Welcome,
This is Natalie.
Tonight,
As your body begins to soften,
Your nervous system can shift into a state that will continue to support you even as you sleep.
Nothing needs to be forced.
Nothing needs to be fixed.
The more you allow yourself to settle right now,
The more your body can do what it naturally knows how to do.
To slow down,
To restore,
To reset.
There is nothing required from you.
Just lie back and let your body take over.
Now,
Begin by noticing the surface beneath you,
Holding your body completely.
Feel the points of contact,
Your heels,
The backs of your calves,
The backs of your thighs,
Your shoulder blades,
And the back of your head,
All being supported without effort.
You don't have to hold yourself up anymore.
Take a slow,
Gentle breath in through your nose and exhale softly through your mouth,
As if you're letting go of the day.
Again,
A soft inhale and a long,
Unhurried exhale.
Let your body drop just a little deeper.
One more time,
Inhale gently and exhale slowly,
Releasing any remaining effort.
Now,
Let your breath return to its natural rhythm.
No control,
No forcing.
Bring your awareness to your shoulders and notice they don't need to stay lifted anymore.
Let them drop even just a fraction,
Your jaw unclenching,
Your eyebrows unfurrowed,
Your eyes resting back in their sockets,
Your face at ease,
Your brain unfurling,
Relaxing,
Like a tight muscle that's finally released,
Your chest no longer needing to stay guarded,
Your belly can be loose,
Unheld,
Safe to rise and fall.
Feel your hips heavy and grounded,
Supported,
Your legs,
Your feet,
Nothing to carry anymore.
Your whole body being held by the surface beneath you.
You don't need to stay alert anymore.
Nothing is required from you now.
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do.
Your system is beginning to settle.
And now that your body has begun to settle,
We gently deepen this sense of safety.
I invite you to bring your awareness to the center of your chest.
Not to think about it,
But to feel as if there is a quiet space there and undisturbed.
You don't have to guard this space tonight because nothing is coming in and nothing needs to be kept out.
Your chest can soften just a little more with every exhale.
Now bring your awareness to your belly,
The place where your body often holds tension.
See if you can allow it to be completely unheld.
No pulling in,
No controlling,
Just soft.
A soft belly,
Free to rise and free to fall.
If it feels unfamiliar,
That's okay.
Your body is simply remembering what it feels like to let go.
Now shift your awareness to the whole back body.
Notice how it is being held by the surface beneath you.
And notice how you don't have to support yourself.
Notice how you don't have to stay upright.
Notice how you don't have to be ready because your back is fully supported,
Completely supported.
Now feel these three spaces together.
Your chest,
Your belly,
Your back.
Feel these three areas together.
Chest,
Belly,
And back,
Soft in the front,
Supported from behind.
Nothing to protect and nothing to hold.
Your body doesn't need to stay alert anymore.
It can begin to trust.
Trust that it is safe to rest,
Safe to soften,
Safe to let go,
Safe to sleep.
Now allow your awareness to rest gently in your body as your system begins to feel a little safer.
Your body can start to find its own rhythm,
A rhythm of your body that is already there.
Begin to notice a very subtle movement with your breath.
As you inhale,
There is a gentle expansion.
And as you exhale,
A soft settling.
Inhale,
A slight rising.
Exhale,
A deeper sinking.
Inhale,
A slight rising.
Exhale,
A deeper sinking.
Like your body is being gently rocked,
Very slowly,
Very softly.
Inhale,
You rise just a little.
Exhale,
You're held.
Inhale,
A soft expansion.
Exhale,
A deeper release.
Rocking and settling.
Rocking and settling.
Your body's natural rhythm.
Rocking and settling.
As if your body is being gently cradled,
Supported in every movement.
Supported in every moment.
Inhale,
You're lifted.
Exhale,
You're held.
Inhale,
Opening.
Exhale,
A soft return.
Rocking and resting.
Rocking and letting go.
Nothing to do.
Just being moved by your body's own rhythm.
Your body knows this rhythm.
It remembers how to settle.
Inhale,
A gentle rise.
Exhale,
A deeper sinking.
Deeper and deeper.
As if every exhale is carrying you further and further down.
Now the rhythm continues on its own.
You don't need to follow it anymore.
Your body is already doing it.
Let everything become even softer.
No effort.
No awareness needed.
Nothing is expected from you.
Your body can fully rest.
Your system can power down.
No holding.
No controlling.
Just drifting.
Drifting deeper and deeper.
Drifting deeper and deeper.
Drifting deeper and deeper.
Drifting deeper and deeper.
Drifting deeper and deeper.
