Welcome to this guided meditation for sleep.
I invite you to find a comfortable posture lying down,
Closing the eyes as we prepare for a restful night's sleep.
And as we move into sleep,
Feeling restored,
We might intentionally let go of anything that's happened thus far today.
Let go of anything on the to-do list.
Just for this moment,
Opening to the possibility of restful sleep,
Where we drift off into sleep easily.
We stay asleep,
And we wake up feeling rested and refreshed.
Let's check in for a moment,
Asking ourselves,
How am I doing in this moment?
And whatever arises is allowed,
Accepted.
You might notice physical sensations in the body.
Sometimes they're pleasant,
Sometimes they're unpleasant.
Just knowing this belongs.
We might observe the mind for a few moments and notice the state of the mind.
Is it feeling busy?
Is it feeling calm?
Maybe it's a mixture.
Moments feeling peaceful and balanced,
And other times thinking a lot of thoughts.
Whatever the state of the mind,
Can we open to it just as it is,
Allowing it to be for this moment?
And what emotions are we feeling?
Allowing the entirety of our experience to be just as it is.
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to change.
There's nothing we have to do in this moment.
And we're allowing the body to make a peaceful transition from the day into sleep.
I offer the invitation to take a few slow cleansing breaths.
Breathing in through the nose and breathing out through the mouth.
And then we're going to take a few deep breaths.
Intentionally slowing down the breath,
One breath at a time.
Nice and slow breath.
Allowing the breath to nurture rest and relaxation.
And then allowing the breath to return to a natural rhythm.
Allowing this energy of rest and relaxation.
There might be a symbol or an image of it in our mind's eye.
Might be a color or a light.
Just invite in this possibility of restorative sleep.
Imagining within this possibility is deep rest.
It includes all of the stages of sleep.
Taking us through the initial stages of sleep,
Through REM sleep,
Through deep sleep.
Resetting our circadian rhythm.
So in this moment,
We start to secrete more melatonin in our brains.
And this hormone then sends a signal throughout the entire body that it's time to rest.
It's time to sleep.
We might imagine that this energy of rest and sleep begins to move from the crown of the head down through the eyes.
Softening around the eyes,
Releasing any tension.
Softening around the muscles of the head,
The face.
Relaxing over the nose and the mouth.
Allowing the tongue to fall back a little bit and just relax.
Separating the teeth ever so slightly so the jaw is relaxed.
Inviting this energy of rest and restorative sleep,
Calm,
To come around the ears,
Into the ear canal.
Creating space,
Creating ease.
Giving permission to let go of any tension that we might be holding up in the head.
Allowing this wave of relaxation and deep rest to move into the neck and the throat.
Very gently moving down into the chest.
Allowing the heart to fully fill with blood in its relaxed state.
Very seamless,
Easy contraction that then pumps this nervous system of nourishing blood throughout our bodies.
And all of this blood is very calming and relaxing.
With each heartbeat,
Our body becomes more and more calm.
The mind becomes more quiet.
And allowing this calming,
Refreshing,
Restorative energy to move into the lungs.
So with each inhale and exhale,
We become more calm.
We let go of more attention with each exhale.
Allowing this calming energy down through the shoulders and the arms,
Down into the hands and the fingers.
Restful energy.
The arms are completely relaxed.
The hands are completely relaxed.
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting.
Allowing this gentle wave of relaxation and this invitation of restorative sleep to move down through the belly,
All of the organs in the abdomen.
And again,
Softening the muscles of the belly.
Allowing this wave of relaxation through the entire spine,
From the base of the spine to the middle back and the upper back.
And then it expands down like a gentle waterfall.
Very soft warmth coming down through all of the muscles along the spine.
Let go of tension.
We open to relaxation,
Comfort,
And ease.
Allowing this wave of relaxation,
Restorative sleep to move down to the hips and the pelvic floor.
Relaxing the pelvic floor,
Relaxing the low back and the sacrum.
Allowing the restful energy to move throughout the entire body.
Inviting it down into the upper legs,
The knees,
The lower legs.
Calm,
Restful energy.
Inviting this calm energy into the feet.
Imagining that this restorative sleep,
Restful energy could then move throughout every cell of the body.
Calming the mind,
Calming the body.
Creating a state of calmness.
Creating the perfect condition for us to drift off to sleep.
Allowing for restorative sleep.
Allowing the body to sleep through the night.
And when we wake up in the morning,
We feel refreshed,
Rejuvenated,
Hopeful,
And excited for another day to live.
As we drift off to sleep,
We might bring our attention to the heart center.
Breathing in through the heart,
Breathing out through the heart.
Breathing in all of the things that we're desiring in our lives.
We might wanna breathe in love and peace.
We might wanna breathe in relaxation,
Calm.
As we breathe in through the heart,
This beautiful healing energy filled with everything that we need in our lives comes into the heart space,
Fills the entire body.
And as we exhale,
We share this healing energy with the rest of the world.
Letting go of any imagery at this moment.
And allowing sleep to take over.
We can surrender,
We can let go.
Allow this healing sleep to rejuvenate the body,
The mind,
And the spirit.
May you have a restful sleep.
May you feel rejuvenated,
Restored,
And excited for the new day tomorrow.
Thank you.
