Hello and welcome to this nighttime meditation.
My name's James and in this practice to be offering you some gentle reminders combined with some lovely body-based practices to help you transition from your day into a restful night's sleep.
So hopefully you're already somewhere comfortable,
Perhaps you're tucked up in bed already.
But wherever you are,
Just making any final adjustments so that you can really relax into the experience and let your body be held by whatever's beneath you.
And if you haven't already,
You can allow your eyes to close down.
Just taking a few moments to settle to.
Let your body unwind in any way that it wants to,
Whether want to make some adjustments or movement to make space for a little more stillness.
And so we arrive here at the end of a day.
And there's always that feeling.
Of relief.
There's nothing left for you to do now.
There's nowhere for you to go.
There's no one for you to be.
So just allowing that feeling of relief to be there in your mind and your body.
And know that however today went for you,
That you did enough.
Whether a good day,
A bad day,
Or somewhere in between,
You gave it your all.
So just feel into that sense of relief.
That sense of completion noticing where you feel it in your body.
And allowing it,
Welcoming it.
Softening into it.
And maybe you feel drawn to release the day a little more physically.
And so I'd invite you to take a nice deep breath in through the nose and let it all out through the mouth with a big sigh on the exhale.
And twice more,
Breathing in through the nose.
And on the exhale,
Just imagining that you're clearing the day,
You're really letting it all go.
And one final time.
Wiping the slate clean with your breath.
And as we clear the day,
We're making space for a new one tomorrow.
And what we know for sure is that tomorrow will not be the same as today.
Our troubles or difficulties from today on,
Predictors for tomorrow.
So our job is just to stay open to the possibilities of tomorrow.
Knowing that as the sun rises that It's a new beginning.
So perhaps you can imagine that your mind is a clean slate.
That maybe you're just scrubbing out and wiping away the remnants of today.
For that fresh start tomorrow.
And maybe you want to notice where you can stay open through the night in your body.
Maybe an open heart.
An open breath.
Maybe use something as simple as your palms being open.
And before tomorrow arrives,
You will have sleep.
And remember that sleep is not something to be chased.
It's something to be allowed.
The funny thing about sleep is that we pretend that we are in charge of it.
But really.
.
.
Sleep is always the boss.
You know how when you maybe have had a late night sometime and you're desperately trying to keep your eyes open but you just can't.
Sleep decides when it comes and it goes and when it's time.
And our only job is to trust and surrender to its wisdom.
To trust deeply that however much sleep we get tonight.
That will be OK.
However much sleep you get tonight will be just what you need.
So seeing how you can take that reminder to surrender.
.
.
And bring it into your body as you transition to sleep.
Maybe a softening around the eyes.
Maybe you're just letting your jaw be.
A few percent more.
Relax.
Your shoulders dropping slightly away from your ears.
Allowing the feeling of whatever's beneath you.
To fully support your body weight.
Your fingers and toes unclenching.
Showing sleep through your body that you're Ready to surrender.
You brat.
As your companion through the night.
The thing that's always with you.
Not needing to control your breath.
But just noticing as you.
Relaxed even more though.
Breath naturally,
Soften.
And your exhale.
Becomes a little longer and slower.
Inviting and encouraging that natural path of the breath.
Keeping you relaxed,
Keeping you open.
And remembering that millions around the world are breathing with you in this moment into sleep.
So with your breath you are never alone in the night.
We will all be breathing together.
Across oceans.
Allowing together.
Surrendering together.
And somewhere out there.
Someone just drifted off to sleep.
Someone drifted off to the feeling and the flow.
The wave of the breath.
And your turn is coming too.
A restful and peaceful night.
Is coming your way.
Howling.
Surrendering.
It's time for me to leave you now.
And wish you a good night.
