When your body is tired.
But your mind just won't stop.
Welcome.
Your body might already know it's tired.
Heavy eyes,
A yawn.
That feeling of wanting to disappear underneath the covers and yet.
.
.
Your mind hasn't quite received the memo.
Is still going.
Thinking,
Planning,
Remembering.
Jumping from one thing to another.
Perhaps you're lying here thinking,
I am exhausted.
Why can't I just switch off?
Tonight,
We're not going to try to switch anything off.
We're going to do something different.
We're going to let your body.
.
.
Catch your attention.
Because right now,
Your mind.
.
.
Maybe shouting?
While your body is whispering.
So for the next little while,
We're going to listen to the whisper.
Find a comfortable position.
And you don't need to lie perfectly still.
You don't need to breathe in a particular way.
You don't need to force yourself to relax.
Just begin by noticing.
Where your body ends.
And the bed begins.
Just notice.
Not just the places where your body is connected to the outside world.
Maybe the pillow?
The mattress.
The sheets.
The duvet.
Your clothing.
Maybe one part of your body touching another.
Don't think about the sensations,
Feel them.
There is a difference.
Your mind might say my head is on the pillow,
But that's thinking about the sensation.
Instead.
Can you actually feel the pillow?
The pressure.
The temperature.
The texture.
You don't need words for any of it.
Just sensation.
And if your mind wanders off?
That's okay.
That's what minds do.
We're just going to give it somewhere to come back to.
The body.
Beginning with your head.
Simply notice the weight of it.
You've been carrying your head around all day.
And right now.
You don't have to.
Let the pillow hold your head.
Let's see if you can surrender.
The weight of your head.
Just a little bit more.
Peel the back.
Or the side of your head against the pillow.
Perhaps there's warmth there.
Perhaps coolness?
Perhaps pressure?
No need to name what you find,
Just notice.
Bringing your awareness towards your eyes.
And if your lids haven't closed already.
.
.
See if they can gently close or.
.
.
Soften your gaze.
And feel into the physical sensation of having eyes.
How do you know you have eyes?
The tiny weight of your eyelids.
Perhaps there's movement behind them.
Perhaps stillness.
Either is fine.
Bring your focus to your cheeks.
Notice any sensations.
Your mouth.
Are your lips soft?
Or tense.
And your jaw.
What sensations are you getting from your jaw?
You don't need to tell your jaw to relax,
Just find it.
And see if it wants to soften.
What does your jaw feel like from the inside?
And your tongue.
Where is it resting?
You don't have to put it anywhere different.
Or you can choose to soften it right in.
Down at the root.
Just notice.
There it is.
There's my tongue.
And perhaps you're noticing something interesting is happening for these few moments.
Maybe you weren't in tomorrow.
You weren't in that conversation.
You weren't solving anything.
You were simply feeling your face.
That's all we're doing.
Coming back.
Into the physical experience of being here.
Now notice your neck.
Not the idea of your neck.
The sensation of your neck.
Perhaps you can feel the pillow underneath part of it.
Maybe fabric against your skin.
Maybe warmth.
Maybe almost nothing at all.
And then your shoulders.
Notice the weight of your shoulders.
See if you can feel where each shoulder makes contact with whatever is underneath you.
One side might feel different from the other.
That's okay.
We're noticing the body you have tonight.
Now travel slowly down one arm.
Don't rush.
Upper arm.
Elbow Forearm.
Wrist.
Han.
Can you feel each individual finger without moving them?
Maybe not.
Thumb,
First finger,
Second,
Third.
Littlefinger and now notice the whole hand at once.
Maybe warm,
Cool.
Tingling.
Heavy light.
Or simply just there.
Now the other arm.
Take your time.
We have time.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forum.
Rest.
Hand.
And again.
The fingers.
Nothing for these hands to do now.
Nothing to hold.
Nothing to take.
Nothing to carry.
They can simply.
.
.
Be hands.
Bring your attention now towards your chest.
And rather than changing your breath,
See if you can feel where breathing is already happening.
Perhaps there's movement in your chest.
Perhaps your ribs.
Perhaps your belly?
Perhaps somewhere else.
Don't make the breath deeper.
Don't make it slower.
Let your body breathe.
The way it wants to breathe.
And see if you can become curious about one breath.
The sensation of it arriving.
The tiny turning point.
And the sensation of it leaving.
Feel your breath.
Follow the inhale from the beginning to the end.
Note the tiny turning point.
And follow the exhale from the beginning to the end.
And then another.
You don't have to keep count.
You don't even have to pay attention particularly well.
This isn't a test.
Inhaling And exhaling.
You can drift away.
And come back.
Drift away.
And come back.
Now let your awareness move towards your belly.
And notice what happens there as you breathe.
Perhaps a small movement.
Perhaps very little.
You don't need to hold your stomach in,
You don't need to brace.
Your belly can simply belong to you.
Your belly can relax.
Give it permission to relax.
To soften.
There's nothing to brace for here.
And now you're back.
This whole enormous area of your body that you rarely see.
But that has been supporting you all day.
Notice where your back meets the bed.
Upper back.
Let yourself be interested in sensation.
Focusing on the sensations.
Not because we're trying to achieve anything.
But because sensation is happening now.
Thought usually takes us somewhere else.
But sensation happens here.
And here is where your body is resting.
Now notice your hips.
Their weight against the mattress.
And your thighs.
Feel their weight.
Maybe the fabric against them.
Maybe the warmth underneath the covers.
And your knees.
Your curves.
Your ankles.
Your feet.
See if you can feel your heels.
Feel the soles of your feet.
And perhaps.
One toe at a time.
Not moving them.
Just finding them.
From the inside.
Big toe.
And the next.
And the next and the necks.
And the little toe.
Than the whole foot.
And the other foot.
Take your time.
Your heels.
The soul.
And your toes.
One after the other.
And now,
Instead of moving your attention around,
See if you can sense your whole body at once.
Not perfectly,
Just the general sense of having a body.
A body lying here.
A body with weight.
A body being unconditionally supported.
A body breathing.
All night.
All day.
Without you even noticing.
And perhaps your mind is still thinking,
And that's okay.
We never asked it to stop.
But maybe now.
The thoughts are happening somewhere in the background.
While something else has moved forward.
Wait.
Whomps.
Contact.
Breath.
And when another thought comes,
You don't need to finish it.
You're allowed to not finish a thought.
Halfway through.
You can simply notice.
The pillow.
The warmth.
You're breathing.
And perhaps another thought begins.
And halfway through that one.
You notice the weight of your legs.
You don't have to follow those thoughts.
They can trail off.
Become unfinished,
Less interesting.
And from here I'm going to use fewer words.
You don't need to stay with me.
Let my voice become something somewhere in the background.
And let your body become the foreground.
Wait.
Warmth.
The beds beneath you.
The breath moving.
Nothing to follow.
Nothing to finish.
Your mind can wonder.
And your body can stay.
And perhaps somewhere between one thought and the next.
You'll find a little space.
Just let it be there.
Body heavy.
Breathing.
Bed holding you.
And you.
No longer needing to pay attention to me.
You can drift now out of the words.
Out of the day.
And gently.
