Surrendering To Deep Sleep: Yoga Nidra

Surrendering to Deep Sleep: Yoga Nidra is a gentle invitation to release the day's stories and immerse yourself in restful sleep. With the grounding presence of Mother Earth, you are guided to relax fully, connecting to your breath and the natural rhythms of life. Through visualization and deep awareness, you release tension and open to the infinite peace of deep rest. This practice not only soothes your body and mind but also nurtures your spirit, aligning you with the tranquility of the night.

Transcript

Hi,

Frankie here,

And welcome to this Surrendering to Sleep Yoga Nidra practice.

Deep sleep is so essential,

And yet sometimes it can be elusive.

When we struggle to sleep,

It can be due to physical,

Mental,

Emotional factors,

Or a combination of various narratives in the mind.

This practice focuses on guiding you to surrender the thoughts of the day.

In whatever position you find yourself,

Just let yourself relax.

Know that Mother Earth is always holding you.

No matter the thoughts in your mind or where you are,

She is holding you.

Mother Earth,

The mother of us all,

Giving all we need for our life on planet Earth.

This sleep meditation can be your best friend to bring in rest,

Relaxation,

Bringing in the rhythms of sleep with all its ebbs and flows.

Yoga Nidra gifts us the tools to induce sleep organically,

Following the natural workings of your breath.

As you release the chatter of your mind,

Know that when you fall asleep,

Your subconscious mind will still absorb all that is for your highest good.

So now just notice if you could be more comfortable in whatever position you have chosen.

Honor yourself and make the slight adjustments needed at any time during this practice.

So now just notice if you could be more comfortable in the position you have chosen.

Honor yourself and make the slight adjustments needed.

Open your senses,

Welcoming into your nostrils the air that we breathe,

Noticing any fragrance in the air,

Taste inside your mouth.

Notice you are hearing,

Listening with ears,

Releasing and letting go of thinking,

Just feeling into your whole body and all its sensations,

Feel your skin,

Perhaps the touch of air on your skin,

Relaxing the eyes from the world of looking,

Opening to seeing with internal vision,

Open to following the path of your dreams,

Feel the ground beneath you and notice again Mother Earth is holding you,

Mother Earth is always holding you.

Now take a moment to set your sankalpa,

An intention for this practice.

Think of it as a blessing you sprinkle over your journey into your time of rest and dreams.

Ask yourself,

In your life right now,

What is it that you truly seek?

What does it look like?

What does it sound like?

How does it feel in your body?

Now hold your sankalpa in your mind and now let's plant this seed of intention by speaking it silently or aloud in your own words as though it has already happened.

Feel this truth in your body,

Finally give thanks for this blessing and now letting it go with trust into the universe.

Bringing your awareness now back to your breath,

Without any need to control or manipulate it,

Simply let your body breathe you,

Let yourself surrender to the simplicity of just being breathed.

Notice how your body softens and expands,

Like water effortlessly flowing and spreading.

Within this body of water,

Sense the gentle rhythms that move through you,

A tide,

Alive with waves of respiration,

Ebbing and flowing in perfect harmony within.

As you attune to this tide,

Notice how the awareness of your breathing deepens your connection to the greater flow of life itself.

Observe how each quiet,

Unhurried breath flows gently in and out of your body,

Reflecting the rhythms of your days.

Feel the seamless flow of the day giving way to the night,

And the night softly yielding to the day,

Touched by the tender transitions of dawn and dusk.

Sense the parallels between this natural rhythm and the seasons of your life.

Just as winter gradually transforms into summer,

Summer gives way to winter.

These cycles are graced by the gentle transitions of autumn and spring.

Feel the wisdom in these transitions,

The spaces where the changes unfold,

Holding them within the beauty of life's eternal flow.

Let yourself merge with this rhythm,

Trusting in its natural intelligence as you become one with the endless dance of breath,

Life and seasons.

Relax deeply into the soothing sensations of being breathed.

