Welcome to this meditation on letting go of the day so you can relax into sleep.
First,
Lay down on your bed and find a position that feels sustainable,
That you don't have to move around a lot to make yourself comfortable.
It doesn't have to be perfect,
Just so that you can be comfortable enough without moving around a lot to adjust.
Now gently allow your eyes to close and bring your awareness to the fact that you have arrived at the end of your day.
There's nowhere that you need to go.
There's nothing that needs to be done.
Your day from here is complete and release yourself to the end of the day.
Now take in a slow breath through your nose and fill all the way up and sigh the breath out through your mouth.
Sighing is a natural way that we relax our body.
So one more deep breath in through your nose and sigh through your mouth.
Allow your breath to soften into a natural comfortable rhythm.
Now let's bring the attention to the weight of your body.
How does it feel lying in the bed?
The bed is holding you.
The bed is supporting your weight.
You don't need to hold yourself up.
You don't need to stay alert.
Let the gravity do the work for you.
Let your shoulders drop and unclench your jaw.
Soften the space around your eyes and around your ears.
There's no effort that's required here.
So as you lie here,
Your mind still may be busy.
That's okay.
Just bring yourself to the awareness that there's nothing you need to solve tonight.
That whatever happened today,
The conversations,
The decisions,
Maybe the things that didn't go as planned,
None of them need your attention in this moment.
You can release the day and put it down.
You may want to visualize you putting it on the floor beside your bed and you don't have to unpack it.
You don't have to reorganize it.
You can just put it down and quietly remind yourself that today is finished.
I don't need to do anything else in today.
Tomorrow,
I will pick it all up again if I need to.
But right now,
I am allowed to rest.
Let these words land in your conscious mind.
You don't need to put out any effort for this.
Now coming back to our breath,
Noticing the gentle rise of your chest,
Of your belly,
And the slow fall as you exhale.
Each exhale can be a letting go of the tension.
As you breathe out,
You release the tension.
Inhale again and as you breathe out,
You release responsibility for the day.
Breathing in and breathing out,
You release the need to figure anything out.
There is nothing required of you in this moment.
This is all about rest.
As you are breathing in and out,
If your mind wanders,
That's fine.
You don't need to pull it back into thinking.
Just return your awareness to that feeling of being supported.
Let your body become more heavy.
Let your back sink into your bed.
Let your arms become heavy and loose.
Your legs can soften.
Your feet might open naturally.
There's nothing that you need to hold anymore.
There is nothing that needs to stay in control.
If there's a part of you that wants to stay alert,
Simply acknowledge it and gently remind yourself that you don't need to stay vigilant right now.
It's okay.
You're safe.
Tomorrow does not need you yet.
Let your awareness create space and with each breath out,
Allow yourself to sink a little deeper.
Not forcing sleep,
But not resisting it either.
You're just letting go of the effort.
Sleep will come in its own time.
You don't need to wait for it.
You also don't need to try for it.
There is nothing left to focus on.
Nothing left to listen for.
You can stop paying attention now or you can just drift off.
Just allow yourself to rest.
