Sleep Meditation

1. Lie on your back with your arms by your side.
2. First, pay attention to your breath.
3. Take long, slow, deep belly breaths and let your body melt into the bed, like ice melting into water. Do this for a few minutes, feeling your whole body drain away into the sheets.
4. Work your focus slowly from head to toe, scanning for tension in all body parts, big and small, internal and external.
5. If you find tension, imagine yourself breathing air into and out of that area.
6. The breath in will help you to focus on the area of tension and away from your head. Release that tension when you exhale and feel all parts of that area evaporate.
7. Once you have cycled steps 4 to 6 several times, and you feel like tension has been released, start to imagine your breath filling your entire body. Feel your body getting heavier and heavier on each inhalation and exhalation. Melt away into deep slumber.

Note: Although you are taking deep long belly breaths, they should not create tension in your body.

Allow your breath to flow in the same way a pendulum swings. Let it flow in through your nose slowly and turn it around smoothly on the exhale. Be sure not to “grab” at your breath on the inhale.

Repeat the cycle for as long as needed.