Calming Your Busy Mind to Help You Sleep

Transcript

Hey, can't sleep? I know, it's hard sometimes to shut off your mind. We all have nights like that and it's totally fine.

Do you want some help? Yeah? Okay, come here.

Get comfortable. Are you comfortable? Good.

We're going to relax every single part of you, okay? Close your eyes. Close them.

We're going to start with some nice deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth, okay? Okay.

In. And out. Now we're going to do that again, but I'm going to count.

So we're going to go in for the count of 4 and out for the count of 8, okay? We're going to really slow down your breathing. Okay.

Ready? Good. And in.

1, 2, 3, 4. Hold. And out.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Good. Good.

Now we're going to do that again, but I want you to focus on your feet. Yes, your feet. Well, you're nice and comfortable laying with me, right? And you can hear my heartbeat under your head, right? So just let that relax you while you take a deep breath.

And you're going to relax your feet. So take a deep breath in, and as you breathe out, relax your feet. Just let them go.

Just try it. Okay. Ready? Listen to my heartbeat.

Empty your mind of everything else. Just focus on what we're doing. Okay.

Here we go. In. 1, 2, 3, 4.

Hold. Let your feet relax. And out.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Good. Good.

Wriggle your toes for me. Good. Shake out all that tension.

Good. We're going to do the next one with your legs. Focus on my heartbeat for a minute.

Just listen to my heart. Nice and steady for you. Empty your head.

The only thing you need to focus on right now is my voice, my heartbeat, and your breathing. Mm-hmm. I want you to fuse into the bed.

Just melt. Yep. Good.

Good. Just let it all go. When you're here with me, nothing else matters.

Nope. This is your time to recharge. Mm-hmm.

Good. Just breathe. Listen to my heartbeat.

Mm. Listen to my heartbeat. Good.

Good. Are you getting sleepier? I hope so.

Okay. I'm going to count for your breath again. This time, you're going to focus on your legs, okay? Listen to my heartbeat.

Good. Good. Yep.

We're going to go in for 4, hold it, and out for 8. And you're going to just relax everything below your waist, okay? Your legs, your feet should already be relaxed, but everything below your waist, okay? That's all you need to focus on as you hear my heartbeat, as you hear my voice.

Good. Okay. Here we go.

Deep breath in. 1, 2, 3, 4. Hold it.

Now relax your legs, relax everything below the waist, and out. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Good.

Take a nice deep breath. And just blow it out for me. Good.

Good. Good job. I want you to clear away all those thoughts that stop you from sleeping.

The only thing that matters is my voice. You're safe, you're comfortable, you're with me. I've got you.

And the only thing I'm going to let happen to you is that you fall into a nice, deep slumber. Yep. Because you've earned it.

You work so hard at everything you do. And you're so special, so wonderful. You deserve to rest properly, to be rejuvenated, to feel good when you wake up in the morning.

And to have nice, pleasant dreams. So, just listen to me. Are you snuggly yet? Yeah.

I like being snuggly. Snuggly is my favorite way to be. Especially with you.

Totally true. Shh. We're supposed to be putting you to sleep.

Alright, let's breathe again. This time, you're going to relax your arms and your hands, okay? Yep.

First, we're going to take a big breath and just blow it out. You ready? Breathe in.

And out. Good. Good, good, good.

Good. Can you still feel my heartbeat? Still hear it? Yeah.

Good. Focus on that. We're going to breathe in.

Ready? Breathe in. One, two, three, four.

Hold it. And release all the tension in your arms and your hands. Just let them turn into spaghetti noodles.

Good. And breathe out. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Good, good. Shake them out. Wriggle your fingers, shake out your arms.

Good. Good job. You look sleepy.

Good, that's what we're going for. Well, I'm hoping when you go to sleep, you'll have either really good dreams that make you smile and make you feel all warm and cozy, or you'll have no dreams at all and you'll just feel rested when you wake up. Yeah, it is nice to feel rested.

Well, sometimes things get a little heavy for us, and sometimes our minds just get really busy. I know mine does. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I can lay there in the dark and just think, and that's not helpful. So that's not what we're doing. We're letting go of all the thoughts.

Have you ever tried thought plucking? No? That was something I was taught.

I think I was late teens, early 20s. I was taught that, and it really helped me. So let's try that before we do our last round of breathing, okay? Okay.

I want you to just let your mind wander for a minute. Good. Is it filling up with thoughts? Mm-hmm.

Now tell it to stop. Just stop. And I want you to take the first thought that comes into your head, and I want you to imagine yourself reaching your hand into your head, grabbing that thought like it was in a bubble, and tossing it away.

Just toss it away. Mm-hmm. Did you do it? Yep.

Is it out of your head now? I hope so. Now do it with the next one.

Reach in there and just toss it away. Mm-hmm. And one more time.

I want to get a handful this time. Just get those thoughts out of there. They don't belong.

They're not allowed. Just take them and say, nope. Just toss them.

Good. Because the reality is, all the things that go through our minds at bedtime, we can't do anything about them. My grandfather told me that.

He slept unlike anybody I'd ever met in my life. He always told me, there's no point in worrying about it, because I can't do anything about it right now, and if I'm not rested, I can't do anything about it tomorrow either. So, I may as well get my rest while I can.

And then we would pluck the thoughts out of our head and throw them away, so we could deal with them tomorrow. And it takes some work, it takes some practice, but if you work at it, eventually you'll be a really good thought plucker too. Yeah, I promise.

Let's do some deep breathing while we pluck away those thoughts, okay? Okay. Focus on my heartbeat.

Relax. Just relax. Good, good, good, good.

All right. I'm going to go in for four, out for eight. And when we hold, you're going to grab those thoughts and toss them away.

And then you're going to release as you listen to my heartbeat, okay? All right, here we go. Breathe in.

One, two, three, four. Hold and grab the first intrusive thought you can think of and just toss it, just throw it away. Is it gone? Good.

And out. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Good.

Focus on my heartbeat. Focus on my voice. Good.

Focus on how heavy your body should be. Throwing away thoughts is hard business. So your body feels nice and heavy.

Mm-hmm. All that tension goes with it. Let's do it again.

All right. Got that thought ready to throw? Good.

We're clearing up that head, getting it ready to sleep. Okay. Breathe in.

One, two, three, four. Hold and toss that thought as far as you can. Get it away from you.

Empty it out of your head. Good. And out.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Good. Good, good, good.

Excellent. All right. One more time.

Yes, one more time. You look sleepy, but we want to be sure we get all those pesky thoughts out. Okay.

So this one's going to be a big one. So the thing that is just absolutely not going anywhere, you're going to just scrape it out of there, get it out of there. Say, not today.

And we're going to breathe in, but first we're going to prepare. So in and out. Good, good.

Focus on my heartbeat. Find my heartbeat for a second. Good, good.

Now breathe in. One, two, three, four. Hold it.

Take that last thought and just launch it away out of your head. It doesn't belong. It's not allowed.

Good, good. Good job. And out.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Excellent. How do you feel? Good, good.

So we're just going to breathe now. Close your eyes. Close your eyes.

Good. And listen to my heartbeat. And just listen to my breathing.

It's time to sleep. Sleep. Good.

You're warm. You're safe. Tomorrow's a new day, and you're going to sleep.

Just sleep. Relax. Clear your mind.

Keep it nice and empty. Listen to my heartbeat. Listen to my breathing.

And just sleep. Good, good. Good, good.

Good, good. Good, good. Good, good.

Good, good. Good, good. Good, good.

Good, good. Good, good. Good, good.

Good, good. Good, good. Good, good.

Good, good. Good, good. Good, good.

Good, good. Good, good.