Wiggle Into Stillness : Bedtime Movement And Meditation

Sometimes we need to get our wiggles out before we can really settle and rest. This meditation begins with movement, stretching wide and tucking small into a ball. You'll be invited to bring movement into your face, hands, legs, and feet before slowing down and snuggling into stillness. Next, you're guided through a gentle body scan and a practice of bumble bee breath. The meditation ends by feeling your Inner Glow, letting the feeling of peace and ease spread through your whole body.

Transcript

Sometimes we need to get our wiggles out before we can really settle and rest.

And that's just what this practice is for,

Moving and wiggling our way into stillness.

If you'd like,

Right here at the beginning,

You might want to take some bigger movements with me to really stretch and move through your body.

You can do this sitting,

Standing,

Or lying on your back.

So find your way into a comfortable position that you'd like to start in.

Maybe you want to sit on the floor.

Maybe you want to stand up tall.

Or maybe you want to lie all the way down on your back.

Once you're there in the position you've chosen,

You might try tucking your body into a ball.

Make yourself super small,

Squeeze in tight,

And then make yourself really big and wide.

Stretch open your arms and legs.

Spread your fingers and even your toes.

And then get small again,

Tucking into that itty bitty ball,

Squeeze in.

And then one more time,

Open out super wide.

Take up lots of space.

Big stretch.

So nice.

Okay,

Come back to where you started,

Just right.

Letting your body settle into a comfortable shape and size.

And then noticing the room or space around you.

If you want,

Turning your head to one side,

Looking over your shoulder,

Coming back to the middle,

And turning your head to the other side,

Taking in your surroundings over there,

And then bringing your head back to where you started.

You could look down,

Chin towards your chest,

And gently look up high.

What's above you?

And then come back to the middle.

Next,

We'll bring some movement to your face.

You could start by making kind of a funny face,

Squeezing your eyes closed and squeezing your mouth closed like a fish,

Whole face scrunched up,

And then do the opposite.

Open your mouth really wide,

Open your eyes big and wide.

Your whole face gets spread out,

And then let your face be soft.

Whole face,

Soft and relaxed.

One more time,

Squeezing into that funny face,

Everything scrunched in,

And then wide open mouth,

Big bright eyes,

Open face,

And then relax your whole face,

Soft and still.

From here,

Let your shoulders lift up towards your ears as if they were floating like balloons,

And then let them fall back down.

One more time,

Breathe in,

Let your shoulders float up towards your ears,

And then breathe out,

Let your shoulders drop back down.

And then let's move our hands.

You could start by wiggling and flicking your fingers.

Then bring the palms of your hands to touch one another and rub them together,

Sliding them up and down,

Creating a little friction,

A little warmth.

And if you want to,

You can bring your warm hands and place them on your chest,

Over your heart,

One hand resting on top of the other.

And once they're there,

You might notice how your breath moves your chest,

How on the in-breath,

Your chest grows and expands,

And how on the out-breath,

Your chest falls back down,

Releases.

Can you feel how your breath moves your body?

You could let your hands slide down now,

Down to your ribs,

Down to your belly.

Maybe you can feel how the belly moves up and down with the breath,

All on its own.

Nothing you need to do,

Just notice.

Let your hands come back down by your sides,

And then finding some movement in your legs.

Maybe you let your legs bounce a bit up and down,

Your knees bouncing,

Boing,

Boing,

Boing.

Now,

Let your legs be soft and still again,

And then let's feel into your toes and the bottoms of your feet.

Try curling your toes in,

And then let your toes be open wide,

Lots of space between your toes,

Squeeze them in tight again,

And then stretch them wide open,

And then let your toes and your feet get really soft and relaxed.

And how about your whole body?

Maybe you'd like to let your whole body move.

You could bounce or sway,

You could wiggle or roll,

Letting your movements get smaller and slower now,

Almost like you're moving in slow motion.

Maybe you give yourself a slow motion hug.

