Hi,
My name is Karen Roy,
And this is a guided meditation created to help ease you into a state of deep and restful sleep.
Please do not listen to this recording while striving.
If at any time during the next few moments you become drowsy,
Just allow yourself to drift off into sleep.
So if you would like to join me,
Find a place where you'll not be disturbed,
A place that feels safe and comfortable,
Whether that's in your bed or on the floor.
Let's take a moment to check in.
To acknowledge how it is that you've arrived,
And to set the tone for a successful sleep outcome or result.
Take a moment to acknowledge your thoughts.
Become aware of your thoughts,
Not acknowledging one specific thought,
Or trying to find a solution,
Or to add a narrative that supports an underlying emotion.
Instead,
As each thought comes to your attention,
Acknowledge it and then release the thought without exploring it further,
Exhaling completely.
Over time,
You will likely find that the more you effort to stop your mind from thinking,
The more determined the mind is to think.
You're not trying to stop thought.
As thoughts appear,
Know that you aren't trying to release this thought forever.
You're simply saying,
I'm setting you aside for now.
Perhaps I will return to you tomorrow.
And as each new thought comes forward,
Without judgment,
Acknowledge it.
As each new thought moves forward,
Acknowledge it without judgment,
And set it aside for another time.
Now become aware of your heart space.
Notice if there is an underlying emotion,
Which is perhaps adding shade or tone,
Texture to your emotional wellness state.
Without judging these emotions,
Simply notice them.
Notice the sensations which accompany these emotions.
By switching your focus to the sensations present within the body,
We're able to put space between the stories we tell ourselves and our reactions to them.
The body experiences the hormonal reaction to stimuli well before the brain is able to cognize it.
By focusing on the physical sensations present that accompany emotions,
We're able to move through challenges or struggles with greater ease through the practiced action of releasing our attachment to these stories.
In this way,
We separate our emotional reactions from the powerful discharge that they bring.
Now become aware of any sensations in the body.
Any places of tension or discord.
Are there any places in your body where you are experiencing pain?
Scan your body now and notice if you might be able to make yourself just a little bit more comfortable than where you are right now.
Even if it's improving your comfort by only 1%,
Rearrange yourself so that you're in the most comfortable position possible.
Let's begin by taking a full deep breath in.
And then exhale completely.
Let's do that again.
A deep full breath in and allow your body to be empty of breath.
As your breath shifts into its natural rhythm,
Notice how your body has responded to these deeper,
Fuller breaths.
And to build into that state of ease and safety,
We're going to do some breath retention.
This helps to ground us and to presence us,
Letting go of the past or worries for the future.
Take a very deep breath in through your nose,
Allowing 4 counts.
Then hold the breath for 2 counts and exhale for 6 counts.
We'll do this twice.
Notice how your body responds to each part of the breath cycle.
The inhalation,
The pause,
The long exhalation,
And the pause.
Breathing in for a count of 4,
3,
2,
1,
Hold,
2,
1,
Exhale,
6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1,
Hold,
2,
1,
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Allow your breath now to move very naturally,
Finding its own rhythm,
Its own cadence.
You may notice that your breath will change throughout the practice,
And it will continue to change and alter itself throughout your sleep.
Trust the body.
It knows exactly how much to breathe in and how much to breathe out.
Your body will support you just as it always has.
You've been breathing from the moment you were born,
And you're doing it perfectly right now.
Breathing in and breathing out.
With a light resting awareness on your breath,
Bring awareness to any sounds around you,
Near sounds,
Far away sounds,
And sounds within your body,
Not searching for sounds,
But instead allowing the sounds to step forward,
If you will,
And then let them go.
Draw your attention now all the way down,
All the way down into your feet and out to your toes.
Wriggle your toes,
Spread them out as wide as you can,
Crunch them up,
Curling them under your feet,
And then as you're doing this,
Begin to point your feet and flex them,
Drawing your toes back towards your shins.
Find a position that requires effort,
Application of muscle,
Whether it's pointed foot,
Curled toes,
Or flexed and flared.
Hold this for five seconds.
Now relax your feet,
Your toes.
Let all the muscles of your feet release any tension that might be there.
What are the sensations in your feet and your toes?
Not thinking about your feet and toes,
Experiencing the feet and toes from the inside out.
Be in the experience of the feet and toes,
Experiencing each sensation as it appears.
What do you sense?
Tingling?
Warmth?
Maybe a sense of your heartbeat.
And don't worry if there are no obvious sensations.
Just label those neutral places as blank.
Perhaps even just experience a lack of sensation.
Become aware now of your ankles,
Shifting your attention upward.
Notice whether your ankles are turned outward or inward.
Notice even how much space is between your ankles.
Begin to circle your ankles in one direction,
And then in the opposite direction.
Notice if there's any stiffness or reluctance to move in one direction or another.
Explore different positions of your ankles,
And then hold the ankles with some energy,
Exploring the sensations present when the ankles are moved to their greatest range of motion.
Hold for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Now release the ankles.
Relax the muscles of the ankles.
And explore what sensations are present now.
Again,
Not thinking about the ankles.
Instead,
Experiencing the sensations within the ankles.
Just feel it.
Let's direct focus upward now,
Into the lower legs.
Notice any sensations present there right now.
Circle around the legs.
You can even imagine the bones and the connective tissue.
Begin to engage the muscle of your lower legs,
Flexing and stretching the muscles there.
Now expand your awareness to include the knees and the upper legs,
Sensing all the while from the inside out.
