Thank you for choosing this meditation.
In this meditation,
We are going to do a short mindfulness practice.
Maybe you've done some mindfulness today,
Maybe you haven't.
Maybe you've meditated today,
Maybe you haven't.
Either way,
It's okay.
In this moment,
We're going to take some time and practice some mindfulness before bed to calm our mind and to calm our body.
Sometimes when we lie down in bed,
Our mind will start to race.
It'll go through the events of the day.
It'll go through the to-do list for tomorrow.
Or sometimes the emotions start to rise up and then our body will feel agitated or worried or anxious.
When the stimuli of daily life is over,
The mind can seem louder than usual and our body can seem more restless.
In this moment,
We're going to practice some mindfulness,
Again,
To calm the mind and the body.
I'm going to ask you to start this meditation,
This mindfulness practice standing up.
Just take a moment,
Get in a standing position and close your eyes and just breathe.
Notice your regular breath and start to pay attention to your body.
What do you notice?
Is anything tight or tense?
Does anything feel uncomfortable?
Is there an ache or a pain?
Just notice it.
And often when we notice the body,
When we start to pay attention to what's happening inside our body,
Our mind will start to come in and place judgment or go into story.
That's what the mind does.
Come back to the breath.
Come back to the practice of just noticing and breathe.
And in this moment,
Pay attention to what's happening in your mind.
Pay attention to,
Is it going through the day cataloging what happened?
Is it going through the to-do list for tomorrow or the next day?
Just notice it and breathe.
Breathe your regular normal breath.
And let's take a moment and notice what's happening with your emotion.
Where are your feelings at?
What is present in this moment that gets to be here?
And if the mind starts to come in and go into story or place judgment about the emotions that are present,
Come back to the breath and breathe.
And in this place,
Let's take a deep breath in and let it out.
One more deep breath in and let it out.
And I would like you to take a moment and crawl into bed.
Or if you're sleeping on another surface,
Get into a laying down position wherever you're choosing to sleep tonight.
And as you crawl into bed or kneel into bed or whatever it is,
Pay attention to your body.
Notice what it's doing and how it feels as it's doing it.
And get your body in a comfortable position for sleep.
Make sure your head is supported in a way that feels good to you.
Make sure you're warm enough.
Whether you're on your back or on your side,
Get in a comfortable position for you.
And let's take a deep breath together.
Breathe in and breathe out.
One more deep breath in and let it out.
And I want you to practice bringing the breath all the way down to your toes on the inhale.
And then imagine that the breath is coming all the way back up the body,
Out your lungs on the exhale.
So bringing all the way down to your toes and then bringing the breath all the way back up and out.
Just take a few really deep breaths like that.
And just continue this process.
And if the mind starts to wander,
Come back to the breath.
Feel your body soften into your mattress or the surface of your sleeping area.
Continue to inhale and bring the breath all the way down to your toes.
And then on the exhale,
Picture yourself falling deeper into the mattress as the body relaxes with each exhale.
We're going to start to notice your body.
We're going to bring the breath to each body part.
Take a deep breath in and bring the breath to your head.
And on the exhale,
Imagine that the head is sinking deeper into your sleeping area.
Bring the breath to your neck,
Inhale,
And on the exhale,
Your neck sinks deeper into where you will sleep.
Bring the inhale to the shoulders and on the exhale,
Your shoulders sink even deeper into your sleeping area.
Inhale into the back and on the next exhale,
Your back sinks even deeper into the sleeping area.
Bring your breath down into your abdomen and on the exhale,
You can feel your abdomen really sinking into your sleeping area.
And on your next inhale,
Into your hips and on the exhale,
Your hips sink even deeper into your sleeping area.
Bring the inhale into your legs and on the exhale,
Your legs sink even deeper into the sleeping area.
And finally,
Bring the inhale into your feet and on the exhale,
Feeling your feet sink even deeper into your sleeping area.
And let's take a deep,
Deep breath together,
Inhale and exhale.
One more inhale and exhale.
You are ready for a full night's sleep.
Namaste.
Namaste.
Namaste.
Namaste.
Namaste.
