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 close your eyes.

And we'll start by taking a deep

breath together to settle in.

Breathing in through the nose.

Slowly out through the mouth.

Inviting the body to relax.

The jaw.

The teeth don't need to be clenched.

Inviting the shoulders to be at ease.

The hands and the belly.

And just feeling into the

coziness of your sleep space.

What does the surface

beneath you feel like?

And can you feel your body

relaxing and melting into it?

What's it like to have your

head resting on your pillow?

Or the sense of safety of

being under your covers?

Being protected?

Warm or cool.

Just feeling the goodness of

not needing to do anything right

now, not needing to get anywhere.

Just relaxing into this moment.

I'm sure there was plenty going on today.

Things that needed your attention,

things that might've been difficult.

And see if you can give yourself

the permission to let some of that

go right now and just drop into

this moment where you are now.

The day has ended.

You've done your work.

Tomorrow hasn't started yet, but it

will be there for you when you're ready.

These moments of rest allow us to

integrate how our life replenish

and come back the next day with

more energy and groundedness.

So it's okay to let go.

Your breath can be at its natural rhythm.

And with every exhale, see if you can

feel your body sinking a little more

deeply into the mattress beneath you.

Almost as if your body and the

surface that's holding you become one.

And each exhale connects you into

that oneness more deeply, dissolving

the boundaries of your body.

The pillow, covers.

All becoming one experience

of just being here.

Cozy.

Safe.

You may notice parts of your body are

particularly tense or are still holding on

to what has happened earlier in the day.

We can't force the body to be

relaxed, but we can invite it to.

We can create the conditions internal and

external, and allow the body to let go.

And so if you notice an area in

your body that feels tense or

agitated, see if you can bring

some kind awareness to that area.

You can smile at it and

just say, it's okay.

I'm not mad at you.

I'm just here to be with you.

And to remind you that

it's okay to let go.

The day is over.

We've done our work.

You can take some rest now.

And notice if there's any softening in

this region as you make that invitation.

Feeling the body relax

even more, letting go.

Remembering that right now, there

is nothing else you need to do.

No problems you need to fix.

Life will continue on tomorrow.

And so we pick up where we left off.

As the body relaxes, you may

notice the mind still has thoughts,

still thinking about tomorrow or

the day that already happened.

And instead of trying to force the mind

to stop thinking, we can just watch

it thinking from this grounded restful

place as if we were watching a movie.

When we're grounded in our bodies and

when we observe our mind from a place

of stability and ease, it's like placing

the snow globe on a steady surface.

The snow finally has the chance to settle,

and that's what we're doing with the mind.

Just letting some of

those thoughts settle.

Letting the agitation of

the day run its course.

The more we get angry at the

mind, the more tense we become.

So it's not worth it.

Instead we just smile at it

even if it can't stop thinking.

We don't have to get

sucked into the thought.

We can watch it from our

place of grounded awareness.

Let it be in the background,

like white noise.

Each breath, relaxing you even more.

When you notice the mind thinking,

it's also okay to invite the

attention back to your breathing.

Feeling the soft rhythm of your body

breathing, like a baby breathing.

It's not something you need to do.

Body is doing it for you.

It's taking care of you.

And so see if you can settle

into the goodness of that, being

held and supported by your body.

In addition to being held and

supported by your bed and the

sleep space you've created.

We're letting that snow

settle in the snow globe.

We're letting the body

power down for the evening.

And if at any point thoughts start

moving through your mind, or the body

feels agitated, we meet those moments

with soft awareness, knowing that we

don't have to get agitated in response.

We give them a soft smile.

Take a breath.

Relax into them.

Whole thoughts will come and go.

All sensations will shift.

Anxiety will pass.

So you watch it while

it arises in the moment.

Acknowledge it as a fleeting

experience and settle back into

that grounded place within yourself.

Feeling again the coziness

of your bed, the pillow.

Maybe noticing any sounds around

you, or just simply tuning

into the sound of my voice.

And as we come to the close of this

meditation, know that you can replay

it or revisit it at any point in time.

And you can use the space of silence

that follows as an opportunity to

continue to rest in this gentle awareness

until your mind drifts into sleep.

I wish you deep rest and pleasant dreams.

Thank you for your practice.

Take care.