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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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In this meditation, we'll scan through our body, inviting each body part to relax and power down for the night.
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.
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