You probably picked this episode tonight because of the title, Asleep in 20 Minutes. So, I'm guessing you might be feeling a little impatient because the minutes are slipping by and you have to be up at a certain time. I'm going to do my best to make this happen.But before we start, you have to do something too. You have to relax. You have to stop thinking about how much you need sleep. Because even if you don't sleep, you'll be alright. Maybe a little groggy. But you've managed before.It's not the end of the world. And just being here, resting your body, calming your mind, that will help you tomorrow. And one thing before we start, I always have to mention that you need to be somewhere safe while listening.Preferably in your comfortable bed. And not anywhere you need to stay alert. So if you're ready, let's start. Tonight we're trying something new. It's called resonant breathing. And that pace is 5 breaths a minute.5 seconds in and 5 seconds out. That's the whole technique. And it matters because your heart doesn't beat at the same speed all the time.It speeds up slightly when you breathe in. And it slows down slightly when you breathe out. This is normal.It's happening right now. And when you breathe at this particular pace, your heart rate and your breathing fall into sync. And when that happens, your nervous system shifts.The part that keeps you awake, it steps back. And the part responsible for rest, takes over. And if at any point this doesn't feel right, just stop.Breathe however feels natural. You'll still benefit from everything else we're doing tonight. And so if you're ready, make yourself comfortable.If you've been tossing and turning for a while, then pause the episode and shake out your blankets. Make your sheets smooth and cool. And then just lay here for a bit.Noticing your breathing. Just feel the air moving in and out. Now with your next breath, try to slow it down a bit.Just a little. Breathe in a little deeper than usual. And then let the exhale take a little longer.Just ease into it. Let's do that again. Breathe in.Slowly. And breathe out. Even slower.And then we're going to find that pace together. I'll count you through it. Breathe in.Two. Three. Four.Five. And out. Two.Three. Four. Five.Just like that. In. Two.Three. Four. Five.And out. Two. Three.Four. Five. Again.In. Two. Three.Four. Five. And out.Two. Three. Four.Five. One last time. In.Two. Three. Four.Five. Out. Two.Three. Four. Five.Now just let your breathing find its own pace. You don't need to count. You don't need to do anything at all.Just relax. If your eyes aren't closed, close them now. Let's imagine that you're lying in a tent.This isn't a flimsy tent. This is a good tent. It's canvas.It's solid. The tent is small. Just big enough for you and your sleeping bag and your pillow and not much else.And that the smallness feels good right now. You feel contained like you're in a cocoon, like a nest. The ceiling is low.Everything is within arm's reach. You are lying on a thick mattress. It's more comfortable than you expected.Your sleeping bag is pulled up to your chin. It's warm, filled with down. The night air is coming through the mesh window of the tent.Fresh, clean. It carries the smell of pine needles and earth and wood smoke. Cool air on your cheeks, on your forehead, against the tip of your nose and outside.People you care about are still sitting around the fire. You can hear their voices. Low and easy.Someone laughs softly. Someone else says something you can't quite make out. Just the murmur of it.The warmth of it. You don't need to hear the words. You don't need to be a part of the conversation.You don't need to be anything right now. Not funny. Not interesting.Not helpful. Not present. All you need to be is here, listening to the sound of people who care about you, talking quietly in the firelight and at the bottom of your sleeping bag near your feet.There's something warm. Someone took a stone from the edge of the fire. A smooth, flat river stone that had been sitting in the heat for hours and they wrapped it in a piece of flannel and they tucked it into the bottom of your sleeping bag before you climbed in.You can feel it now. So warm. Feel it against your feet.Feel the warmth reaching your soles and your arches, your toes. The warmth is spreading, moving through your feet, loosening them. The muscles that carry tension.Everything responds to the warmth, letting go. The warmth is moving upward now into your ankles, your calves. It moves the way warmth moves through water.Gradual, even, reaching every part of you. In your knees, they're loosening and the warmth is spreading through your hips now into your lower back, the place where so much tension hides. You might not even have known it was there until you felt it leaving, but it's leaving now, draining away into the warmth of the sleeping bag beneath you.And then the warmth reaches your chest and something releases there. Something you've been holding, maybe for a long time. The tightness, a feeling of keeping it together.But you don't need to keep anything together right now. Not here. Not in this tent.Not with the fire crackling outside. And the people you love nearby. And the cool night air on your face.And the warm stone radiating through your sleeping bag. The warmth is flowing down your arms, through your elbows, into your wrists. And your hands are open.Your fingers soft. And finally, the warmth reaches your face. Feel it in your jaw.Feel the muscles around your eyes. Softening those tiny muscles that hold so much expression. They can be still now.Your whole body is warm. The voices outside have grown quieter. Someone is banking the fire.People are heading to their tents. Footsteps on soft ground. The rustle of sleeping bags.Murmured goodnights. The wind moves through the tall trees above your tent. You can hear the branches swaying and the softer sound of leaves moving against each other.It sounds like breathing. Trees breathing. Everything outside is vast.The sky. The forest. But you are small.And contained. And warm. And safe.The stone at your feet is still radiating its warmth. Still holding the heat from the fire. Still sharing it with you.Tomorrow you'll wait to early morning light filtering through the canvas. But right now, there is only this. The cool air on your face. The warmth around your body. The wind in the trees. The last ember.Glowing somewhere in the dark. And the people you love. Sleeping nearby.The fire has gone out. Just a faint glow now. Orange in the darkness.And sleep is here now. It's been waiting. Knowing that a body this warm.In a place this safe. Surrounded by sounds this soothing. Can only hold out for so long.The stars are out. The moon is crossing the sky. And the world is quiet.And good.