Simply allow the breath to flow effortlessly,

Carrying you into a state of calm and tranquility.

Bringing your awareness to the top of your head,

Feel a soft,

Radiant awareness at the very crown,

Like a gentle beam of light connecting you to something vast and infinite.

The crown and mind,

A portal gently turning down the lights of the physical world and opening to the universe,

To the peace and stillness of the stars above.

Imagine the crown of your head glowing,

Expansive and infinite,

As though the vastness of the cosmos resides here.

Your awareness to your whole head,

Sensing it as one complete orb of energy and sensations.

Feel its contours,

Its weight,

Its pressure,

Effortless and serene,

Relaxing into your space for sleep.

Move your attention to the back of the skull,

Noticing the quiet stillness here,

As though your mind is cradling it gently by the vastness of the night.

Awareness shifts to your right eyebrow,

Then to the left eyebrow,

Sensing the gentle curve,

The stillness they hold.

Bringing the focus to the space now between your eyebrows,

The third eye,

Your inner eye,

A gateway to awareness,

Open to relaxation,

Timeless and free.

Feel this space as a point of connection to something greater,

Both deeply personal and universally expansive.

Bringing your attention to your ears,

The outer ear,

The inner ear,

And the earlobes.

Notice the delicate sensations in this area,

Perhaps the coolness of air or the soft hum of silence.

Move your focus to your nose,

Sense the bridge of your nose and the tip of your nose,

Aware of each detail,

Each subtle sensation.

Feel the gentle movement of air entering and leaving your nostrils,

As though the breath itself is brushing against you in the lightest,

Most soothing way.

Your awareness moving inwards into your mouth,

Feel and sense the entire mouth,

Full of watery sensations.

Feel the weight of your tongue resting completely at ease.

Notice the strength of your jaws,

Releasing any tension held,

Softening with each breath.

Becoming aware of the gums and the teeth in your mouth and the subtle sensations.

The lips feel their contours,

Their gentle softness.

Awareness moving to your cheeks,

Sense the roundness of the cheeks and structure of the cheekbones,

Structure of your chin.

Feel the texture of the skin over your whole body.

Your awareness to the river that flows within,

Your blood flowing throughout your whole body,

Radiating warmth and bringing in calm.

Allow yourself to rest in this awareness.

Just let each sensation bring you further into peace and stillness.

Awareness gently settling at the top of your neck.

Imagine a soothing wave of relaxation spreading from the base of your skull,

Cascading downwards,

Softening and restoring all the muscles and bones in your neck.

Each breath invites a deeper sense of ease,

Like a gentle whisper of peace flowing through the neck,

Dissolving any and all tension.

As your awareness moves to your shoulders,

Feel both shoulders from the inside,

As though your awareness is cradling them in a warm healing light.

Sense the weight that they carry,

And with each exhale let the weight fall away,

Leaving only lightness and freedom.

Awareness now to both upper arms.

Imagine the energy within them as streams flowing smoothly,

Unhindered.

Feel the same sense in the elbows as if they are gateways to opening to effortless movement and rest.

Your forearms,

Sensing them softening and unwinding as your awareness flows into the wrists.

Feel their delicate structure,

Release any tension.

The palms of your hands,

Notice their warmth,

Their quiet aliveness,

Bringing attention to the backs of your hands.

Sense a gentle tingling as though your body is sighing in relief.

Now journey into your fingers one by one.

Thumbs,

First fingers,

Second fingers,

Third fingers,

Fourth fingers.

Feeling both your pinky fingers at once.

Feel the subtle space between each finger.

A void of stillness is cradling each one.

At the very tips of the fingers,

Imagine streams of energy extending outward,

Flowing beyond,

Dissolving into the infinite.

Your awareness back to your torso,

Attention to your chest and upper back.

Feel your ribcage expanding and contracting effortlessly with each and every breath,

Like a delicate shell protecting the heart.

Sense the middle of the back softening,

Releasing tension like leaves falling from a tree in autumn.

