Welcome to this yoga nidra practice for sleep.
This is Britta.
Please begin by lying down comfortably on your back.
Allow your feet to fall open naturally.
Let your arms rest slightly away from your body,
Palms facing upward.
Make any final adjustments now so your body can remain completely still.
When you are ready,
Gently close your eyes.
Take a slow breath in through the nose and exhale softly through the mouth.
Again,
Inhale slowly and exhale releasing the day behind you.
One more deep breath in and let go completely.
Feel the body settling,
Heavier,
Feeling more supported with every breath.
Tonight there is nowhere to go,
Nothing to do and nothing to solve.
Simply rest.
As you arrive in a place of stillness,
Bring your awareness to your natural breath.
No need to change the rhythm of the breath,
But simply notice it flowing in and flowing out.
Feel the rise of the chest and the gentle fall.
With each exhale the body softens more deeply.
Bring your whole awareness to your forehead,
Allow any tension here to soften and release.
Relaxing around the eyes,
Sensing the eyes drifting back,
Resting on the world of seeing.
Releasing the jaw and let the tongue rest softly inside the mouth.
Bring awareness to the shoulders,
Chest,
The belly,
The legs,
The arms and feet.
Sense the whole body unwinding,
Letting go,
Drifting heavily backwards.
Bring your whole awareness to your heart space and take a breath into the heart.
Exhale out of the heart.
Now gently bring to mind a simple intention for your rest tonight.
It could be an affirmation,
I allow myself to sleep deeply.
Or my body knows how to rest.
Something of your own choice,
Whichever feels natural.
And silently repeat your intention three times.
Now we move awareness through the body.
Simply noticing each part as it is named,
No movement is needed.
Bring your full awareness to your right hand,
Right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist,
Forearm,
Shoulder,
Right side waist,
Heel of your foot,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now bring your awareness to your left hand,
Left thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Left side waist,
Heel of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now bring awareness to the back of your body,
Back of your head,
Back of the neck,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Middle back,
Back of the right leg,
Back of the left leg,
Feel both heels resting heavily.
Feel the entire back of the body supported by the earth beneath you.
Now awareness moves to the front of the body,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Eyebrows,
Space between the eyebrows,
Right eye,
Lips,
Lips,
Awareness resting to the throat,
Chest,
Heart centre,
Navel,
Whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Now sensing the whole body together.
Feel the entire body breathing as one.
Bring your awareness to the natural breath within the belly,
Noticing the belly rises as you inhale and falls softly as you exhale.
Begin counting the breath backward from 10 to 1,
So that as you inhale,
Inhale 10 and exhale 10.
Inhale 9 and exhale 9.
Inhale 8 and exhale 8.
Continuing counting backwards to 1 and if you lose your way,
Start again at 10.
Imagine now a quiet night sky above you,
A sky of deep blue,
Almost black.
Tiny stars shimmer softly overhead.
The air is cool and calm.
Here you feel completely safe,
Completely held.
A soft breeze moves gently around your body and your body grows heavier as you sink into a more relaxed,
More peaceful,
Restful space.
Imagine floating effortlessly beneath the stars.
Stillness.
Drifting here beneath the stars.
Letting go of all the images,
Return to the simple feeling of the body resting.
Breathing naturally,
Effortlessly.
You are how the body already knows how to sleep.
Nothing else is needed.
No effort.
No thinking.
Bring back your attention one final time to your intention.
Repeating it silently three times.
Your gratitude for this moment of rest.
Now allow even these words to fade into the background.
As you drift deeper,
Soften further,
Rest completely.
Allow yourself to fall into a peaceful sleep.
Good night,
Sleep well.
