Welcome Zen, friend. I hope, wherever you are, you are doing well. I have heard from a lot of the individuals that I work with lately, as well as friends, that many of you are having trouble sleeping, and I have certainly had my share of challenges sleeping as well. So I thought for today's drop of Zen, or short guided meditation, I would do a meditation specifically designed to help you fall asleep. So find a comfortable spot. Hopefully you're able to fully lie down and get comfortable for a night of rest and get into any position that feels most comfortable to you Adjust your blankets If you're a kid and maybe you sleep with stuffed animals, get them nice and cozy. Or maybe an adult with stuffed animals, whatever you've got with you maybe you've got some pets Just go ahead and get everyone situated and then, when you feel nice and cozy, in whatever position that might be you could be on your side or on your back or any position at all go ahead and gently close your eyes and begin by feeling the weight of your body in your bed and just notice where your body is making contact with the bed beneath you and feel that support, notice the bed supporting your body and invite yourself to start to let go, really allowing yourself to be heavy in your bed and, at the same time, imagine that you can let go of any stressors from the day, any stress from work or school or family members. Just imagine leaving that behind you as you transition into nighttime, and then I want you to tell yourself that there is no pressure at all to fall asleep, that just making yourself super cozy and allowing your body to lie there in your cozy bed and relax is all that you need to rest and be ready for the next day. So even if you struggle to sleep or fall asleep, even if it takes you a little while, that's okay. You're doing exactly what you need to do and you're doing an awesome job. And then we're going to start bringing our attention to the breath, taking a nice deep breath in through your nose, bring the air down deep into your belly, feel that gentle rise of your belly and then, when you're ready, you can exhale slowly and completely, either through your mouth or through your nose, whatever feels best, no right or wrong way to do this. And just continue to take nice full, deep breaths in and exhale slowly and completely. Let it go. Bring in your attention to the breath. Do that again a few more times a nice full, deep breath in Pause, exhale slowly and completely. It's okay if you're doing this at a different pace than how I'm guiding you. Just trust your body to do what it needs to do deep and full breath in A pause and a nice long, slow exhale.
Speaker 1Now, with the next few breaths, with every exhale, I would love for you to let go, surrender a little bit, let go of any tension or stress.
Speaker 1You don't have to let go of all of it, just a little bit, so that with every exhale you feel slightly more heavy, sinking into the bed and just two more times, a nice full, deep breath in and a long, slow, complete breath out. Let your muscles relax a little bit more. And then one more time and he's full deep breath in, pause and exhale slowly, sinking into your bed like you're melting and just deeply relaxing, knowing that you are safe, knowing that you are doing just what your body needs to rest. And you can continue connecting with your breath if you'd like, or really feeling into your body, feeling how it is, letting go of tension, feeling how the muscles are relaxing and just enjoying this time for you to rest, with no pressure on yourself at all for sleep. You're doing a great job. Until next time, friend, I hope you'll continue every day to take some time for yourself to do something kind, and I wish you a pleasant night of rest.