Find a warm and comfortable place to recline and to prepare for rejuvenating and replenishing sleep.
Once you have settled yourself,
You may decide to begin this meditation on your back with a comfortable pillow behind your head and a blanket.
As you prepare for sleep,
Begin to release all images,
Stimulations,
Events and feelings,
Any emotions and thoughts of the day that are now behind you,
And to set them aside as you allow your eyelids to gently and easily close.
Now take a few moments to direct your awareness to your breath.
You may notice that your inhalations and exhalations may be shallow to begin with,
Yet as you put your focus and attention on your breath,
You will experience a slowing down and a deepening.
It will feel very restful.
Here your body begins to relax and you can help it along by noticing any tension in your body,
Beginning with your feet,
Wiggle the toes,
Flex them back and forth,
Tighten your thighs and your calf muscles and your legs,
And then release them.
Doing the same with your solar plexus and abdominals,
Tensing and releasing them,
Then bringing your chest out,
Making room around your heart.
Your attention now is on your breath.
A few more breaths.
Relax your arms,
Tense them tightly,
Clench your fists and release them.
Your attention is on your breath.
In breath and extending your out breath.
Once again,
In breath,
Out breath.
Now release your neck,
Turning your head to the left and then the right,
Dropping your jaw and releasing all tension in your face.
Being with your breath for the next few moments allows a cleansing quality to aid you in rejuvenating and replenishing your body and entering sleep.
So you may notice the sensations of ease and grace as your breath begins to slow down and you become ready for sleep.
Now you may feel an effortlessness in your breathing with ease in your in breath,
A natural breath extending way down to your belly,
Into your sacral area and then slowly releasing,
Exhaling as is comfortable.
Imagine yourself floating in an atmosphere of healing,
Peace and calm,
A sense of compassion within and without,
Lightly floating into sleep time,
A gentle release of all that was and yet to be,
Save for now.
This time.
This place.
This breath.
This rest.
In the next few moments,
You will feel a deepening of your desire and movement towards slumber.
Take your time with your attention on your breath as you inhale and exhale with ease and comfort and allowing the extension of those inhalations and exhalations to carry you deeply,
Deeply into slumber.
Letting go,
Leaving everything behind,
Quieting all that is within,
Entering sleep.
We now conclude this sleep meditation.
