Welcome to the sleep meditation.
You will be gently guided to cultivate awareness of the sounds around you,
Both within and outside of you,
While inviting your entire body into a state of complete relaxation.
This practice will prepare your mind,
Body,
And breath for a restful night's sleep.
Take a moment to create a peaceful environment.
Dim the lights,
Eliminate any sources of noise,
And adjust the temperature to your comfort.
Allow yourself to embrace this sacred time for letting go and surrendering into deep rest.
In this meditation,
We will honor the incredible work of your physical body,
Inviting it into profound rejuvenation.
Our physical body serves as the vessel,
The home for our true self,
Our energetic essence.
From the gross levels of our organs and muscles,
To the subtle aspects of the mind,
Breath,
And energy channels,
Every part deserves conscious rest.
Regardless of how your body feels,
Whether healthy,
Less healthy,
Able,
Or differently abled,
Understanding the importance of deep sleep will nourish your entire being.
Thank you for being here.
Now find a comfortable position as you lay down.
Begin to notice what your body needs to feel more relaxed in this moment.
Ensure your head and neck are supported by a soft pillow or pillows.
Feel free to adjust your body and cover yourself adequately,
Making sure you are warm without feeling hot.
Every small adjustment you make invites deeper relaxation.
Remember,
Sleep is essential to our well-being,
And creating the right conditions for it will only enhance your health and overall state of being.
Allow yourself to settle in and prepare for a journey into restful sleep.
When you're ready,
Close your eyes and begin to connect with your natural breath,
Noticing your inhale and exhale,
Noticing the warm breath coming in through the nose,
And the warm,
Moist breath coming out the nose.
Follow this for a few moments,
In and out,
Repeating to yourself,
In as you inhale,
And out as you exhale.
Next,
You'll be guided to deepen the inhales and exhales.
This is a simple invitation.
If you find any difficulty following along,
Please return to your own natural in-and-out breath,
Trusting your body's wisdom to breathe naturally.
If you wish,
Take a nice,
Deep breath into your chest and belly,
Pausing at the top of the inhale,
Holding,
And as you exhale,
Gently contract the belly inward and upward,
Releasing and letting go.
Let's repeat this for a count of four.
Inhale for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Pause,
Holding the breath.
Exhale slowly,
Contracting the belly for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let the belly soften.
Inhale into the whole spine for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Pause.
Exhale slowly,
Contracting the belly towards the spine for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Release the belly.
Inhale into your whole body for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Pause.
Exhale gently,
Contracting the belly into the spine for six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Letting go.
Inhale into your whole being.
Gently pause.
Exhale slowly and freely,
Releasing your whole day,
Letting go completely.
Return to your natural breath for the remainder of this practice,
Knowing and trusting your body's infinite ability to breathe itself into relaxation,
Surrendering into complete rest.
Body and Sound.
Bring your awareness to the sounds around you,
Beyond the space around you,
Beyond your bed,
Your room,
Your home,
Your street,
Your community,
And way beyond.
Notice how far you can hear,
With each inhale bringing in the sounds beyond,
And as you exhale,
Letting go of the sounds,
Knowing that you're part of all of this,
And can now let go.
Breathing in awareness of faraway sounds,
Breathing out and letting go.
Notice now sounds closer to you,
Closer in your surrounding space.
As you inhale,
Noticing the sounds in and around your bed,
The surface beneath,
And bedding covering you.
Inhale the sounds on the surface of your body,
Your clothing,
The sound of your skin,
Your whole skin containing this body,
This breathing body.
As you inhale and exhale.
As you let go.
Notice the sounds inside.
Each inhale traveling through your body,
Bringing in life force and nourishment.
Each exhale releasing waste,
Staleness,
What is not needed,
Again and again.
With each cycle of breath,
In and out.
Bring your awareness beyond the breath now.
Can you hear your lungs expand and contract?
Your beating heart pumping?
All the infinite channels of blood traveling continuously,
Bathing all your organs with life force.
Now in this moment.
All working together in unison.
Slowing down to rest and regenerate.
Inhaling and exhaling.
From the innermost,
Smallest elements,
The smallest sound,
The skull,
All the bones and joints.
This wondrous structure that holds your being during the day.
Now resting and restoring.
The sounds of all the tissue,
Flesh and muscle that envelop.
Breathing in.
The sounds of all the molecules,
Your cells and all the liquid spaces they inhabit.
All as you breathe in and out.
All your organs resting and regenerating as you breathe in and breathe out.
Your whole body is completely relaxed from the inside out.
From the innermost elements of cells,
Bones and tissue to your outer skin.
This body.
This breath.
Now focus on the space between your eyebrows,
The third eye center.
Visualize a blank canvas before you.
A blank screen.
Where you'll now project and visualize the following images.
On your next inhale,
Visualize your body resting in this moment.
See your whole body breathing and resting as you breathe in and out.
See your body breathing.
Your whole body.
Bring your attention to the crown of the head.
See your whole head and face in this canvas.
Breathing in.
Your whole head and face relaxing as you inhale.
Feel your whole head and face relaxed as you exhale.
Your mouth,
The corner of the eyes,
Jaw completely relaxed.
Your lips parted.
Your whole face soft,
Relaxed.
Bring your attention now to the neck,
Shoulders,
Arms and hands.
As you breathe in,
On the blank canvas,
Your neck,
Shoulders,
Arms and hands.
And as you breathe out,
Feel your neck,
Shoulders,
Arms and hands so heavy,
So relaxed,
Melting.
Bring awareness to the torso on the canvas.
See the front of the body,
Throat,
Heart,
Stomach,
Belly,
Pelvis.
See the back of the body,
Upper back,
Mid back,
Lower back,
Sacrum.
On the next exhale,
Feel the whole front and back of the body relaxed and letting go.
All the vital organs inside slowing down,
Resting.
Bring awareness to your waist,
Hips,
Thighs,
Knees,
Legs,
Ankles,
Feet,
Top of the feet,
Bottom of the feet,
All 10 toes.
See your whole lower body in your mind's eye.
As you exhale,
Feel your whole lower body now completely relaxed,
Completely soft and heavy.
Completely at rest.
See and feel your whole physical body in this moment,
Breathing more deeply into complete rest,
Into complete surrendering and complete rejuvenation.
Letting go of any striving or doing,
Simply continue to drift off between noticing and feeling your whole body in this moment.
Your body now is relaxed,
At ease and open to letting go.
May you rest and may you sleep.
Good night.
