Sleep When Your Mind Won’t Switch Off

0:00[Music. Her voice begins at 0:04.]

0:04Hello, and welcome to this session, which is here to help you let go of the stresses of the day just gone, so you can drift into a peaceful, relaxing and rejuvenating sleep.

0:27And before we begin, just spend a moment noticing how you feel today. Notice how your body feels. If you're tired, notice how you feel that. If you're tense, notice where and how that tension is held.

0:51Or, if you're feeling relaxed and light tonight, notice how you're getting that to happen. Because winding down is an action. A choice. It's something you do. And very often it hinges on the things you don't do.

1:13The better you're getting at letting go of distracting thoughts, the easier it can be for you to enjoy that lightness that comes as you relax and prepare for sleep — almost automatically, as your head hits the pillow. You're already on your way.

1:36And know that just by allowing your mind to play with the right kinds of ideas, images, metaphors, you can expect the relaxation and lightness, the easiness that you can feel, to grow deeper and deeper.

2:02As the moments flow by, almost like water, your mind can gradually release whatever it no longer needs from today — so it can carry whatever would be the most helpful, powerful, reassuring or inspiring into the sleep that you're readying yourself for now.

2:38So let's start by taking a journey. I'd like you to imagine that you're standing at the entrance to a beautiful old forest. The kind of forest that can seem like a brand new world, with its own rules and cycles — all the many different trees, plants and animals working together,

3:11each with its own purpose. The whole system functioning as one. Beautifully attuned. Effortlessly sustained.

3:28And as you wander into this amazing world, just notice how it can feel safe to explore, step by step, winding your way through the trees. Strangely comforting to raise your eyes and notice the sunlight streaming in through the canopy above,

3:57to observe the different colours. The leaves, the bark. Maybe you can see the movement of life here. Perhaps there are flowers on the ground or berries on the bushes. As you walk, notice it all.

4:26And if you listen, you might be able to hear the sound of the breeze through the trees — like a long, relaxing sigh, as if this place is breathing with you. Slowly, in, and then out.

4:49The smaller trees bending with that breath, flexing and moving, as if dancing to the gentle sound of birdsong in the air and the rustling of the leaves.

4:59[Fade to music. Preview ends 5:02.]