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Hi everyone, I'm Jessica Porter and welcome back to Sleep Magic, a podcast where I help you to find the magic of your own mind, helping you to sleep better and live better. So,
Thank you everybody for being here, for listening, for subscribing if you're a subscriber, for all the ratings and reviews that people have left. I really appreciate them. I'm hearing from moms who feel like they're better moms because they're getting better sleep, people with migraines for whom sleep magic is helping them relax and even sometimes, you know, forget the pain. And that makes me so happy. I just want to congratulate everybody for daring to look inside themselves and
and finding this inner world. Because not only is the inner world not bad, it's so freaking good. It's healing and creative, loving. So good for you. I just think it's cool. However you do it, whether it's here or somewhere else, you have this inside of you. Everyone does. And it's relaxation that's the key to accessing it.
getting underneath all our craziness. So if you'd like to leave a review or rating, please do so on your podcast app, or you can reach out to us on the Ask Me Anything function of the Supercast link, which is in the show notes, or you can reach out to me on Instagram. Before we get started, let's hear a quick word from our sponsors who make this free content possible.
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Tonight, exploring the equinox. So I kind of want to do something fun and weird tonight. You know, here at Sleep Magic, I'm speaking to people like yourself falling asleep all over the world, which is pretty cool. And we're all having different experiences based on our climates and our positions on the planet. Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are having a bit of an upside-down experience compared to those of you in the Southern Hemisphere.
We are launching into spring, while those of you down south are dropping into autumn. And seasonal changes affect our bodies, our minds, and our behaviors. We tend to think that we're completely unique individuals, having our singular experiences. And yet, nature is bigger than all of us. So tonight, I'd like to address everyone in both hemispheres.
As we move through the shift, we call the equinox. So let's begin in the north. Springtime energy is a strong upward force that moves through all of our bodies and minds. As we come out of the stillness of winter, springtime energy, known in Chinese medicine as tree or wind energy, moves up through the body with quite a fierce power.
It pushes us to get rid of things, to do a good spring cleaning, to detox our bodies. It can even unleash pent-up creativity and sexual desire. It's no accident that we tend to fall in love in the spring. According to your acupuncturist, the energy of spring is a tonic to your liver and gallbladder. And when energy is moving freely through these organs, you feel patient and creative.
But sometimes coming out of winter can feel difficult. I know I can have a hard time sometimes letting that strong energy move through me. We can end up feeling stuck, irritated, or even angry when it doesn't move very well. So it's also no accident that there are breakups in the spring. But by staying relaxed and in touch with ourselves, we can make this transition gracefully.
and enjoy it thoroughly. The environment going from winter to spring is one of nature's great 3D spectacles and miracles. It's lovely to experience it fully and to be a part of it. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, shout out to the southern hemisphere, the energy is now settling.
After the delicious expansion of summer, the energy is beginning to drop and contract and things are cooling off. You're coming back to yourselves, back to your rhythms and routines, more focused and goal-oriented than you may have been in the summer. In Chinese medicine, this is a season known as late summer.
and the organs most activated at this time are digestive ones, like the stomach, spleen, and pancreas. It's a time to receive, get good nourishment, to take pauses, to make a graceful landing in your own body and consciousness. At its best, late summer is a sweet time, one of harvest and abundance, and expressing the sweetness we have inside for one another.
But if the digestive organs aren't aligning with this late summer energy, it can be a time of worry or anxiety. By staying relaxed, eating good food, and chewing it well, that's a whole other conversation, we can make this transition more gracefully.
Lucky for us, all sleeping at different places in the world, we contain many versions of these energies inside our bodies all the time, all year round. So tonight I'm going to help you relax into whichever transition you're making and to encourage the natural balance within your body wherever you happen to be tonight. So get yourself into a safe and comfortable position and let's begin.
Allow your eyes to close easily and gently. And just bring your awareness to your breathing. Allow your breath to be normal and natural. But your awareness, your awareness which has been outside of you all day, that's just been listening to me yammer on, your awareness is coming back to your body. Allow your awareness to come back to your breath. Good. Now I'd like you to bring your awareness up into your eyelids.
