Welcome to this evening's meditation,
Designed to help you drift off into restful sleep by focusing on gratitude.
Take a moment and settle into your bed,
Finding a position that feels comforting and relaxing.
Close your eyes gently and allow your body to fully relax.
Take a deep breath in through the nose,
Slowly filling up those lungs and exhale softly through the mouth.
As you do,
Let go of any tension.
Carry on in this fashion for a few rounds.
Breathing in peace and breathing out the day's worries.
Now with each exhale,
See if you can feel the weight of the body just sink into the bed that little bit more each time.
It's like each breath is making your body heavier.
Notice the indentation your body makes in your mattress.
And notice how the mattress shapes around your body.
How it hugs in your contours.
And just reflect on how you are supported and safe.
As you continue to breathe slowly and deeply now,
Notice the rise and fall of your chest.
Inhale bringing it up and exhale bringing it down.
With each inhale,
Feel the cool air coming into your lungs.
And with each exhale,
Feel warmth and comfort wash over you.
Let's move now to focusing on your feet.
Feel them relax and melting into the bed beneath you.
Allowing the sense of relaxation to slowly move up your legs,
Releasing any tightness or stress.
Continue the journey of relaxation.
Letting this relaxation move up into your thighs,
Your hips,
Your abdomen,
Your chest and shoulders.
And then as this feeling reaches your arms,
Allow your hands to rest softly by your sides.
As this relaxation continues its way up,
And you feel your neck and head soften.
As your whole body is now completely at ease.
As you lie there fully relaxed,
Heavy,
Enveloped by your mattress,
Safe and secure.
Start by appreciating your body.
Notice all that carries you through each day.
Think about your feet and the way they have supported you all day.
How they have grounded you and how they have helped move you forward in life.
Say a silent thank you to them now.
Bring some awareness now to your legs.
And bring some gratitude to all the places they have carried you today.
Connect with your hands.
And then thank them for how they've helped you create,
Hold and express yourself.
Direct your awareness to your heart now.
Notice how it's beating.
Steadily and reliably in the background.
Giving you life.
Keeping you going.
And in a rather meta way,
Think about your capacity to think.
Appreciating your brain and its ability to think,
Process and learn.
Even when you're stressed,
It has helped you out.
So bring some gratitude and thanks to your mind.
And now let's bring some gratitude to that lovely metronome of life in the background.
That breath of yours.
That constant rhythm that sustains you.
Bring thanks to the breath with each inhale and exhale.
Now bring some attention back to that mind of yours.
That supercomputer that resides in your head.
And think back to the day that has been.
Settle on a moment that brought you peace and happiness today.
It doesn't have to be grand.
It could be a simple conversation,
A moment of kindness or an act of self-care.
Recall this memory and give it your full attention as you recreate it in your mind.
Pay particular attention to the joy and warmth that it has brought you.
Inhale awareness into this moment as you relive it.
And as you exhale,
Bring some gratitude to that opportunity.
Now cast your mind back and bring to your mind's eye another moment in the day.
Something that was simple but meaningful.
Maybe a meal or coffee that you enjoyed.
A moment of stillness or warmth.
No right or wrongs.
Just choose something pleasant to relive.
Once again,
Inhale.
Recreate this memory in your mind.
Feel it in all of your body.
And then with each exhale,
Bring gratitude to that moment.
We now change the gratitude to a team event as you bring your mind's eye to someone who has supported you today.
Someone you felt love from today.
Maybe a family member,
A friend,
A colleague.
Maybe a stranger who was kind to you.
Whoever that person was,
Picture their face and imagine looking them in the face as you feel the gratitude you have towards them.
As you relive the positivity that they brought into your life.
Now think of all the people that have touched your life,
Even that you did not speak to today.
Maybe you didn't even interact with.
All these other souls that are interlaced into your life.
And just by their presence,
You can feel love,
Support and joy.
Send a silent thanks to all of them.
And as you do,
Imagine each one of them feeling this thanks,
Feeling this gratitude and accepting your gratitude.
Feel that rich connection you have with these people.
Not just in the physical world,
But also in your mind,
In your soul.
Notice how you're interconnected with them always.
Not just when you're in their presence.
And then bring gratitude,
The capacity for you to touch other people's lives and for them to touch yours.
We bring our awareness back into the present and into this room you're in.
Noticing the bed you're laying on and feeling grateful for the comfort of your surroundings.
The softness of your bed,
The quality of your pillows and the quietness of the night.
No matter what day you've had,
Here you are in this place of peace and rest.
As you inhale,
Bring awareness to your experience laying there in your bed listening to me right now.
And as you exhale,
Bring thanks to all the elements of your experience in this place and in this time.
Breathe in that gratitude and let go of any worry or tension from the day.
As you continue to relax now,
Let yourself be carried by the gentle rhythm of your breath.
Knowing you are safe,
You are at peace and you are ready to rest.
And in these final moments of this meditation,
Silently repeat to yourself,
I'm grateful for today,
I am at peace,
I am ready for rest.
Allow these words to echo in your mind as you drift closer and closer to sleep.
Feel the warmth of your bed and of the gratitude you have generated.
Cover yourself in both.
Safe in the knowledge that when you wake,
You'll be refreshed,
Restored and ready for a new day full of blessings.
All that's left for now,
Though,
Is to simply let go and allow the night to cradle you to sleep.
Sleep well.
