Welcome to this short body check-in for sleep.
You've arrived at the end of your day.
This is your time to soften,
To let go,
To come back home to yourself.
This practice is offered with gentleness and care.
Please feel free to adjust your position or pause whenever you need.
Your experience matters and there is no right or wrong way to be here.
As we begin,
Make sure you're in a comfortable position,
Lying down or resting in a way that feels safe and supportive.
Let your body be held by the surface beneath you.
Let's begin with a few grounding breaths.
Inhale,
Breathing deeply.
Exhale,
Letting go.
Just noticing your breath.
No need to change anything.
Simply shifting your awareness to your breath.
Noticing the rise and fall of your ribs and lungs.
A beautiful rhythm happening between your heart and your lungs.
Bringing your awareness now down to your feet.
Notice the sensations in your feet.
Warmth,
Coolness,
Pressure,
Or stillness.
You don't need to change anything.
Simply acknowledge what is here.
Moving your awareness up to the calves and shins.
Allow these areas to soften.
Let them know it's okay to rest now.
Observing the knees and thighs,
Invite your legs to become heavy,
Supported by gravity.
Feel the ground holding your body.
Coming up to the pelvis and hips,
Check in with this area.
Is there tension?
Breathing gently here,
See if you can let go just a little.
Coming into the lower belly,
Feel the natural movement of breath.
There's nothing to hold or control.
Let this area soften.
Noticing the chest and the heart,
Perhaps place a hand here.
Notice what it feels like to rest your awareness in the heart space.
Breathe with tenderness.
Moving up to the shoulders,
Invite them to drop and soften.
You don't have to carry anything right now.
Arms and hands,
Feeling into your arms and down to your hands,
Allow any tension to melt away.
Moving up to the neck and the jaw,
Soften your jaw,
Release your tongue and relax your throat.
Spreading your awareness to the face,
Unclench the brow and soften the space around your eyes and between your eyebrows.
And now sensing into your body as a whole,
Notice how it feels to be fully supported.
You are here.
You are safe.
Now gently bring your attention back to your breath.
Without changing it,
Just notice the natural rhythm.
If it feels helpful,
You could begin a simple breath pattern of inhaling slowly to a count of four and exhaling gently to a count of six.
Allow your breath to soothe your body.
You might imagine each breath as a gentle tide flowing in and out,
Washing over your whole body.
Let the breath remind you that you are alive and that rest is your right.
If your mind wanders,
That's okay.
Each time you can gently return to your body or your breath.
This practice isn't about perfection.
It's about care,
Presence and kindness.
You have done enough today.
You are enough.
Let yourself be held in this moment.
As sleep comes,
Know that you are safe,
You are supported and you are loved.
I will close with a short poem.
Come as you are,
No improvements needed,
No performance required.
You don't have to be more peaceful,
More healed or more put together to belong to this moment.
The path you're on is not linear.
It winds,
Circles back,
Pauses in the quiet and moves again when you're ready.
Healing isn't a destination,
It's an opening,
A turning toward what already exists.
A hand placed gently on your heart,
A breath that says I am here.
You are not broken.
You are layered with stories,
Protection,
Memory,
Tenderness.
Each part of you trying to keep you safe.
Each part worthy of kindness.
There is nothing wrong with how you feel.
There is no wrong way to be you.
When you soften into what is,
You make space for what's been waiting,
Not to be fixed but to be loved.
The invitation is simple.
Let this moment hold you.
Let your breath be enough.
Let who you are,
Just as you are,
Be the beginning and the returning and the truth that always was.
Rest well,
My friend.
Rest well.
