Before starting to do this sleep meditation,
You may wish to first turn off any distractions,
Prepare for your night's sleep by ensuring the day's tasks are complete,
And you can surrender yourself to this practice.
A ritual like this that prepares you for a sound night's sleep will increase your chances of being able to fall asleep and stay asleep.
When everything you've been doing is finished and you're ready to begin,
Set yourself up ideally in bed,
Or perhaps somewhere restful and without distractions.
Taking your time,
Lay on your back,
Turn your attention inwards,
And allowing yourself some time and space to settle into this practice.
Notice your breathing and take full,
Conscious breaths.
Breathing into the torso,
Filling up the chest,
All the way to the top of the throat,
And then allowing the exhale to happen naturally,
Releasing the breath.
Begin to scan your body for any areas of tension,
And using the exhale,
Release any holding on,
Any holding on to tension that might be present.
You may notice it in the shoulders,
Gently releasing it.
The neck,
Release.
The stomach,
Release.
The chest,
Release.
Using the exhale as a way to release.
The hips and lower back,
Release.
The legs,
The feet,
Release.
Release all the tension from the body and allowing it to sink a little deeper into the bed or the mat that you're lying on.
Breathing into the body and allowing the exhale to release the tension.
Breathing in on the inhale and filling up your body with this life-giving breath.
Exhale and release the breath along with any tension if you can,
Focusing the mind back on the breath,
On the inhale,
And just repeating a few times.
You might notice your mind wanders to thoughts about your day or worries about the future or something else.
Don't be too concerned about thoughts.
Perhaps take a mental note,
Ah,
There's thinking,
And gently guiding your attention back to the breath again and again,
Releasing any tension on the exhale.
No matter how many times the mind gets distracted by thoughts or something else,
Just coming back to the breath again and again,
Sending your attention down to your toes and feet,
Expanding your attention to your lower legs,
Feeling into the muscles,
Using the exhale to relax and release any tension.
The upper legs,
Feeling into the muscle,
The flesh,
The bone,
Breathing into the legs and releasing,
Allowing softness in the muscle if you can,
Moving up the body,
Allowing the body to soften with each new breath,
Breathing into the thighs,
The hips,
The pelvis.
On the exhale,
Releasing any holding,
Softening and relaxing if you can,
Staying curious and open,
Bringing kindness to the body and allowing the body to come into this state of rest.
Gently allowing,
Moving up to the stomach and digestive organs,
Breathing into the tummy and noticing the expansion and contraction,
Allowing all the day's tension to float away and letting the next breath be received in a softening belly,
The lungs,
The chest and heart muscle,
Breathing into this region of the body and feeling that felt sense of it.
Releasing on the out breath,
The shoulders,
The neck and arms,
Breathing in and releasing the tensions from the muscle,
Bone and flesh,
Letting it soften into the fabric of the bed and the mattress you're laying on.
Now becoming aware of the head,
Softening of the cheek muscles,
Noticing the air passing through the nostrils and mouth and breathing into your face,
Releasing the breath on the exhale.
Expanding your awareness to the body as a whole,
Allowing your attention to wander throughout the whole body,
Not trying to control it in any way.
Resting into the next breath and releasing on the out breath,
Slowly and gently allowing the body to come into a restful stillness,
Breathing slowly,
Kindly,
Resting,
Resting,
Ready for sleep.
