Sleep More Deeply By Relaxing Mind And Body

Using mindfulness meditation to relax deeply into the present moment. Learn how to totally relax your mind and your brain, your body and your soul. An excellent practice to prepare for a deep and restorative sleep. Around 20 minutes of commentary followed by about 20 minutes of relaxing sounds of birdsong and a flowing stream.

Transcript

So we're going to explore how we can relax all aspects of our being,

Mind,

Body and soul,

By using the techniques of mindfulness to allow ourselves to be more present.

More present with the body,

More present with our thoughts and more present with ourselves.

So let's start with the body and become more aware of your body.

Allow yourself to become fully present with your body,

So you can explore all the different sensations and experiences.

There's lots of different ways to explore mindfulness of the body.

If you've got your own routine that you know works for you to relax the body,

Then feel free to begin that.

For example,

Starting with your feet and working your way gradually through the body,

Becoming aware of the sensations in each part of the body.

I'll share a few thoughts of how I'm going to become more present with the body in a way that particularly helps the body to relax.

Feeling the weight of the body,

Not of any particular part,

But of the whole body.

And then allowing the full weight of the body to be completely held and supported.

And feeling all the points of contact along the body,

Where that support is taking place.

And having that feeling of releasing,

Letting go of the whole body,

Allowing it to be supported and really noticing how that feels in the body for it to be released and supported.

Let's spend a few moments with the body,

Perhaps with this idea of release and support.

Thank you.

If I do come across any areas in the body that do seem particularly tight or tense,

Then I can pay particular attention to that area and consciously release the muscles in that part of the body.

And feel,

Visualize or imagine or just get a sense of any tension releasing,

Leaving the body,

Passing through the nearest point of contact,

Passing out of the body into the ground that's supporting me.

Sometimes this may make your body feel heavy,

But also you may find instead that your body feels a lot lighter.

So just noticing what's happening for you in your body as you gradually begin to allow the body to start that process of relaxation and release.

And noticing if there is a change,

Do you feel heavier or lighter?

Maybe you can even choose which of those two you'd rather feel.

Okay,

So taking as long as you need to really feel like your body's starting to release and ease into the present moment,

To start to feel really connected through those points of contact to the present moment and beginning to feel relaxed and allowing that process to continue.

And while that happens,

Let's pay a bit of attention to the mind and our thoughts,

See if there's anything we can do there to bring this feeling of relaxation that's beginning in the body into the mind.

One way to do that is to consciously relax the brain,

The interface between the mind and body,

Where we often feel the activity of our thoughts are taking place.

So try just relaxing the face,

The head and the brain just as you would any other part of the body.

See how that feels.

That same feeling of release and letting go.

What about the thoughts and selves and the mind,

And can we relax those?

For me,

Relaxation in the mind comes when I feel I have mental space.

So rather than trying to do anything directly about my thoughts,

So not trying to stop them or slow them down,

Not trying to think relaxed thoughts,

But instead seeing if I can create space for my thoughts to flow freely,

Whatever those thoughts are.

For me,

That's what brings ease and relaxation to the mind.

Whereas trying to change my thoughts or affect them in any way directly tends to add more tension rather than less.

So how to experience greater mental space?

Personally,

To realize that thoughts aren't physical objects,

So they're not stuck inside my head.

Although it can sometimes feel like that and feel very crowded in there.

So to feel the much wider mental space that's available for my thoughts,

I like to simply be more aware within my mind,

Within my awareness of the physical space that's around me right now.

So it's a simple,

Natural,

Tangible sense of space rather than trying to imagine mental space as a concept.

So getting a sense of this space just around the body.

So the body that's settling into the present and becoming more relaxed.

Just noticing the space around the relaxing body.

Aware of the space that I'm breathing into and breathing back out into.

And allowing my awareness to be nice and open,

Wide and broad.

And aware of the space outside.

And with just a simple thought intention,

A sense.

I can become aware of the space all around me,

Stretching out to the horizon and beyond.

And stretching up above to the sky,

The stars,

As far as you want,

Just with a thought and awareness,

A sense.

You're not creating anything,

You don't need to visualize anything.

Just remembering that this vast open space is all around us right now and always.

When I hold that physical space within my awareness,

Then I also have the experience of mental space within my mind.

As I am experiencing that sense of that space,

Then my mind is sharing that space.

So now as I become aware of my thoughts,

I have unlimited time and space to come and go within my open mind.

It really doesn't matter what the content of my thoughts are,

Because there is so much space for them to be just as they are.

Their impact on my state of being becomes smaller and smaller,

They're greater.

My awareness becomes of the space around me.

As I am accepting and allowing all my thoughts just as they are,

Not introducing any conflict or tension into the mind.

Just allowing the thoughts and the mind to be open,

Free and flowing.

Let's spend a few moments really going deeper into this experience of physical and mental space,

And allowing the thoughts to flow freely through that space.

Thank you.

Thank you.

For the final part,

Let's see if we can bring these two elements together.

The relaxing body and the relaxing mind.

So within this same open space of awareness,

Gently holding an awareness of the body and our mind,

Our thoughts,

Bringing them both together within our open awareness,

Allowing the body to be fully present,

Gradually,

Gently relaxing into the present moment.

And at the same time,

The thoughts flowing freely through the mind.

So a relaxing body and a relaxing mind together in this one moment within the same open awareness.

Thank you.

See if you can allow your experience of relaxation to deepen further by giving your body permission to release and let go even more.

Any tension or stress.

And giving your mind permission to release and let go of any and all of your thoughts,

Whatever the content.

So inviting your body and mind to let go into even deeper relaxation.

And holding them both within your open awareness.

That is the boyfriend.

Thank you.

Once again,

The entire body and mind,

Garlic and dill,

Thank you,

All of you.

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Reviews

I feel asleep pretty quickly.

Very helpful. I like the quietness and spaciousness of the talking.

Nice and relaxing. Loved the nature sounds at the end. Thank you. ☮️💖🙏