If you're lying in bed and your mind is still active tonight,
This short practice will help your nervous system slow down.
Sometimes the body feels ready for sleep,
Yet the mind keeps turning things over.
Right now,
Nothing needs to be solved or figured out.
This moment is simply for allowing your body to settle.
Your eyes can rest closed or half closed,
Whatever feels more comfortable for you.
And if focusing on the breath feels too much tonight,
That's okay.
Simply listen to my voice and allow your body to rest on the bed beneath you.
When you are ready,
Take a slow breath in and a gentle breath out.
Notice how the surface beneath you is supporting your body.
The weight of your head,
The shoulders,
The hips,
The bed supporting the whole length of your body.
And when the body is supported,
It naturally begins to soften.
Take another long,
Easy breath in.
Nighttime is not the time for solving problems,
This is the time for your nervous system to power down.
Everything else can wait until the morning.
Notice your body resting against the bed,
Allowing the shoulders to soften,
The jaw to relax,
Your eyelids becoming heavier.
Your body already knows how to move towards sleep,
Sometimes sleep begins with a gentle heaviness.
And as the body becomes heavier,
The mind often becomes quieter.
Thoughts may still appear for a moment,
And that's okay,
You don't need to follow them,
Just allow them to drift by.
Like distant sounds fading into the background,
Letting the breath to move in,
And with each breath out,
The body settles a little deeper into the bed,
The muscles softening,
The mind becoming quieter,
You might notice the body becoming heavier at first,
Thoughts drifting further into the background,
It's so good to be still.
Just letting the breath move in,
Relaxing into the night,
And allowing sleep to arrive in its own time.
All you need to do is simply drift,
There's nowhere you need to go,
Nothing you need to do,
Just drifting,
Softly,
Gently,
Toward sleep.
