Welcome.
You've made it.
The day is complete and nothing more is required of you right now.
Find a comfortable lying down position.
Let your arms rest by your sides,
Palms facing up if that feels ok.
Allow your legs to be just a little wider than your hips.
Your eyes can be closed.
Take one gentle,
Unforced breath in and let it out with a sigh.
Just a notable exhale as if you are putting down a heavy bag you've carried all day.
Good.
Breathe one more time,
Breathing in and sighing everything out.
Let that exhale be a signal to your nervous system it's time to shift from doing to being.
Now bring your attention all the way down to your feet.
Notice any sensation in your toes,
The soles of your feet,
The tops.
Simply notice and then silently invite this area to soften.
Imagine your feet melting like warm wax into the bed,
All the tiny muscles,
The arches,
The spaces between your toes completely letting go.
Feel a wave of heaviness and ease settle there.
Slowly move your awareness up to your ankles and your calves.
As you breathe out,
Feel the area release,
Let the bones feel heavy,
The skin soft,
The muscles smooth.
If you find tension you don't need to fight it,
Just breathe into it and on the next out breath imagine it draining away like water flowing downhill.
Bring your attention to your knees,
Then your thighs,
Perhaps there is a feeling of weight of the legs being fully supported by the surface beneath you.
There is nothing to hold up,
Give the legs permission to be completely heavy and completely passive.
With each exhale they sink deeper into rest.
Now rest your awareness on your hips and pelvis.
This part of the body often holds the day's urgency,
That push to get things done,
Softly say to yourself,
I can let go here.
As you breathe out,
Feel your hip sockets soften,
The belly become still.
Move your attention gently up to your lower back,
Let it spread wide and relax into the mattress,
Then the middle back and upper back,
All those muscles along your spine.
Imagine your vertebra becoming loose,
Like a string of pearls slowly settling onto a soft cushion.
With every exhale let your ribcage fall and your shoulder blades sink into gravity.
Now bring your awareness to your chest and heart center,
Notice the gentle rise and fall of your breath.
As you breathe out,
Imagine the heart softening too,
Any worries,
Any lingering stories from the day are free to exit with the breath.
Your chest feels open and calm.
Shift to your shoulders,
Many of us hold them up toward our ears,
Still carrying the day's load.
On your next exhale,
Deliberately let them drop as if into soft sand.
Feel the space this creates between your ears and shoulders,
Let that release move down into your upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Into your wrists and hands.
Feel your fingers uncurl naturally,
Notice the warmth of your palms,
Heavy and still.
Let the throat feel soft,
Unguarded.
If it helps,
Imagine a gentle warmth like a soft scarf of liquid.
Your jaw can be slack,
Teething away from the roof of your mouth,
The root of the tongue softens.
Notice the forehead smooth as calm water,
The space between the eyebrows completely wide,
Pimples releasing.
Imagine the eyes sinking back into their sockets,
Like a calm sick nose releasing.
If any small area still feels tight,
Send your exhale there,
Like a soft breeze,
And watch it dissolve.
As you rest in this complete body ease,
Know that your body is doing exactly what it needs to restore itself,
The mind doesn't have to do anything,
Thoughts may still drift through,
That's ok,
Imagine them as clouds passing across a white,
White sky,
Your eye still spacious,
Peaceful.
If you are still awake and wish to drift toward sleep,
I'll leave you with a single word to breathe with.
On your next slow breath in,
Silently say rest,
And on the breath out,
Deep this rhythm for as long as you need,
Sleeping naturally into sleep.
You are safe.
You are safe.
