Unwinding Into Sleep: Grounded Sleep Podcast #21

Have you ever tried to go to sleep all wound up thinking about the day trying to solve problems or finish a conversation with someone in your head and then you lay in bed and there's this story just kind of spinning above you and you lay in bed and you go,

Man,

I need to listen to something to get to sleep.

Well,

Maybe tonight is one of those nights.

So here we are.

And tonight we're going to work on unwinding before we go to sleep.

Because if we try to go to sleep all wound up,

We're going to have a hard time and we're not going to rest well.

So get into bed,

Make sure you got your PJs on and you've brushed your teeth and you're ready to just let go of the day.

The lights are off.

Your devices are off,

Obviously,

Other than this one.

And you're just ready to have a nice sleep.

So get in a comfortable position.

Welcome back to the grounded sleep podcast.

It's good to be here with you.

And as you shut your eyes and start to relax every part of your body,

As you start to slow your breath down and as you start to invite sleep into your life,

As you start to open up to that still place where you let go into that deep sea of unconsciousness.

As you get ready for a beautiful night's sleep,

I want you to first just notice if there's still part of you that needs to unwind.

So are you still trying to solve something from earlier in the day?

Are you finishing a sequence of thoughts or a conversation?

Do you find yourself in perpetual problem solving mode?

Or in that energy where it's okay for everyone else to sleep,

But you need to always be in some kind of responsibility energy?

While here's a gold star,

You get an award.

But perhaps tonight you can let go of being responsible for anything and everything.

But if something is kind of lingering around you,

Then it's okay to say hello to it.

So if there's one thing that's kind of pulling you out of a deep restful sleep,

Just acknowledge it for a moment.

You might recognize,

Oh,

I've been concerned about something and I can't seem to let it go.

And you're not going to have a restful sleep if you pretend to let it go or try to override it.

Let's see if you can truly just acknowledge it.

You can make a mental note of it and you could file it away and tomorrow you'll take care of it.

Whatever attention it needs,

You can give it that attention during the day.

You can even just put it in a bubble and then just send it off.

And then allow yourself to just start to unwind.

Maybe relax your shoulders a bit more.

The area behind your ears.

Your scalp.

Your throat.

Any tension you've been holding in any part of your body,

Just start to unwind it.

Allow yourself to breathe into it gently.

Let the fibers of each muscle loosen.

Let your bones rest.

Unwind any tension in the center of your chest.

And your biceps,

Your forearms,

Perhaps you even open and loosen the palms of your hands.

Sometimes when we're holding on to something too tightly,

We make fists.

If we hold on tightly in our mind,

Our hands start to hold things tightly as well.

So loosen your hands.

And don't forget to loosen your jaw.

Sometimes we chew on things almost mentally and our jaws tighten.

If there are words we didn't express throughout the day or any frustration or anger,

Sometimes it gets stuck in the jaw.

Allow your tongue to rest gently on the bottom of your mouth and let your jaw unwind.

You might hold tension in your stomach.

Take a nice deep breath right into the center of your belly,

Expand it like a balloon.

And then slowly release,

Letting go of any tension.

Unwind any tension in your stomach.

You might have been holding on to too many feelings from the day.

Just release that tension.

Make sure you take another deep breath right into the belly,

Again,

Letting it expand like a balloon.

And then again,

Releasing any tension,

Just relaxing,

Letting go and unwinding.

There's nothing we can really do to fall asleep.

It's more of a letting go.

So as you notice each of the muscles in your body releasing tension,

Recognize all you're doing is letting go.

You might also notice some tension in your waist or in your hips.

Relax this area of your body.

Maybe even kind of squeeze your buttocks together when there's tension,

Relax that.

If there's someone in your life who's been a pain in the butt,

Just relax your entire lower body,

Let it go.

Ease any tension in your thighs or your hamstrings,

In your knees.

Throw your calves into your ankles.

And unwind any tension in your feet,

In your toes.

Notice the whole front of your body is nice and relaxed.

And now the backside of your body is starting to follow suit.

As you unwind from the day,

All of you begins to slowly and deeply let go.

And you notice that life is inviting you into this deep,

Restful place where you have no responsibilities,

Where you don't need to think,

Where you don't need to do,

Where you just get to be.

You might even begin to sense,

Maybe even hear a stillness.

See if you can hear the stillness.

There's something really beautiful and undefinable about stillness,

About resting in stillness.

It's almost like floating in very still,

Calm water.

That's body temperature.

It just holds you almost like being in the womb.

Let yourself unwind and rest in the womb of the deep,

Still emptiness of the night.

Let it recharge you and replenish your energy.

Let it rejuvenate your mind,

Your emotions,

Your body,

And your spirit so that tomorrow when you wake up,

You're fresh,

You're full of energy,

And full of life.

But tonight,

Let yourself just rest.

Follow him on his wake.

You