
You might notice a gap between the back of your neck and the bed.
Now put your attention on the top of your shoulders left and right.
Are you holding tension here?
Oh let that melt.
Notice your shoulder blades at the back of your rib cage.
They're like hands behind you supporting you.
Now imagine the space inside the arms.
The kind of tubular shape of your arms from the shoulders to the elbows left and right.
There's a long bone inside that part of the arm.
Notice your elbow.
Is it bent or straight?
Do you feel pressure on the elbow?
Then move your awareness down to sensing your forearms left and right.
Now notice your hands.
Feel what position your hands are resting in.
And one by one bring your attention to the tips of your fingers.
Little finger on the left and right.
Ring finger on the left and right.
Middle finger on the left and right.
Pointer finger on the left and right.
And thumb tips on the left and right.
And feel into your palm.
It might feel fuzzy or light or warm.
Come back up to your body and travel into your torso.
Feel your body breathing itself.
Notice your body's shape into the bed.
Do you notice the line of your spine?
Can you feel your ribs moving with breath?
Place a hand on your heart.
Can you feel your heartbeat?
What else do you feel here?
We notice lots of different emotions at this heart space.
See if you can name how it feels here.
Maybe soft,
Warm or tingly,
Hard or it might feel like a color or a shape.
It's all good.
And now move your awareness down a bit and to the inside.
There's so many organs in your body,
Your gut,
Your stomach.
Thank you body for all that you do.
Thank you organs.
Amazing.
Feel your pelvis on the bed and be aware of your hip bones and then travel all the way down your long thigh bones.
You might feel the covers resting on the front of your legs.
Feel in around the knee joints.
Notice if your legs are rolled in or out.
You feel the pressure of your heels.
Can you feel a soft arch of your feet?
Perhaps you have socks on or maybe you can feel the bed covers on your feet.
Now in your feeling body find your toes.
Put your attention onto your little toes left and right and then onto your big toes right and left and then the ones in between.
Second,
Third and fourth.
Sometimes the toes can be a bit hard to feel so just notice.
And now expand out your noticing and feel your whole body.
How does it feel?
Check in with your breath.
Check in with your thoughts.
And now invite a color to come to mind.
Let that color be on the screen of your mind.
Don't try too hard.
Just let it fill the space.
Be easy with this.
It will probably come and go.
But invite in your color.
And as if you were staring at the cloudy sky allow yourself to just be with that color.
To bring this track to a close I'm going to say some words slowly.
Just imagine them floating over and around you as if they appeared in the sky.
Made of cloud or bubbles that will arise and fade.
Calm,
Ease,
Soften,
Safe,
Let go,
Rest,
Melt,
Peace,
Safe.
Sweet dreams.
May be peaceful and calm,
Well and happy.
