Give yourself full permission here to be open,
To embrace rest.
It may so oftentimes seem like an obvious one,
That of course we desire rest,
Particularly
when sleep deprivation has impacted us.
Yet here,
In this very moment,
You are invited to consciously,
With intention,
Give yourself
permission to rest,
To welcome the peacefulness that this experience may bring about for you.
You certainly deserve this rest and peace.
And so here I invite you to notice your eyelids,
Potentially sensing some heaviness from the
previous night or nights that have not been serving you fully.
Whatever it is you're sensing in or around your eyelids,
Let those sensations become
a weight,
Helping you to close your eyes here,
Embracing this soft darkness.
You deserve this rest so much.
And with these sounds surrounding you,
Envision the soundscape to be a blanket,
Engulfing
you in its comfort,
Its care and support.
Here once more,
You're invited to return to your eyelids and eyes,
Feeling the subtle
or potentially strong heaviness that there is,
And the gentle relief that your eyes may
experience now,
No longer having to see for you.
Your breath may now be the point that your awareness is residing within,
Without managing,
Controlling,
Or in any other way changing your breath.
Your body here in this already restful state is beginning to invite you to be with your
breath,
To feel yourself breathing so gently,
This breath of yours nourishing your sleep-deprived
body,
Each inhale providing nourishment for every cell in your body.
Can you sense how this knowing of the benefits that your breath brings to your body gently
impacts how your body feels ever so gently,
Ever so subtly,
Maybe feeling a little more
nourished as you continue to let this breath happen for you?
You are being breathed so that you can fully embrace the peace that is wrapping itself
around you now like a comforting blanket.
The mind,
Despite the sleep deprivation,
May still be fairly active,
More active at
times here and there,
Moving you out of this state of rest.
When you become aware of this,
You may simply remember your body that you're residing in
and the breath that is breathing you and returning right here to it,
Feeling yourself being breathed,
Gently remembering how each breath provides nourishment,
Recovery.
On your next inhale,
I invite you to make it a full one,
Breathing deep into your body,
Taking in this nourishment and then exhaling it all with a sigh,
No strain,
No labor.
Two more of these full conscious breaths,
Feeling the air traveling in and out of you.
And then allowing the natural rhythm of your breath to take over again.
While you continue to feel your breath,
No need to judge or label your experience here.
You're simply here to feel yourself breathing and acknowledging that each breath is nourishment
for a body that deserves to be nourished.
And when the mind returns with thoughts of any kind,
Your body is right here.
Your breath is right here,
Breathing you.
Inviting you to embrace the sensations of breathing a little more.
As if with each breath that now follows,
You allow yourself to sink a little deeper into the experience.
As if sinking into a comfortable bed,
Each breath taking you a little deeper into the depths of rest and peace within yourself.
And here you're invited to continue to embrace just feeling yourself,
Maybe now drifting a little more into rest.
Feeling how your body is desiring,
Craving the depth of rest.
Here you may continue to go deeper and deeper still,
Or remain where you feel comfortable and at ease and at peace.
Here you're invited to continue for as long as you need,
As long as your body needs to rest.
Rest is sacred,
So give yourself plenty of it.
