Midnight Launderette

Hello, thanks for joining us tonight for this visit to the midnight launderette. We'll be washing away all the worries of the day, creating the ideal conditions for a healthy, restful sleep. Each night, we like to start with a short exercise which we call a wind down. It's designed to soothe the body and relax the mind. So when you're ready, let's begin. So no matter what's been going on today, whether it's been a busy day or a calm one, this is an opportunity to just put everything down, to let go of any inner chatter and just find a place of rest in both the body and the mind. So first, get yourself comfortable in bed, just taking a moment to pause and be still. And when you're ready, just taking a big, deep breath, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And as you breathe out, just allowing the body to sink down into your bed, feeling the weight of the body, allowing thoughts to come and go, just imagining a steady flow of warm sunlight just flowing down through the body, dissolving any tension, any discomfort as it begins to fill the body starting with the toes, moving up through the feet and the legs, being filled with sunlight. The qualities of warmth, space, ease as it continues to travel up through the body, up past the waist, to the back and the stomach. It's as though it just washes away any discomfort. It continues up through the chest and the back into the shoulders and down the arms, all the way down to the hands and fingers. A sense of relief in the body and stillness in the mind as it continues to travel up through the neck and the throat into the head and face, all the way to the very top of the body, until there's nothing other than that sense of stillness remaining. And now, just gently bringing the attention back to the body. It's wonderful to have you back in the midnight launderette. Isn't it so nice to return to a place time and again? You feel it gets to know you. Maybe you have your favorite spot to sit in now. Maybe you want to kick off your shoes and press the soles of your feet lightly against the cool tile. That's right, you don't even need to settle in because you're already home. The young man leaning against the work bench next to the dryers is called Timmy. He's tall and somewhat willowy of physique with a sweep of floppy hair. His head troops a little like a puppy on its stem. The shirt he's wearing looks slightly too big for him. And he has a pair of chunky blue headphones and circling his neck. Timmy works long hours in a local diner, trying to save up enough money to put himself through acting school, and his clothes always smell of grease and French fries....