Welcome. As you prepare for this sleep meditation, just make sure you're in a comfortable sleeping posture so you can drift off during the meditation or shortly after it ends. If it feels okay to do so, you can invite your eyes to close. And we'll start by taking a deep breath together. In through the nose.

Slowly out through the mouth. And feel the body relax with that exhale. I'm sure there was plenty going on today. Things that needed your attention, problems that needed to be solved, but you're here now. And because you're here, there's no place else you need to be, or can be.

And anything that is unresolved from today, we can pick up on tomorrow. Just see if you can give yourself the permission to just be here, to let go, to not have to do anything, and to trust that you take your work today. And even if it didn't go exactly as you wanted it to, it's okay, we're human. We do our best, we rest and then we try again tomorrow. So right now you get to rest.

Notice the thoughts that might be moving through your mind. Worries, fears, judgments. And you can just watch them like clouds passing through the sky. And notice how everything else in you can be relaxed, even while you watch an agitating thought. And that's what we'll continue to cultivate in this sleep meditation.

Relaxing as much of our bodies as we can. I'll guide you through the body relaxation exercise. Moving through each of the body parts, inviting them to soften and to turn off the metaphorical batteries of the body. It did its work today and now it can rest and replenish. So let's start by tuning into the head.

Noticing what it's like to bring your awareness there. The top of the head, the side of your head, maybe where it's resting against your pillow. And your face. The face works so much throughout the day. Putting on expressions, sometimes trying to look a certain way even if it doesn't feel that way.

It chews food, it sneezes, it blinks. Such a wonderful part of the body, a hard working part of the body. But right now we give it the invitation to rest. We appreciate it and we let it know it's done its work for today. And so see if you can communicate to the face and all the muscles in the face and the head, it's okay to relax.

Feeling the forehead soften, the eyebrows, the eyes, the cheeks, the mouth, the lips. The ear ears, the top of the head, the back of the head. All that tension and all of that working just melting, softening into this moment, releasing and letting go. Sliding that warm, relaxed awareness down through the neck, the throat, the back of the neck. Notice if there's any tension there.

And saying to it, it's okay to let go, we're safe. There's nothing we need to do right now. The body knows how to take care of you while it's sleeping. So we're just letting all of these parts of us that tend to be engaged in daily life, be at ease, reminding them that the day is over. As we come down through the shoulders.

Oh, the shoulders, we tend to hold a lot of tension in the shoulders. Hmm what's it like for the shoulders to not have to do anything ,for them to finally get a break, to not be bunched up to the ears. And feel the coziness of your shoulders, maybe against your mattress, nestled into your pillow or the covers. And just letting the shoulders know it's okay to relax. It's okay to turn off for the evening.

You can even imagine these parts of the body powering down. As we slide down now through the arms. Feeling the biceps, triceps, the forearms and the hands. And as you bring awareness to each part of the arm, feel those areas softening into your awareness as if your awareness is communicating, I see you. Thank you.

It's okay to rest. And the body hears that permission and powers down for the evening. Relaxing more deeply into the bed beneath you. Coming around to the chest region. And notice what it's like to tune in here.

Another area we tend to hold some tension. You might even notice the beating of your heart. See if you can tune in to that in the stillness of the evening. You might even say, thank you. And inviting the chest just soften and relax.

Coming down into the belly region. This is where you might become more attuned to your body breathing. Just sensing the softness of your belly as it rises and falls Iwith an inhale and exhale, like a baby breathing. Free, soft, supple. Connected to the rest of the body.

The breath moving freely. And notice if there's any gripping still happening in the belly region. And let your awareness invite it to soften. We'll come around to the back region. The upper back, mid back, the lower back.

As you breathe, you might feel the breath moving into the back. Pressing, expanding the back. With each exhale, see if that can help soften any tension that might be there. The back is another area that tends to accumulate a lot of tension. Especially in the lower back.

And so let's just take a moment to appreciate the back for doing the best it can. And with this gentle awareness, inviting it to soften. Letting it know it doesn't need to work anymore, at least for now. And imagining the back powering down. And just notice how your upper body feels from the waist up.

Breathing into this area of your body and with each exhale, relaxing any more tension that might be there. We'll slide our awareness down into the pelvic region. Breathing into this area of the body. Inviting it to be at ease, to let go. Reminding it that you're safe right now.

And just feeling the entire pelvic region relaxing a little more deeply. Releasing to sleep. As you slide down to the thighs. The hamstrings, the quadriceps. Notice what this area of the body feels like.

And as you observe this region of the body with soft awareness, let that awareness communicate in appreciation. And then an invitation to release. Remember at any point in this meditation, it's okay to drift off and let my voice fade into the background. We'll continue down through the knees. Oh, with the knees that do so much bending, flexing.

Just feel the knees. Take a moment to appreciate the knees. Give them some love. And they too long for rest. They want to help.

And so sometimes they need to hear it from you that it's okay to let go. That's how we just communicate to the knees, thank you. It's okay to relax. Feeling the knees rest more deeply powering down. Sliding down to the calves and the shins.

An area that we might not typically think about throughout the day, but can easily accumulate tension from walking. And just as any other body part, we treat it with love. We offer it our respect and gratitude, and invite it to relax and soften. Finally, moving into the feet. Notice how they're feeling right now, maybe tucked into the covers all the way at the other side of the bed, cozy, warm.

And you can say hi to your feet. Give them a little bit of appreciation. And then invite them to soften and relax and power down for the evening. And so now that we've moved through the body, just notice what it's like to feel the body as a whole, resting in your sleep space, under the covers, your head against the pillow. Giving the whole body a moment of gratitude and appreciation for the ways it did its best to show up for you today.

Even though sometimes we might get frustrated with the body. It's still here for you. It's still wants to take care of you. It's still trying its best. And so we give it that moment of appreciation.

And then we also give it the permission to relax into sleep. Maybe taking a soothing breath that fills the body, permeates throughout all the different parts of your body, down through the legs, into the toes, the arms, into the hands, all the way after the head. Filling you with warmth and goodness. And on that exhale, feeling that one final deep release. As we transition from this meditation, remember that you can replay it or revisit it at any point in time.

It was great to be here with you. I wish you a night of deep sleep and pleasant dreams. Thank you for your practice and take care.