We can begin by closing our eyes or softening our gaze,
Allowing your breath to deepen.
Is it possible to give yourself permission to let go of any details of the outside world?
Any thoughts from the day that might be filling your mind?
With the next exhale,
Letting them go as if each thought is on a cloud and you're simply watching it drift by in the sky.
As you breathe,
Is it possible to soften and relax your shoulders,
Letting your body feel fully supported by the bed underneath you?
Taking just a few moments to focus on your breath,
Noticing the way your body moves as it fills with air and notice the way your chest or belly goes down when you breathe out.
Simply watching your breath as you inhale and exhale,
Trusting that your body is breathing in the natural rhythm that it needs to be.
With every breath,
Is it possible to feel your body relax a little bit deeper,
Feeling as though you might even be sinking into the bed,
Your body feeling heavy and warm?
Your mind may wander and that's okay.
When you notice your mind wandering,
Is it possible to bring it back to the breath?
Just noticing your body breathing in and breathing out.
On the next breath,
Is it possible to imagine all the muscles in your feet beginning to relax,
Letting go of any tightness that you might be holding in your feet,
Allowing them to fully relax and moving up through your ankles and lower legs?
As you exhale,
Imagining them letting go of any tightness,
Simply relaxing on the bed sheets below,
Softening through the knees,
Relaxing the big muscles of the upper legs,
Reminding them that they don't need to work anymore,
That they can feel fully supported by the bed underneath them,
Relaxing through your hips and your lower back,
Letting all the muscles stretch out as if your mind is giving a little massage to all of the muscles that have worked so hard throughout the day,
Letting your awareness wrap around to your belly,
Letting your belly hang,
Letting it fully relax and giving permission to this relaxation to travel up over your chest and your shoulders and wash down your arms,
Letting them feel heavy and warm as they relax into the support of the bed below,
Taking a moment to relax all the little muscles of your face,
Letting your eyelids relax,
Your cheek muscles hang,
Allowing your tongue to rest comfortably on the roof or floor of your mouth,
Relaxing through the chin and the ears and letting that relaxation wash all around your head,
Noticing that your muscles don't need to hold your head up anymore,
That it can feel fully supported by the pillow below,
Letting go of tightness or any tension in the neck and letting this relaxation wrap around your entire body,
Laying here,
Not needing anything,
Not needing to do anything or change anything if your body needs to move into a slightly different position,
You can allow it,
But when you do,
Notice or allow yourself to be mindful of how your body feels in that new position,
How it feels to simply lay here,
Breathing in a natural way that our body wants to breathe.
Again,
Your mind may wander and when it does,
Simply notice where it went before inviting yourself back to this breath,
Inviting your awareness back to this moment,
Feeling your body be still,
Feel comforted by the support of the bed,
Feeling warm and cozy,
Trusting that your body and mind will sleep when it needs to.
All we can do is give it the opportunity,
The opportunity to relax,
The opportunity to let go,
The opportunity to just be.
This stillness within your body,
This stillness within your mind can always be reached,
Is only a few breaths away,
Allowing your body and mind to drift off whenever it needs to.
