Tara Brach - Meditation: Reducing Anxiety and Getting to Sleep (6 min.)

Episode Date: February 27, 2019

Meditation: Reducing Anxiety and Getting to Sleep (6 min.) - Many of us struggle with anxiety, and spend hours in bed wishing we could turn off our mind and get to sleep. This podcasted series of 3 guided meditations - 6, 12, and 18 minutes long - can help in quieting your mind, relaxing your body, and bringing peace to your heart. Each will support you in either calming yourself during the day, or drifting more easily into sleep at night. For more resources, please visit "Community Wisdom on Sleep" at https://www.tarabrach.com/sleep/.

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. Settle yourself comfortably, either sitting or lying down. Close your eyes and become aware of your breathing. Consciously lengthen the breath. So you're taking a long, slow in breath, filling the chest in the lungs now,

and then slowly releasing the breath, letting go, letting go. And again, a long deep in-breath, filling the chest in the lungs, and a slow, smooth out-breath so that you can feel the sensations of letting go. And once again, a deep in-breath, and with the out-breath, releasing, and letting go. Now allow your breath to resume and resume. its natural rhythm and sense how fully you can relax with the inflow and the outflow. Continuing with this relaxed breathing, begin scanning through your body, sensing what wants to let go right now. Notice if with the out breath you can release any tension you might be carrying. You might bring a slight

smile to the lips. Let your eyes be soft. Your brow smooth. all the micro muscles of the face relaxed, allowing your shoulders to fall away from your neck and feel them from the inside out. You might sense a dissolving of ice to water, ice to water, and then water to gas. Let your hands rest in an easy way and soften them and soften again,

feeling from the inside out the tingling, and vibrating that's there. Let your chest be open. And you might visualize and feel the curve of a smile spreading through the area of your heart. Letting this next breath be received in a softening belly. This one. And now this one. Again, visualizing and feeling the sense of a smile spreading through the belly.

Relaxing. softening and letting go through the pelvic region, relaxing the muscles and the legs, feeling the places of contact, pressure, and warmth in the feet, feeling the feet in the inside, tingling, vibrating, and then open to feel the whole body, sense the whole body floating like a field of sensation, safe and at ease. Here you might experiment with gently placing one hand on your heart and the other on your belly. Sense with the in-breath, you're receiving a gentle flow of soothing, healing energy from the universe.

And with the exhale, letting go into the universe, whatever is ready to be released. If there's any tension, pain or fear in your body, feel the tender touch of your hand on your heart and send a stream of caring, soothing, energy to the place of discomfort. You might offer a message of care, such as, I'm here, it's okay. Be at ease.

If you find your mind as drifted into thoughts, gently relax, open your attention, listening to the sounds around you, slight smile on the lips, letting go again through the body, softening your shoulders, softening your hands relaxing your belly relaxing your heart and again resting in the inflow and outflow of the breath

rest in the breath like a raft gently moving with the waves feeling this life breath as a home base or refuge safe and at home in this breath this moment this life Namaste and blessings