We don't need to do anything to sleep; our natural sleep drive does it for us. But, sometimes, our busy minds interrupt the process, and this track, using the structure of a body scan meditation, can help us to let go, allow the mind and body to rest, and fall asleep.

Use a body scan meditation to quiet the mind and allow the body to naturally fall asleep.

It's Time To Sleep - Body Scan

Feeling a little overwhelmed, or stuck? Use these three steps of awareness to create just enough space to make a decision about next steps

Use three steps of awareness to create space and make decisions about next steps when feeling overwhelmed or stuck.

Three-Step Being Space

This core practice helps us to use the flow of breath and the movement of the body as we breath to maintain present moment awareness. Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

Using breath and body movements is a core practice for maintaining present moment awareness.

Be with Breath

This calming practice helps us connect with and build awareness of our body, as well as training our attention as we continually focus and re-focus throughout the scan. This practice can be done lying down, as well as sitting or standing.

Body scan meditation is a calming practice that builds body awareness and trains attention, and can be done lying down, sitting, or standing.

Body Scan

Without awareness, it’s easy to spend quality time focused on the challenges of life, far more than what is good. This meditation invites us spend a few minutes with something great in our lives! In so doing, help us to improve our ability to pay attention to the pleasant moments in our day. Photo by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash

This meditation encourages us to focus on the good things in our lives to improve our ability to appreciate pleasant moments.

Savoring

Developing an attitude of friendliness towards ourselves can help us deal more effectively and realistically with the challenges of daily life. And, if we are able to cultivate this attitude towards our self, we're much more likely to offer the same attitude to others, and in so doing improve our relationships. This practice is a great way to start the day.

Being friendly towards ourselves leads to better relationships and effective handling of daily challenges; making it a good daily practice.

Befriending and Self-Compassion

A broad awareness practice, to help us be with the whole of our present moment experience. Photo by Shea Rouda on Unsplash

Be with Open Awareness

This calming practice helps us connect with and build awareness of our body, as well as training our attention as we continually focus and re-focus throughout the scan. This practice can be done lying down, as well as sitting or standing. Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

A body scan practice helps build body awareness and focus, and can be done lying down, sitting, or standing.

When we're in a calm state of mind, we're often much more able to respond to the challenges of daily life with some perspective, drawing on our wise selves rather than relying on automatic or reactively driven by the short-term emotion of a situation, which isn't always helpful. By cultivating kindness towards ourselves, using the fundamental process of breathing, we are practicing the skill of broader awareness and calmness in daily life.

Cultivating kindness towards oneself through breathing helps respond to challenges with perspective, drawing on wise selves instead of short-term emotions.

Breathing With Kindness

Appreciation is a restorative emotional state that supports recovery, gratitude, and contentment. Practicing appreciation can help make it more habitual, meaning that we are more likely to automatically appreciate the things in our life, and so leading to a more appreciative outlook in life. This meditation is intended to help practice and cultivate appreciation in daily life.

Meditation to cultivate appreciation and develop a habitual appreciative outlook in life for recovery, gratitude, and contentment.

Cultivating Appreciation

We don't often deliberately pay attention to the sounds around and within us, allowing ourselves to experience the full richness of our aural environment - and so, that is the invitation for this practice.

Practice paying attention to the sounds around and within us to fully experience our aural environment.

Being with Sound

The hour before we go to bed is an ideal time to wind down, preparing for sleep. This meditation is intended to be used as a part of that wind-down routine, giving our minds some space to let out the thoughts of the day or preparation for tomorrow before we actually head to bed.

A meditation before bed helps wind down and clear the mind, preparing for better sleep.

Preparing For Bed

Mark Quirk

Psychologist, Health Coach, Mindfulness

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