Prepare For Sleep With Total Relaxation

For a complete relaxation experience, we will explore the body, breath, emotions, thoughts, sounds and awareness. Deeply relax all elements of your being with this journey through six dimensions of the present moment. Ideal preparation for a deep and restorative sleep

Transcript

So we're going to explore six different ways to be present and to relax.

We'll be using a mindful approach and for me that means becoming more aware of what's already happening internally and externally,

Rather than trying to create any particular experience or make effort to change anything.

So approach of acceptance,

Allowing,

Letting go,

These sorts of ideas,

Find really useful.

So we'll begin with the first part,

Which is becoming more aware of the body,

Becoming more present with the body,

And seeing if that helps us relax the body.

So have a quick scan through your body,

See what you can notice.

Taking an approach of interest and exploration,

Exploring all the different sensations in the body.

See if you can adopt an attitude of really welcoming any sensation,

Even if it's maybe discomfort or pain or stress.

Because our aim is to explore what's there,

So we want to encourage and welcome all the sensations to come into our awareness.

Our aim is to be present with things as they are.

So for this first step,

Being present and aware of our body exactly as it happens to be in this moment.

Just as we begin,

Just a general point which applies to all the six elements,

Whichever of the six steps we're on.

See if you can try not to focus or concentrate.

So although we're taking an interest in the body for the first step,

Rather than focusing or concentrating on the body and trying to ignore or exclude everything else,

Instead I'd invite you to try to keep your awareness really nice and open.

So I'm still aware of thoughts and feelings,

Sounds,

The space around me,

And I'm not going to make any effort to ignore those.

Instead,

I'm just going to give a little bit more attention,

A little bit more interest in the sensations of the body.

I like to think of this as keeping the body in the center or the foreground of my awareness,

But that open awareness still has those other things in the background,

Sounds,

Thoughts,

Feelings,

Etc.

Allowing all the sensations of your body to reveal themselves to you within your open awareness.

And if any of those sensations in the body are feelings of tightness,

Tension,

Stress,

Then allow yourself to let those ease,

Release,

Dissolve.

Just notice how that feels when you have that approach of awareness followed by acceptance,

Followed by letting go,

Releasing.

What I find useful to try to really feel a deep,

Total sense of relaxation in the body is rather than being aware of this part of the body,

Then the next,

But after a while instead,

Seeing if I can get a sense of the whole body,

Almost as if with my awareness I'm just taking a little step back,

Just behind the body and feeling the whole body just in front of me within my awareness and getting a sense of feeling of the whole body.

The idea then of releasing the whole body,

Allowing the whole body to relax.

So as all the tension and blockages and tightness in the body begins to ease,

Then that allows the natural energy of the body to start to flow more freely and getting a sense of the flowing presence of energy within your body.

And naturally I find my attention being drawn to the breath as the body settles and relaxes,

And I begin to explore the sensations of the rise and fall of the breath in the body.

I'm not making any effort to change the breath,

Just allow the breath to be as it is,

But I have the thought of really consciously allowing the breath in,

With each in breath,

Welcoming the breath into the body,

Just checking I'm not restricting the breath in any way.

And with each out breath,

Just checking I'm not holding on to the breath,

Not restricting the out breath,

So releasing,

Allowing the breath out as fully and as freely as it wants to.

Just checking I'm not getting in the way of the breath,

So the breath can flow easily,

Effortlessly and freely through the body,

Rising and falling.

And the wave-like motion of the breath can bring a real deep sense of relaxation to body and mind.

And each time I let go of the breath,

I can allow the body to release a little more tension each time,

Become a little bit more relaxed with each relaxed out breath.

Beginning to feel now like I can really settle into the body,

Into the breath,

Into the present moment.

So next moving on to the emotions and feelings.

So just checking in with how you're feeling now.

Notice what emotions are there on the surface and any feelings just bubbling below the surface.

And as we did,

Exploring the sensations in the body,

Seeing if we can have that attitude of firstly awareness,

Then acceptance,

A sense of allowing and finally release.

So be aware of how you feel,

Allow yourself to have that feeling.

Accept that that's what's there in this moment.

And then a feeling of release,

Of relaxing into that feeling just as it is.

Noticing how you're feeling right now,

Accepting that that is your present reality.

Allow the emotion to be there without interference.

And then a feeling of release,

Of letting go,

Of surrendering,

Relaxing into however you're feeling.

So just checking in with how you're feeling.

You can stay with each part for as long as feels right for you.

You can return to the sensations in the body and the breath,

Stay with the emotions for a bit longer.

Or you can join me and move on to the next part,

The fourth part of these six elements of being present and relaxing into the present.

And the fourth part is the mind,

The thoughts.

Applying the same approach,

The same attitude towards my thoughts and my mind.

So that is becoming aware of my thoughts,

Aware of the inner environment of my mind.

Accepting,

In fact positively welcoming,

Whatever I find there,

No matter what the thoughts.

Allowing them to be just as they are.

Allow your thoughts to arrive in your mind,

Stay as long as they want to and leave whenever they're ready.

Aware,

Accept,

Allow.

And again that feeling of release,

Of letting go.

Allowing your mind to relax.

And just as the breath is free to flow easily and effortlessly through the body,

The more we relax the body.

So too now we can really allow our thoughts to flow freely and effortlessly through our relaxed mind.

Free flowing breath,

Free flowing thoughts.

Keeping your awareness nice and light and open.

Just allowing your thoughts to flow through the centre of your awareness.

Still aware of the present moment around you,

Just in the background.

So a relaxed body,

A relaxed breath,

Relaxing into our emotions.

Allowing our thoughts to flow effortlessly through our relaxed mind.

And the next step,

The fifth element of the present moment to explore and to relax into.

We're going to go outwards,

Away from our inner environment of thoughts and feelings and away from the breath and the body.

And we're going to use our sense of hearing to listen to all the sounds we can hear in the environment around us.

Really encouraging our awareness to become broader,

Wider,

More open.

And again with that sense of exploring with interest,

Being alert to all the sounds you can hear in the space and the environment outside around you.

And again becoming aware of the sounds.

Accepting whatever sounds you come across.

And allowing the sounds to be just as they are within your open awareness.

And that sense of releasing,

Letting go of each sound in each moment.

So you're open and alert to listen to the sounds of the next moment.

As we allow the sounds to flow freely through our open awareness.

You can begin to get a sense that this feeling of relaxation that's been growing in the body,

The breath,

Our emotions,

Our thoughts in our mind.

That feeling of relaxation can grow further and spread,

Become part of our environment.

It's not just me feeling relaxed,

But I relax and feel I'm in a relaxed space,

Relaxing into a space of relaxation.

Beginning to get that sense of complete or total relaxation of body,

Mind and environment.

Just as allowing the thoughts to come and go helps to relax the mind.

Allowing the sounds in my environment,

In the space around me.

Allows me to feel I'm in a relaxed space,

A relaxed environment.

And that deepens the relaxation in the body and mind.

So I feel more connected and safe,

Surrounded by relaxation.

Thank you very much Tiny.

Each time I breathe out,

I'm breathing out into this relaxed space.

My emotions flowing out into the same relaxed space.

And my thoughts too,

Allowing them to flow outwards into the relaxed space around me.

And the sounds just coming and going moment by moment within my relaxed and open awareness.

I'll leave a few minutes of silence without commentary just to give us time to really go deeper and enjoy the simplicity of this present moment.

And allowing body and mind and the space and environment around us to all come together into one whole experience of total and complete relaxation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.