Hey there.

If you're listening to this,

you're probably awake in the night

trying to fall back to sleep.

I imagine this is frustrating.

So I'm here to keep you

company and to help you out.

How about we start by taking

a deep breath together.

In deeply through the nose.

Out through the mouth.

Releasing any tension that you

might be feeling in your body.

And relaxing into the surface beneath you.

A lot of times when we're up

in the middle of the night the

frustration that we feel creates

extra tension in our mind and body.

We start thinking about the next

day, all the things that won't

go well, thinking we'll be tired,

cranky, we won't have enough energy.

But these things are stories.

We don't yet know how the day will unfold.

All we know is right now where awake.

For whatever reason, the mind, the body

decided that it's a good time to be awake.

So we'll start by just meeting

that reality instead of fighting

it and trying to force ourselves

to sleep, which never works anyway.

Let's just settle into

what it's like to be awake.

You're welcome to have

your eyes open or closed.

And maybe just start by noticing anything

you perceive in your space, like sounds

or the feeling of your body against the

mattress, or the coziness of your covers.

Maybe even the subtle rhythm of your

breath moving throughout your body.

Even though you're awake when

you might want to be asleep,

chances are it's quite pleasant.

Nobody needs anything from you right now.

It's quieter than usual.

You get to relax and

just being in your bed.

And so if we step outside of the

thoughts that say we should be sleeping

right now and drop into the reality

of this moment, perhaps it's a little

more pleasant than you realized.

And this moment, like any other

moment, is a moment of your life.

So let's just drink it in.

We don't have to walk around

and energize ourselves.

But maybe there can be a soft awareness,

a soft appreciation for this moment of

stillness, of quiet, of being alive.

And being awake for this

moment of a aliveness.

Feeling the breath as it

moves through your body.

With every exhale, relaxing

more deeply into this moment.

And when you notice your mind

caught up in thoughts, perhaps about

tomorrow or judgments about this

moment or frustrations or why you're

awake, we just smile at the mind.

You could even say hello, thoughts.

I know, thoughts.

Thank you for sharing, thoughts.

And then just come back to being in your

body, the actual reality of this moment.

The mind can create an infinite

number of stories, ideas of

how tomorrow will unfold.

But we have no idea.

All we know is what's here right now.

And so we relax into it.

If the mind continues

to stay awake, so be it.

We're getting in good meditation

time, good relaxation time.

That in itself is restorative.

And if we happen to drift back off

to sleep, that's great as well.

And so continue to follow

this rhythm of your breathing.

If you'd like to take deeper breaths,

you're welcome to, or the breath

can move at its natural rhythm.

But we'll really tuned into the

softness, the ease and the letting

go that comes with an exhale.

Every exhale, see if you can

relax one percentage point more.

And even if you can't relax your mind

or body, can you drop into a relaxed

awareness around whatever's going on?

Just watching my thoughts,

moving through your mind.

Noticing and offering kindness

and compassion to any tension

that might be in your body.

We can't force anything to change.

All we can do is meet

what's here with presence.

With gentle awareness.

Relaxing into this moment.

And if at any point you find

yourself feeling frustrated, see

if you can shift your relationship

to this moment to one of gratitude.

A simple recognition that you're

alive right now, a peacefulness

that might be here in this moment.

The coziness of your bed.

The breath moving through your body.

You can allow this to

just be a meditation.

And if it happens to take

you to sleep, that's great.

Nowhere else you need to be,

nothing else you need to do.

Just another moment of your

life you get to tune into.

Feeling your body breathing you.

Inviting any tension that's

in the body to relax.

If you do notice a certain area of

your body that feels agitated, you

can visualize on an inhale, the

breath, moving into that region of

the body and enveloping with kindness

and care, like a warm blanket.

And with the exhale, inviting it to relax.

If at any point you get caught

in thoughts, you can just

come back to the mantra: just

this breath, just this moment.

Letting it settle your attention, relaxing

into presence, soft awareness, and gentle

gratitude for this moment of aliveness.

We' ll soon becoming to

the end of this meditation.

You're welcome to relisten if you'd

like to spend more time practicing, or

you can drift off into silence spending

some time just breathing, relaxing.

But just remember we can't force

ourselves to fall back asleep.

That will just create more tension.

And so see if you can

meet this moment as it is.

Appreciating it while you are awake

and letting that appreciation,

perhaps soften and pacify the mind.

So that if it is ready to, it

will transition into sleep.

I wish you a restful evening.

Thank you for your practice and take care.