Good evening,
My name is Sam and welcome to this bedtime meditation to help you get ready to fall into a deep restful sleep.
Snuggle into a comfortable position and adjust your pillow,
Covers and body as required.
The body can fall into a state of sleep more quickly the cooler it is,
So you might like to leave off one or two covers for now.
If you're on your back,
Put some space between your knees and feet and let your legs roll out to their natural turned out position.
Turn your palms up and roll the shoulders back and down away from the ears.
Allow your body's weight to rest evenly on both sides.
If you prefer to line your side,
Try lying on the right hand side as this puts less pressure on the heart and you might like to turn the light off.
Softly close your eyes and relax.
Take a full deep breath in through the nose and let it go in the way that feels best.
You can sigh it out through your mouth or release through the nose.
And once more,
Breathing in deeply,
Sending the breath all the way down into the belly and sigh the breath away.
Notice how quiet and still you are when the breath leaves the body.
Allow your breath to resume its own automatic and natural way,
Breathing however feels best for you.
Take any further movements to allow your body to get really comfortable and to feel more settled.
Release the shoulders so that they fall back and down away from your ears.
Let them nestle down into the cushion beneath,
Creating space across the front of the chest.
Relax the upper arms fully and feel that wave of relaxation carrying down into the forearm,
Releasing any tension around the wrist and thumb joint.
You can feel your fingers curling softly into a neutral and natural position.
Feel the muscles across the chest softening,
Releasing tension from around the collarbones.
Relax in the rib cage,
Allowing it to relax downwards and any tension that's between the ribs can just dissolve away.
Soften the belly completely,
Just let it go.
Let go of any hold or grip that you're feeling because sometimes you can be holding it in without even realizing.
Let this softness continue to seep down deep into the core of your body,
Moving through the organs and releasing any tension within.
With your mind's eye,
Seek out the deep psoas muscles which hold onto so much and consciously allow them to rest now.
Become aware of your back pressing down gently into the mattress.
The more you let go,
The more your back sinks into the bed.
You might even notice the little gaps underneath you closing as your body melts downwards.
Think of all the muscles in your back like butter gently melting in the warm sunshine.
It becomes more fluid and it oozes into the mattress beneath you.
The muscles become more supple and less rigid.
Bring your awareness to the buttocks now and relax all of the muscles deep inside the hips.
Notice how heavy the pelvis is and feel it lowering as all the muscles release their hold.
Let go of your legs,
Feeling the big heavy muscles in your thighs dropping.
Let go of your kneecaps too so that the thighs are completely switched off.
Relax the calves and relax your shins.
Have a sense of spaciousness in your ankles.
Relax your toes and soften the entire sole of your foot.
Feel the arches of the feet becoming softer,
Tension dissipating.
Let's move our focus up to the head and neck.
The head is now supported by your pillow so the neck can clock off duty.
The muscles in your neck have worked hard all day and it's time to relax them.
Let your teeth fall slightly apart so that the jaw is now slack.
Notice how the tongue sits peacefully in the bottom of the mouth.
And then relax the corners of your mouth.
Move your throat as if you were going to say the word ah and feel how that relaxes the entire neck and throat.
Have a sense of space around your ears and through the temples.
Relax the skin that covers your face,
Feeling any tightness easing away and your skin feeling beautifully supple and soft.
Let go of your scalp and you might feel your hair move a little bit or maybe your forehead shift slightly.
Allow your eyes to feel heavy in their sockets falling deeper and deeper down.
And soften the corners of the eyes.
Smooth the skin across the forehead allowing tension to dissolve away.
Think of your face like a blank canvas with no expression other than a vision of serenity and peace.
Allow your awareness to envelop your entire body and feel it become heavier.
Feel your full weight to the bed and let it gently hold you.
Notice your gentle breath and how it's gradually slowing down.
The heart rate is also slowing,
Moving into sleep mode.
Do you notice the body feeling a little cooler?
It's ready for sleep.
The blood pressure is dropping and your whole being feels so much calmer.
The constant rhythmic breath is very soothing.
Breath comes in and breath goes out.
The chest rises and then falls.
We're just letting go of the head.
Feeling heavy in the shoulders.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Body sinking deeper into the mattress.
Breathing in and breathing out,
Your mouth relaxing.
The body feels very heavy.
The breath continues gently,
Coming in,
Going out.
Thoughts are drifting in and out.
Just let the mind drift away.
Feels so good to surrender to the heaviness of sleep.
Softly resting,
Sinking.
So sleepy.
Drifting away.
Sinking down.
Sinking deep into sleep,
Into a restful sleep.
Allow yourself to drift away.
Let the sleep overtake you.
A chance to rest and to renew.
Slowly sinking into this deep comfort.
Feeling peaceful and calm.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Good night.