Hug the muscles of your legs into and around the bones.
Stretch,
Contract the muscles,
Holding for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Now release any tension from your legs.
And notice the new sensations of the legs as they release.
And relax.
Draw your attention now to your hands,
Becoming aware of each finger and of your thumbs.
Shift your focus into your hands.
The plump wrinkled palm and the smooth back of hand.
Consider the bones,
The connective tissue.
Now plench your hands into tight fists.
Squeeze your hands as tightly as you can,
Holding for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And release.
What sensations are unfolding now within your hands?
Draw your focus up into the lower arm.
Expand your focus to now include the elbow and the upper arm.
Begin to contract the muscles of the entire arm.
And allow your fingers to spread out as widely as you can.
Hold this now for five seconds.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And release.
Notice the relief,
The sense of ease in your arms and hands.
Shift your focus now to the hip girdle.
What do you sense is present here?
Tighten the muscles of the buttocks.
Actively draw the pelvic floor into your very low belly.
And then draw the low belly,
That's the belly that lies below the navel,
Down to the pubic bone.
Pull that low belly back toward the sacrum,
The fused vertebra in your hip girdle.
Tightening all these muscles,
Hold for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
And release.
Release this act of tension.
Let it expand and soften into the hip girdle,
The buttocks,
And your low belly.
Breathing into it,
Allow the space to expand.
And exhaling,
Allow it to continue to relax and soften.
You may notice a sense of ease that is spreading upward from your lower limbs and body.
Notice how your body has responded,
How your mind has responded,
Your heart space.
Dial in now to the area of the mid torso,
Located between the navel and the rib cage.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Notice how the in breath expands the belly,
And how the out breath softens and shrinks the belly.
Breathing in,
The belly rises.
Breathing out,
The belly falls.
Send your attention to include now your rib cage.
Breathing in,
The ribs expand.
Breathing out,
The ribs contract.
Breathe deeply now,
Drawing your breath deep down into the bottom of your belly.
Exhale it completely.
Breathe in again deeply,
Drawing the breath right down into the low belly.
Notice its expansion,
And also the expansion of the rib cage.
Exhaling everything.
Notice the change.
Now exhale,
By pulling the muscle of your belly toward your spinal column,
Squeeze your ribs tightly together and push all the air out of your torso.
Repeat this two or maybe three more times.
Exhale,
Tighten all the muscles of the torso,
Pulling the belly down and squeezing your lower ribs together,
Pushing the air out.
Breathe out,
And squeeze the air out of your body,
As though you were squeezing toothpaste out of a tube.
Now release the muscles of your mid torso and rib cage to relax,
And release any tension that might be present.
Let it go,
And return your breathing to its natural rhythm.
Let's shift focus now to your mid back.
Does your mid back feel well supported?
Squeeze the muscles of your lower back a few times,
Then allow the muscles to relax completely.
Let your low back to melt into your bed.
And if you still find that there is tension there,
Rearrange your body so that you feel supported.
Bring attention now to your upper back and shoulders,
An area which is often a keeper of tension,
Built up and collected from the day's events.
Are your shoulders resting back equally into your bed?
Draw your shoulder blades behind you,
Squeezing them together a few times tightly.
Then release the effort and invite the muscles to relax completely.
Now pull your shoulders right up tight toward your ears,
Then release them.
Let's repeat this two more times.
Now holding the shoulders up as tightly toward your ears as you can for five seconds.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And release.
Absorb all the sensations,
Be in the sensations as they appear.
Notice how your mind and heart space respond to this kindness that you're offering to the body.
To begin to release any tension in the neck,
Draw your lower jaw downward toward your throat.
Hold this for five seconds.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And release.
Soften the muscles of the lower jaw completely,
Allowing space to form between your upper and lower jaw.
Invite your tongue to fall back and let it rest away from the hard upper palate,
Away from the front teeth.
Allow it to fall back,
Perhaps leaving just the tip of the tongue resting on the soft palate while the bulk of the muscle rests in the lower jaw.
Notice how by releasing the muscles of the tongue and the lower jaw allows you to soften all the muscles of the neck and throat.
Even the shoulders can soften a little bit more.
Shift your attention now to the skull cap,
All the muscles wrapping tightly around the skull.
This may seem silly,
But try to squeeze those muscles as tightly as you can.
Maybe crinkle your eyes and wrinkle your forehead.
Try to hug your ears in tight to the sides of your head and hold for five seconds.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And release.
Notice this sense of ease,
The sense of softness and relaxation.
Bring your focus now to your face.
Become aware of your nose and your cheeks.
Scrunch up your cheeks and wrinkle your nose as tightly as you can.
Hold for five seconds,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And release.
Allow yourself a few moments just to experience the face in complete relaxation.
Now breathing in,
Begin to tense every single muscle in your head,
Your arms and legs,
Your body.
Breathing in for a count of five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Just hold the breath for two counts and one,
And exhale now for a count of five,
Releasing every muscle in your head and body.
Let's do that one more time.
Tensing every muscle in your head,
Your arms and legs,
Your body as you breathe in for a count of five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Relax the muscle.
Hold two,
One.
Exhale,
Complete the relaxation and release of every muscle in your head and body.
Take a moment now just to sit,
To rest in the sensations within your entire body.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Breathe in and breathe out.
I hope that you have a lovely,
Deep and restful sleep.
Exhale yourself to slip away,
To fall back,
To let the events of the day dissolve and be washed away.
