Welcome to this sleep meditation.
This is a sleep meditation for if you are feeling stressed,
Anxious,
Worried or if you're finding that you are somebody who finds sleep particularly troublesome.
This is your time to let go of the day,
To let go of what has been and welcome in a restful rejuvenating rest.
Make yourself comfortable lying down,
Let your body settle into the mattress or floor and feel the weight of your whole entire body being held.
Feel the weight of your whole entire body being held.
Know that you are being supported,
You are being supported by something other than yourself.
It feels safe,
Gently close your eyes.
If not,
Find somewhere that you can fix your gaze to,
A point that is not moving,
A steady point that will allow you to feel grounded and settled for the remainder of this meditation.
Begin to take a soft breath in through your nose and sigh out through your mouth.
Take a soft breath in through your nose and sigh it audibly out through your mouth.
As though we are releasing any tension that we no longer need,
Any storylines or any holdings from the day.
Laying out the welcome mat for a restful night's sleep,
Remembering there's nothing left for you to do,
The day is complete and this moment is just for you.
We're going to relax the body,
We're going to allow the body to feel held,
So begin to bring awareness to your face,
Bringing complete awareness to your face.
Begin to soften your forehead,
Softening any creases and then bringing attention to your eyes,
The sockets,
Noticing if the eyelids are clenching closed.
Can you just close your eyes without clenching,
Release any tension in your jaw,
Perhaps rolling your tongue around the roof of your mouth,
This can help to soften.
And bringing to your mind's eye an image of a warm light melting through these muscles and parts as you do so.
As you soften your parts of your body,
Imagining a warm soothing light releasing any tightness.
Perhaps lingering in one area that feels difficult to release and bringing that attention,
That warm light to this particular area.
Now let the warmth drift down into your shoulders,
Noticing if the shoulders are heavy or if they are still holding the day and with that next exhale just allowing them to drop,
Breathing in and out,
Allowing them to drop.
Feel the relaxation travel down your arms,
Through your elbows and to your hands.
So this relaxation is travelling down your arms,
Through your elbows and to your hands.
Your hands resting by your sides with nothing to hold,
If they are gripping just notice if you can soften and bring this warmth,
This healing nourishing light into these parts,
Into those sticky holding parts.
Begin to bring attention to your chest and your belly.
Notice the gentle rise and fall of the breath,
The undulations of the breath and as you inhale imagine filling the body with calm and as you exhale continue to release the stress of the day or whatever no longer serves you,
Continuing to focus on this,
This rise and fall within the centre of the body for a few more moments.
If you find this difficult,
This is perfectly normal.
Each time your mind starts to do what minds do,
Which is think and worry and plan,
Bring it back to that sensation of the breath moving in the body to help you anchor.
Bringing awareness to your hips,
Heavy supported and sinking into the bed.
Your hips are heavy supported and sinking into the bed.
And now down through your legs,
So moving that light or awareness down through the legs and into the knees,
From the legs and into the knees and then the calves,
The ankles and into the feet.
Moving through the calves and ankles and eventually into the feet.
And imagine tension melting out through the soles of the feet,
Leaving the body completely.
Imagine that tension moving through the soles of the feet,
Being pushed out the soles of the feet and leaving the body completely.
Completely pushing that tension out of the soles of the feet and allowing your body to feel heavy,
Soft and ready for a restful night's sleep.
Begin to notice your breath naturally once again.
Each inhale brings calm and each exhale letting go of the day.
Each inhale bringing calm and exhaling letting go.
You might like to imagine yourself wrapped in a soft blanket of light,
A cocoon as though your restful body is being held.
And if thoughts or worries appear,
Let them drift across your thoughts and worries.
Let them drift across,
Moving across the night sky.
These thoughts and worries,
Let them drift across the night sky.
There's no need to hold on to them.
They can wait for tomorrow.
And keep breathing and keep observing those thoughts.
If you're still awake,
Know that rest is happening.
Just being in this position and listening to this meditation helps to regulate and rest the body.
Sleep will come in its own time.
Thank you for giving yourself this moment.
This moment to stillness.
This moment of rest.
This moment for you.
May you drift into a deep nourishing rest and wake tomorrow with softness and clarity.
Good night.
