The day asked a great deal of your body, and your body answered quietly, by holding. It clenches without telling you, in the jaw, the brow, the hands. This meditation travels slowly to those places that have stayed tight since morning and breathes softness into each one, until the holding spreads into release and the whole body, from the crown of your head to your toes, finally lets go.
Best for: anyone carrying physical tension and stress into bed, who wants to release a clenched body and unwind into sleep through gentle, guided relaxation.
Use it when: you lie down and notice your jaw, brow, or hands still tight, the stress of the day is held in your body and keeping you awake, you want to physically unwind and let go before sleep, or you need to soften a body that has been bracing for hours.
How it helps: by the end the jaw unclenches, the brow smooths, the hands open, and the softening travels down through the whole body until you are loose, heavy, and completely held. You learn the simplest kindness there is, which is to stop holding, and you drift into rest undefended and at ease.
A roughly ten-minute guided breathing meditation in a calm voice over gentle ambient sound, from The Silent Ember Sleep collection.