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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 explore practices that help settle the mind and relax the body in preparation for sleep.
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.
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