Sleep Better With A Relaxed Brain 2

A busy mind often prevents us from being able to fall asleep and get a good refreshing night's sleep. This mindfulness meditation of breath and thoughts will gently guide you into an experience of relaxing your brain. This is followed by the relaxing sound of ocean waves, giving you plenty of time to drift off into a deep sleep, naturally and effortlessly. For best results, vary which of the 'Sleep better with a relaxed brain' series you use each night to keep your mind engaged.

Transcript

And we'll start firstly with the breath.

We're going to practice with the breath what we will then apply to our thoughts and to the brain,

To the mind.

And the first step is simply to become aware of your breath.

Notice how you're breathing right now.

And as much as possible really feel the physical sensations that arise in the body as you breathe.

Noticing the sensations associated with the in-breath and the different sensations that go along with the out-breath.

Bringing your attention to the breath but without any tension.

Keeping your awareness light and open.

I like to describe it as gently holding your breath within the center of your awareness,

In the foreground of your awareness.

But still allowing and being aware of everything else that's happening in this moment and just allowing that to happen in the background around the breath.

So thoughts,

Feelings,

Sounds.

Still there.

Don't try and exclude anything from your awareness.

You don't have to focus with any effort or concentration on the breath.

We're just having a bit more interest in the breath.

Wanting to explore how the breath feels whilst allowing everything else to happen just as it is.

The first step,

Awareness of the breath.

The second step,

Allowing everything else to still be there,

Not blocking out anything.

And the third step,

Don't try and change the breath in any way.

So there's no technique,

No effort to breathe more deeply or more slowly.

Becoming aware of how your breath is and allowing your breath to breathe at its own rate and speed and depth.

We can break this step down a bit and think of the in-breath at first.

And having that approach,

That attitude of allowing the breath into the body.

So we may be,

Maybe not consciously,

But we may be restricting the breath from fully entering into the body.

So have that feeling of allowing each time you breathe in.

So you're not restricting the breath in any way.

Allowing the breath into the body fully and freely,

Just as much as it wants to.

Notice how that feels to allow the breath in.

And for the out-breath,

Having that feeling,

That approach of release,

Of letting go.

So allowing the breath to leave the body as fully and freely as the breath wants to.

Again,

Not restricting or holding onto the breath at all.

Releasing the breath.

Allowing the breath in,

Letting go as you breathe out.

And this brings us naturally to the fourth step of beginning to feel the breath as a natural flow,

A flow of breath in and out,

Rise and fall.

Beginning to get a sense of this effortless flow of breath through the body.

And the fifth and final stage of the breath is to see if you can begin to get a sense that you are not doing the breathing.

But the breathing is something that's happening to the body.

The body is being breathed by the breath.

You don't have to remember to breathe or make efforts to breathe or choose to breathe.

You can notice that the breath is happening within and through the body.

So allow the body to be breathed.

As the breath continues flowing freely through the body,

We can now apply those exact same steps to our thoughts.

And the first step is simply to become aware of your thoughts.

Notice,

Watch,

Listen,

Be aware of whatever thoughts you are having in this moment.

What's it feel like to be thinking and being aware that you're thinking at the same time?

Normally we're thinking without paying particular attention,

Without shining this light of awareness on our thoughts.

So it's quite a different feeling,

A different experience to be thinking with this awareness.

So notice how that feels for you.

And the second step is to not focus or concentrate on your thoughts.

More keeping an easy and open awareness and allowing the thoughts just to be lightly,

Gently in the center or the foreground of your awareness.

And the breath,

The body,

Sounds,

Other sensations,

Emotions,

Everything else that's also happening in the present moment is still there.

You're still aware of all those things.

We don't exclude or try and move away from anything.

You're just choosing to take a particular interest in our thoughts for a few moments.

Exploring being inquisitive about our thoughts.

Just one of the many things happening in this moment.

Okay,

So the third step.

This is a really important one for our thoughts,

To not try and change your thoughts in any way at all.

So really genuinely welcoming and being open to any thoughts to come into your mind.

Doesn't matter how fast or loud or negative or repetitive.

The content of your thoughts for this exercise is completely irrelevant and really doesn't matter at all.

Welcoming any and all thoughts,

Not making any effort to change or redirect or stop a single thought.

