Welcome to this meditation tonight helping you to settle your body for sleep.
Begin by lying down in a comfortable position and take your time as you find this comfort.
Allow your arms to rest wherever they naturally fall.
Soften your legs and allow the heaviness of gravity into your body.
There's nothing that you need to fix right now,
Nothing that you need to work out.
This time tonight is simply for letting your body arrive in rest.
Take a slow breath in either through your nose or your mouth and gently sigh it out.
And do that again,
Breathing in slowly,
Breathing out and allowing your shoulders to soften a little more.
And let your breathing return to its natural rhythm now,
No control,
Just let your body breathe for you.
Bring attention to the places where you feel your body meets the bed.
It could be the back of your head,
The shoulders,
Your back,
Your hips,
Parts of your legs,
Your heels or the soles of your feet.
However your body is lying now,
Feel that quiet gentle support beneath you,
The bed holding you.
Nothing for you to hold up,
Nothing for you to carry.
Just that sense of being supported.
Now gently guide your awareness up to your forehead and smooth out any feeling of tension there,
Softening the muscles,
Relaxing the space between your eyebrows,
Letting your eyes rest heavily in their sockets.
Loosen your jaw,
Let go of the tongue inside your mouth.
Now bring awareness to your shoulders and imagine them gently melting downwards.
Any effort that you've been carrying today can now slowly begin to dissolve.
Down the arms,
Into your hands and fingers.
Now bring your awareness to your chest and your belly.
You might notice the movement of your breath there.
Let your breath be gentle,
Soft,
Unforced,
Like little waves coming and going.
Move your awareness through your pelvis and slide down through your hips,
Into your knees,
Your ankles and toes.
If you find that you still have thoughts moving through your head in your mind,
That's very normal.
The mind often needs a little time to slow down.
So rather than trying to stop your thoughts,
See if you can allow them to drift by,
Just like clouds passing slowly across a wide sky.
You don't need to follow them,
Just notice them and let them pass.
Now imagine a gentle wave of softness,
Moving down your whole body.
From the top of your head,
Down through your face and neck,
Your shoulders,
Chest and belly,
Your hips and legs.
Feel your whole body softening,
Resting.
And as your body settles a little more deeply,
Sleep can come when it's ready.
There's no rush.
You're gently creating the conditions for rest.
So when sleep arrives,
Let yourself drift with it.
For now,
Just rest.
Support it.
And safe to soften.