Imagine that the little muscles of your eyelids are feeling loose and limp and relaxed. And by imagining that, guess what? They become loose and limp and relaxed. Because your body follows your imagination. And as your eyelids get heavier and heavier, I'd like you to accept the suggestion that your eyelids are so relaxed, they simply will not open.
And in a moment I'm going to ask you to test your eyelids to make sure they won't open by wiggling your eyebrows while your eyes remain shut. And as you know, this is just a little game, a little pretending trick that we're doing to launch us into our imaginations. So test your eyes now to make sure they won't open by wiggling your eyebrows. Oh look, I can't open my eyes. Good. Now by doing that you've opened up a whole room in your body, in your mind.
a whole expanded terrain of possibility in your imagination. So let's imagine together that that relaxation that you have around your eyes is moving back into your head. Let's feel that warm mist of relaxation moving into your skull, taking over your brain. Just imagine it. Good.
And as your mind relaxes, you imagine warm waves of relaxation lapping up against the beach of your mind. Just feel those warm waves of relaxation lapping up against the beach of your mind. As all mental tension disappears, beautiful,
Now let's imagine that warm mist of relaxation that's circulating your brain, moving down into your neck, down into your shoulders, allowing your shoulders to relax and let go. Imagine that your shoulders are sort of melting into relaxation. And as your shoulders are letting go, all of the responsibilities you carry on those shoulders have fallen to the floor.
Every single one. You can pick them up tomorrow morning. For right now, your only responsibility is to yourself. And even that responsibility is to simply let go. Allow. Release. Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy the delicious release. As that mist of relaxation moves down your arms now, allow your arms to feel nice and heavy.
Imagine they're like logs on the forest floor. Heavy. As that relaxation moves all the way down into your hands, into the palms of your hands, and the fingers of your hands. Every single finger feeling heavy, heavy. And that feels so good. And as you listen to this recording, you may be aware of the sounds going on around you. And that's okay. Because from this moment on, no sound that you hear
will bother you or disturb you in any way. In fact, from this moment on, any sound that you hear, like noises from within your room or outside your room or out on the street, those sounds will actually cause you to go deeper and deeper into relaxation. Just let those sounds be vibrations entering your body, taking you deeper and deeper.
Notice how you can use your mind in an entirely new way. And it works. It works. You have more power than you even know. The only sound you're paying any real attention to is the sound of my voice. But who cares about the sound of my voice? It's just taking you deeper and deeper too. You don't need to attach to any meaning or any story.
If you want to listen to this recording later to hear what I actually say, you can. But for right now, the sound of my voice is here to simply take you deeper on this delicious journey. As that wonderful mist of relaxation moves down now into your torso, taking over your entire torso, relaxing you from the inside out.
And we'll be doing a lot of focusing on your torso tonight. So as you allow your body to feel heavy on the bed, your pelvis getting heavier and heavier. Imagine that mist of relaxation moving all the way down into your legs. Your legs feeling like logs on the forest floor. So heavy. So heavy. As the relaxation moves down now into your feet,
taking over the soles of your feet, taking over every single toe, feeling heavy, heavy, heavy. And as you go deeper and deeper, allow your awareness to come back to your torso. This is your internal energy pack where your vital organs keep you active and healthy. Bring your awareness now to the right side of your body.
around the bottom of your rib cage. This is where your liver and gallbladder do their work. And these organs on the right side of your body are feeling the upward, uplifting energy of spring. If you live in the northern hemisphere, especially in the temperate zone, you're experiencing this upward, uplifting energy of spring.
If you live anywhere else, this energy still lives in you. It's just quieter at different times of the year. Imagine you are outside and the snow is melting. The earth is damp and cool. The air is fresh and is carrying the subtle scents of early spring. You notice the birds
that have returned from down south. Their tweets and chirp are tickling your brain. You see daffodil shoots poking up out of the earth. And as you see these shoots, energy moves up inside of you. Energy is rising in you. And it feels exciting, hopeful, and good.
