Meditation For Better Sleep

[Vanessa Keranovic, Mindfulness Coach] Welcome to this meditation for restful sleep. I invite you to come back to this meditation when it's bedtime and you're ready for restful slumber. And if you are ready for bed, please find a comfortable position lying down and allow your eyes to close. Let's invite some restfulness and relaxation by taking a couple of deep breaths. On the inhale, see if you can open your body, open your chest just a little more. And on the exhale, settle deeper into your bed, deeper into the posture you're in and and let go. You can deepen your breaths by counting to four for every inhale and six for every exhale. Allowing the exhales to be just a bit longer than the inhales. So you're counting to four for every inhale and six for every exhale. And as you're exhaling, see if you can let go a bit more and sink even deeper into your bed. With every exhale, see which part of yourself you can relax further. Okay. And now let's gently scan through our body. Slowly starting with our feet, noticing the sensations there. And letting them soften even further, feeling the feet fall heavy now. Completely relaxed. And going slowly up your legs, breathing into them, softening them, relaxing them. Staying there as much as you need to. And finding your way to your abdomen. Noticing the sensations in your belly, being thankful for all the work it does fueling and giving energy to your body. And slowly going up the spine to your back, chest. Feeling thankful for the support it offers you every single day. Breathing into this area and relaxing with the exhale. Noticing your hands, your palms, feeling relaxed and open. And moving slowly up to the neck, the head. Relaxing all the muscles on your face. Cheeks, forehead, jaw. Letting all rest and fall heavy now. Taking one more deep inhale into the entire body. And exhaling, feeling fully rested now, fully relaxed. And now I invite you to rest your awareness onto the breath. And with every next breath you take, you're noticing your body feeling more and more relaxed. Resting and softening any left tension. Letting go of any effort now, of any movement. Just allowing the breath to guide you now. As you sink deeper into relaxation, into the present moment. Feeling a sense of appreciation for your breath now. And also appreciating yourself for allowing your mind and body to rest now. You are starting to really relax into this feeling of inner peace and being. And when you get pulled away from your breath by a doubt or a worry, allow it to be without getting involved in its narrative. Letting it melt away, breath by breath. You're realizing that without you engaging into it, into the thought or the worry, it really has no meaning. And so it slowly fades away with every next breath. If you fall asleep during this meditation, know that that's perfectly fine. Drift off and enjoy this deep rest. If you're still here awake, continue on following your breath. With every breath letting go further into deep relaxation, welcoming a peaceful state. As if you were floating on clouds. Feeling the gentle touch, the softness of the clouds. How they support every shape and curve of your body. You feel fully supported. And this allows you to rest now. Keeping this image of yourself, floating on clouds, being supported, enjoying the softness. Sleep is so close now. So you're allowing my voice to slowly fade. Remembering the thoughts are just passing you by. You are not chasing them. You're simply staying with your breath, your anchor. Drifting off to restful sleep. Nowhere to be but here now, resting, feeling peaceful. Grateful. I now invite you to simply drift off to sleep, letting all the worries behind you, welcoming deep relaxation and restful sleep. Enjoy.