We'll begin by composing the body for sleep.
Taking your time,
Finding the perfect spot for sleep for right now.
Acknowledging that this may change,
But for now we'll find the spot that suits us.
Now we'll begin some intentional deep breathing in through the nose,
Slowly and completely out the mouth,
Completely in and completely out.
Riding the rising and falling breath all the way through,
And following the rising and falling breath just a few more times.
And one final deep breath in,
Followed by sighing the air out.
And now allowing the breathing to move naturally,
Not trying to control the breath,
Making it particularly deep or shallow,
Just allowing,
Letting go of control,
Letting go into trust that the body knows the natural way to breathe into sleep.
Now let's align with our intention for this practice.
Deep,
Restorative,
Refreshing,
Rejuvenating sleep.
If you like,
You can make your intention into a phrase,
Along the lines of feeling rested and refreshed,
Allowing powers of healing to come in during sleep,
But most importantly aligning with the feeling that the phrase brings up,
And feeling that through the whole body.
Full of sensation,
Full of the energy of life,
And included in the energy of life is the letting go into rest and healing.
It is both responsive and dynamic,
Both active,
Restored,
And wakeful,
And allowing to open to restorative,
Rejuvenating energy that comes through the healing powers of sleep.
Now we'll begin to move our attention throughout the body,
Part by part,
Bit by bit.
Just bringing this healing,
Caring attention to each part as it is named.
Beginning with the tongue,
Resting in the bottom of the mouth.
Secured in the gums,
The lips,
Gently touching the jaw.
Cheeks,
The temples,
The eyes,
Sometimes some special attention to the eyes,
Feeling the ease and restfulness as they let go of their work.
All the muscles relaxing.
The forehead,
And the top of the head,
Back of the head.
Now sensing into the whole head and face.
Moving down into the throat.
To the right collarbone.
The right shoulder.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
And now feeling the whole right arm.
Now moving the attention to the heart.
Centering our attention.
And then to the right side of the chest.
Second toe.
Now sensing the whole right side of the body.
Moving back to the heart center again.
Moving our attention to the left collarbone.
Left shoulder.
The palm of the hand.
The back of the hand.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Sensing into the whole left arm,
Filling the left arm with attention.
And then the left hand.
Left side of the chest.
The pelvic region.
Second toe.
And then sensing into the whole left side of the body.
Filling the whole left side of the body with attention.
And then returning the attention for a moment.
To the heart center.
From where we'll radiate the attention to the whole body.
The whole body is filled.
Our intention for the practice,
Feel it manifest itself in every fiber of the body.
Deep,
Restorative,
Refreshing sleep.
Just all of the awareness filling the whole body with ease.
And on the next exhalation,
Feel the whole body relaxed more deeply.
Sinking slightly more into the surface,
Or on into the earth.
Allowing the breath to continue to flow at its most natural pace.
And with each breath,
The possibility of becoming more relaxed.
Each moment of each breath becoming more refreshment,
Restoration.
Each breath feeling the fullness of that intention in the whole body.
