My name is Greg.
From time to time,
My children have trouble falling asleep.
This is how I help them.
Start with a deep breath,
But easy.
Don't force it.
Allow your body to be long.
Allow your feet to rest far from your head.
Allow your arms to rest by your side.
Allow your body to sink into the mattress.
Imagine the mattress coming up around your body gently.
Allow your body to be heavy on the mattress.
Notice how easily the breath comes into the body and how easily it goes out.
Notice how much space your body makes for the breath.
Visualize the air coming into the body and the oxygen traveling all the way down to the toes and fingertips,
All the way through the head,
And the carbon dioxide leaving the body with each exhale.
Imagine your heart slowing down.
Imagine your experiences from today floating away like bubbles,
Allowing your mind to feel empty.
Allow the toes to create space for the in-breath.
Imagine the breath going all the way down to the toes.
Let the toes relax,
And the feet,
And the ankles.
Let the feet be heavy,
And the lower leg,
The shin,
And the calf muscles,
They relax and allow space for each breath.
Each breath is easy,
And each breath finds more and more space.
Allow the knees to relax and sink into the mattress.
The back of the knees and the front of the knees allow space for the breath.
And the upper legs,
The quad muscles,
The hamstrings,
The front and back of the thigh,
They relax,
Releasing tension,
Creating space for the breath.
And the hips,
The muscles that are deep around the hip joints,
Even they relax.
The buttocks relax.
The pelvic floor relaxes.
The low belly and low back relax.
Whatever experiences are stored there,
Are released.
They'll come back when they need to.
For now,
There is relaxation and space for each breath to enter easily,
And for everything the body doesn't need to release easily.
In the mid-belly,
In the mid-back,
In the chest,
The upper back,
They relax and feel heavy on the mattress.
The body sinks a bit more deeply into the mattress,
As the breath easily finds space.
The fingertips and the fingers,
The palms and the backs of the hands,
Thumbs,
And the forearms,
And wrists,
All relax,
As the mattress fully supports the hands,
The breath finds space even in the hands.
The forearms,
Front and back,
Flexors and extensors,
They release whatever tension is there,
Whatever is being grasped is let go.
And the elbows,
Front and back,
Relax.
The upper arms,
The biceps and triceps,
Front and back of the arms,
They relax.
And the shoulders relax.
Even the stabilizing muscles around the shoulders relax and allow space for each breath.
Where the back meets the neck,
The trapezius muscles,
They relax.
The worries go away and are replaced with possibility.
The body prepares for dreaming.
The throat and back of the neck relax.
The muscles at the base of the head relax.
The head sinks into the pillow or mattress and becomes heavy.
The breath finds space easily.
The muscles of the jaw relax.
All the muscles of the face,
The nose,
The brow,
Everything around the eyes,
Everything relaxes.
The muscles around the head,
The scalp,
Relax.
We visualize each gentle in-breath,
Allowing the hair to grow out.
The forehead is soft and relaxed.
The breath finds space throughout the body.
The body prepares for dreaming.
