So as you prepare for this sleep meditation, just taking some time to make sure that you're in as comfortable a sleeping posture as possible so that you can drift off during this meditation or perhaps shortly afterwards. And 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. So breathing in through the nose. And breathing slowly out through the mouth.

And just letting the body relax here. Allowing the jaw to relax. Allowing the shoulders to relax. And letting the belly be soft. And any other part of the body that is able to relax and let go, just letting them go now, as we transitioned from the day and into sleep.

And just tuning in to the coziness of your sleep space, maybe the bed beneath you, or, the warmth of the covers and the pillow. And just reminding yourself now that the day's done. It unfolded however it unfolded and tomorrow is another opportunity. But right now you don't need to worry about any of it. And you can just notice the thoughts moving through your mind or the momentum of the day still in your body, and just relax around all of it.

So we can't force the mind to turn off and we can't force the body to relax, but we can create the conditions to let go and relax, and we can remind ourselves that right now, we're here. The day is over and tomorrow is yet to begin. And you can simply give yourself the permission to just be here. So noticing any sounds moving through your current awareness. The sounds of this moment.

Letting them be the melody that connects you to this present moment. And to help calm our nervous system and lower our heart rate, we're going to do a breathing pattern called four-seven-eight breathing. So this will involve breathing in for four seconds, holding the breath for seven seconds and exhaling for eight. So I'll walk you through the first few rounds. So let's begin.

So let's breathe in for four, three, two, one. And hold for seven, six, five, four, three, two one. And now exhale for eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Great job. Okay, 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 a little bit like this. So this is going to help you elongate the exhale and relax the body a little more deeply. So let's try it again. So when you're ready, just breathing in for four, three, two, one.

And holding for seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. And then exhaling now for eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. And as that exhale fully releases, just feeling your body settling in more, deeply, relaxing, more and more fully into the evening and letting go of the day. Just getting ready to transition into sleep. So we'll try that again.

And hen you're ready, just breathing in for four, three, two, one. And holding for seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Exhaling for eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. So I'll just give you some time now to practice this breathing pattern at your own pace. And as you do this, if anything about this practice creates anxiety or feels difficult, it's okay to let it go.

You can do normal or you can do deep breathing, or you can find a way of doing this practice at your own pace. But if it feels okay, just take a couple of minutes to practice this particular pattern as it can be very settling to the nervous system and helps us lower the heart rate and get ready for sleep. So I'll just give you this time now in silence to try it out on your own. So it can sometimes be soothing to imagine the sound of the exhale being like the ocean. And seeing if that's something that you connect with as you continued to practice.

And just letting each breath relax you even more deeply. Settling your mind, relaxing your body. There's nowhere else you need to be, nothing else you need to do. Just fully letting go and surrendering into sleep. And if your mind wanders off or feels agitated, just see if you can notice it with a kind of ease and grace.

Just watch the mind thinking and kind of having a sense of an inner smile at it, and then simply inviting attention back into the breath and back into this moment. And with each exhale, you might notice the tension in the body softening, settling and letting go a little more. So just letting the breath serve as a gentle, compassionate awareness, inviting the body to release as much as it needs to, as much as it cares to. Whole body relaxing a little more with each and every breath. You're doing great.

But 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 just go into your own space. Just going off into your own land of dreams and deep rest. And now you can just let go of any control of your breathing. Just allow your body to breathe in its own natural rhythm and pace now.

Just letting go of any control. And just observing what it's like to be here. Safe, relaxed with the rhythm of the natural breath. Just relaxing into this very gentle, soft awareness. There's no agenda, nothing you need to fix, nothing you need to get right.

So just accepting yourself just as you are right now. Being as you are right now. And as we transition from this meditation, just remember that you can come back to this practice at any point, and you're welcome to replay it now, if you're still settling in. You can replay it as many times as you'd like to. And if you'd like to spend more time just resting in silence after this ends, you can continue to dwell in this relaxed and soft awareness, letting each breath to 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.