Hello,
This is Erin.
Today's meditation is for sleep.
For those of you who have trouble sleeping,
Letting go,
Settling your mind into a place of peace,
And bringing your body from a state of restlessness into deep peace and rest.
So,
Make sure that you're comfortably lying down,
Not too hot,
Not too cold.
Starting to deepen your breath in and out through the nose specifically.
Notice where your body expands when you breathe.
Is it in your belly?
Is it more up in your chest?
See if you can increase the depth of your breath just by a little bit.
Notice how your body expands and deflates.
Each time you inhale,
You gather up any tension or stress hidden in the body.
And each time you exhale,
You let go of anything accumulated from your day or week in your mind and in your body.
Now that your breath is a little bit deeper,
See if you can count your breath.
Not trying to change it anymore,
But just notice.
Is it a four count?
Five?
Six?
Maybe?
Whatever the count of your breath,
On the inhale,
Hold at the top just for a moment.
And when you exhale,
See if you can count one second longer than your inhale.
This type of breath helps to facilitate a parasympathetic nervous system response in which your body transitions into healing mode,
Rest and digest,
Let go,
And so.
Mindful of your breath,
Exhale just slightly longer than the inhale.
In this meditation,
We're going to go through layers of letting go.
Everything that you've done today,
You've done today is enough.
And certainly you are enough.
And so let's begin the process of letting go of the layers.
As you inhale,
Imagine your breathing,
Not just into your lungs,
Your belly,
Your ribs,
But breathing through your skin.
And notice that when you think this,
You might be thinking,
You might be breathing through your skin,
But breathing through your skin.
And notice that when you think this,
You might draw some awareness all over your body in a thin layer.
And you might even notice when you do that,
Your body seems to pulsate with your breath.
You see,
Your body is living,
Breathing,
Changing and growing.
One second to the next is completely different.
And so the body can teach us much about letting go.
Every second that goes by,
You're changing,
Growing and different.
And this is good.
And so the person you were,
Thinking about all the things,
How to solve this or that,
Let it go.
Let it go for right now because perception is going to change.
Your vikalpa,
Your intuitive perception will naturally shift.
And so the more that you breathe and drop into your body,
The more that questions fall away and answers come.
And I think you know this to be true.
And so with each exhale again,
Letting go of any tension layers.
And as you inhale,
Pulling in,
Restorative energy into your body,
Your skin,
Your muscles,
Your bones,
Organs,
All pulsating,
Even your cells.
Once you have this image clear in your mind,
Take a deep breath in and exhale.
Just let go of anything that had been holding on,
Hooking onto you.
And now you simply let it go.
And any thoughts that try to hook onto you,
They simply cannot.
And if you find yourself entertaining them,
When you become aware,
You let go.
Still with the breath,
Still in the present space of your body.
Trust.
Trust is a part of this process of taking off the layers of what you are not and recognizing who you really are.
Keep breathing.
We go into the next layer.
Any hardness you've been keeping around your heart to people who have hurt you,
Maybe arguments,
Hypothetical and real.
And any uncomfortable feelings that would want to be there for you.
Any uncomfortable feelings that would want distraction.
We compassionately hover over the notice.
This process of acknowledging yourself,
You will be able to release this tension,
Soften and drift into restful sleep.
Sleep.
Sleep.
Imagine that your breath is like a warm blanket soothing,
Hugging around any uncomfortable feelings in your body until the warm,
Comfortable soothing melts into the body and creates a space of safety.
Safety and love to expand outward.
The tightness starts to fade as you breathe and become expansive,
Very easily letting go of what you are not.
And starting to remember this inner bliss so that you can deeply relax,
Soften,
Sleep,
Soften and sleep.
Breathe.
One last layer.
This is the layer where your soul exists.
And it's so tired,
So tired.
We see it.
And we know that we can finally let go.
All of those other things don't matter.
We recognize our home and our home recognizes us.
We step inside and become one.
Home.
Rest.
Sleep.
Sleep.
So tired but satisfied.
Whole.
Love.
Sweetness.
Rest.
Breathe into all the layers of your being.
The energy is so clear,
Gently humming through you.
Any swirling thoughts are long gone.
You try to remember but it's okay.
You're too tired.
When you rest now,
Just so peaceful.
The sweetest dreams.
The most loving feeling humming,
Pulsing through your body.
Knowing that you are loved.
That you are whole.
That you are worthy.
And you are one with universal consciousness.
Breathe into that knowing.
And relax.
