Now,
It's time to relax.
Whether it's time for bed,
Or just time to take a break from the day,
This meditation is designed to help with relaxation and help calm your mind so you can peacefully rest and if you choose,
Drift off to sleep.
The more often you return to this meditation,
The quicker you will be able to free yourself from the noise of your thoughts and drift into a healing relaxation or a peaceful,
Restful sleep.
Start by making yourself as comfortable as possible.
Good.
Now let your eyelids slide shut.
Don't use any physical effort to close them.
Just let them close.
And they will close on their own,
As if your eyelids are too heavy to stay open without effort.
Now that your eyes are closed,
Take a deep breath and hold it for just a second.
Now let the breath out.
Do not force it.
Just let it naturally leave your body.
Now take a second deep breath and hold that for a second.
Now let this breath naturally leave your body as well.
And notice that you are starting to relax.
Breathe calmly and naturally.
That's good.
Just focus on your breath.
Notice that with every in-breath you feel the calming effect of the oxygen you bring into your body.
And with every breath that leaves your body,
A tiny bit of tension leaves with it.
With each in-breath,
You can feel the calming oxygen spread from your lungs to every part of your body.
The oxygen flows through you and calms you.
At the same time,
Feel that with each exhale,
The tension in your body eases a tiny bit.
Notice that this focus on your breathing has a cumulative effect on the calming of your body and the release of tension.
Now just focus on your breathing for a moment or two.
The increase in calm and the decrease in tension is allowing you to reach a pleasant and deep state of relaxation.
Continue to breathe.
We'll start our journey down the island shortly.
Now that we have reached this calm,
Relaxed state for your body,
I will guide you on a short experience to allow you to ease the bothersome and worrisome thoughts and reach a state of mind and body relaxation.
First,
Picture yourself standing on a beach.
It can be a beach you are familiar with,
A beach you would like to visit,
Or a beach that only exists in your mind.
Any one of these is fine.
As you stand on the beach,
You feel the sun on your face.
It warms your face,
Causing calmness to radiate out from your face to your entire body.
You now notice that the air temperature is exactly suited to you.
Now,
Hear the surf.
Its sound is pleasant and calming.
The surf's rhythmic timing adds to this calming effect.
Just enjoy the sun on your face and the sound and rhythm of the surf for a moment.
Feel your feet in the sand.
The sand feels awesome on your feet,
And you can feel the warmth of the sand relax your feet and your legs.
Feel the texture of the sand on your feet.
Feel the sand move under your feet and between your toes.
So relaxing.
Just bask in this feeling for a moment.
Now notice the color of the sand,
And notice that the color of the sand helps you focus on the beach.
The color becomes more vivid as you focus on the sand.
Follow the sand down to the water and gaze out over the ocean.
The blue water is so spectacular,
It makes you feel centered and in the moment.
The sun,
The sand,
The water,
And the surf.
Peaceful and calming.
Can you smell the salt in the air?
It's there.
Along with other smells of the beach.
Notice how complex the smells are.
Now look around at the island.
See the palm trees.
See them sway in the light ocean breeze.
The palm fronds are so green.
The surf and the breeze combine to become even more relaxing.
This is your beach.
This is your island.
This is your time.
There's nothing else but you enjoying your beach in this moment.
Start to walk down the beach.
What do you see as you walk?
Do you notice the sky?
So blue.
The clouds so white and wispy.
For now,
Just walk and take in the sights and smells of your island.
Feel the sand on your feet and the sun on your body.
So relaxing.
Keep walking and discovering how in focus and in the moment your island is becoming.
As you continue to discover wonderful sights as you walk down the beach.
You feel contentment and are glad that you took the time to come here.
As you stop on the beach,
You notice two palm trees with an inviting and incredibly comfortable looking hammock strung between them.
The ocean breeze is just strong enough to make the hammock sway making it look so inviting.
Do you take the invitation to lie down on the hammock for a nap?
Or do you just keep walking until you fall into a relaxing,
Comfortable,
Healthful sleep?