Bringing your awareness to your belly,

Feeling its gentle rise and fall with each breath.

Let the lower back melt into the surface beneath you.

You are completely supported and held.

Travel now to your pelvis and your buttocks,

Grounding and anchoring you.

The hips,

Imagine them as great hinges,

Loosening and opening to freedom.

Moving down to the thighs,

They are heavy and relaxed,

As though sinking into the earth itself.

Feel your knees,

Soft and fluid and the space just beneath them,

Resting and relaxing.

Your awareness moves to the lower legs,

The calves releasing all tension.

The ankles,

Sense their subtle flexibility and strength,

Letting them rest completely.

The heels,

Solid and grounding.

The soles of the feet,

Imagine them glowing softly,

Connecting to earth.

Now feel the tops of your feet,

Light and open.

Let yourself bring your awareness into each toe,

Starting with your right foot.

Big toe on your right foot.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe on your right foot.

And your pinky toe on your right foot.

Awareness moving to the toes on your left foot.

The big toe.

The second toe.

Third toe awareness.

Fourth toe.

And finally to the pinky toe on this foot.

Sense the spaces between each of your toes,

The air and the stillness that surrounds them.

Feel the energy at the tips of all your toes.

Streams of energy flowing outward,

Merging into the vastness of the beyond.

We now descend further into the bones.

Feel the density,

Their quiet strength.

Imagine the layers within the bones,

As though they too could sigh and soften,

Carried effortlessly on the currents of your breath.

Deeper still feel the soft organs within your body,

Your heart slowing its rhythm.

In this stillness,

Each organ doing their nighttime work.

The fluids and waterways of your body flowing gently like a network of peaceful rivers.

Sense every cell humming,

Glowing softly like the stars of the vast night sky.

Now journey beyond the physical.

Can you feel the energy behind or beneath these sensations?

It is subtle yet profound.

A quiet hum,

A timeless vibration.

Let yourself sink into this energy,

As though floating on its currents.

Feel the sensation of heaviness now.

Welcome it fully.

Heaviness in the arms and legs.

Heaviness in the torso and head.

As though you are sinking deeply into Mother Earth.

Let's now begin to count down from 10 to 0.

With each gentle exhalation,

Imagine yourself shedding a layer.

Releasing tension and sinking deeper and deeper into relaxation.

Feel the breath softening your body,

As though a wave of calm is washing over you.

With each exhale,

Let go just a little more.

Sinking further into a peaceful state of rest.

8.

Your awareness begins to settle at your heart.

Feeling the steady rhythm as it guides you gently downwards into sleep.

7.

As you exhale,

Imagine dropping another layer.

As though floating weightlessly into a serene and quiet space.

6.

Bringing your awareness to the hollow space of your throat.

Sensing the stillness and ease that expands with every breath.

5.

Each count takes you deeper.

As though descending a soft spiral staircase into the sanctuary of sleep.

4.

Feeling yourself becoming lighter,

Yet more grounded.

As you release the day completely with the flow of your breath.

3.

The warmth of relaxation cradles you now.

Your body and mind dissolving into the stillness.

2.

Each exhale draws you closer to the edge of deep restorative sleep,

Where peace awaits.

1.

The final breath releases all that remains as you surrender entirely into the soothing rhythm of rest.

0.

As you now are fully immersed in the quiet embrace of sleep.

You are drifting effortlessly into the dreamlike flow of healing and renewal.

And every time you do this meditation,

You will drift deeper and receive more and more benefits.

Rest here held by Mother Earth.

And feel the gentle waves of your breath as you journey deeper into the tranquility of the night.

Feeling into your whole body.

Your whole body resting at ease.

And you let yourself now fully surrender.

Surrendering fully to rest.

Trusting in the flow of sleep.

Trusting in the restoration of your body.

The renewal of your spirit.

As you drift deeper and deeper into infinite peace and deep sleep.

And deep,

Deep rest.