Good evening.
This is Tara.
Now I'm going to be guiding you through a meditation and body scan in order to help you relax and fall asleep.
A lot of times when you have trouble sleeping,
There's a lot of activity and thought going on in the mind.
And so in this meditation,
I will help guide you to start to relax,
Allow those thoughts to lessen and to bring your awareness into the body so that you can comfortably and easily fall asleep.
Start by finding a comfortable position,
Moving or adjusting in any way so that you feel completely comfortable if you like,
Maybe using an eye pillow or anything else that would help you begin to relax.
You can close your eyes and just for a moment,
Become aware of what is happening in your mind.
Notice all the thoughts that are bouncing around in and out,
Taking up space and keeping you awake in this moment.
Allow the thoughts to float along as if you were watching them up on a movie screen.
Letting go of any judgment,
Comments,
Or wishing the thoughts weren't any different.
Instead,
Just begin to bring your awareness to all the activity in your mind.
Start to move your awareness down now from the mind into the body.
Become aware of your breath and how you are breathing in this moment.
Again,
Not changing or wishing anything were different,
But instead just begin to notice how you are breathing.
What is the quality of your breath?
Can you feel the inhalation rise?
The exhalation descend.
Feel your breath rising and falling,
Rising and falling as if a gentle wave in the body coming into shore and heading back out to sea.
Anytime that you find that the mind begins to wander,
Gets pulled back into thought,
Or you become distracted,
Bring your attention back to the gentle rise and fall of your breath.
Create no struggle around your breathing.
Use the breath to relieve any tension,
Any holding or gripping in the body.
Let your breath be steady,
Smooth.
Feel the nuance and the rhythm that the breath takes on without any effort or guidance from you.
Breath is a wonderful tool to slowing down the mind,
Relaxing your body,
Bringing about much needed sleep.
Now I invite you to follow my guidance as we move through the different parts of the body.
Let your attention rest on each body part as I name it without comment or judgment.
All ten toes,
Both ankles,
Both knees,
Pelvis,
Chest,
Both shoulders,
Throat,
Tip of the chin,
Both eyes,
Forehead,
Back of the head,
Both shoulder blades,
Your entire back body,
Buttocks,
Both calves,
Both heels,
Soles of the feet,
All ten toes.
From the tips of the toes to the crown of the head,
Feel your whole body relax,
Your whole body at peace,
Whole body resting in sleep.
Thank you.
