This soothing meditation is designed to help you to relax and drift into sleep.
Often we can't sleep because we have so many things on our mind,
Worries perhaps,
Or things we need to do.
If this is the case with you,
Then pause this meditation now,
Go and get a pen and paper before you start,
And write a brief note of all the things that are on your mind.
Then put it aside,
And you can think or worry about them when you wake up after you've had a good night's rest.
Now lying in your bed,
Find yourself a comfortable position,
Close your eyes,
And move your awareness to your body.
Is there anything else you need to do to make yourself even more comfortable?
Make whatever adjustments you need.
Now that you're comfortable,
I want you to take a few deep breaths.
Breathe in through your nose,
And blow it out through your mouth,
Slowly and gently.
With the next breath in,
Breathe in deeply,
Noticing the rise of your chest,
And as you breathe out slowly,
Notice how your chest falls.
On the next breath in,
Allow it to expand your chest and your lower abdomen,
And as you breathe out,
Allow your body to relax.
On your next breath in,
Allow it to fill up your entire body,
And hold the breath for a second or two,
As it loosens any tension that you're holding,
And then release that tension as you exhale slowly.
Return now to your normal breathing pattern.
Feel your body becoming heavy.
Feel and trust the support of your bed beneath you,
And the solidity of the floor beneath your bed,
The solidity of the foundations of your home and the ground beneath it.
Feel the earth supporting you.
Create an image in your mind of a bubble of safety all around you.
Perhaps this bubble is only a few inches outside of your body,
Or perhaps it is the size of the room that you're in,
Maybe even bigger.
Whatever the size of your bubble,
Know that you are safe where you are.
It is safe to sleep.
Each time you take a breath,
It seems that your body becomes heavier and heavier,
Like a kind of melting sensation.
Allow your body to be absorbed into the mattress beneath you.
Allow your head to become heavier.
Feel it melting into your pillow.
Allow any stray thoughts to drift away,
Like clouds moving across the sky.
Gently and slowly.
And bring your focus back to my voice,
Back to the heaviness of your body,
Back to the melting sensation into your mattress and your pillow,
Back to the support of your bed.
Back to the safety of your bubble.
Feel the peace in my voice.
Feel the comfort,
Like a warm hug.
Visualise beautiful white fluffy clouds sweeping your thoughts away.
There's nothing you can do about these thoughts right now.
The best thing you can do right now is relax and rest.
Deal with everything tomorrow.
We'll now start from your toes and work our way up to your head to make sure that every part of your body is completely relaxed.
Bring your awareness to your toes.
Feel them relax.
You may want to wriggle them or clench them momentarily to relax them even further.
Now bring your attention to the rest of your feet.
If they don't feel relaxed,
Scrunch your feet up and then release the tension.
Focus on the muscles in your lower legs.
Tense them if you feel the need and relax.
Shift your focus to your upper legs and let them relax.
Notice now that your entire legs and feet are completely relaxed and calm.
Moving up to the muscles in your glutes and pelvis.
Tense them,
Release and relax.
Soften the muscles in your stomach and let them relax.
Notice if there's any tension in your back.
Stretch if you wish and release.
Bring your attention to your chest and shoulders.
If you want,
Tense,
Stretch or just release and relax.
Now allow the muscles in your upper arms to relax.
Your forearms.
Your hands.
And your fingers.
Again,
Clench first if there's any tension and then release and relax.
Feel your whole body from your shoulders down and notice how it is completely relaxed.
Moving up to,
And relaxing,
Your neck.
The back of your head.
Your jaw.
Allow it to relax and go slack.
The muscles in your cheeks.
Around your eyes.
Your temples.
And your forehead.
Allow my voice to soothe and relax your forehead.
As if it has been gently stroked.
Now allow it to smooth over the top of your head.
Soothing.
Comforting.
Feel your entire body relaxed as it has never been before.
You feel safe within your bubble.
Feel the heaviness of your body.
Sinking,
Melting into the mattress and your pillow.
Even more now than before.
Feeling the support of your bed beneath you.
The support of the earth.
Allowing any lingering thoughts to drift away.
Like clouds across the sky.
Let them go now.
Don't give them any attention.
This is your time.
Time to relax.
Time to rest.
Be calm.
At peace.
Now it's time to sleep.
