Latest / Abide Meditation App / A Meditation for Deep Rest _ Fall Asleep Fast

Transcript

A Meditation for Deep Rest _ Fall Asleep Fast · Abide Meditation App

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Good evening and welcome to Get Sleepy, the podcast where
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining me here. Tonight, I'll be leading you
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: through a guided meditation designed to help your body and
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: mind relax as you drift off to sleep. Many of
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: us lead busy lives and even when we feel tired
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: at the end of the day, it can still be
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: hard to turn off our minds. This meditation will help
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: you shift from the more active doing mode to the
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: passive non-doing mode so you can ease into rest. Begin
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: by finding a comfortable position and closing your eyes. Relax
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: the muscles in your face. Release any tension in your
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: jaw and let your head sink into the softness of
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: your pillow. You might even use your fingertips. To trace
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: the outline of your forehead. The temples. Jaw. And neck.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Massaging any areas. Where you notice tension. And now. Allow
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: your entire body to settle into comfort as you turn
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: your awareness to your breath. Observe the flow of your
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: breath as it moves in and out. Fill your lungs
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: with each inhale. And then sigh deeply to release the
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: air and empty the lungs. Pay particular attention to this exhale.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Feel a wave of relaxation seep through your body as
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: you release and let the breath go. Slowing the breath
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: and lengthening our exhales soothes our nervous system and puts
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: our body into a state of relaxation. Observe how it
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: feels to slow down and cultivate a deeper sense of rest.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: Continue breathing this way throughout the rest of the meditation
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: if it feels helpful for you. Or simply return to
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: a natural rhythm of breathing. Now, let's begin to explore
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: the importance of rest. we live in a busy world
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: and it's easy to get caught up in how much
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: we have to do with advances in technology the pace
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: of life keeps speeding up and we feel pressure to
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: keep up it's common to see productivity and busyness badges
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: of honor and to feel like everything is happening on autopilot.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: We're expected to rush around and are rewarded for our
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: efficiency and ability to get things done. However, this speed
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: of daily life can actually get stuck in our bodies
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: and making it difficult for us to wind down or
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: shift gears. This might appear as a racing mind at bedtime,
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: feelings of anxiety or trouble focusing and being present. Many
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: of us receive messages that it's not okay to slow
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: down or to do nothing, We might feel guilty or
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: self-critical if we press the pause button or take a
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: day off or have a nap. It's common to find
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: ourselves in a cycle of feeling exhausted but not being
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: able to rest. Even while we're laying in bed, our
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: brains might still be in work mode For others, rest
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: is simply an afterthought, something to think about only after
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: the to-do list gets taken care of. However, rest is important.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: It not only functions as the primary antidote to burnout,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: but is also essential for maintaining physical and mental health.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Sleep enhances our ability to learn and make decisions, consolidates
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: our memories, regulates our emotions and hormones, boosts our immune system,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: heals injuries, and sustains creativity. It's a powerful tool, so
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: offer yourself full permission to rest as you bring your
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: awareness back to your breath perhaps take a moment to
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: envision yourself in a state of deep relaxation and comfort
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: embodying this state as you return to the breath With
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: each inhale, invite a feeling of rest and peace. And
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: with each exhale, let go of any tension or busyness
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: from your body and mind. Each inhale, invites in and
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: receives rest, relaxation, ease and peace. Each exhale surrenders and releases.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Trust in your body's rhythms and its innate wisdom. to
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: soothe and rebalance. Even very brief mindfulness practices have been
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: proven to help relieve stress, to lower blood pressure, reduce
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: chronic pain, improve sleep, and increase our ability to think
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: clearly and to problem solve. Given these many benefits, how
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: might we savor the time we have for resting in
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: our busy lives? What if we celebrated rest as a
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: healing salve that nourishes us and allows us to thrive?
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: Since we live in an age of speed We must
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: be intentional about rest and relaxation. Just like riding a
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: bike or learning to garden, we must also learn how
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: to rest. We can start small and build the practice
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: over time. slowing down a little bit here, pausing a
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: little bit there, finding one intentional breath, and then another. Eventually,
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: our bodies will remember the rhythms they know, and we
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: will feel a sense of being able to settle down.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: As our nervous system shifts more into its rest and
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: digest state. Our breathing and heart rate slow down. Our
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: stress hormones decrease. While our happy hormones increase. We feel safe.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: No longer spinning on the hamster wheel. or running from
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: the tiger but instead able to notice the feeling of
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: sunshine on our skin or the flavor of a fresh
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: picked strawberry or the weight of our blankets as we
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: lie in bed so now let's put some of this
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: into practice Make sure you're in a comfortable position where
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: you can be still for the next few minutes as
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: we move into a guided relaxation. We'll travel slowly through
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: the length of your body and I'll invite you to
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: pause and bring awareness to each part. The intention of
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: this practice is to bathe your entire body in a
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: wave of deep relaxation and ease. Simply return to the
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: breath anytime you notice your attention getting pulled away. Let's
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: begin at the top of your head. Observe any tension
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: tightness or resistance in the top of your head and
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: forehead invite a sense of rest and ease and soften
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: any tension or stress how busy is your mind if
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: it has a lot to keep track of now thank
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: it for all its hard work and say that it's
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: okay to rest for now offer gratitude and permission pause
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: here for a few breaths if that would be helpful
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: moving down to the eyes is there any tension in
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: the eyes behind the eyes or in the temples release
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: relax and use the breath as a guide to let
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: go Let's move down through the face, observing the nose,
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: the jaw, the tongue, the back of the head. Pausing, observing,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: softening any tension you find. Continue down through the throat
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: and the neck. Notice the breath move in and back out.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Feel a wave of relaxation seep through your body as
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: you release and let go. move down to the shoulders,
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: through the arms, the elbows, the wrists, the hands, noticing
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: each and every finger, Observe how your arms and hands
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: feel heavy, at rest, not doing any work. Return your
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: attention to the base of your neck now, so we
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: can continue down the core. Let's move to your collarbone.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: Then observe your heartbeat and the rise and fall of
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: your chest as you breathe. Notice the expansion and contraction
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: of your ribs with the breath. as well as the
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: back of your body, your spine and lower back. Travel
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: through the abdomen, observing the breath moving in and out.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: If there is any tension In this part of your body.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: Consider how you might cultivate ease here. Now. Observe how
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: your entire upper body. Is relaxed. Heavy. held, peaceful and
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: surrendering into a deeper state of rest. Continuing on, let's
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: move to the pelvis and the hips. Down each leg.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: Pausing at the knees. And then at the ankles. The
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: soles of the feet. And each and every toe. Bring
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: a feeling of total relaxation into the lower body, noticing
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: how heavy your legs feel as they relax even more.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: Now your entire body is relaxed and ready to drift
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: off into sleep restfulness permeates your entire being from your
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: head to your toes you feel completely at peace and
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: at ease. Observe how you feel after this brief practice
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: of cultivating rest. Notice the rhythm of your breath moving
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: in and moving out. everything slowing down. As you begin
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: to fall asleep, take a moment to acknowledge yourself for
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: practicing rest, for intentionally slowing down, soothing your body and
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: your mind, and creating space for something that is deeply
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: nourishing and essential for your well-being. know that you can
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: come back to this practice anytime you'd like to rest
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: again remember that your body has wisdom and knows exactly
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: what to do when given the space it needs relax
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: into that space that you just cultivated. There is nothing
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: else to do, nowhere else to be. Savor this feeling
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: of rest as you fall deeper and deeper asleep Thank
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: you for watching. Thank you. you you you Thank you.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: Thank you.