Welcome to your sleep sanctuary.
I'm so glad you're here.
And whatever you've brought with you,
It belongs here too.
Even if the mind is busy,
Even if the heart feels tender,
Even if the body is restless,
This too can rest.
Tonight,
You're invited to meet yourself gently.
No fixing.
No striving.
Just a quiet presence with what's real.
When we tend to what's truly here,
We stop fighting the moment.
We free up energy that's been spent on resistance.
We tell the nervous system,
It's okay now.
You're allowed to relax.
This is how deep rest begins.
Not with control,
But with kindness.
So,
Let's start with the body.
Feel its shape lying here,
Held by the bed or the ground beneath you,
Supported,
Safe,
Safe,
Noticing the gentle rise and fall of your breath.
No need to change it,
Just feeling it move,
Taking a slow inhale through the nose and exhale softly out through the mouth.
Again,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Let's do one more like that.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
Allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm now.
Like waves lapping quietly at the shore of your body.
Now,
Asking yourself very softly,
What's here right now?
Maybe it's a feeling,
A tension,
A looping thought,
Or just a sense of something that doesn't have words.
Whatever it is,
Let it be seen.
You might say gently,
Inwardly,
I see you.
You're allowed to be here.
We're safe now.
Let any uncomfortable feeling or thought take on a shape.
Maybe it's a little creature or a shadow or a warm color.
Now,
Imagine cradling it in your palms or tucking it gently under a soft blanket.
Let it rest too.
Nothing needs to be solved tonight.
Only softened.
Only witnessed.
If there's a part of you that still feels tight or unsettled.
Let's hum to it.
Just like you'd hum to soothe a child or a frightened animal.
Allowing this to be your body's lullaby.
So,
On your next exhale,
Hum softly,
Lips closed,
Letting the sound vibrate through your chest.
Inhaling gently,
And hum.
Let the sound find the part that needs comfort.
Again,
Inhale,
And hum.
Once more,
Soft breath in.
Gentle hum out.
Let the sound wrap around that feeling.
Let it soften under your attention.
Whatever is here belongs.
I do not need to push anything away.
I am gentle with what arises.
I am a safe place for my feelings.
Relax.
Even my restlessness can rest.
Even my fear can be soothed.
All of me is allowed to relax.
And now,
I'd like to take you somewhere.
Imagine you are walking through a forest at dusk.
The trees are tall and old.
Their branches swaying in a slow rhythm.
The air is cool and safe.
The ground is soft beneath your feet.
After a few quiet steps,
You arrive at a small clearing,
A circle of soft moss bathed in gentle moonlight.
This is your place.
You kneel down and lie back into the moss.
The earth beneath you is warm,
Welcoming,
And alive.
As you rest here,
You feel the pulse of the planet beneath your body,
A rhythm deeper than thought,
Older than worry,
Wiser than the mind.
The moss cushions every part of you,
Your back,
Your legs,
Your arms,
Your head.
And as you sink deeper,
You begin to feel a kind of transmission.
Not in words,
But in sensation.
You are not broken.
You are not late.
You are not too much.
You are only tired,
And you are allowed to rest.
The healing in the moss moves up through your spine.
It eases tension in your shoulders.
It quiets the hum behind your eyes.
It brings warmth to places inside you that have been cold for a long time.
There is nothing left to do here.
Just rest.
Just receive.
Let the earth hold what you've been carrying.
Let it soak into the moss.
Let yourself be remade in stillness.
You are resting.
You are safe.
And this,
This too,
Can rest.
We'll now begin a slow breath descent.
Let each breath guide you deeper inward,
Softening,
Settling,
Surrendering.
With each breath,
Imagine a warm tide of compassion rising through your chest and flowing out again as you exhale.
Inhale,
The tide rises,
Exhale,
It flows out.
Let your weight sink.
There is nothing you need to do.
Let go of any effort.
7.
Let the thoughts quiet like distant waves.
6.
Let your shoulders drop.
5.
Let your jaw go slack.
4.
Let your belly soften.
3.
2.
Whole.
One.
It is time to rest now,
Dear one.
You are so deserving.
So rest sweetly,
As is your birthright.
