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  • Hey, guys. It's Bex here. Welcome to another video in my series of "You Have Four Minutes

  • for Meditation." Today, we're working on getting you to sleep.

  • I asked you for your requests and so many of you wrote in and asked for meditations

  • for sleep. You're having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or you're just feeling tense in general.

  • You can do this meditation right before bed, or at any time during the day when you're

  • feeling a little tense. I like to do this meditation at the end of yoga class in shavasana.

  • So go ahead and find your easy seat. You can even do this lying down. Find a spot on the

  • floor, in bed, on a pillow --wherever is comfortable for you.

  • Place your hands down-turned on your thighs or next to you, lying down, and start to pay

  • attention to your breath with your eyes closed. I want you to follow a natural pattern of

  • breathing. You don't have to inhale deeply here. Just nice and easy in your natural rhythm.

  • This is a visualization meditation. I want you to picture yourself completely covered

  • by a sheet. As we move through this meditation, the sheet will be removed slowly, revealing

  • your comfortable, relaxed body. As we begin, the sheet is being pulled down

  • over your forehead. Maybe you're scrunching your forehead. You might picture little wrinkles

  • being in it right now. Go ahead and release that muscle.

  • Next, the sheet passes your eyes. Are you squinting, holding them tight? Is it a struggle

  • for you to keep them closed? Go ahead and relax your eyes.

  • Is your jaw clenching right now? As the sheet uncovers your jaw and your mouth and your

  • chin, part your lips just slightly, allowing your tongue to rest on the roof of your mouth,

  • and the bottom of your jaw to release and hang easy and heavy.

  • As the sheet passes down and uncovers your shoulders, are they scrunched up towards your

  • ears? Take a nice big inhale and release your shoulders down and away towards your waist.

  • Even your belly can be tight. As the sheet uncovers your belly, go ahead and let it be

  • soft, allowing the air to fill your belly and expand. Normally we hold it in so tight

  • when we're in this seated posture, but let it be easy now and loose.

  • The same goes for all the other parts of your body. Picture the sheet passing over the fronts

  • of your thighs, allowing them to release, your knees, your calves, and your ankles.

  • Allow your feet to just flop open, if you're lying down. Allow your toes to relax, if you're

  • sitting cross-legged. Everything is easy. Allow yourself to inhale

  • with purpose -- a long, deep inhale filling your whole body -- and exhale at the same

  • pace. One more inhale to open your eyes. Now you're

  • waking up with me, but normally I would let you just continue your breath cycle of long

  • inhales and equally long exhales until you fall fast asleep. This is to just focus your

  • attention on one thing and not have you worry about all the other stuff that's going on.

  • That's why counting sheep is so effective. You're just focusing on the act of picturing

  • those little sheep jumping over the gate. It's the same with this. It could be a sheet.

  • It could be a flicker of a flame on a candle. Whatever works for you.

  • If you enjoyed this meditation -- and I hope you're feeling a little bit more relaxed -- keep

  • those requests coming, and I will see you for the next one next week. Love you guys!

  • Thank you for joining me for another four-minute meditation. I hope that you're nice and relaxed.

  • But if you happen to still be awake, go ahead and check me out at Bexlife.com, or click

  • on one of the thumbnails below for a four-minute meditation or an exclusive BexLife workout.

  • See you around.

Hey, guys. It's Bex here. Welcome to another video in my series of "You Have Four Minutes

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