Hey,
It's Doug.
I'm so sorry you're having trouble getting to sleep.
I know it's a pain,
But you know what?
That's okay Because you're here now and we're gonna get you some rest I'm gonna guide you through a technique known for getting you sleepy and rested Just take note though.
This technique is more effective the more you do it It's been shown to half the time it takes to get to sleep in just one week So try do it every night for at least that long Let's make it part of your routine.
Shall we?
All right,
Let's get into this All you're gonna have to do here is listen to my voice And enjoy that lovely beautiful music in the background one thing you may not be aware of though,
Is that one of the causes of sleeplessness is our overriding desire for sleep It's a type of anticipation anxiety We almost want it too badly So instead of desiring the sleep I want us to shift your focus No longer focusing on the future and getting to sleep but rather focusing on the present and instead letting sleep happen to you Sleep can be a shy creature.
So we have to be calm and let it come to us Let's start by creating the type of environment that sleep wants to visit that starts with you breathing slowly and gently Do it with me nice deep inhale pause for a moment a nice deep exhale and again nice deep inhale pause for a moment And nice deep exhale And just carry on with those deep breaths beginning to set up this lovely rhythm the cadence for your sleep It's like a call to let sleep know That you're ready So keep that lovely chant going gently in gently out nice and deep in nice and deep out Just making sure we are honoring that moment between inhale and exhale and between exhale and inhale On the next inhale.
I want you to see if you can take your mind to your forehead Then as you exhale Can you feel your forehead?
Totally relaxed smoothing out any frown lines on the next inhale Focusing now on your jaw And then as you exhale Can you just let it release a bit more?
Once again,
I want you to breathe and focus in on that jaw feel it And then as you exhale See if you can let that bottom jaw just totally go limp Get rid of all tension in this area Last time now inhale into that entire head of yours And then exhale see if you can let go of any tension that resides in this area Leaving your head feeling nice and heavy afterwards Beautiful.
In the breaks,
We're just going to breathe nice and evenly Just enjoying each inhale and each exhale For this next round we're going to focus in on those shoulders So the next time you inhale Bring all your attention to the shoulders Notice how they feel and then as you exhale see if you can feel them move away from your ears As they get a bit heavier That next inhale brings their consciousness back into the shoulders Feel them notice them and then as you exhale feel the shoulders get heavy As they fall into the mattress underneath you just a little bit more.
That inhale keeps that attention on the shoulders Noticing how much more relaxed they feel already Then as you exhale You just relax them in any way that feels right to you Giving them all the permission To just let go back to your normal breathing Enjoying that breath Noticing that breath noticing the relaxation in your head And your shoulders that you've already generated Take your next inhale and your consciousness now into the whole torso that upper body And then as you exhale Just become aware of how it feels resting against your mattress Noticing where the pressure points are As you inhale maintain that focus on the torso And then as you exhale You just let all the weight of the torso press into the mattress on the next inhale in Once again,
You feel your torso Notice anything that calls to you and then when you're ready to exhale You just give all of your weight of your torso to the bed underneath you Just letting yourself totally relax Now just enjoying your breath And noticing just how heavy Your whole body is Noticing how relaxed your torso and shoulders and head is Enjoying this incremental relaxation one body part at a time Now begin to breathe in the lower half of your body Your hips your legs This time as you exhale,
Can you notice any tension?
In this bottom half Your next inhale maintains that connection with the lower body and as you exhale Can you let go of any tension?
That still resides here That's still hanging on One more deep inhale the end to those legs and hips and when you're ready to exhale Can you feel those legs and hips get even heavier as you release all control of them?
Arresting your focus back on the breath now Feeling the vast majority of your body totally relaxed Totally still totally held by the bed beneath you Let's move on to those feet So with your next inhale Breathe all of your mind into those feet So they fully inhabit This area and then as you exhale,
Can you imagine the bones of your feet getting even heavier?
Using that inhale To stay focused to stay connected to the feet and then using that exhale To let them fall In whatever shape they want to as you inhale now noticing just how relaxed those feet feel And then as you exhale Just switching them off completely coming back just to feel that breath Coming gently in and gently out Feeling that body completely at rest now Relaxing that warm and comfortable mattress each inhale becoming aware of Just how relaxed you are and each exhale Letting yourself dissolve even further into your bed Slowly feeling no barrier between you and the comfort of your bed Relaxed completely relaxed Ready now to be carried away With each breath Sinking deeper Into sleep Feeling calm Feeling warm feeling safe Feeling completely At sleep well
