Getting rest can be a difficult endeavor. While the mind should be quieting down by the time your head hits the pillow, the opposite is often true: busy thoughts abound.聽What needs to get done tomorrow? What cringey joke did you say earlier in that meeting? What are you doing with your life? When your mind starts to spiral, that鈥檚 the perfect time for a guided sleep .
Incorporating a guided meditation into your evening routine can help you access a calm state before you get in bed, leading to sounder and more restorative sleep.
A Step-by-Step Guided Meditation for Sleep
Settle In and Get Comfortable
First, lie down and gently close your eyes. Make a mental note of where you are鈥攁t this moment, place, and time.
Take a Whole-Body Scan
Begin to feel your body in this position. Feel your entire back body resting against or atop whatever surface you鈥檙e on. Feel the backs of your heels, the backs of the legs, the backs of the arms.
Now, begin to feel the whole front body as it sinks into the back body. Begin to let go of any doing, of any thinking. Remember, it鈥檚 OK if thoughts are still there鈥攋ust have the intention to observe them instead of engaging with them.
Release Any Tension
Release tightness in the soles of the feet, the tops of the feet, the knees, and the hips. The center of the navel, your lower back, your upper back, the center of your chest, your shoulders. Your arms, your wrists, your palms. Your fingers, your toes. The center of your throat. Just releasing tension.
Relax your jaw and all the muscles of your face. Your ears, your eyes.
Bring your attention and awareness to the space between your eyebrows. Relax your forehead, the back of the head, and the crown of the head.
Take a deep breath through your nose. Open your mouth and exhale, letting go of any tension or stress.
Embrace the Ease
Even if it鈥檚 just for this moment, feel your body in a state of complete ease, held by the ground under you, the sky above you, the air against your skin.
No doing, just resting.
Notice if your mind begins to wander off. Bring your attention back to the sensation of ease in your body.
Just Breathe
There鈥檚 no technique to the breath, just a simple rhythm of inhaling and exhaling.
Very gently, begin to deepen your breath. If you鈥檙e comfortable and want to stay here for a longer period of time, feel free to do so.
Come Back Before Sleep
As you come out of the practice, allow yourself to take your time. Very gently begin to wiggle your toes, wiggle your fingers, and slowly roll over to one side, holding yourself there for a moment.
Use your hands to press yourself up to a comfortable seated position, taking a few moments here.
Now, when you鈥檙e ready, blink your eyes open and come back to the space. You can turn off this guided meditation or even start it over and do it again. Whatever you need to access a rested state.
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