How does that feel in your body?

Now,

If you feel ready,

We'll start to make our way towards rest and stillness.

Find a comfortable place where you can lean back or lie all the way down.

You might want a blanket or a pillow,

Whether it's on a couch,

A bed,

A chair,

Or the floor.

Once you're there,

Wriggle and snuggle into the perfect spot so it feels just right,

Inviting your body to get soft and more quiet.

You might at some point fall asleep.

That's okay.

Let yourself fall asleep if it comes.

As you rest here,

Begin to notice sounds around you,

Maybe sounds off in the distance or close by.

Maybe you can even hear sounds coming from your own body.

Your eyes can be open or closed.

If your eyes are open,

You might see color and shape.

If your eyes are closed,

Maybe you can sense light or shadow behind your eyelids.

Can you feel as you rest here that there are feelings of aliveness or tiny movements in your body?

You might feel tingling or warmth in your hands.

You might feel the air moving through your nostrils or the gentle rise and fall of your chest or something else.

What do you notice?

You can come back to these feelings,

These tiny feelings in your body whenever you like,

Letting these feelings of aliveness in your body remind you of what it's like to just be here,

Simply resting here just as you are.

And if you'd like to,

You can join me as we journey through different parts of our body like we did before,

But this time more slowly while your body is more still.

We'll start again at your face,

Noticing feelings in your mouth,

In your tongue,

The inside walls of your cheeks.

What do they feel like?

How about your ears?

Noticing any feeling in one ear and then the other.

Can you feel both ears at the same time?

Notice feelings in your nose and your eyes,

Your eyebrows and your forehead,

Your whole face and your whole head.

Feeling your neck inside and out and your shoulders,

Upper arms and lower arms.

Feelings in your hands,

Palms and fingers.

Can you feel both arms at the same time?

Notice feelings in your chest and ribs,

Your belly and your back,

Your bottom,

Hips and upper legs,

Knees,

Lower legs,

Feet and toes.

And then feel your whole body,

Your feet and legs,

Arms and hands,

Belly and chest,

Back and shoulders,

Your head and face.

Feel your whole body all at once,

All the parts,

One feeling,

And sensing out into the space around your body too.

Maybe you can feel out in front of your body,

Back behind,

Out to one side,

And then the other,

Below and above.

Feeling what it's like to just be here,

Nothing to do,

Simply being just as you are.

Maybe you can feel your breath here,

Moving in and out all on its own.

And how amazing that is.

And if you want,

You can practice something with me called bumblebee breath.

Here's how it works.

We'll breathe in through our nose,

And when we breathe out,

We'll close our mouth and hum like a bee.

It'll sound like the letter M.

The humming will fade away,

And then we'll breathe in again.

I'll guide you through it a few times.

So start with the breath in through your nose,

Close your mouth,

And then hum.

Mm.

Breathe in through your nose.

Mm.

Breathe in.

Mm.

Yeah,

That's it.

And then let the humming fade away and come back to your natural breath,

Letting your breath come and go all on its own.

Now,

If you'd like,

You could call in a memory of something or someone that makes you so happy,

So glad.

It might be someone that you love.

It could be someone in your family or a friend or a pet.

It could be a place you love to go.

Whatever sweet memory is here,

Notice how it feels in your body.

What does it feel like?

Maybe it's kind of like a smile inside and out,

Or maybe you feel a glow or a warmth or something else.

You could let this feeling spread.

Let it spread through your whole body.

Maybe it starts at your belly or your heart and travels out in all directions,

Spreading through your arms and hands,

Legs and feet,

Up through your neck,

Head,

And into your face,

Shining into your eyes and your smile,

Feeling this inner smile of love and peace that's always here.

Even when you forget it,

It doesn't disappear.

It's always here to return to whenever you remember,

Resting or sleeping here as long as you like,

Simply being and closing this meditation with a simple breath together,

Breathing in and out,

Remembering you are brilliant,

You are brave,

And you are loved.