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.