Day 15: Relax Into Sleep

Sleep is vital to your wellbeing so you can meet the demands of life. Learn some tips to ease you into bedtime, followed by a meditation and rotation of body awareness, to drop out of the thinking mind as you drift into a restorative, peaceful and deep night's sleep.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Soothing Sleep Series here on Insight Timer.

My name is Sasha Stewart and it's a pleasure to be here ending the day together.

Sleep is vital to your well-being so you can meet the demands of life.

It gives your mind the ability to process stressful situations that have gone on in your day and it allows the brain downtime to assimilate information so you can remember it for the future and it's accessible when needed.

Good sleep also helps with concentration,

Creativity and learning at the same time as giving the body an opportunity to restore and rejuvenate.

If you have a lot on your mind before bed and it feels like the brain is still very active,

Journaling is the perfect activity.

Get it all down on paper like a brain dump,

Knowing that you won't forget any important to-dos and that you can put it aside for the next eight hours.

It's also important to be very mindful of your routine before you go to bed as this sets you up for the best possible chance to sleep well.

I highly recommend being conscious of what you're doing in the lead-up to bedtime.

What are you watching and consuming?

Are you on screens watching the news that could fuel anxiety or are you listening or reading to something peaceful and soothing?

Take a warm bath or a calming tea and dim the lights so that your mind begins to register that it's bedtime as lower lighting tells the brain that it's time for sleep.

Let's do our nighttime meditation practice to lead you into a peaceful and deep night's sleep.

Make sure you're comfortable and warm in your bed and make any final adjustments.

Is there anything that could make you even 5% more comfortable?

If so,

Do this now.

When you're ready,

Close down the eyes and connect to your breath.

Let the focus of the breath be in the belly with relatively little movement of the chest.

Breathe deeply and allow the breath to slow down.

This signals to the body and the mind that in this moment everything is okay and that it's safe to rest now.

It's time to leave the day and the world behind.

Settle into the simplicity of breathing.

So so set the intention to have a restful healing and peaceful sleep.

So on your next inhale,

Hold the breath and contract all the muscles in the body through the arms,

Legs,

Feet,

Hands into fists,

Face,

Back and belly.

Tighten through the entire body and then on the exhale release everything.

Let go of all tension and notice the sense of relaxation that comes over you.

Do this two more times,

Squeeze everything tightly and then let it all go with a full exhale.

As though you bring all the tension to the surface on the contraction,

Then a full breath out,

Relax everything with a sense of letting go.

Then bring the focus back to the breath in the belly again.

Each breath in helps you to go inward and nurtures the body.

Each exhale you can allow the body and the mind to let go just a little bit more.

Each breath in brings a sense of nurture and healing to the body.

Each exhale allows you to relax and let go.

Invite any tension you may still hold to begin to melt away.

Know that you are fully supported in this moment.

Begin to shape your breath by extending your exhalation.

Breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of eight.

Shape your breath into a rhythm,

In for four and out for eight.

Then begin to hold the breath at the top of the inhalation for a count of seven.

Breathe in for four,

Hold for seven,

Breathe out for eight.

This brings the body into balance and a state of relaxation.

It soothes the heart and calms the mind for deep rest.

Continue the pattern.

Each breath nurtures the body,

Calms the nervous system and the mind.

So do gradually allow the breath to return to its own natural rhythm.

Let it be effortless in the body and be aware that in this moment you are completely supported as if the body is being drawn down into the earth.

Any tension melting away.

Relax the facial muscles.

Eyes are sinking down away from the eyelids.

Teeth slightly parted which will release any tension in the jaw.

The tongue softens and widens.

Arms and legs are relaxed.

Hands and fingers soft,

Feet soft,

Belly button soft,

Fingers soft,

Feet soft,

Belly releases.

All the internal organs resting.

The whole body relaxes.

Be aware of yourself letting go of all resistance.

You are moving into deep rest.

You will now begin a rotation of body awareness.

All you need to do is bring your awareness to each part of the body as I say it.

We will begin on the right side of the body.

Right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Back of the hand.

Palm of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Right side of the rib cage.

Right waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Top of the foot.

Soul of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The whole right side of the body.

Awareness moves to the left side of the body.

Left hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Back of the hand.

Palm of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Left side of the rib cage.

Left waist.

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The whole left side of the body.

Awareness moves to the back of the body,

Back of the right heel,

Back of the left heel,

Back of the right leg,

Back of the left leg,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right side of the back,

Left side of the back,

The entire spine,

Back of the right arm,

Back of the left arm,

And back of the head,

The whole back of the body.

Awareness moves to the front,

Crown of the head,

Forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The center of the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The whole nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

The center of the throat,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Heart center,

Breathe into the heart center for a few breaths,

Top of the right arm,

Top of the left arm,

Upper abdomen,

And lower abdomen,

Top of the right leg,

Top of the left leg,

Top of the right foot,

And top of the left foot,

Top of the left leg,

Top of the right foot,

And top of the left foot,

The entire front of the body,

The whole body together,

The whole body together,

The whole body together,

The whole body together.

Awareness now moves back to the breath.

Let the breath flow in the perfect rhythm for this moment.

And continue to let go with each exhalation,

As if you drop down a layer with each breath.

As you let go of time and space,

Your body begins to dissolve into a weightlessness and a lightness.

Thoughts dissolve.

Each exhale,

You let go of form,

Everything dissolving.

You now drift off into a restorative,

Peaceful,

And deep sleep.

You now drift off into a restorative,

Peaceful,

And deep sleep.

You now drift off into a restorative,

Peaceful,

And deep sleep.

You now drift off into a restorative,

Peaceful,

And deep sleep.

You now drift off into a restorative,

Peaceful,

And deep sleep.

You now drift off into a restorative,

Peaceful,

And deep sleep.

Reviews

Very relaxing and calming. Wonderful meditation to ease into sleep. Thank you. 🙏😴❤️

I liked this very much. Fell asleep before the end! 🙏

I did not make it till the end…💜
Thank you 🙏🏽 🙌🏾

The start was great. Can't comment on the end because I'd taken asleep. Well definitely listen again.

You have such a soothing voice Sacha and the music was lovely, thank y

Soothing voice relaxing meditation. Thank you

A gentle session for an afternoon break. Thank you.

Thank you! 🙏🏻👼🏻🌺💖✨

So lovely & soothing 🙏🏻💙

I think it worked!! Don't remember a thing LOL

Fell asleep before the end 🙏🏻

Thank you 💚🙏🧡

Very nice and soothing voice!
Good meditation.

Hi Sacha
That was an alluring meditation Sacha
Thanks for the privilege of meditating to it
Namaste
🙏🏻

Wonderful meditation. I fell asleep easily.

Some good tips but I have to remember that all breath work doesn't work for me and to make my own modifications.

This is excellent. Unfortunately I tried it when I woke up at 4:45 am instead of before going to sleep, so I didn’t fall back asleep. The change to daylight savings time is rough for me. Will try to remember to use it tonight.

Excellent preparation and body awareness guidance to help promote sleep! Including a fab breathing technique. I highly recommend this and Sacha’s other work. Thank you 😌🙏🏻

Excellent! Thank you 🙏

very soothing n body scan was great!!
namasté sister 🕉☮🙏💜