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.

As you settle in, if you

haven't already done so, you

can invite your eyes to close.

And let's start by taking

a deep breath together.

In through the nose.

Slowly out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to relax.

The shoulders.

The belly.

And any the other part of the

body that is able to let go as we

transition from the day and into sleep.

See if you can feel the

coziness of your sleep space.

Maybe the bed beneath you.

Or the warmth or coolness

of your covers and pillow.

Reminding yourself that the day is done.

It unfolded, however it unfolded.

Tomorrow is another opportunity.

But right now you don't need

to worry about any of it.

You can notice the thoughts moving

through your mind or the momentum

of the day still on your body.

Just relax around all of it.

We can't force the mind to turn off.

We can't force the body to be at ease.

But we can create the conditions

to let go and to relax.

And we can remind ourselves

that right now, we're here.

The day is over.

Tomorrow has yet to begin.

And can you give yourself the

permission to just be here.

Noticing any sounds moving

through your awareness.

Letting them be the melody that

connects you to the present moment.

To help calm our nervous system

and lower our heart rate, we're

going to do a breathing pattern

called four-seven-eight breathing.

This will involve breathing in for

four seconds, holding the breath

for seven and exhaling for eight.

I'll walk you through the first few.

So let's breathe in for

four, three, two one.

Hold for seven six, five,

four, three, two one.

Exhale for eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

Good job.

If you have trouble exhaling for eight

seconds, you can imagine that you're

breathing onto a cold window like this.

And then do that breath

with the mouth closed.

It might sound like this.

This will help you elongate the exhale

and relax the body a little more deeply.

So let's try this again.

Breathing in for four, three, two, one.

Holding for seven, six,

five four, three, two, one.

Exhaling for eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

And as that exhale fully releases,

feel your body settling in more deeply.

Relaxing more into the evening.

Letting go of the day.

Transitioning into sleep.

We'll try again.

Breathing in for four, three, two, one.

Holding for seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

Exhaling for eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

I'll give you some time to practice

this breathing pattern at your own pace.

If it creates anxiety or feels

difficult, it's okay to let it go.

You can do normal, deep breathing

or breathe at your own pace.

But f it feels okay, we'll take a couple

of minutes to practice this pattern as

it can be very settling to the nervous

system and helps to lower the heart rate.

I'll give you some time to try this out.

I sometimes like to imagine that the sound

of my exhale is the sound of the ocean.

Maybe you can connect to that as well.

The rhythmic sound of the ocean water.

The stillness of a beach.

Letting each breath

drop you in more deeply.

Settling your mind.

Relaxing your body.

Nowhere else you need to be.

Nothing else you need to do.

Fully letting go.

Just surrendering into sleep.

If your mind wanders off or feels

agitated, see if you can notice it with as

much ease and grace and love as possible.

Just watch the mind thinking, smile

at it, and then invite the attention

back to this breath, this moment.

As you're breathing, you may

notice areas in the body that

are still holding tension.

It's okay to feel as though

you're breathing into those areas.

Letting the breath serve as a

gentle, compassionate touch.

Inviting the tension to soften.

And with each exhale, feeling your

body release just a little more.

You're doing great.

Remember at any time, you're

welcome to drift off into sleep.

You can let go of the breathing or

any sort of instruction and go into

your own space and tearing into

the land of dreams and deep rest.

And if you're still

here, I'm still with you.

You can let your breathing come

back to its natural rhythm.

Letting go of any sort

of forcing or tensing.

Any aspect of our experience

that we can relax, we do.

The mind, the body.

And from that relaxed place, we just

observe what it's like to be here.

Letting go.

Relaxing into this very

gentle, soft awareness.

No agenda, nothing you need to

fix, nothing you need to get right.

Letting yourself be exactly

as you are right now.

As the way you transition from this

meditation, remember that you can

come back to this at any point,

and you're welcome to replay it

now, if you're still settling in.

And if you'd like to spend more time

resting in silence, you can continue to

dwell in this relaxed, soft awareness,

letting the breath soothe you and take

you deeper into this moment of letting go.

I wish you deep rest and pleasant dreams.

Thank you for your practice and take care.