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Hi everyone, I'm Jessica Porter and welcome back to Sleep Magic, a podcast where I help you find the magic of your own mind, helping you to sleep better and live better. Thank you all so much for being here and Happy New Year. I'm one of those annoying people who says Happy New Year all through January, so Happy New Year. I just want to give some shout outs to some listeners. Someone named Gloriana says her body craves Sleep Magic at night and her cat Jupiter loves it too. Love that name for a cat. My cats mellow out when I do hypnosis. For sure. I just sounded like a surfer. For sure. Toni says she can't wait until the newest episode comes out. Natalia in Australia has been through a lot lately and is managing a health condition and Sleep Magic is really helping with that. And finally, Julie Rose says you Sleep Magic podcast is amazing. I'm recommending it to everyone I know. Thank you to everyone who tells other people about Sleep Magic. So many people need help not only with sleep, but relaxing and bringing relaxation into their lives and seeing the magic that occurs when you do that. So thank you for spreading the word. Thank you for subscribing if you're not a subscriber but you want to try out Trial Period Sleepiest always has a trial period. We also run sort of specials, so try it without ads and see what you think. You may really like it. So thank you everyone for being here, for listening, spreading the word, subscribing, and just tuning in to this vibe that we're all creating at Sleep Magic. I think these days it's more important than ever that we do things together and do good things together. Okay, tonight, get sleepy in a cozy Japanese ryokan. About 15 years ago, I took a trip to Japan with my friend Emily. We did a lot of things. We spent time in Tokyo shopping in the weirdest, funkiest shopping districts. We went to see the Buddhist temples, which were amazing. We even went to an ice cream Museum and rode a Ferris wheel on top of a department store. Japan is a trip, but we also stayed in some amazing places like space age capsule hotels. But the most memorable place we stayed was was in traditional inn in Kyoto called a ryokan. Ryokans have been around for almost 1200 years as places travelers would stay on pilgrimages to temples around Japan. They are simple, traditional, and very, very peaceful. Our night in the ryokan in Kyoto was such a slowed down sensory experience for me that it still lives in my nervous system vividly. So tonight I thought I would take us to that ryokan and we can all experience that beautiful, subtle and deep relaxation it brings about. Before we begin our only ad break which makes this magic possible. To listen ad free, follow the link in the show notes. Now get yourself into a safe and comfortable position. And let's begin. Allow your eyes to close easily and gently. As you bring your awareness to your breath. Your awareness, which is like an unruly puppy pulling on the lead, wanting to go places and poke its nose in every corner, or just gently tugging on the lead, gently bringing the awareness back to the breath, bringing it back to the body. As you come home to yourself. Because this is your time to heal and let go and love yourself. Good. I would like you to bring your awareness up into your eyelids now. And imagine that your eyelids are feeling very, very relaxed. Move your imagination into your eyelids and pretend that they're really, really relaxed. Maybe they are for real, but even if they aren't, pretend. And as your eyelids become heavier and heavier, I'd like you to imagine that your eyelids are so relaxed that they won't open. And now I want you to test your eyes to make sure they won't open by wiggling your eyebrows. And this is just a game. I know you could open your eyes if you wanted to, but we're pretending that you cannot. So wiggle your eyebrows, testing your eyes that they'll remain closed. Good. Now, this lovely heavy feeling that you've established in your eyelids and around your eyes, let's imagine it moving back so peacefully and sweetly back into your head. Let's imagine that warm, relaxed feeling taking over every single cell of your brain, swirling around, spiraling inside your head, softening, releasing and relaxing your mind. As all mental tension is dissolving and your head is feeling very heavy on the pillow. And the muscles of your face are beginning to feel very soft and smooth and relaxed. And as your mind is relaxing, your body is relaxing, you find that your whole body is feeling heavy on the Bed. It's a lovely, comfortable, satisfying heaviness. Because the day is done and you are on a little