Speaker 1: Welcome to this meditation, the second in a five part
series of longer meditations. This is a gentle sleep descent,
a practice designed to help your body soften, your mind
quiet down, and your nervous system ease and to rest.
If you're listening in bed, allow this to be the
last thing you do to day, and if you fall asleep,
that is perfect. There is nothing you need to achieve here,
no need to follow every word, no need to stay focused.
Just let my voice be a soft guide as you drift,
get comfortable, let your body settle into the shape it
wants to be in. You might shift your shoulders, relax
your jaw, adjust your pillow, and then allow yourself to
be still. If it feels good, let your eyes close
and take a slow breath in through the nose and
a long, gentle breath out again inhale and exhale through
your mouth, letting the day go one more time inhale
and exhale, softening even deeper. And now allow your breathing
to become natural. Allow your breath to flow through you
without effort. Now imagine your body becoming pleasantly heavy, not
heavy in a stock way, but heavy in a safe
way like a warm blanket. Settling over you, feel the
back of your head supported, feel your neck letting go,
Feel your shoulders melting down and away. Let your arms rest,
Let your elbows be heavy, Let your wrists soften, Let
your hands be loose and open. Feel your chest rise
and fall, and with every exhale, feel your bodies sink
just a little deeper. Now, soften your belly, Let it
be unguarded, did it, Let it rest. Let your hips release,
gently shift them if you need to, let your legs
grow heavy, let your knees relax, Let your calves soften,
and let your feet fall open, loose and free. You
don't need to hold yourself up anymore. You don't need
to hold the day together anymore. The day is done now.
If your thoughts are still moving, that's a okay. Thoughts
don't have to stop for sleep to arrive. We're simply
letting them become less important, like background noise, like distant wind.
If a thought appears, you don't have to follow it.
You don't need to answer it. Just let it pass by,
like a cloud moving across a dark sky, and come
back to one simple thing. Each exhale, the soft letting
go as you let go of each breath. Imagine you're
turning the volume down on the day, down and down
and down. Now, picture yourself somewhere safe, somewhere peaceful, a
place your body recognizes as rest. It might be real
or imagined, or a blend of both. In this place,
the air is gentle, the light is dim, and everything
feels slow, unhurried. Now, imagine in front of you there
is a staircase leading down, a soft staircase, wide steps, warm, quiet.
Each step leads you deeper into rest. In a moment,
we'll take ten steps down, and with each step, feel
your body relax, your mind quiet, Allow sleep to become
easier to reach. Step ten. Begin to descend. Step nine.
Allow your shoulders to completely soften, letting go of any
remaining tension from this day. Step eight. Do the same
for your jaw, unclenched, relaxed. Step seven, allow your breath
to slow, continue breathing gently. Step six. Allow your thoughts
to drift farther way. Step five. Feel safe and let
the day fade as you let go toward a RESTful sleep.
Step four, notice the heaviness and calmness of your body.
Step three. You're floating calmly. Now, step two, almost there,
Step one deep rest. Now, imagine you've arrived at the
bottom of the staircase and there is a soft doorway
in front of you. You step through, and the room
beyond is quiet and warm, a place made only for rest.
In this room, nothing is required of you, nothing is
expected of you. You don't need to be productive, you
don't need to be strong, you don't need to be on.
You can simply be Now. I'll offer a few gentle affirmations.
You can repeat them silently, or you can let them
fade into the background like a lullaby. I release today,
I did enough. I am allowed to rest. My body
knows how to sleep. I am safe, I am softening,
I am letting go. And now there's nothing more you
need to do. No need to listen closely, no need
to hold on to my words, just drift. Rest is
already happening. I must stay and good night.