Taking a few moments to get yourself comfortable,
Settling down into bed,
Making sure your pillow and your covers are just as you need them to be,
Relaxing your body,
Getting yourself ready for sleep.
Taking a deep breath in until your lungs are full and then releasing it slowly,
Allowing your breath to return to a natural pace now,
Letting go of any tightness in your joints,
In your muscles,
Softening any tension in your body,
And bringing your attention to your feet,
Feeling your feet go soft and relaxed,
Moving your attention up into your knees,
Legs and hips,
Releasing any tightness and letting them go heavy and relax fully,
Softening your tummy,
Your chest and your back,
Allowing your arms and hands to rest and relax,
Loosening any tightness in your shoulders,
Softening your neck,
Jaw,
Face,
Eyes and scalp until your entire body is in a resting state,
Noticing yourself starting to feel sleepy and if you feel yourself drifting into a dream,
Just allowing yourself to willingly wander into sleep and if you're still awake,
Just noticing any thoughts that appear in your mind,
Memories of the day,
Thoughts about things that may have happened in the past,
Thoughts about tomorrow or further in the future,
Plans,
Worries,
Goals,
Conversations with people,
Work you need to do,
Noticing each and every thought that you have and imagining now that attached to the wall way up high above your bed is a shelf,
Any time that you notice a thought trying to tempt you away from this practice or trying to keep you awake,
Visualize that thought floating out from your mind and landing up on the shelf,
Because the shelf is above you,
You are unable to see anything that is on top of it,
So any thought that is placed on the shelf will be inaccessible to you until you get out of bed after your sleep,
Every thought that comes along,
Just seeing each one going out of your mind,
Out of your body and floating up onto the shelf above you,
Out of view,
Remembering that this shelf can hold an infinite number of thoughts,
There is nothing that is too big or too heavy for this shelf,
Knowing that your thoughts are safe and secure up there on the shelf,
You will be able to access these thoughts again at a more appropriate time,
However,
Right now,
Your focus needs to be on falling asleep,
So it is safe for you to let your thoughts go,
Even thoughts that seem important can go up onto the shelf,
You're already in bed,
Your body is relaxed and preparing for sleep,
There's nothing that can't wait until later,
Until after your sleep,
If you start to notice an absence of thoughts,
Just focusing on the music,
On the sound of my voice,
On your own soft gentle breathing,
Or on the sensations in your body,
There's no need to go looking for thoughts,
If your mind is quieting now,
That's good,
Just allow yourself to be in a quiet state of pure observation,
Observing each moment that is unfolding around you,
But if you do find yourself getting tangled up and distracted by thinking,
Keep sending those thoughts up to that shelf above you and then bringing yourself back to the here and now,
Listening to the music,
Noticing the sound of my voice,
Noticing any other sounds that you can hear,
Following your breath and watching time unfold around you,
Allowing yourself to surrender into sleep when you are ready,
Feeling your body becoming tired,
Loose,
Heavy and ready for a deep sleep now,
Anytime that you notice any thoughts or distractions,
Seeing them floating up above you and landing on the shelf and once they are on the shelf,
They will be kept safe until you are awake and ready to revisit them,
Until then,
You have complete permission not to give these thoughts any more attention,
Prioritising yourself,
Sending all of your thoughts up to that shelf with unlimited capacity and allowing yourself to rest,
Knowing that it's safe now to drift into sleep.
