Welcome to this meditation for deep sleep and relaxation.
This meditation will help you ease into a restful sleep,
Allowing your body and mind to let go of any stresses or anxieties from the day.
Settle into bed or wherever you decide to rest.
Nestle yourself deeply into whatever is holding you.
Imagining that warm blankets and pillows are surrounding your body.
Pulling the covers close around you if you like and releasing tension from the entire body.
Now begin to focus on your breathing.
See if you can hear the sound of the inhales and the exhales.
Inhaling through the nose and softly exhaling with the lips parted or perhaps with the sound of ah.
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling slowly through the mouth.
Ah,
Perhaps taking a pause in between each breath.
Noticing when the mind begins to focus on something other than the breath and bringing the attention back to noticing the breath.
Inhaling through the nose and exhaling lightly through the mouth.
Continuing to inhale and exhale as slowly as is comfortable for you.
Tuning into the way that the breath fills the body,
Expands the rib cage,
Lifts the diaphragm and the belly.
Leaning into the experience of this filling,
Inflating breath.
Perhaps even exaggerating this inhale.
Continue allowing this breath to move inside the body.
Becoming aware now of how the exhales release and allow the body to sink.
Feeling how the exhales deflate the lungs,
The belly and perhaps even relax the shoulders and the back of the body.
Noticing how each exhale can release tension and allow stress to drip down off of the body.
Allowing it to be absorbed,
Allowing it to evaporate into the air around.
Continuing to turn your focus inward.
If your eyes are not already closed,
You may allow the eyelids to gently rest together.
Welcoming the dark space of sleep and allowing the mind to reduce its thoughts.
Letting them float around,
Paying little attention to any distractions.
Always returning your focus to the breath.
Keeping the breath to the center of your body.
Top of mind.
Continue allowing each breath to fully expand inside the body.
Perhaps imagining the breath as a color.
Allowing this color to float into and around the entire body.
Imagining this colorful breath moving into the neck and head,
The rib cage,
The shoulders,
The arms,
Down into the hands and the fingers.
Letting this colorful breath move down into the solar plexus,
The hips,
The legs,
The feet and the toes.
Colorful swirling breath reaching into every part of the body.
Taking with it any stress,
Anxiety or tension.
Letting the powerful breath cleanse and sweep the entire body.
Turning the mind back to the breath whenever thoughts wander in.
Sending the thoughts up and away with love and care.
Returning the focus back to the breath.
Focusing on what is beneath the body now.
Really allowing the entire spine to sink deeply and be held by gravity.
Knowing that the head,
The shoulders,
The back,
The buttocks,
The legs and arms are all being held deeply,
Cradled by gravity.
Knowing that it is safe and it is time for sleep.
Welcoming sleep,
Knowing that sleep is healing and restorative.
Allowing this breath that is cleansing the body to bring in sleep.
Sweet and dreamlike,
Floating into the entire body and mind.
Allowing any emotions or thoughts that come up without judgment.
Letting those thoughts or emotions float away into the night sky.
Bringing all the attention back into the body and the breath.
Allowing the mind to start letting go.
Continuing the focus on the breath.
Allowing the breath to continue soothing and quieting and quieting the body and mind.
Allowing any visions that might come into your view,
Perhaps something serene,
A beach,
A shady woods,
A field of wildflowers,
The night sky full of stars.
Just allowing these images to play in the mind as if they were dreams.
Comforting the nervous system.
Letting the breath carry itself throughout the entire body.
Beginning to focus now on the toes,
The soles of the feet,
The tops of the feet,
The feet,
The heels,
The ankles,
The lower leg,
The knees,
The upper leg,
The hips,
The belly,
The entire rib cage,
The chest and the back,
The entire spine from tailbone to neck.
The fingers,
The palms of the hands,
Backs of the hands,
The wrists,
Forearms,
Elbows,
Elbows,
Upper arms,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Chin,
Jaw,
Cheekbones,
Hands,
Nose,
Ears,
The eyes,
The eyebrows,
The forehead.
Softening and releasing tension in the entire face,
The crown of the head,
The back of the head.
Sensing into the weight of the entire body.
Allowing the weight of the body to release and relax.
Letting the jaw unhinge.
Allowing the tongue to rest gently inside the mouth.
Softening skin around the eyes.
Allowing any additional tension to soften and release from the forehead down into the toes.
Feeling the heaviness of the entire body.
Welcoming sleep into the entire body.
Allowing your body to accept and welcome deep sleep.
Sinking softly into the bed.
Allowing your body the rest and the healing it so deserves.
Now just allowing the body to continue to melt.
Seeping into the bed below as sleep overcomes and comforts the whole body.
Sleep well.
