This relaxation is for calming the mind and falling asleep for a short sleep or for taking a nap. It can help you to get restful sleep when you will not be sleeping for very long, when you are trying to sleep during the day, or when working a night shift that allows you to sleep at work.
To begin, get comfortable…lying down is best…and start to relax.
Let your mind become quiet…turning your attention inward as you focus on relaxing your body…allow your muscles to relax…from your head to your feet…
Imagine what relaxation feels like. It might feel warm…heavy or light…tingly…loose…relaxation is a pleasant, calm feeling…it feels very comfortable.
Let your muscles relax. Notice any areas where your muscles are tense, and let a feeling of relaxation begin there.
The gentle rise and fall of your chest with each breath is so calming…so relaxing…each time you breathe out…and your chest lowers gently…you feel even more relaxed…
As if all the tension leaves your body when you exhale…and you relax even more when you breathe in…becoming so deeply relaxed…
Notice how relaxed you are starting to feel…drifting in relaxation…
Any remaining tension can continue to leave your body as you breathe…becoming more and more relaxed…as time passes, you relax even more…
Any sleep is good…if this sleep, even if it is short, can be worthwhile, that’s great. Even a short, shallow sleep is helpful.
Taking a nap is time for you to relax, rest, and sleep.
Even just relaxing can help you feel refreshed…and can restore your mind and your body…
It doesn’t matter if you sleep right now…or how long you sleep…just the act of using relaxation is enough.
When you reawaken, you will feel refreshed…rested…and alert. You will wake up when you need to…so right now…for the time that you do have to sleep, just rest…just relax…taking the time you can to sleep…to relax…taking a nap…taking a nap…
It’s okay if you don’t sleep right now…and it’s okay if you do…in this moment, just relax…you can wake up quickly if you need to…and you will be alert when you have things to do…right now you can pleasantly drift…relaxed…serene…
Let’s use visualization to focus the mind and provide a mental vacation from your worries. Imagine a peaceful place…perhaps a tropical getaway…a quiet cabin in the mountains…a peaceful forest…a canoe drifting on a perfectly calm lake…choose an image that you enjoy…a place that is peaceful and relaxing…imagine yourself there…see yourself relaxing in the peaceful place…
See all the details in your mind…relaxing and drifting in this beautiful, calm place…
(Pause)
Feel yourself relaxing even more deeply…so deeply relaxed…drifting like a feather, floating down through the air….floating…side to side…drifting one way….twisting in the breeze…drifting the other way….so ever slowly floating down…down….so deeply relaxed….floating even deeper…
You are feeling light…weightless…suspended in the air…but at the same time…you feel heavy…and warm…and so relaxed…your arms and legs are so heavy…they are sinking into the ground…sinking comfortably…as if surrounded by pillows…sinking into the softness…sinking deeper…and deeper…
Surrounded by pillows…comfortable…protective support…a feather floating down and coming to rest on the softest pillows…drifting down…touching the surface…sinking…sinking…so soft…sinking into softness…so sleepy…your mind is drifting…floating like a feather…on the whim of the breeze…randomly carried by the currents in the air…feeling so light…and so heavy…surrounded by softness…pillows…sleepy…
Taking a nap…taking a nap…taking a nap…
(Pause)
You are becoming so rested…restored…you will be ready to face whatever lies ahead…this time right now is healthy and productive…it is so good to relax…whether or not you sleep…it will restore your body and your mind…regardless of how much time you have right now…relaxation is good…helpful…restorative…you will feel so rested…feeling great…
Taking a nap…taking a nap…taking a nap…
(Pause)
I’m going to tell you a story. You can listen if you want to…or you can just let your mind drift…without needing to focus on anything at all…I’ll just talk in the background and you can relax…rest…sleep if you want to…
You are the main character in this story. You are walking in the mountains, near the coast of a warm, quiet, beautiful land. You are climbing up a mountain…climbing and walking past grasses and trees. The vegetation is tropical…large jungle trees…fruit trees…palm trees…
You are carrying a heavy bag over your shoulder. Inside this bag are problems. Your problems and the problems of others. They are heavy, and dark, and you are taking them to a place where they can be released and made smaller.
You reach the peak of the mountain. It is rocky here. You are above most of the trees and can look all around.
You stand at the top of the mountain. Ahead of you is the ocean…vast and blue…stretching out toward the horizon. The foot of the mountain meets a sandy beach. The sun is still low in the sky…it is morning…and the air feels so clean. You can see waves on the water…just tiny lines of white from this distance. Standing on the top of the mountain, you look around, admiring the scenery. Mountains are all around…you can even look down on some mountain tops.
