- Hey there and welcome to this meditation for sleep.
First I'd like to invite you to get comfortable
in a position that's restful,
relaxed, and cozy.
And take a nice, slow, deep breath in,
deeper than you've taken all day so far,
and as you do, gently let your eyes close.
And as you exhale, feel all of the air leave your body.
Taking another deep breath,
even deeper than the one before it,
and at the top of the breath,
see if you can notice the stillness that exists there.
And exhaling it out.
At the bottom of the breath,
see if you can notice the stillness there as well.
Keep breathing this way,
noticing this natural stillness that exists
at the top and the bottom of your breath.
Allowing it to ground you into the present moment.
And using it to begin to still your energy.
Giving yourself permission, right now,
to let go of everything else you were consumed with
before we started.
There's no where else you need to be.
There is nothing else you need to be doing.
Give your mind permission, right now,
to wind down and rest.
Continue to take slow, deep breaths.
And as you do, feel the journey of your breath
through your entire body.
Breathing in and out of every muscle and every cell,
from the top of your head,
all the way down to the tips of your toes.
Noticing any places
where we may be holding stress or anxiety.
Noticing any areas that might be sore
or tight.
And begin to breath into them.
Unfurrow your brow,
unclench your jaw,
open your palms.
Noticing any other places
in your body where you still may be holding tension,
and breathing into and allow that breath to release it,
and giving that tension permission to let go.
And now return your breath
to it's normal rhythm and pattern,
but keep your focus on it,
allowing it to be your anchor as you fall asleep.
Now we're going to set an intention
for the kind of sleep we want.
Often we lay in bed worried about not getting enough sleep
or not getting good sleep,
but what we focus on, expands.
So to put it another way,
the more we focus on something,
the more we experience it.
So we're going to avoid focusing on what we don't want,
and instead, in this moment,
I invite you to set a positive intention
for the kind of sleep that you do want.
A sleep that's peaceful,
restful,
deep, and relaxing.
Really allow that intention to settle in for you now.
And allow those feelings of restfulness, peace, relaxation,
and ease to come up for you right now.
And just sit with them.
And as we move into the silent part of the meditation,
call to mind a few things that happened today,
or in the recent past that you're grateful for.
Perhaps it's as simple as being grateful for your health,
your safety,
your willingness to take this time of self care.
Take your time with each one
and really give yourself the gift
of sitting with that gratitude and pleasant feeling.
Allowing it to gently ease you closer to sleep.
Sweet dreams.