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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 practice a breathing exercise that will help lower the heart rate and settle the mind in preparation for sleep.
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.
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