Letting go of trauma Relaxation meditation for sleep Hello and welcome to this guided meditation for relaxation and sleep I and all others who use this meditation invite you to begin to relax Letting go of your day as you find a comfortable position in your bed It does not matter what you have experienced over the course of the last 18 hours or so This meditation is a place for you to release everything that weighs you down Joyous occurrences,
Simple pleasures,
Stressful situations Let them all loosen their hold on your mind Breathe And just for right now give yourself permission to reconnect with the universe Just finding a comfortable place Either sitting or lying down And gently close your eyes Breathing in for a count of 4 Holding for 3 seconds And then blowing it all out And again Breathe in for a count of 4 Hold that breath for 3 seconds And then blow it out All of us experience trauma For some of us,
Trauma comes in the form of an abrupt ending The sudden ending of a relationship or belief that leaves us no time to find closure For others,
Trauma is the result of an extended negative situation which weighs heavily on your mind and spirit And perhaps your trauma is something a little different A unique occurrence that has nonetheless changed your perspective or attitude Whatever you have experienced Take a moment to allow compassion to well up in your heart Compassion for yourself And for everyone else in the world who also suffers And as you inhale Feel the compassion of others touching you Enveloping you in a comforting embrace Releasing trauma can be difficult But know that you have the support of thousands even when you feel the most alone For many of us,
Feelings are frightening Yet what frightens us is often what most empowers us So as we reach a little deeper Let love and compassion soothe your worries As you begin to let go Embrace relaxation as you breathe Listening to the sounds of your respiration and the music all around you Inhale Exhale Inhale again Exhale Settle in knowing that you are in the company of thousands of fellow travellers All seeking deeper peace and awareness What would it be like if you released this pain?
How would your body change?
Would you carry yourself differently?
Just for a moment,
Let go of a little bit of pain The tension,
The stiffness that this past event holds within you Breathe in love and compassion for yourself Give yourself the gift of patience and faith Of knowing that you are already healing and growing into new wisdom And now,
Imagine that you are standing on the beach of a clear,
Still lake The water is perfectly flat,
Glassy as it reflects the gentle glow of the stars far above you In fact,
The night is so still and the water so calm That the sky and land and water all seem to blur together An endless tapestry of flickering silver lights As you stand here,
You are conscious of your own physical and spiritual presence The way your trauma feels in your body and mind Perhaps you notice a sense of weight or discomfort However,
This traumatic event manifests itself Spend a few moments with the sensations now Truly embrace them Learning their every delicate nuance Memorizing so that you can move more quickly and recognize them in the future Trauma is not evil It is simply a chance to slow down and reflect on what frightens us So as you take a few moments to grow just a bit more comfortable with whatever has happened to you Let the light of the stars and the stillness of the water console you You are beginning your journey towards healing And now when you are ready Imagine that you are peeling off these feelings,
This heaviness,
The trauma Peel away your fears and leave them in a heap on the beach With every breath,
You feel lighter,
Freer And with this new feeling of freedom,
You begin wading into the lake The water is cool but not cold,
A refreshing temperature As your feet pass through the surface of the lake Watch the ripples blowing out Concentric circles moving away from your ankles Wrinkling the water before melting into a smooth stillness The water washes away your pain The water washes away your pain,
Your hurt,
Your fear Let it take away everything that plagues you Relaxing in the knowledge that no harm can come to you You are safe You are a healing being As you let go of your disappointment or anger Feel your muscles letting go of tension Your neck loosens And the space between your shoulder blades becomes a soft hollow Feel your eyes sink a little into your face And let your lips soften Notice the way that you bear the weight of your irritation or bitterness on your body And know that you can choose to let it go whenever you are ready You don't have to carry this tension in your mind,
Body or spirit any longer than you would like to Give yourself permission to let it go Allow the water to carry away everything that plagues you As you sink deeper into tranquility Do not let your mind neglect your body The sensations of your body as it reacts to whatever pain you carry within you Imagine every fibre of your body Relaxing as if it were a great weight has been taken off your entire body Allow your chest and belly to inflate Filling with the air around you Notice the way you are holding your eyes,
Your shoulders,
Your feet If you feel any tension or worry,
Imagine it melting Breathe deeply and relax If you would like,
You can let the water buoy you up,
Lifting you gently Allowing you to float on your back without effort or fear Feel the lake soothing sore muscles and easing your mind In this space,
You can let go of anything that frightens or worries you You are floating in the waters of compassion and love And there is no limit to the healing you can experience Imagine the ripples in the lake And feel the light of the stars in the sky above Reflected on the soothing blue of the water underneath your back Peace and serenity are everywhere Freedom is yours,
If only you choose to embrace it So just for right now,
Close your eyes and relish the feeling of cool water and deep peace As they surround you,
Supporting your muscles and bones with an effortless soothing presence This is space for you now Space to listen to your intuition and relax into the compassion and love all around you Breathe deeply and sigh out any remaining tension or pain Let it all go,
Replacing anxiety with calm and peace And now,
If you would like,
Allow yourself to begin slipping easily,
Effortlessly,
Into sleep Listening to the delicate sounds of the night time and the water around you Peace and happiness accompany you as you go
