Welcome back, friend. I'm Julia, and I'm so glad you're here with me today. You know, it's late November, and I've noticed something—there's this particular kind of restlessness that settles in right now. The days are shorter, our minds are busier, and sleep? Well, sleep can feel like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands. If that's you tonight, you're in exactly the right place. So take a breath. We're going to work through this together.

Before we begin, find yourself somewhere comfortable. Not your office chair—somewhere you can actually settle. A bed, a couch, a chair with good bones. If you're lying down already, that's perfect too. Just make sure you're somewhere that feels safe and supported. Can you feel that? That sense of being held by whatever's beneath you?

Now, let's sync up our breathing. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four, hold it gently for four, then exhale through your mouth for six. That longer exhale? That's your nervous system's favorite lullaby. Let's do that three more times together. In for four. Hold. And out for six. That's it. One more. In for four. Hold. And out for six.

Here's what we're going to do now. I want you to imagine your body as a house. A cozy, well-loved house that's been waiting all day for you to come home. Start at the very top—your scalp, your forehead—and notice if there's any tension living there. Picture that tension as dust, and with each exhale, imagine it settling gently down through the rooms of your body. Your shoulders, your chest, your belly, all the way down to your toes. You're not forcing anything out. You're just opening the windows and letting the breeze carry it away.

As you move through each part of your body, notice the weight of it. The real, physical weight pressing into the surface beneath you. That weight is permission. Permission to stop moving, to stop proving, to just be. Your ribs, your hips, your legs—they're all saying the same thing. You're exactly where you need to be.

Now, here's the magic part that I want you to remember tonight: sleep isn't something you achieve through force. It's something you allow. You're not chasing it. You're creating the conditions for it to find you. And you've just done that beautifully.

As you drift toward sleep tonight, keep this one thing close. Notice three textures before your head hits the pillow. The softness of your sheets, the coolness of your pillow, the gentle weight of your blanket. These small sensations anchor you to now, to rest, to this moment that's yours alone.

Thank you so much for joining me on Sleep Soundly: Daily Mindfulness Exercises for Better Rest. Your presence here matters. Please do subscribe so you never miss a practice, and remember—you deserve restful nights. Sweet dreams.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI