Choose a quiet place and time of day that you may want to enter a comforting sleep.
Wear loose clothing if you can.
Find a comfortable position and one that just feels easy and natural.
Begin to release all images,
Stimulations,
Events and feelings,
Any emotions and thoughts of the day that are now behind you.
And to set them aside as you allow your eyelids to gently and easily close.
Allow this sleep meditation to lead you to a deepened relaxation beginning with your attention on your breath and your body sensations.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
In breath.
Out breath.
Notice your breath as you inhale,
Inviting your breath to fill your lungs with ease as it travels all the way down into the chest around the heart,
Your solar plexus,
Your belly,
All the way down naturally to your sacral area.
You may notice that over time your exhalation will have its own longer timing.
As you inhale with ease and exhale with grace and take your time,
Notice how your scalp feels,
Your brow releasing any tension in your face,
Your jaw,
Your tongue.
Take a few more in breaths and out breaths simply allowing all thoughts and feelings of the day to simply evaporate.
Your attention is on your breath.
In breath.
Out breath.
In breath.
Out breath.
You may notice that if you purse your lips on your exhalation that you can extend that exhalation which contributes to more wellness in your physical being.
Notice how your shoulders feel.
Press them back against your pillow,
Opening the chest.
Release any tension in your neck or your back.
Turn your head to the right or to the left.
Point your chin up towards the ceiling,
Down towards the floor.
Now is the time to check in with the muscles in your stomach,
Your thighs,
The back of your legs and your calves.
Releasing tension in your feet,
Wiggle your toes.
Move your ankles back and forth,
Flexing them and relaxing.
Your breath is your friend.
Keep it with you.
Flowing with ease through your nostrils.
Its coolness wafting into your chest and around your heart,
Coming home to your diaphragm and filling your open areas around the heart.
Hear your mind of distractions gently envisioning a river flowing,
A river of breath inside and around you.
Your mind may at times wander.
Notice feelings,
Thought and sensations.
Whatever may enter your mind when you are preparing for sleep,
Simply bow to it and go back to having a clear mind and having your attention on your deep inhalation and long exhalations.
As your breath becomes more flowing,
Begin to imagine a long,
Cool,
Darkened staircase before you,
One that you slowly descend,
Counting backwards,
Step by step,
Beginning with the number 10.
Feel your body relaxing into the depth of this cool,
Stone sanctuary.
Then nine,
Exhaling fully,
Exhaling silently,
Stepping down.
Eight,
Your extended exhalations leading you into deeper and deeper repose.
Step down.
Seven,
All your muscles letting go of tension.
Six,
Your mind at rest,
Void of thought or concern,
Just in-breath,
Out-breath with ease and surrender.
Stepping down five.
Now you feel the warmth and the liquid release as sleep begins to descend.
Four,
Your breath leads you to deepening relaxation,
Your eyelids heavy,
Closing slowly,
Gently.
Three,
The silence of the atmosphere around you engulfs you.
Your attention is on your breath.
Stepping down two.
Now your body and mind sink into a warm,
Soft and yielding embrace.
And one,
A gentle exhalation that the dark and the silence carries you into deep sleep,
Fulfilling restful sleep.
In the next few moments,
The relaxation,
The surrender,
The breath that you have attended to all begins to take you into that beautiful place of slumber.
Slumbering.
We now conclude this sleep meditation.