The bag you are carrying is heavy…weighing you down…you feel like you can barely stand under the weight of this bag. You take out one of the problems. It looks like a rock. It is dark and heavy. You search, looking around on the mountaintop…looking for a particular spot among the rocks…and then…you find it. A small hollow, just the size of the problem rock you are holding. You place the heavy problem into this hollow…a perfect fit.
Your bag is a bit lighter now, and you place the bag over your shoulder once again.
The air is still cool. A path leads down the mountain, toward the water. You walk down the path, through the rocks, and then through the trees. The sun shines down on you…and it is becoming warmer. The sun rises higher in the sky as you walk down the path. Where the mountainside is steep, you are surrounded by rocky cliffs. Where the slope of the mountain is more gradual, you are surrounded by trees and vines.
You get closer to the bottom of the mountain. The slope levels off as the foot of the mountain meets the beach.
The bag you are carrying is feeling very heavy. You walk out of the trees and onto the sand. It is hot…and you take off your shoes and let the waves wash over your toes. You sit on a smooth, flat rock, with your feet in the water, gazing out toward the water…and then turning to look at the mountain you just climbed.
You place the bag you were carrying on the rock beside you. There are several problems remaining in this bag. You take one of the problems out of the bag. This one is heavy and angular, and shines like black coal. Holding this stone in your hands, you bend forward, toward the water that is washing over your feet. You place your hands in the water, and the waves begin to wash over the stone.
The stone begins to dissolve…like a cube of sugar…turning into glittering black sand that is washed away with the waves. The stone gets smaller and smaller….lighter and lighter in your hands…until there is nothing left…just cool water washing over your hands.
You take another problem out of the bag. This one is a heavy, smooth sphere…a bright color. You hold the sphere up in one hand, and feel the wind eroding it away into dust. It blows away in the wind and your hand is empty.
You take the next problem out of the bag, and scrub this one in the water, until it is the size of a marble. You put this small stone back into the bag.
You take a few more problems out of the bag…allowing them to dissolve in the water….float away…blow away in the wind…or simply evaporate.
The problems that remain are smaller, much more manageable. You are not able to get rid of all of the problems, but these ones that are left are not nearly so heavy. You pick up the bag, just to feel its weight, and find that it is light and easy to carry.
You place the bag back on the rock beside you, and just relax.
The water cools you…so comfortable. You close your eyes and sigh with contentment…here in this quiet, secluded place. You listen to the sound of the waves…lulling you into a comfortable rest…the rhythm of the waves is so relaxing…you become very deeply relaxed…just listening to the waves washing in…and out…
In…and out…
Ever repeating…
So relaxing…
Feeling so still…so comfortable…so relaxed…so very deeply relaxed….
Taking a nap…taking a nap…taking a nap…
Perfect contentment…serenity…relaxation…
Taking a nap…taking a nap…taking a nap…
Feel yourself drifting even deeper…so very deeply relaxed…so sleepy…deeply relaxed…deeply asleep…
Taking a nap…taking a nap…taking a nap…
(Pause)
In a land of dreams you can fly like a bird, drifting in the air…flying in the sky…
It is so calming and so relaxing…flying and free…imagine what it feels like to fly…passing through clouds…going anywhere you like…
Imagine flying through the city…back in time…a village…maybe an old village in the hills…imagine the music playing in the background…below you as you fly in and out among buildings…is it accordions you hear? See the cobblestone streets…the musicians outside by a cafe…the old cars and carriages…hear the horses hooves as they walk on the streets…
Imagine being a bird, and flying here…seeing the houses…the sun is setting…it is early evening…smoke rising from chimneys as people prepare food over a wood stove. Imagine how the food would smell…
Flying over the houses…and over the countryside now…small, rolling hills…sheep…
Imagine flying over the countryside…over the hills…the sky growing darker with dusk as the sun is setting…
Fly through the ever-darkening sky…stars appearing…you can see specs of light below from homes…the glow of the village in the distance…
Getting darker…the calm night sky lulls you to sleep…
Imagine floating down, like a feather…floating down toward a soft bed…
Floating down gently…so slowly sinking…down…down…twirling slowly…sinking through the cool night sky…
Softly coming to rest on a thick, soft bed…the sweet smell of clover around you…sinking into the softness of the bed…so comfortable…
Sinking…feeling heavier and heavier…so calm and comfortable…sinking…resting…sleeping…
Feeling light and heavy at the same time…as if your mind is floating in lightness…so peaceful…and your body is sinking heavily into relaxation and sleep…
So sleepy…
So relaxed…
Serene…
Peaceful…
Calm…
Drifting off to sleep…
Peaceful…
Sleeping…
Dreaming…
Sleep…
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