Into The Folds Of Sleep

Today's practice,

Whether it be in the evening or in the day,

Is to gently help you to relax.

It is going to become your companion as I invite you into the folds of sleep.

Sometimes sleep can become something that we chase and the more we chase it the further and further away it becomes.

Right now we're going to invite it in as though asking a good friend to visit.

You see,

Although sometimes sleep can feel elusive,

Sleep can become your friend,

Your best friend,

That can take care of you.

So as we welcome sleep to visit,

Let's start by relaxing our mind and body.

As if our mind and body are relaxed,

Our visitors are more likely to call.

So just notice how,

As you lie still wherever you are,

This may be at home in the comfort of your own bed or away from home,

In a hotel room,

Wherever you may be,

Just notice if you could make yourself any comfier,

Shift and move your body as appropriate and relax into the surface beneath you.

You may need,

From time to time,

To adjust your body position and that's okay,

Remember your comfort is paramount.

So whatever feels good,

Whether that is to adjust your head position,

Move or stretch out your back and shoulders,

Reach away with your limbs,

Flex your knees and ankles or circle your wrists and clench open your hands,

Squeeze those fingers together and release them once more.

Do whatever feels good,

Do whatever feels good in this moment,

For in this moment nothing else matters apart from your comfort and then when you feel more comfortable,

Allow the stillness to come over you like the mist rolling in off the sea.

You may find comfort in placing one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly,

Creating that strong connection to yourself,

Feeling the warmth of the palms against these areas,

Breathing in this quiet time you are creating for yourself.

And as that quiet ensues,

Begin to direct your attention to your breath as you feel the rise and fall of your chest,

See if you can breathe into your belly,

Feel your rib cage expanding,

Expanding into the sides and into your back itself.

And take your time now to take ten lovely slow breaths and as you do,

Count yourself back down from ten to zero,

Counting down on each exhale,

Don't rush,

Just allow yourself that time to count down slowly from ten to zero,

Really feeling the expansion of your lungs as you breathe in and out,

In through the nose and out through the mouth.

And as you feel the welcome ebb and flow of your breath,

You can allow yourself to sink a little more into the surface below you and as you do,

Imagine breathing away any stresses of the day,

Breathing away any upset,

Any anger or any frustrations as there is absolutely nothing you can do about anything right now.

Allow this time for you,

Now is a time for you,

A time for you to allow yourself to be good to yourself,

To accept the quiet or silence,

To allow your body to repair,

Replenish and re-energize itself and as your body relaxes,

You can quietly thank yourself for allowing this to happen,

This is you taking care of you,

Nothing bothers you,

Nothing is in your way,

You are letting go of the day,

Letting go of anything that is not useful for you now.

So notice now the feelings of your eyelids as they become heavier and heavier,

As though they weigh more and notice how the eyelids themselves feel this almost welcome,

Pleasing ache as you give them a rest from their hard day's work,

You can feel those tiny little muscles in your eyes just letting go,

As though slightly sinking into their sockets and then as your eyes really do let go,

Feel how your forehead relaxes more,

It can almost feel like it smooths itself out,

Feel the muscles letting go,

As though a warm cloth is being placed on your forehead encouraging you to rest,

Feel your breath aiding this complete and thorough feeling of simply letting go,

Your mind works so hard during the day,

Now you are allowing this time for stillness,

Quietness and peace to prevail,

Move your attention down through your jaw muscles,

Notice any tightness or discomfort and if any is located,

Slowly move your jaw from side to side and take a nice yawn now,

Releasing any tension,

Yawning,

Even if you feel the action of yawning wasn't induced naturally,

It will still have a wonderful effect,

So take as many yawns that feel good for you,

Yawn opening your mouth nice and wide and feel that natural release of the jawline,

The squeezing of the eye muscles and the welcome feeling of your body relaxing more and more as you experience going deeper and deeper and deeper into relaxation and as you finish yawning,

You may notice the sensations inside of your mouth,

When we truly relax and we truly relax those jaw muscles,

We often notice the tongue relaxing more,

Your tongue muscles work hard every day,

Aiding the complex action of your speech or when swallowing,

Whilst drinking or eating,

So allow it time to help in your relaxation process,

You may notice the sensations of your teeth and as you relax more and more,

You may even feel the spaces in between your teeth,

Almost releasing a fraction,

As you allow that wave of relaxation now to cascade down your neck,

Down the front and the back of the neck and across your shoulders,

So often our shoulders hold so much tightness,

Tightness and tension,

So imagine those yawns releasing any muscle tension,

As though the act of yawning oils each vertebrae of the neck and oils each fibre of every muscle and every joint of the shoulders,

Moving down now into your arms,

Your biceps and triceps,

They too work hard,

Constantly hard for you,

So allow them time to open,

Release any tightness,

As that relaxation moves slowly through the upper arms,

Into your elbows and into your forearms,

Down now into the wrists,

Your wrists are such a complicated joint,

With its eight tiny bones,

Such a wonderful design,

Allowing such varied motion,

As you think on down into your hands and fingers and thumbs,

It may feel good to clench your fists and rotate your wrists and let them go again,

Signalling them to simply relax,

Then slowly turn your attention to your breathing and notice how you have slipped into a rhythm that is slow and deep and just right for you,

Right now,

Allow the chest to open,

To rise and fall in that rhythmic way,

You didn't tell your breathing to be so relaxed,

So calm,

So peaceful,

It just did it all by itself and in this gentle rhythm that you can find yourself in right now,

Give thanks for your heart and lungs,

For doing the most important job of all,

Welcome that oxygen into your lungs,

Welcome the nutrients that each cell takes around your body and all this being driven by the beating of your wonderful heart,

Give thanks and as you release and exhale,

Breathe away any worries,

Any unhelpful thoughts,

Just release them now,

Knowing that right now,

It's for you,

This is your time and it is a time that you are becoming more and more friendly with,

More connected to,

More relaxed within and as you move your attention now into your back,

Imagine a wonderful wave of relaxation,

Cascading down your spine,

Weaving throughout each vertebrae,

Each vertebrae and disc breathing a sigh of relief,

Letting go of any tension held here,

Held there and almost expanding into the space you're creating,

Creating all for yourself right here,

Right now and think that relaxation down into your waist,

Feel the lumbar area of your spine sinking into the surface below you,

Relaxing and releasing any tension,

As you think further down now into your pelvis,

Imagine the muscles,

The ligaments,

The tendons of this area just opening slightly,

Melting away any tension,

Any tightness,

Allowing yourself to widen,

To almost melt into the surface beneath you,

As you now move your attention down into your thighs,

Feeling the weight of your legs as they sink into the surface below you,

Feeling heavy,

Relaxed or maybe weightless,

Whatever you are experiencing,

Know that this is right for you,

Right for this very moment,

So allow those feelings to unfold,

To guide you to what is right for you,

No one knows you better than yourself,

So place trust in yourself and allow yourself to guide yourself,

Where is right for you at this very moment and as your thighs are feeling relaxed,

Notice how your knee joints too are softening and your shins and calves as well,

As your attention now moves down into your ankles,

Into your feet,

They work so hard getting you from A to B,

So send some appreciation their way,

For all the work they do,

As you drift and dream now and as you drift off now,

Into that beautiful world of slumber,

Thank yourself for allowing the folds of sleep to envelop you now,

Good night.