mini vacation. As that nice, warm feeling from around your eyes is spreading down now into your neck and shoulders. And your shoulders are letting go. And all of the responsibilities you carry on those shoulders are falling to the floor as you go deeper and deeper. As your arms are becoming nice and heavy on the bed, feel your arms and allow the heaviness to move into them. As the heaviness moves all the way down into the palms of your hands and into your fingers. As your body is relaxing, your mind is relaxing. And as your mind is relaxing, your body is relaxing. As you bring your awareness to any sounds that may be going on around you, Notice any sounds from the street or another room or even the room that you're in. Because from this moment on, all those sounds are taking you deeper and even deeper into this lovely, comfortable relaxation. And the only sound you're paying any real attention to is the sound of my voice. But the sound of my voice is also taking you deeper and deeper. And soon the sound of my voice will seem far away, disconnected, as you let go of my voice, like a boat releasing from a dock, and you float into your experience, Your own inner world, Which is peaceful and calm. And relaxed. As we allow that lovely feeling of relaxation that began up around your eyes to move down inside your chest, Allow that warm, soft, relaxed feeling to move down inside of you, So that your rib cage opens up, your chest cavity relaxes, and you imagine that beautiful, warm energy holding your heart, holding your heart. I don't know what your heart has been through today or recently, but by simply holding it in this beautiful, soft, relaxed energy, It's letting go. And simply being here. Now, As that warm relaxation moves down now deep, deeper into your body, and your whole torso is feeling heavy on the bed. And as that energy moves deep into your belly, the muscles of your belly are softening the muscles of your lower back, letting go as your breath sinks deeper into you. And the relaxation is moving down into your legs. Now allow your legs to feel nice and heavy. Heavy, like they're made of marble. Because you are done for the day, your legs are done for the day, and you are on vacation. As the relaxation moves all the way down into your feet and your toes, everything letting go. Imagine you're standing in the ancient city of Kyoto, The imperial capital of Japan for over a thousand years. It is here in Kyoto where traditions of the past are still rising softly into the present. It is evening, and the Streets are quiet. Paper lanterns sway gently in the evening air, and as you walk along the sidewalk, you see that this street is lined with wooden townhouses in warm browns and soft grays. You detect the scent of roasting tea leaves drifting from a nearby shop. As your whole body relaxes, You notice a simple wooden building across the street. It has a navy blue curtain hanging over its entrance. This is your ryokan. You cross the street, walking toward the entrance, and with every step, you're taking yourself deeper and deeper into relaxation. You reach the blue linen curtain and pass through it. You are here. You remove your shoes and feel the warm wooden floor under your feet. You smell the subtle scent of tatami straw. Clean, grassy, comforting. This scent has greeted travelers for centuries. Ryokans began over 1200 years ago in Japan's Heian Period, when travelers walked the long pilgrim routes, visiting temples and sacred places. They needed shelter, so local families opened their homes. And over generations, these homes evolved into traditional Japanese inns, just like this one. But a ryukan is not simply a place to stay for a night. You feel a deep comfort here, and stillness. Ryokans reach back into Japan's long history and invite you into deep personal rest. The innkeeper arrives and greets you with a soft bow. Her silk kimono whispers as she moves. Her voice is gentle and welcoming. She is practiced in the traditional Japanese hospitality known as omotanashi. But omotanashi is more than a set of prescribed behaviors. Omotenashi is an ethos, a philosophy. It asserts that guests should be welcomed wholeheartedly. She bows again and smiles in the spirit of omotanashi. Your hostess is here to anticipate your needs before you say them, or even before you know them yourself. She helps you to take off your jacket and gives you a pair of sandals. The care she is giving is gentle, egoless, and unobtrusive. She asks you to follow her into the depths of the ryokan and turns to walk. And as you follow her, you notice her shiny black bunch held together by chopsticks, each with a shiny dangling ornament. They jingle quietly. Omotenashi