Soothe an Overactive Mind for Sleep | Bedtime Breathing

This is a breathing meditation to help calm and soothe your mind for deep and restful sleep. There's a gentle wind down followed by a variation on box breathing – where we'll hold the breath at the top and bottom of the breath. In traditional box breathing we breathe in for the count of 4 - hold for 4, exhale for 4 and then hold the breath for 4. In this meditation I encourage you inhale, exhale and hold for as little or as long as feels natural and comfortable for you today. Some days you might feel a short pause feels more comfortable, other days you might find you need a longer pause to calm an especially active mind. If you're experienced and familiar with breath retention you can hold the breaths for a count of 30 or more, which is especially helpful if you struggle with insomnia. Breath holds of 30 seconds release nitric oxide into the bloodstream, which dilates the blood vessels and can help with falling asleep. Low nitric oxide levels are often correlated with insomnia. Make sure you're not effortfully straining, only hold in a way that feels comfortable and relaxed and if you're not used to holding your breath start with a count of 4 and build up gradually to longer breath holds over a few weeks. We'll follow the controlled breathing with a full body relaxation to help you soften into a really restoring sleep. The guided meditation is 25 minutes and then there's 25 minutes of music with no talking to give you some still space to end your day in Peace :) *Insight Timer* You can listen to this meditation on Insight Timer: https://insig.ht/jB26019fnDb?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=live_stream_share *Aura* You can also listen to Caroline’s meditations on the Aura Health app: https://www.aurahealth.io/coaches/caroline-mccready?referralCode=undefined&referralType=coach_bm_coaching&utm_source=coachweb *For a 30 Day Free Guest Pass for Aura use this link:* https://www.aurahealth.io/guestpass/caroline-mccready *Download…* You can download this meditation on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/soothe-mind-for-89655942?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link *Music Only….* You can listen to the music without any talking on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/posts/music-only-mind-89663786?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link *Voice Only Version...* https://www.patreon.com/posts/no-music-voice-89658382?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link *Patreon* also gives you access to completely ad free content, exclusive music only videos, vocal only videos and downloads for offline listening, as well as helping to support the channel. https://www.patreon.com/carolinemccready *More Sleep Meditations on YouTube* These are some more sleep meditations you might enjoy: Dissolve into Sleep: https://youtu.be/06DZtQaqQN8 Whole Body Breathing for Sleep: https://youtu.be/GrohGhj9XJQ Body Scan with Singing Bowls: https://youtu.be/MjAIgseGY6A 2 hr Peaceful Deep Sleep Meditation: https://youtu.be/MM5WG66bMS8 Ocean Breathing for Sleep: https://youtu.be/5ZFGiDHLGGo Bone Deep Sleep: https://youtu.be/a1j2Uhzc08s *Thank you…* Thank you so much for watching. Comments and feedback are so welcome so please get in touch in the comments. https://www.carolinemccready.com Copyright 2023-present, all rights reserved (it is illegal to copy or use any part of the audio from this video) Original music by Caroline McCready Video licensed by iStock Timestamps… 00:00 Introduction 02:14 Wind Down 07:30 Belly Breathing 10:50 Box Breathing 15:35 Relaxation 26:36 Music Only There are lots more meditations on the channel so be sure to check out the homepage to find more videos to help support your meditation practice: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDRC-dZfZvsF9b1O1EvDbHQ/ Wishing you deep rest and restoring sleep!