No tags yet.
Sleep is the antidote to illness, yet many of us don’t get enough of it. Whether it is due to stress, chronic fatigue, or an anxiety overload, insomnia can rob us of our health and wellbeing.
If you have trouble falling or staying asleep at night, the following meditation will help you get the rest you need. Taking all the steps necessary to combat insomnia won’t just help you; it will help those around you, too. Rest is best for everyone.
Practice this guided imagery meditation for a few minutes in bed each night, for a total of seven nights. Use it as a tool to retrain your mind and body to let go of stress at the end of the day. After a week’s time, it will be much easier to fall, and stay asleep through the night.
Settle into a comfortable position in your bed. Breathe slowly and deeply, and during each breath, silently repeat the mantra, “Sleep comes easy now.”
Scan your body with your mind’s eye beginning at the top of your head, continuing all the way down to your toes. As you scan your body, allow your eyelids, skin, and muscles to feel heavy. Let your breath be soft and gentle now.
If you come across areas of tension in your body, silently repeat a mantra for each tense body part. For example, repeat, “My jaw is heavy,” if you feel tension in your jaw, and so on.
Now, with your eyes closed and your awareness turned inward, notice the effect of gravity on your body. Invite the Earth’s pull to heighten the sense of heaviness you are feeling. Let this heaviness settle deeply into your bones.
Silently repeat the mantra, “My bones are heavy, I breathe with ease.” Continue to repeat this mantra for up to ten deep breaths.
Imagine your bones are being pulled all the way down to the Earth. Allow your bones to feel so heavy, that it requires little or no effort to relax the muscles around them. Let go into a deep state of relaxation, and let your mind focus on and remember this feeling.
After a week of practice, notice mental tensions diminish as your body recalls its innate state of deep relaxation. Now, every time you retire for the evening, your mind and body will be conditioned and ready to settle into a deep sleep.