How does that feel to give yourself that freedom to think anything at all?

We can break this down into the arrival of thoughts into our mind and the thoughts passing through and leaving the mind.

So to allow the thoughts to pass,

To move on,

All we have to do is choose not to be particularly interested or engage in any particular thought.

Be completely neutral,

Almost disinterested in your own thoughts.

Not identifying with any particular thought.

If we do that,

If we don't make that choice to attach ourselves to any particular thought,

Then eventually they will just drift away,

Fade away in their own time.

We don't need to try and push them away.

They can stay as long as they want.

I'm just choosing not to actively engage with any particular thought.

So I release my thoughts.

I don't hold on to them.

I find the best way to do this is to actually think about the arrival of my thoughts.

To really be open and interested and alert to what my next thought is going to be.

What am I going to think next?

What thought is going to appear in my mind?

So being attentive and alert,

While remaining light,

Easy and open.

So attention without any tension.

Seeing if you can catch the arrival of your next thought.

Wondering what it might be.

By doing this,

The old thoughts,

The current thoughts,

Will naturally fall away.

As you are choosing to provide space and time for new thoughts to come.

So this takes us to the fourth step.

And that is getting a sense of the flow of thoughts.

Thoughts arriving and leaving.

A succession of thoughts passing through the mind.

And because I'm allowing new thoughts to arrive and I'm not holding on to thoughts once they're there,

They're free to flow through the mind.

So getting a sense of free flowing thoughts through the mind.

So this is the fourth step.

And that is getting a sense of the flow of thoughts.

And the fifth step is to see if you can begin to get a sense that you are not thinking.

You don't have to remember to think.

You don't have to choose to have a thought.

You don't have to make any effort to create a thought.

The thoughts will come on their own,

Spontaneously,

Automatically,

Naturally.

So it's more as if the thinking is happening to you,

To the mind,

Rather than you doing the thinking.

Feeling the flow of thoughts as happening through the mind without any effort.

An effortless flow of thoughts through the mind.

Free flowing breath through the body.

Effortless flow of thoughts through the mind.

And we can move on to the third and final part of this meditation.

And this third part in two stages.

The first stage is just to familiarise yourself with that feeling of the relaxation response in the body.

So just taking any part of the body from the shoulders downwards.

It could be an arm or both arms,

Your shoulders or hands,

Legs or feet,

Stomach or chest.

And we'll do a few body parts,

So just pick one to start with.

And I want you just to be aware of what happens,

What you do and how it feels,

To relax a part of your body.

Reminding ourselves,

Becoming alert and sensitive to that natural,

Simple process of relaxing a part of the body.

To make that feeling more exaggerated,

You could try tensing that part of the body first.

And then really feeling that relaxation response in the body.

So pick a part of the body.

Relax that part of the body.

And notice how that feels.

Notice how easy and natural it is to do.

Do that for a few different parts of the body.

Anything from the shoulders down.

Feeling that relaxation response in the body.

However gentle and subtle it is.

Just noticing being sensitive to that shift,

That change in the body.

Okay,

So for the second part of this final relaxation section of the meditation,

I'd like to invite you to bring your attention first of all to your face.

Become aware of all those little muscles around the face,

Around the jaw and mouth,

Around the eyes and forehead.

And allow your face to be relaxed.

And how does that feel?

Feel the relaxation response in all those muscles in the face.

And moving our attention to the top back and sides of the head and the scalp.

Allow all these areas to relax.

How does that feel?

And then treating your brain exactly the same as any other part of your body.

Allow your brain to relax.

How does that feel?

Allow that relaxation response to come naturally into the brain.

And holding the whole of your head,

The face,

The back of the head and the brain within your awareness.

Allow the whole of the head,

Face and brain to relax.

How does that feel to allow your head,

Face and brain to completely relax?

Allowing the breath to flow freely through a relaxed body.

And allowing our thoughts to flow freely through our relaxed brain.

Feeling the relaxation response in the body and the brain.

As our breath and thoughts flow effortlessly.

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Reviews

Thank you 🙏 Stephen 💛, not just for this very effective sleep recording, but the entire sleep series, to keep it fresh while we’re relaxing down into sleep 💤.

Gentle guidance that allows...everything! Sleep is becoming part of mindful living. Thank you!