Welcome to this guided journey to help you slowly unwind and drift into sleep.
Find a comfortable position.
Let your body sink into the mattress.
Your arms are relaxed.
Shoulders are relaxed.
Feel the pillow underneath your head.
And you can close your eyes if you haven't yet.
Take a slow breath in.
And let it out.
Now we're going to inhale for four,
Hold for six,
And exhale for eight.
We're going to do just a few rounds of this before we begin our journey.
On the count of 3,
1 2 3,
Inhale for 1 2 3 4,
Hold 2 3 4 5 6,
Exhale 2 3 4 5 6 7 8,
Inhale 2 3 4,
Hold 2 3 4 5 6 exhale 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 inhale Hold.
Exhale.
Inhale hold.
Exhale.
Last round,
Inhale.
Hold.
Exhale.
Five,
Six,
Seven and eight.
Let your breath return to its normal pattern.
And now in your mind's eye.
Imagine you're standing at the edge of a forest.
The air here is cool and soft.
You can hear leaves moving gently in a light breeze.
Crickets singing in the distance.
And ahead of you,
There's a path.
Lit by the moonlight.
Quiet,
Safe.
Worn smooth by many feet before yours.
Start walking on this path.
With each step,
Notice the ground beneath you.
Solid.
Steady.
And the trees rising up on either side.
Tall and calm.
And as you walk deeper into this forest that's familiar to you,
Soft fog begins to gather around you.
Silver white drifting gently at your ankles and rising slowly up towards your legs and arms.
This fog is everything you've been carrying today.
Every worry,
Every thought that's been looping.
Every small weight from the day.
And it's all here now gathered around you as this soft quiet fog There's no need to fight it.
Or be scared of it Just notice it.
Let it gather and be as thick as it wants to be and whenever you're ready.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale slowly start blowing this fog away Watch it part in front of you.
Thinning where your breath touches it.
Drifting outwards.
And breathe in again.
And exhale long and slow.
And feel more of the fog clearing.
And dispersing out into the trees.
You're still walking on the path.
Keep breathing and exhaling.
With every exhale,
The fog grows thinner.
Hider.
Until the air around you is clear.
Choir.
And yours again.
The path is easy beneath your feet now.
The forest is calm.
Ahead through the trees.
You begin to see a small clearing.
And in the clearing,
A cabin.
Warm light glows from its windows,
Gold and soft.
Spilling gently onto the grass around it.
As you get closer you notice how safe it feels here like this place has been waiting just for you.
You walk up to the door.
It's wooden,
Worn smooth.
With a simple round handle.
You place your hand on it.
And slowly,
Gently open the door.
Inside,
The cabin is warm and dim.
Lit by a low fire crackling softly in the corner.
The air smells like wood smoke.
And something faintly sweet.
Something you can't quite place but it feels and smells like home.
There's a bed here,
Soft and low.
Blankets and duvet,
Thick and heavy.
You walk over and you lie down.
The blankets and duvet settle around you.
Warm and grounding.
Like something holding you gently in place.
Outside you can hear the faintest whisper of wind moving through the trees.
Inside the fire is burning low.
Nothing to do here.
Nowhere to be.
Of every breath you sink deeper into the bed a little heavier.
A little softer The fire dims slowly.
Embers glowing low and warm.
You are safe here You are held here.
Allow yourself to drift into sleep.
You are safe here.
You are held here.
You are safe here.
You are held here.
