And so this is a little recording for you from me.
I know what it's like to wake up in the night distressed,
Seems to come out of nowhere.
Maybe you woke up noticing that you were distressed or maybe you woke up,
Started thinking about something and then the activation started.
This is normal.
At night the nervous system is more sensitive and with fewer distractions emotions feel louder.
Thoughts feel heavier.
Memories feel closer.
You've got this.
Right now you've been woken up.
Part of the wide awake club.
Many many other people in the world experiencing exactly what you're experiencing right now and these people will eventually fall asleep again just like you will.
It's not because something is wrong.
It's because the night removes the noise and the mind fills the silence.
So it's one of those nights the mind is loud,
The body is tense maybe.
Everything feels bigger than it will in the morning when the light of day comes and the things that trouble us at night time seem to not trouble us as much in the daytime or not trouble us at all.
Let's slow things down.
I know when I wake up just like you have that when I take attention to my chest,
One hand on my chest,
I notice that my breathing is more shallow than what it usually is.
So if we gently start to notice the out-breath,
The out-breath can become our ally.
The out-breath is my ally in this moment.
Slowly,
Gently slowing the out-breath,
Meaning that we're extending it just a little,
Starts the process of soothing the nervous system.
Heart rate drops as soon as you connect to the out-breath.
It's magic.
The heart rate significantly drops.
You can release tension as well in your body.
As an option,
You might like to even tense parts of your body and then release them again.
We can try this with our hands,
Making both hands into fists,
Tensing and holding for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and relax.
This time,
Tensing and holding your fists and tensing your arms,
Biceps,
Forearms.
Tense for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and relax.
Good job.
You've got this.
You can do this.
You've got an amazing capacity to down-regulate your nervous system.
How about now getting your right leg pointing your toes,
Your thigh muscles,
Your calf muscles nice and tense and holding this for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and relax that right leg.
Now let's move on over to the left leg.
Tensing your left leg by pointing your toes,
Feeling your thighs and your calves nice and tense and holding for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and relax that leg as well.
Now,
What might it be like to actually tense your tummy muscles?
And if you prefer,
You can tense everything else as well.
So tummy muscles and hands clenched,
Arms straight,
Legs straight,
All of your body.
Holding this for 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Get ready,
Feeling the relaxation,
A big wave of relaxation coming over you.
You deserve this.
Now,
Taking one breath at a time.
In-breath,
Slow.
Out-breath,
Even slower.
Feeling the tingling sensations,
The residual effects of relaxation as your body continues to breathe gently,
Remembering to give that out-breath a little extension.
Now noticing how this in-breath and extended out-breath after a while can start to become more and more natural.
You might like to feel the bed under you,
Gravity holding you in this moment as your body breathes,
Feeling the downward pull,
A little bit like your body's melting into where it makes contact with where it's resting.
Feel the weight of the blanket,
It's holding you gently,
It's nurturing you,
You deserve this.
What's it like to say some words to yourself,
Something along the lines of Right now,
It's the middle of the night.
I'm part of the wide awake club.
Everything feels nice and heavy right now.
My body feels grounded,
And things will feel different in the morning.
For now,
I don't even need to focus on drifting off to sleep.
I can just breathe.
In-breath,
Breathe,
Out-breath,
With a little extension to the out-breath each time,
Because that's when our heart rate drops a little more.
So nurturing,
So soothing.
You don't need to solve anything right now.
Just rest here,
A gift for yourself,
Giving your body permission,
Giving your body the right to be here now.
And even if it is just rest that you give your body,
That can be enough.
Can that be enough?
Can we let go of the need to sleep?
Can I just gently be with myself?
Knowing that I can nurture myself,
Maybe even with the subtlest of half smiles,
As my body breathes,
And my out-breath is just gently lengthened,
Because this is what nurtures me.
And I deserve this.
Good job.
Just know that you can return to this for whenever you might need it again.
And remember,
This is part of being human.
Coming back to ourselves by nurturing our bodies and minds,
Just like you've been doing.
Take care for now.
Good night.
