Hi,
My name is Tara.
And for the next 15 minutes or so,
I'm going to be leading you into a guided meditation to help you relieve tension held in your body,
Worry or ruminating thoughts in the mind so that you can start to relax,
Feel safe and secure so that you can fall back asleep.
As I'm sure you know,
Sleep can evade us.
And as someone who has long suffered with insomnia,
Anxiety and panic attacks,
When I'm not sleeping well,
I don't feel well.
And it can become this endless cycle,
This worry every night as I get ready for bed,
Am I going to sleep or is it going to be another long night of staying awake,
Ruminating,
Thinking,
Worrying.
And so I hope that by listening and knowing that you're not alone,
Will start to help.
I'm going to share some practices that I do and that have helped me be able to again,
Unwind,
Let go of that tension and worry and to drift off into sleep.
So I'll ask that you just find a comfortable position.
If you're in bed,
Lying in bed comfortably,
If you'd rather do this sitting,
You can do that as well.
But find a position that feels comforting,
Feels welcoming and feels safe.
And then as you start to come into stillness with the physical body,
Begin to notice your surroundings.
Your eyes can be open or closed.
Start to take in the sensation if you're lying down,
Feeling what parts of the body are touching the mattress and the sheets.
Feeling if you feel any air on the skin.
Invite in any sound around you.
Maybe it's some late night traffic or maybe hearing some birds or crickets.
Whatever it is,
Instead of pushing and forcing it away,
I'll encourage you to invite it in.
Let it flow for a moment.
Allow yourself to just take in this present moment.
What do you feel right now?
What do you sense right now?
What do you hear right now?
Release any wish or desire for anything to be different.
And instead,
Just bring your entire awareness to where you are,
What's happening around you.
As you continue to bring that awareness to the present moment and inviting everything in,
Begin to go in yourself.
Begin to notice your breathing.
Notice the quality of the breath.
Observe the duration.
Are you breathing slow,
Steady,
Naturally full breaths?
Or does the breath feel a little choppy,
Fast?
Again,
Don't wish for anything to be different than it is.
But instead,
Just become aware.
And now I'll invite you to become aware of what's happening in the body.
Where are you gripping,
Holding,
Tensing?
Bring your attention to those areas of the body where you're holding.
With your next exhalation,
See if you can soften,
Even if just a little bit,
Soften down.
Any knots in the stomach,
Any clenching,
Begin to softly dissolve.
Any holding or tensing of the jaw and the face,
Consciously let go.
Notice any other area of the body where you're gripping,
Clasping,
Holding on.
As you breathe,
You may even tell yourself,
Relax.
It's okay.
I'm safe.
I'll now invite you into breathing practice.
This can be done anytime the swell of emotion,
Of anxiety rises within you.
We'll start by breathing and then add a counting feature in order to allow the busyness,
The worry of the mind,
Begin to calm and bring that one-pointed focus.
I'll ask that your breath just be natural,
No force or strain.
However you're breathing in the moment.
As you inhale,
You'll inhale in through the nostrils,
Just to the point that feels comfortable.
As you exhale,
You'll purse your lips and release the breath out through those pursed lips as if blowing through a straw.
Once the breath has released completely,
You'll start again inhaling in through the nostrils.
Inhale blowing out gently through the lips.
I love this technique because it starts to allow the elongation of your exhalation,
Which will stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system,
Taking you out of that fight or flight and bringing you into rest and digest.
Try this breath a few more times.
And if you'd like to continue breathing in this fashion as we add in the counting of the breath,
Then feel free to do that.
You decide that you would rather breathe in and out naturally through the nostrils.
You can come to that.
As you next breathe in,
Silently count one.
As you breathe out,
Silently count one.
As you breathe in,
Two.
Breathe out,
Two.
Continue to count.
The in-breath and the exhale.
And if you become distracted,
If you lose count,
If the thoughts take you elsewhere,
Then very gently and lovingly come back.
Start the count over.
Even if you have to count over and over and over and never get past three or four,
It's okay.
You're guiding the mind to come back to the body,
To the safety and security of being where you are and inviting in that relaxation and sleep.
Thank you.
