Hi,
It's Matt Young,
And this is a meditation that will help you calm your mind and fall asleep.
If you've had a stressful day or feel overwhelmed by all the things you're juggling,
It can be difficult to wind down.
But don't worry,
I'm here to give you a hand.
All you have to do is lie back and enjoy the ride.
So,
Get yourself comfortable.
I'd recommend that you start out lying on your back with your legs stretched long.
And don't worry,
You can move into another position later on or as you drift into sleep.
Now,
Place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest.
And allow yourself to feel the comforting weight and warmth of your hands.
Let them feel like two dear friends,
Each one of them offering their heartfelt support.
And feeling the contact of your hands on your body.
Let that touch be imbued with all the qualities you'd expect from a best friend.
Concern,
Care,
Appreciation,
Acceptance,
Love.
And sense the warmth of your hands carrying those qualities into the chest.
Into the lungs and into the heart.
And let that warmth and tenderness soothe you.
Let it soothe you right to your core.
And if that sounds a bit soppy or sentimental for your liking,
You could just lie there feeling resistant.
Or you could let your guard down for a second or two.
And conjure up just enough curiosity to see what it's like to offer yourself a moment of kindness.
And just rest here a while.
Let go of the need to rush onwards.
Knowing that sleep will come when it comes.
You can't hurry the process.
That will just make it harder to relax.
So be as patient as you can.
Do your best to enjoy these moments of wakefulness.
If only because that attitude will help you get to sleep faster.
Appreciate the simple pleasures afforded by lying in bed.
Warm,
Cozy,
Comfortable.
Breathing easily.
Now take a few moments to windscreen wiper your feet from side to side.
Loosening up the muscles in the ankles,
The calves,
The thighs,
And even the hips.
The movement doesn't have to be big.
The movement doesn't have to be big.
Just moving the legs enough to feel a kind of jiggling of the muscles throughout the body.
Then let the legs fall still.
And allow them to sink into the mattress.
Perhaps as though they were made of lead.
And each time you breathe out,
You might feel the legs becoming heavier still.
So heavy that they begin to feel immovable.
Almost as if you can't feel them at all.
As though they begin to lose all definition and merge with the mattress.
And don't worry one bit if you find yourself caught up in thoughts from time to time,
Or lose track of what I'm saying.
Feel free to let my instructions drift in and out of awareness.
And allow yourself to drift into some place that feels peaceful and quiet.
A place where you can rest and relax.
A place where you can rest and relax.
And remember,
There's no rush.
If you find your mind full of worries and plans,
Just trust that all that activity will gradually fade away.
And if you want to fall asleep,
Don't interfere with those thoughts.
Just let them be.
And to help initiate the descent towards sleep,
Allow each exhalation to be a little longer and slower.
And on each inhalation,
See if you can send the breath to a different part of the body.
For example,
Breathe in and feel the chest rise.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in and feel the belly rise.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in and feel the ribs expand.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in and feel the collarbones lift.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in and feel the shoulders rise.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in as though you had lungs in the lower back.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in as though you had lungs in your upper back.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in as though you had lungs deep in the pelvis.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in and feel the muscles around the eyes soften.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in and let the jaw go slack.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Breathe in and relax your forehead.
And breathe out,
Long,
Slow and soft.
Then rest,
Letting the breath return to a nice,
Easy,
Natural rhythm.
Making no effort to fall asleep.
Just letting the body and mind rest.
Remembering that you can't force yourself to sleep.
Knowing that you can't force yourself to sleep.
Knowing that you're more likely to fall asleep if you don't try.
And now and then you might notice a thought.
Or a feeling.
See if you can grab hold of one of those passing thoughts.
And then examine it as though it were something beautiful or fascinating.
Do your best to hold onto that thought for as long as possible.
And if it slips out of reach,
Let that be okay too.
Thoughts aren't really the demons you might think they are.
They can only keep you up if you engage in a fight with them.
Emotions are like that too.
So don't bother trying to chase them away or shut them down.
Just let your thoughts and feelings flow about like a breeze.
Let them all blow away in their own time.
And then,
Just for a moment,
Hold your breath.
And see if you can remain utterly still.
Not moving a muscle.
Resist all motion,
All thought and all feeling.
And then let go.
Allowing your body to breathe.
Allowing your mind to think.
Allowing everything to flow.
And just reassure yourself that sleep will come.
Remembering that sleep is as natural as breathing.
And just as you can't stop yourself from breathing,
At least not for long,
You can't stop yourself from falling asleep.
You can try,
If you like.
And you can complain and worry.
Maybe predict what a crap day you'll have tomorrow.
Or you can just lie back and enjoy each moment.
Let your inner voice be supportive and encouraging.
Knowing that by accepting this moment as it is,
You create the conditions under which you are most likely to fall asleep.
Contemplate for a moment the millions of people who are lying in bed right now.
Many of them unable to fall asleep.
Tossing and turning,
Thumping their pillows,
Suffering with racing thoughts.
Perhaps you can see that those behaviours are keeping them awake.
And perhaps you can conjure up a little compassion for all those folks.
In fact,
Send a little compassion to each and every thing that you experience.
Send a little compassion to yourself,
If you're still awake.
If a thought pops into your head,
Send it a compassionate hello.
If you notice some emotion,
Treat it with compassion and kindness.
Should you find yourself feeling frustrated or anxious,
Give those emotions as much compassion as you can muster.
And if you can't find any compassion at all,
Maybe read a book by the Dalai Lama.
Or you could just try to shoo everything away,
As though it were the most annoying thing in the universe.
And I hope you realise that that last recommendation was a facetious one.
Anyway,
I'm going to stop rambling on in a moment.
Hopefully you'll then be able to fall asleep.
I'm really very sorry for keeping you up so long.
So finally,
I'm going to say it one more time.
Remember,
Try not to fall asleep.
Trying is what keeps you awake.
And sleep comes when you don't care whether you're awake or not.
So just lie there,
Practising patience.
Being kind to yourself.
And being kind to your thoughts and emotions.
Being kind to your wakefulness,
For however long it persists.
Knowing that when you can't sleep,
It's best to lie there enjoying the peaceful quiet.
Cultivating acceptance and contentment.
And allowing the body some deep rest.
While you wait for dreams to come.
Goodnight.
I hope you rest deeply.
