AMSM_MOB_Calm-Body-Calm-Mind [00:00:00] So as you prepare for this sleep meditation, just making sure that you're in a comfortable sleeping posture so that you can drift off during the meditation or perhaps shortly after it ends. And if it feels okay to do so, you can allow your eyes to close. And we're going to begin by taking a deep breath together to settle. So breathing in now through the nose. And then breathing out slowly through the mouth.

And as you breathe out, just inviting the whole body to relax. Relaxing the jaw. The [00:01:00] teeth don't need to be clenched. Inviting the shoulders to be at ease. And letting the belly be soft.

And just feeling into the coziness of your sleep space. What does the surface beneath you feel like? And can you get a sense of letting your body just relax and melt into that softness beneath? And what's it like to have your head resting on the pillow? Or the sense of safety of being under your covers being protected? [00:02:00] So just feeling the goodness of not needing to do anything right now, not needing to get anywhere and do anything. And just relaxing into this moment. I'm sure that there was plenty going on today. Things that needed your attention, things that might've also been difficult.

So see if you can give yourself the permission to just let some of that go right now and just drop into this moment where you are right now. The day is ended. You've done your work and tomorrow hasn't started yet. It'll be there for you when you're ready. [00:03:00] These moments of rest allow us to integrate our life.

They replenish us and help us come back to the next day with more energy and groundedness. So it's okay to let go. And just feeling your breath. There's no need to control the breath. The breath can be in its own natural rhythm.

Just was feeling the flow of the breathing and with each exhale, see if you can feel your body just settling and softening a little more deeply into the mattress beneath you. [00:04:00] Just letting the body sink more and more deeply into the mattress beneath here, almost as if your body and the surface that's holding you become one. And each exhale connects you into that oneness more deeply, dissolving the [00:05:00] boundaries of your body, the pillow, the covers. All becoming one experience of just being here, cozy and safe. And you may notice parts of your body that are particularly tense or still holding on to what has happened earlier in the day.

So we can't force the body to be relaxed, but we can invite it to. We can create the conditions, the internal conditions and the external conditions that allow the body to let go when it's ready. [00:06:00] And so if you notice an area in your body that feels tense or agitated, see if you can bring some kind awareness to that area. So you can have this sense of smiling at it and just saying to it mentally, it's okay. I'm not mad at you.

I'm just here to be with you and just remind you that it's okay to let go. The day is over. We've done our work and we can take some rest now. And just notice if there's any softening in this region as you make that invitation. [00:07:00] And with each exhale, just feeling the body relax even more, feel it letting go even more.

And remembering that right now, there's nothing else you need to do, there's no problems you need to fix. Life will [00:08:00] continue on tomorrow. And so we'll pick up where we left off. And as the body relaxes, you may notice that the mind still has thoughts, still thinking about tomorrow or the day ahead and what already happened. And instead of trying to force the mind to stop thinking, we can just watch it thinking from this grounded restful place as if we were watching some movie.

And when we're grounded in our bodies and when we observe our mind from a place of stability and ease, it's like placing the snowglobe on an already steady surface. The snow finally has the chance to settle. [00:09:00] And that's what we're doing with the mind. Just letting some of those thoughts settle in their own time. Just letting the agitation of the day run its course.

So just feeling the flow of each breath. Each breath relaxing you even more. [00:10:00] So there's no need to get angry or frustrated with the mind. The more frustrated we tend to get with them mind, the more tense we become. So it's really not worth it.

Instead, just have a sense of smiling at it, even if it can't stop thinking. We don't have to get sucked into the thought. We can watch it from that place of grounded awareness and just letting it be in the background like white noise. And just continuing to feel the flow of the breathing. [00:11:00] When you notice the mind thinking, it's also okay to invite the attention back to the breathing.

Just feeling the soft rhythm of your body breathing, like a baby breathing. And this is not something you need to do. You don't need to control the breath because their body is breathing for you. It's taking care of you. And so see if you can settle into the goodness of that, the way you're being held and supported by your body, by your breathing in addition to being held and supported by your bed and the sleep space you've created.

We're letting that snow [00:12:00] settle into the globe. We're letting the body power down for the evening. [00:13:00] And if at any point thoughts start moving through your mind or the body feels agitated, we just meet those moments with a soft awareness, knowing that we don't have to get agitated in response. We just give them a soft smile and take a breath and we relax into them. Thoughts will come and go.

Emotions will come and go. All sensations will shift. Anxiety will pass. So you just watch it while it arises and then passes through the moment. Just acknowledging any feelings as a fleeting experience and then settle back into that ground, that [00:14:00] place within yourself, that feeling of coziness in the bed, coziness on the pillow.

And just relaxing. And as we come to the close of this meditation, just know that you can replay it or revisit it at any point in time. And you can use the space of silence that follows as an opportunity to continue to rest in this gentle awareness until your mind drifts off [00:15:00] into sleep. I wish you deep rest and pleasant dreams. Thank you for your practice and take care.