Hello and welcome to this guided practice for deep sleep.
Begin by lying down on a firm but comfortable surface in Shavasana and spend a few moments to settle your body,
Taking any movements that you need so that you're able to fully relax and release into the support underneath you.
Close your eyes and begin connecting to your breath.
Breathe in and out through your nose.
Each time you exhale,
Begin to sense that you're able to soften the way that you hold your body,
Relaxing even more fully into the support underneath you.
And then bring your awareness to your abdomen.
Begin to notice the natural movement of the abdomen as you breathe.
You sense that as you breathe in,
There's an expansion from the midline of your body all the way outward.
As you exhale,
There's a contraction and you notice this smooth and relaxed rhythm in the space of the abdomen.
And then allow your awareness to fill the space of your body so you become aware of your entire body here.
Each breath gently relaxing and supporting the body.
Your breath and body will remain really effortless as you allow your awareness to move throughout the body.
So start by bringing your awareness to the space above the crown of your head.
Relax and breathe into that space.
And then move your awareness down to the top of your head.
Begin to soften your entire scalp,
The sides and back of your head,
All along your hairline.
Relax your eyebrows and allow your eyes to get nice and heavy in the sockets.
Soften around your cheeks and your jaw,
Your ears,
Your nose,
Your mouth,
Your lips.
You release your tongue from the roof of the mouth and soften your chin.
So all effort is released from the face.
Then your awareness moves downward to the center of your throat.
You relax deeply here,
Softening the muscles of the neck and the throat center.
Across your collarbones to your shoulders,
Down your arms,
Your elbows and wrists,
Into both of your palms and out through your fingertips.
Rest your awareness at your fingertips and breathe,
Almost as if you're breathing in and out through the tips of your fingers.
And then from your fingertips,
Your awareness travels upward back into your palms and your wrists,
To your elbows and your shoulders and back to the center of your throat.
And then your awareness travels downward to your heart center.
Take a few relaxed breaths into the space of the heart.
Sense that as you inhale,
There's an experience of nourishment,
Your whole body nourished,
Your heart space deeply nourished.
As you exhale,
You're able to soften.
There's a releasing,
A relaxing.
Your awareness travels down to your sternum and your abdomen,
Into the space of your pelvis and your hips,
Through your upper legs and your knees,
Down through your lower legs,
Into your ankles and your feet and the tips of your toes.
Now begin to sense that from your toes all the way back up to your crown,
That your whole body is relaxed.
There's absolutely no effort required here as you simply breathe.
And then from the tips of your toes,
Let the awareness slowly travel back upward to your ankles,
Your knees,
Your hips,
Into your pelvis,
Abdomen,
Sternum,
Heart center,
Throat center,
The center of your forehead,
And your crown center,
The top of your head.
Allow your awareness now to expand and fill the entire space of your body,
From your crown,
To your shoulders,
To your fingertips,
All the way down to your toes.
Breathe into the space of your body and sense that your whole body is breathing together,
Every cell deeply nourished as you breathe in and every cell deeply cleansed as you breathe out.
Remain in this relaxed stillness and enjoy the nourishment that you receive from each and every breath.
When you feel ready,
You can begin to invite some small movements into your fingers and your toes.
You can deepen your breath.
It might feel nice to extend your arms overhead and stretch the full length of your body,
Taking any movements that feel really good.
From there,
You can roll over onto your side and take a few relaxed breaths in the fetal position.
And then it's up to you.
You can either transition right back to a lying down position,
If you want to move directly into your sleep,
Or you might want to press yourself up,
Come into a comfortable seated position.
That's a nice,
Relaxed seat.
Spine sitting up nice and tall,
Shoulders relaxed,
And your eyes close.
Adjusting your body so that you're nice and comfortable and gradually softening into the pose,
Releasing all effort in your face,
Your shoulders,
Your arms,
All the way down your torso and your legs.
Take a few moments here.
And when you're ready,
You might like to place your hands together at heart center,
Gently bowing your head toward your heart,
Honoring the sacredness of this moment.
And from here you can rub your palms together,
Warming up the hands,
Really generating some nice heat into the palms.
And then covering the eyes with your warm palms.
Allow that warmth to deeply nourish the senses.
And then opening the eyes into the palms.
And releasing your hands down when you're ready.
Aum.
Peace.
Peace.
Peace.
Namaste.
