Good evening and welcome to this little meditation to relax the body and mind for sleep.
So find yourself in a really comfortable position,
Either lying down or sitting up if you like.
And as you get comfy,
Just tuck your knees into your chest and give yourself a nice big hug.
Taking a few breaths here.
As you inhale,
You squeeze yourself nice and tight.
And an exhale,
You release both legs down,
One and then the other.
And then one hand down and then the other.
Finding some stillness here.
If you like,
You can place one hand over your heart and one over your belly or your solar plexus.
Or they can lay on your sides.
As you sit here,
Just begin to tune into your breath.
Feel the rise and fall.
And before we get started on just a little breath practice,
I want you to tune into something that you feel grateful for from today.
Keeping that gratitude in your heart,
Move into a really gentle breath practice to help calm down our bodies and our minds.
So we'll begin with an inhale through the nose,
A count of five.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And let's hold the breath for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And exhale like you're blowing out of a straw for seven.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
And pause and inhale again.
I'll do it with you.
And hold for five.
And exhale like you're blowing out of a straw.
Inhale five.
Hold five.
And exhale seven.
Keep this breath at your own pace.
It's not exactly to the counts that is all right.
We're just looking for a longer exhale than inhales.
Let's do two more rounds.
And on your next exhale,
You can let your breath just return to its natural rhythm.
Keeping the eyes closed.
Letting the gentle easiness of our breath wash over the body as it releases and relaxes deeper into the bed.
Just taking a few moments to really soak up the goodness of that breath.
And now we'll move through a little body scan starting at the tip of the head.
So no need to focus too hard.
You'll hear me say body parts.
And as I say them,
They will release and relax.
So you just gently bring your attention to those points and feel the muscles release and relax in those points as you hear them spoken.
And we start with the crown of the head.
The forehead.
The eyebrows sink down,
Releasing any tension.
The eyes and the eyelids and the space behind the eyes.
Cheeks,
Cheek muscles.
Ears,
Space behind the ears.
The mouth.
The tongue all the way down the back of the throat.
The jaw.
The neck.
The shoulders.
The chest.
Upper arms,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Wrists,
Hands release all tension and relax.
The ribs.
The belly.
The pelvis.
The sphincters.
The thigh muscles.
Knees.
Calves.
Ankles.
Tops of the feet.
Bottom of the feet.
And the toes.
The whole body releases and relaxes.
Each exhale sinks you deeper into sleep.
The thoughts pass by as the mind lets go,
Drifts and wanders into a deep,
Peaceful slumber of rest and rejuvenation for your soul.
Good night and sleep well.