is soft and is inviting your nervous system to soften, to trust, to settle. She guides you down a warm hallway lit with paper lanterns, glowing with an amber light. Soft and warm, this light is slowing your brain waves and signaling to your body to rest. You come upon an opening in the hallway that reveals an inner courtyard with a tiny garden. It contains ferns, mosses, and a tiny stream. It smells beautiful. These little pockets of nature were originally found in Zen Buddhist temples as they reminded monks of the impermanence of old things and of simplicity. These gardens help them return to the moment and to the breath. You stop and take it in. As you go deeper and even deeper. You notice a bonsai tree. And bamboo growing in a corner. You hear the delicate sound of water sliding over stones. As you breathe. You are aligning with the rhythm. Of this ancient place. The innkeeper brings you to the end of the hallway and slides open a wooden door. This is your room. You enter. Its walls are made of screens, thin paper stretched over over wood called shoji. They let in the soft, diffused light from the hallway. The floor is covered with tatami mats woven from rice straw and grasses. They feel springy and soothing under your feet. This room is simple and comforting. A low table sits in the center of the room, and on it there is a teapot. You see steam swirling up from its spout. The Japanese hold an aesthetic value they call ma. Ma is the space between things, the pause between notes when designing with ma in mind. Furniture is simple and minimal, allowing for as much space as object. And paradoxically, the space highlights the simple thing within it. Ma contains the understanding that space is not nothing. It is full, meaningful, and pregnant with potential. You sit down at the low table, either crossing your legs or stretching them out under the table. You lift the teapot carefully and pour yourself a small cup of herbal tea. Steam curls upward in slow spirals. You pick up the cup. It is warm. You sniff. Its scent is floral, soothing, gentle. And as you sip the tea, a warm softness is spreading through your chest. Now down your arms, Warmth moving deep into your belly, through your whole body. You hear the deep gong. Of a temple bell in the distance. The sound is deep and steady, vibrating through the evening air and through your whole body. The city of Kyoto was shaped by Buddhism. This is where Zen monks emphasize the stillness of mind, the slowing of the breath, And the appreciation of each moment exactly as it is. You feel grateful for this room around you. You appreciate the stillness inside of you. You are fully in this moment. The innkeeper arrives at your door to show you to the bath. You follow her down the hallway until a door slides open and you enter a small room made of smooth stones and fragrant wood. Nightly bathing has been a part of Japanese culture for millennia. Shinto beliefs teach that water purifies not just the body, but the spirit as well. So bathing has become a ritual of renewal, a way to wash off the dust of the world and return to one's natural, peaceful state. You sit down on a small wooden stool and begin to pour warm water over your arms, down your chest, down your legs. The warmth is so soothing as it opens your muscles and quiets your mind. As the water drips down from your body onto the floor, it dribbles down through thin slats. It sounds lovely as it falls. In the middle of the room is a large cypress tub. You remove your clothes and slip into it and the water gushes over the sides, flowing down onto the floor and down through the slats. The water smells sweet and clean, almost citrusy. The warm water surrounds you like a warm embrace. As your muscles melt. And your breath deepens. The water supports you completely. And you stay here for a while, Taking yourself deeper. And deeper into relaxation. With just the sound of the water. And the smell of the wood. And the lovely warmth. And the lovely warmth moving into every muscle. When you return to your room, the lights are dim. And the moonlight glows softly through your shoji screens. Your futon has been laid out by the hostess. It is thick with soft quilts on top of it and a cloud like comforter. You slip beneath the comforter and you relax, Going deeper and deeper. You hear the sounds going on around you. Bamboo leaves rustling in the night breeze. A distant temple bell humming low across the rooftops. And in the garden, the small stream is murmuring quietly. Your body is feeling very heavy on the futon. The warmth of the bath still lingers in your muscles. As you go deeper. And deeper. You drift. And float. Dream. Sa. It. It. Ra.