As you relax, taking yourself deeper and deeper, you surrender to the rising. The emergence of spring means letting go of control, releasing a set of habits and patterns that establish themselves in the stillness of winter. The daffodils are breaking those patterns. As you imagine their blossoms,
The yellow so bright it almost hurts your eyes, but you accept the brightness. You accept the color and relax into it, going deeper and deeper as you imagine that daffodil opening its six yellow petals surrounding a bell-shaped blossom with its ruffled edges.
You watch it dance in the breeze. The wind is picking up. The wind is here to sweep out the stagnation of winter in you. It clears out old thoughts, old feelings, any resistance you may have. The breeze is sweeping through your whole body and mind as you go deeper
and deeper. This is spring. This energy is inside of you all the time. Now bring your awareness to your heart as it beats faithfully in your chest. Your heart is like the sun inside your body bringing life to every cell. Your heart brings the energy of summer
fire energy, sending warmth all through your body. Perfectly balanced, the metronome of your existence gives a generous, loving light all directions, just like the sun. And this warmth is causing you to relax, to go deeper and deeper.
Imagine you're lying in the cool grass, listening to the burbling sound of a river nearby. You're warm and relaxed and happy. The summer sun is kissing your skin, sending joy to every cell of your body. Just as your heart circulates warmth and joy,
within your body. Everything is expanding. Everything is blooming. This is summer. This energy is inside of you all the time. Now bring your awareness down to the left side of your torso, to the bottom of your rib cage. This is the area of your digestive organs, your spleen,
stomach, and pancreas. Imagine now a gentle downward force moving down the left side of your body. This is soil energy, earth energy. It settles and gathers and holds things. This energy is sweet and stabilizing and comforting.
If you're listening from the southern hemisphere, you are aligning with this soil energy. Settling. Coming back to your rhythm. Coming back to your focus. Stabilizing after a long summer and savoring the fruits of that summer. Imagine walking through a garden full of ripe vegetables.
It's harvest time. Pumpkin, squashes, heavy cabbages and onions ready for picking. Plump and sweet, full of goodness. Pull a carrot from the ground and notice its brilliant orange color. Touch the soil. Smell it. The soil is calming, grounding.
and causes you to relax deep inside. Being in this garden makes you feel secure and focused and you're settling into your body. This is late summer and this energy is inside of you all the time. Bring your awareness now down into your lower belly. Your colon moves up the right side
of your lower belly across it just below your navel and down on the left side. Your colon is absorbing and extracting. In Chinese medicine, this is called metal energy. It is the energy of contraction. The colon absorbs and contracts as do the lungs
also governed by metal energy. The trees are bare, their energy pulled inside. The leaves on the ground are dry, all their moisture released. In the autumn, we begin to pull inside ourselves and reflect on our lives. We find layers deep within ourselves. We prepare for winter.
Metal energy pulls things inward, deep and holding. And then they release air in, toxins out, in, waste out. This is the energy of autumn. This energy is inside of you all the time. As you bring your awareness even deeper into your body, toward your back,
You connect with the energy of your kidneys. Your kidneys and bladder are governed by water energy and they keep the fluids inside of you perfectly balanced. Water energy is deep and flexible. Moves beneath the surface. Water is the ocean. The beginning thing. Water is the energy
of winter and it takes us through the darkness. Water is the energy of sleep as it takes us through the night. As you imagine walking on the snow, feeling the crunch of it beneath your feet. As you exhale, you can see your breath, but you are bundled up and staying inside.
The fluids moving deep inside our body are under the cold. The warm exists under the ice. The water still flows deep down in the water. You give birth to your dream. You are becoming your next self. This is winter. This energy is inside of you.
all the time. You are a part of nature and your body reflects the seasons as you relax, taking yourself deeper and deeper. This movement of energy through your body and this movement through the season is becoming easier and softer and more joyous as you go deeper and deeper
Everything is working perfectly, in perfect harmony. No matter where you are. I move with nature. I dance with nature. I relax into change. I relax into change. I relax
