Getting A Good Night's Sleep Part 1

Welcome to day one of the meditation for sleeping well.

Over the next few days you will be exposed to a number of different exercises.

We're going to start with the most outward practice and then generally turn our attention inwards as we go through these seven steps.

The physical body has a big influence on the mind.

Let us start with some deep breathing.

In this exercise I ask that you start by having deep diaphragmic breathing.

So you're breathing into your abdomen,

Not into your chest.

If you're doing this right,

You should see the rise and collapse of the abdomen.

Just like when you see a baby sleeping very peacefully,

You will notice the stomach is what rises and collapses,

Not the chest.

When you breathe nice and deep like this,

You automatically begin to relax the body.

Now we will start with each segment of the body.

We will start by contracting it,

Then relaxing and letting go.

Let's start with our feet.

I want you to clench your feet as tight as you can and then relax.

And as you relax,

Feel like they are dissolving.

Next,

Clench your legs,

Both the left and right legs,

As tight as you can and then let go.

And as you begin to relax them,

Feel as if they are also dissolving.

They don't exist anymore.

Now let's go to our arms.

Clench your fists,

Tighten your biceps,

Forearms as much as possible.

And then relax.

And as you relax,

Feel as if they are dissolving.

Next,

Do the same thing with the abdomen.

Tighten the muscles in your abdomen as much as possible and then let go.

Feel as if the abdomen doesn't exist anymore.

Now let's try this with the chest region.

Tighten the muscles around your chest,

Below the neck,

Up to the trunk.

And then relax.

Let it go.

Now let's try this with the neck,

Anything below the face.

Tighten and then let go.

It dissolves.

Now let's do the same thing with the muscles around the head.

So everything except the face,

The scalp,

The back of the head.

Tighten them as much as you can.

And then let go.

All that is left is the sensation around the face.

Now imagine like a cat snarling.

Except for making the noise,

Tighten your face as if you are snarling.

And relax.

And let go.

I hope you have a good rest.

I will check in with you tomorrow.