Welcome to the countdown to sleep.
Find yourself a nice comfortable position where you can fully relax without any tension other than what you've brought with you.
Let's begin by taking a deep breath.
Breathing in deeply for five seconds.
Holding your breath now for four seconds.
And exhaling for another five seconds.
Let's do this a few times.
And each time you exhale,
Feel your body sinking deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation.
Your mind clearing.
Focusing only on your breath.
And the rise and fall of your body as you inhale and as you exhale.
Bring some tension and relaxation into certain areas of your body now.
Breathe now as you normally would while we do this exercise.
Keeping your focus onto every muscle that we tense and then relax.
I want you to ball your fists now and squeeze.
Not as tight as you can but just enough to feel your muscles harden.
Hold this for just a second and then release.
And as you release,
Imagine all of the extra tension and pain melting away.
Wiggle and move your toes and feet now.
Loosening up the muscles of your feet and your ankles.
Flexing your calf muscles.
Holding them and releasing.
Once again feeling all the tension from the day and this moment,
Releasing with your relaxation.
Try this with a few other muscles.
Your arms,
Your chest.
Flexing them just slightly and then releasing them,
Allowing the tension to fade away.
Maintaining your breathing,
Steady and relaxed.
Gently bring our attention back to our breath now.
Breathing normally,
Noticing thoughts that may come but allowing them to pass like clouds in the sky.
Focus on the rise and fall of your chest.
Or the air hitting your lips or your nose as you breathe in and as you exhale.
We're going to begin counting down now from 40.
For every number I say,
I want you to see that number in your mind.
Focus everything on that number.
And as the numbers get lower,
I want you to feel more and more relaxed in your position.
Using your thoughts,
Your muscles and your tension to just relax and drift away.
40.
Picture the number 40 in your mind.
On the inhale,
Say in your mind,
40.
And on the exhale,
Do the same.
39.
Picture the number 39.
Feeling your head sink deeper into your pillow.
Your neck muscles relaxing.
38.
Feel your back relax.
The muscles in your shoulders are loosening,
Sinking down to whatever you're lying on.
37.
Your chest feeling heavier,
More relaxed,
More open.
36.
Continue breathing normally.
35.
Any thoughts that are arising can simply be noted as thinking.
And then you can bring your awareness back to the numbers in your mind.
34.
Relaxing your face now.
Feeling your jaw open up a bit.
Your eyes and your cheeks sinking into the relaxation.
33.
Still picturing the numbers as we go down.
Seeing them in your mind,
Focusing on them.
32.
With each number you see,
You should release the tension in your body,
Allowing yourself to sink deeper into a state of relaxation.
31.
Continue counting and visualizing the numbers on your own from this point forward.
Remember to notice when thoughts arise and allow them to pass while you continue on your journey to sleep.
Calm,
Relaxed,
And stress-free.
