Breathe Yourself To Sleep Every Night - Tuesday

Breathe yourself to sleep every night with this relaxing breath meditation. After the commentary, the ocean waves continue for around 15 minutes, giving you plenty of time to naturally drift off to sleep. One of a series of seven 'Breathe yourself to sleep' meditations.

Transcript

A mindfulness based breath meditation to help us relax body and mind and it's a good practice that you can use when you're ready to fall asleep.

It can help you go to sleep more easily and also improve the quality of sleep.

So you can breathe through your nose or mouth for both the in-breath and the out-breath whichever you find most comfortable.

Okay so I'm going to start by taking a few deeper longer in-breaths.

If you've been practicing breath meditation,

Mindfulness and relaxation then it's quite surprising how quickly and easily just one or two deep breaths can trigger that relaxation response in the body and the mind.

So as you take that longer deeper in-breath,

Really feel the breath and the body.

If possible begin the in-breath with a belly breath,

So taking the breath in with a diaphragm,

Feeling the stomach rise as the breath goes firstly to the base of the lungs.

And continue the in-breath as deep as is comfortable for you.

At this moment as you continue with the breath you may find you can lengthen and deepen the breath more.

As long as you start with the diaphragm then you can keep breathing in up into the chest as long and as high as is comfortable.

Choose your own speed of in-breath.

The slower the more relaxing it will be but to begin with it may be easier to have a medium paced in-breath just to get the breath going and then you can gradually slow it down as it gets deeper and longer and you become more relaxed.

And for the out-breath we are always just releasing,

Relaxing,

Letting go of the exhale like a long sigh.

So the only effort we are making to begin with is to gradually deepen,

Lengthen and slow down that in-breath.

Allowing yourself to become more present in and with the body with every inhale.

Really exploring and feeling all the sensations within the body as you breathe in.

Gradually lengthening,

Slowing and increasing the in-breath but always starting with the diaphragm with the belly breath.

You can follow the breath up the body with the awareness,

Feeling the breath rise as it is.

Remember we are just allowing everything else to be as it is.

So our thoughts,

Feelings,

Emotions,

Sensations,

Sounds,

The out-breath,

All these things just allowing them to be as they are in this moment within our awareness.

Doesn't matter how you feel,

Doesn't matter what you are thinking,

How much you are thinking,

We are just going to gradually lengthen,

Slow and increase the in-breath and that will bring all the relaxation we need in mind and body.

Breathing as if we have all the time in the world,

No rush,

No expectation,

No trying to relax,

Just breathing one breath at a time.

The in-breath will become easier and more natural as time passes.

So just making that effort and paying that attention at the beginning to gradually deepen and lengthen the in-breath,

Just checking you are starting with the diaphragm.

Feeling the belly rise,

Placing a hand on the stomach if that helps as a reminder.

Each in-breath,

An invitation,

A reminder of our intent to allow ourselves to be more present with the body in this moment.

Always simply releasing,

Relaxing,

Letting go of the out-breath.

Although it can become quite a deep and long in-breath,

It can still be a relaxed in-breath,

An easy in-breath,

Allowing the breath into the body.

After a while,

Once this new deeper in-breath has its own momentum,

You can probably even feel like the breath is breathing the body and you are not having to make any efforts at all.

Just checking your body is nice and relaxed so it can allow the breath in fully and freely,

Without resistance.

Allowing this in-breath,

This deeper,

Longer,

Slower in-breath to continue naturally and effortlessly,

Breathing into a relaxed body.

Let's spend a few breaths,

A few moments now,

Really experiencing the out-breath.

So be aware of the end of the in-breath and the very beginning of each out-breath.

Now thinking again,

Releasing god's most important directweak of all,

Release the crudely.

And we're relaxing releasing the whole out breath like a big sigh.

If you want to make a sound,

A sighing sound with the out breath and releasing the out breath with the mouth,

You can choose to do that.

So each time you let go of the out breath,

You're letting go of the out breath.

Let go of the body,

Let go of your thoughts,

Let go of how you're feeling,

Let go of everything.

Allow your body to relax and sink into the present moment a little bit more with each release of the out breath.

As you take in that long,

Slow,

Gentle in breath,

You can be anticipating the release,

The relaxation that's going to come with the exhale.

And the more you breathe in,

The more you know you're going to be able to let go,

Release and relax with the out breath.

Becoming more present with the body with every in breath.

And the body becoming more relaxed,

Melting into the present moment with every out breath.

And the body becoming more present with every out breath.

Maybe now really starting to enjoy the breath to relish every in breath and every out breath.

Feeling how much good you're doing to the mind and body with every conscious,

Deep,

Slow,

Gentle in breath.

Just imagine how rested,

How relaxed you'll be after these relaxing breaths.

Allowing your thoughts to flow as freely through the mind as the breath is flowing freely through your body.

And the more you breathe in,

The more you know you're going to be able to let go,

Release and relax with every out breath.

Maybe starting to get a feeling of expansion in the body,

In your awareness.

As we expand the breath,

You can expand our awareness also,

You can feel more spacious.

Maybe with the next few in breaths,

Really feel the space around the body from which you're taking that in breath.

So the breath is that connection,

That relationship between the body and that unlimited space around the body.

And allowing the body to just be relaxed in the centre of this open awareness,

This open space.

Bring in that openness,

That awareness,

That space into the body with every in breath.

And with every out breath,

Releasing that air back out into that unlimited open space surrounding your body,

That open space of your awareness.

The breath like a wave within this vast ocean of awareness.

And allow your mind and body to be lulled into a deeper relaxation by this wave of breath on this ocean of awareness.

Feeling the body as if it's floating,

Drifting on the breath.

And with every out breath,

Releasing that air back out into that open space of awareness.

Being more present with the in breath within the space of your awareness.

Allowing everything to flow freely,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Sensations,

Sounds with every released,

Relaxed out breath.

Floating freely on the wave of the breath.

There's nothing wrong with that,

Even if you feel distressed,

The the the the the the.

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Reviews

Thank you 🙏 for helping me fall asleep. I was really needing a bit of help and your breathing meditation was so wonderful. 💗💗💗💗

Thoroughly enjoyed this peaceful experience 🎉 In the Here and now moments, sensations came and went while streaming in complete stillness and spaciousness - an utterly blissful state, where my entire relaxed body and mind melted away in the land of nod. Thank you Stephen - I shall be sleeping soundly soon, thanks to your gracious and gentle commentary. 👌🏻❤️🤗🧘‍♂️💤🙏