Sleep Meditation 02

Transcript

And now – you’ve chosen this time away from time, to settle in – and unwind – and turn toward rest, and relaxation, and sleep. Letting anxiety just melt away – as you float here, in this beautiful landscape you’ve chosen. And if you choose, as you listen to my voice – you can allow yourself to drift off into sleep.

Motivation

Listening to my voice will help you relax. And relaxing – letting go of anxiety – and sleeping deeply – those all provide strong support to your immune system.

That’s right. In taking this time for yourself – to let go of the day, and reduce your stress – you are helping your body stay well. It feels good to relax – taking time in this beautiful setting – while you listen to these suggestions that let you relax, and let go of your day. And it will help you to continue to feel good. So if you want – let yourself feel good about giving yourself this time.

If you’re ready to settle into bed, for the night – if you haven’t already – just gently and slowly get into bed now. This restful place will hold you for the next several hours – so take some time to settle in, and get comfortable. Get the lights just the way you like them, for sleep and rest. Find that spot that is just right, with the mattress supporting you, and the pillows cradling your head and neck.

With the covers keeping you just warm enough. Just preparing for sleep like this – is so relaxing. Settle in, settle down. Letting your breath grow more slow – and deeper. Deep, relaxing breath, right down into your belly.

Relaxation: body and mind

And on the next exhale – let the day go. Let any concerns – go. If you want – you can imagine any cares or concerns – like a heavy silk cloak, heavy on your shoulders, and tied at your neck. On the next breath, just reach up, untie the cloak, and let it fall behind you – fall to the ground. And just step away from it. Leaving any cares or concerns behind you. You can pick them up again later, if you choose.

Knowing this time away from time, to give yourself peace and relaxation – is exactly right for you, right now. There’s nowhere else you need to be. Nothing else – you need to be doing. Just breathing and relaxing. Letting the day go, letting yourself drift – just drifting down, toward a place of utter relaxation … calm … peace.

And as you let the day and cares and concerns go  – more and more with each breath – and relax your mind – you can also relax your body. It’s easy. As you breathe deeply – you are telling your body, everything is good. Everything is fine, right now. And bringing your attention to your body – because it’s so easy, during the day, to just keep pushing, and ignore what the body is telling you, or asking you for.

But in this time – you can give your body the attention it deserves. Letting the breath bring waves of relaxation as you breathe in …. And out …. In …. And out.  And on the next breath – notice if there is an area of your body that doesn’t feel as comfortable as you’d like. And let the breath travel there – and loosen the muscles there, and make more space – there. You can continue to take the breath to different parts of your body, and let the breath continue to bring relaxation and comfort. Breathing, and drifting.  More and more relaxed with every breath.

And as you do that – if you like, I’ll tell you a story about what you might do – here in this beautiful setting you’ve chosen, this place of connecting to beauty. And nature.

Anchor phrase: “restful sleep and deep dream”

Because a story can help you move – from the day, into sleep. Move from doing, into just drifting – sleeping, and dreaming. You can choose to let the story do that for you. Right now, you can choose to let this story take you into sleep. When you hear me say the words “restful sleep … and deep dream…” you can choose to fall into a deep, restful sleep that will continue until you’re ready to wake again. If you want – let that be your intention, right now. To fall into sleep, when you hear me say – restful sleep. And deep dream. Because deep, restful sleep feels so good, doesn’t it?

Body of meditation: Steps down

And in the story I’m going to tell you – if you choose to listen – as you continue to breathe, and sink into relaxation and ease – you can find yourself in a beautiful landscape. A landscape of your choosing. And wherever you are, if you think back – you can allow yourself to remember that you came here by going down a flight of stairs. A brief flight of 5 steps, that brought you to this place. And every step down gave you a gift that led to deep sleep.

Do you remember? You can let yourself remember as I tell you this story, if you want. When you stood at the top of the steps – and looked down, and could see that at the bottom, there was this beautiful place – where you are, now. But then – you may have felt you wanted to step down, on that first step. Not just yet, but in just a minute – a few minutes ago, or maybe an hour ago – wanting to step down those steps, to reach this landscape you’ve chosen, for relaxation, and rest. Take your time. Do you remember how the steps were – broad or narrow? Carpeted, or not? Did they curve, or take you straight down? How did it feel, to stand at the top, waiting to step into those gifts?

And remember stepping down, to that first step – almost as though you were floating, down –  and the gift of that first step was: in giving yourself this time, you are giving your body what it needs to care for you. You are giving yourself health … strength … vibrancy. On your next breath, let yourself remember how good it felt to know – it feels so good to relax, and relaxation helps you stay healthy …

Gently, easily step down – in your memory – to that second step. Breathing, and noticing that each step was taking you closer to the place of beauty and ease, the place that you’d chosen. And the gift of that second step was this – you know how to sleep. That’s right. The body knows how to sleep. Remember when you were a child – and you slept so deeply. Tonight – you’ll remember how to sleep that way again. It’s easy.

And stepping down from the second step, to the third. Half way down, do you remember? The gift of the third step was: however relaxed you are, right now, you can be even more relaxed and at ease. At peace. Letting yourself drift, and sink into restfulness – you can become more relaxed with every breath. On the next breath – you may remember – you let yourself feel even more relaxed. And noticing how good that felt. How good that feels.

Stepping down, to the fourth step. And here is the gift of this step: as you remember what you’ve always known – how to sleep – deep sleep is a gift you can have every night. That’s right. As you remember remembering how to sleep – just know you’ll get better and better at sleeping deeply every night.

And maybe you remember feeling this beautiful setting calling you – down – to that last step, the step that let you enter into this landscape. With the gift of the final step being – you can choose to sleep through the night. Waking when you choose to. A deep, restful sleep – with just the right amount of REM sleep, and dream. So that you enter your day tomorrow – refreshed and ready for the day.

Affirmation: awake rested, to a strong body and immune system

And here you are – those gifts gently holding you in a place of drifting down into a deep night’s sleep.

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