Welcome to this meditation for sleep.
This practice invites you to drift into deep and restorative rest in your own time and in a way that feels right for your body.
When you're ready,
Allowing your attention to rest on sensations that let you know that you're here.
You might notice the sounds in your environment,
Or your breath moving,
Or the weight of your body being supported.
Sensing into the touch points where the body makes connection to the surface beneath you.
Allowing yourself to soften into that support with each breath.
And beginning to soften the eyes,
Or gently close them if that feels right.
You might shift to sensing the rhythm of your breathing.
Noticing the rise and fall of your breath.
Can you bring awareness to the physical motion in your body with each breath?
You might imagine that you're riding the waves of your own breathing.
To invite yourself into a little more stillness,
You might take a few deep,
Slow,
And easy breaths.
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling through the mouth with a gentle sigh.
Each inhale nourishing you.
Each exhale releasing tension.
If it feels right,
You might place a hand on your heart or belly,
Just offering yourself a simple gesture of care.
Breathing slowly in,
And slowly out.
Allowing the out-breath to be just a little longer than your in-breath.
Signaling a sense of safety.
Signaling release.
Signaling rest.
And when you're ready,
Returning your breath back to its natural rhythm and pace.
And of course your mind will wander,
It's the nature of the mind,
It's not anything to judge,
Or fix,
Or change.
Just noticing as your thoughts come and go.
Just allowing your thoughts to move on without needing to follow them anywhere.
When you're ready,
You might bring awareness to your feet.
Just imagining a warm,
Healing light of awareness at the soles of your feet.
Just bringing awareness to whatever arises without needing to change anything.
Allowing this light to expand upward through your ankles,
Your shins and calves.
Melting any tension as it arises.
Sensing heaviness dissolving,
Muscles softening.
Sweeping this light of awareness through your thighs,
Your hips.
You might pause and bring attention to the breath here.
Noticing how the body releases even in the subtlest of ways with each exhale.
You might even imagine that waves of ease are sweeping through the body with each in-breath and each out-breath.
Gently shifting this warm,
Healing light of awareness into the belly,
The ribcage.
You might offer the next breath to your heart center that holds so much.
Inviting a softening here.
Noticing the gentle rise and fall like waves on the ocean.
Wave rising on your in-breath.
Wave falling on your out-breath.
Each inhale nourishing.
Each exhale releasing.
Inviting this gentle light of awareness to sweep up through your shoulders,
Through the nose,
Arms,
Wrists,
All the way through your hand into the fingertips.
Feeling a sense of letting go,
Of releasing into stillness.
Sweeping this warm,
Healing light from the fingertips up through the forearms,
Elbows,
Up to the shoulders.
You might pause to invite a releasing of the shoulders that also often hold so much.
This glowing light of awareness and healing to move up through your neck.
If it feels right,
You might pause at the jaw to invite a releasing.
You might invite an unclenching of the teeth,
Softening of the tongue.
Inviting a releasing and a letting go.
Sweeping your awareness up through the cheeks,
Through the muscles of the eyes.
Feeling the face softening and letting go.
If the breath is comfortable,
You might take a moment to pause with another deep,
Slow,
Intentional breath in through the nose.
You might imagine the breath as a warm,
Healing light filling the whole body,
From the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Breathing in healing,
Calm,
Breathing out ease.
Resting in the sensation of the whole body bathed in this light and healing.
The body supported,
You're invited to begin the practice of counting down the breath.
With each breath in and out,
The body becoming more relaxed.
Inviting a gentle,
Drifting into deeper rest and letting go.
Starting at 20,
Silently saying to yourself,
Breathing in 20,
Breathing out 20.
On the next inhale,
Breathing in 19,
Breathing out 19,
Breathing in 18,
Breathing out 18.
Continuing this gentle counting down on your own.
Just allowing the counting to guide your awareness into rhythm and rest.
Allowing the breath to be just as it is,
Without needing to change anything.
Allowing yourself to be here as you are.
As you rest here,
Notice awareness becoming softer,
Allowing each breath to carry you further into rest.
Noticing the quiet rhythm that's already here.
You are settling into a deeper state of rest and into a restorative invitation to sleep.
Allowing these words to fade,
Knowing there's nothing more to do in this moment,
Nowhere to be.
Just resting in your own being,
Drifting you into the gentle tide of sleep.
