Yoga Nidra For Sleep

Yoga nidra is the practice of conscious rest, an ancient yogic technique that guides you into the threshold state between waking and sleeping, where the nervous system can completely release.

This recording is designed specifically to support the transition into sleep, guiding you through a body scan, breath awareness, and a slow withdrawal of the senses into stillness. It is particularly supportive for those navigating the sleep disruption of perimenopause, burnout, anxiety, or chronic nervous system activation.

You do not need to stay awake for it to work. In fact, drifting into sleep during the practice is perfectly welcome. Simply press play, get comfortable, and let the rest take care of itself.

Transcript

Welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra. Come to lie down in Shavasana. Lying on the floor, On your mat or in your bed. Just allow yourself to be received by the earth the force of gravity yielding. To gravity. Allow your feet to fall open. Your arms to rest a little away from your body with the palms turned gently upwards Maybe just tuck your shoulder blades underneath you a little, Which helps to open. The arms and the palms. Going to close your eyes, Relax and soften the muscles in your face. Softening across your forehead. Letting the eyelids become heavy. Making any minor adjustments You want to be completely comfortable. Is there anything that you can do right now just to make yourself 10% more comfortable? Take a moment now to really feel the weight of your body. Places of contact between your body and the support beneath you Maybe just having a quick scan, Feeling where the feet are in contact, Backs of your legs, Buttocks. Shoulders, The back of your head. Letting your whole body become heavy. Releasing any effort, Any doing from the muscles. Softening your hands, Relaxing your fingers, Becoming completely still. Ideally you will stay completely still for the whole practice If you do need to move then. . . Do that mindfully. You don't need to do anything here. In yoga nidra You don't need to become anything. This is the time. Just to simply arrive, Be present and be here. Before we start on the journey inwards. You take a little moment to plant a seed. To make an intention. What we call Sankalpa. A short heartfelt intention. It might be something that you are moving towards. Or something that you are choosing to remember right now. So I just want you to take a moment to find the words that carry meaning for you right now in your life. Just letting those words arise naturally. Don't think too hard. Keep it simple. When those words arise you're just going to say to yourself slowly and silently 3 times with your full heart behind it. And just let the words land deep inside you Let the words have a resonance. Let them echo Like settling like a stone. Sinking through the water. Allowing all the ripples of that stone to echo out through your system. Now bring your attention to your breath We're not going to change the breath in any way. Just finding the breath. Noticing the breath noticing the happening of the breath Becoming aware of the rising and falling no effort required from you Your body knows how to breathe. It has never forgotten. Feel the breath in the belly slow expansion and the gentle release Like the tide moving in. Drawing back out again inhaling the belly rises like a gentle wave exhale it falls like the wave returning home Stay here for a few more breaths, Just watching, Just witnessing. We're now going to travel through the body with the rotation of consciousness. Just going to bring your awareness to each place, Each part of the body as I name it. There's no need to move or change anything. Just following my words and letting your awareness travel through your body. So we're starting with the right side of the body Right hand, Right hand thumb. Second finger. Middle finger ring finger little finger whole of the right hand palm of the hand. Back of the hand. The right wrist. Or. Elbow Up around. Shoulder. The right side of the chest the right side of the belly. Right hip. Right thigh. Back of the thigh. The May. The kneecap. The space beneath the back of the knee The right shin the right car. The ankle. The heel. Sole of the right foot top of the foot. Right big toe second toe Third toe. Fourth tone. Middle toe All of the right leg. The whole of the right arm. The entire right side of the body. Now bringing your awareness over to the left side Left hand thumb. Second finger Third finger. Ring finger Little finger. Whole of the left hand. Palm of the hand The back of the hand. Left wrist All around. Elbow. Upper arm. Shoulder left side of the chest. Left side of the belly. Left hip. Left thigh. Back of the thigh. The knee. And kneecap. The space beneath the back of the knee. The shin. Huh. Left ankle. The heel sole of the left foot the top of the foot. Left big toe second tone The tongue. Fourth tone. Little toe the whole of the left leg together the whole of the left arm. The entire left side of the body. Bringing your awareness now to the back of the body back of the head back of the neck. Shoulder blades the space between the shoulder blades. Middle back Back of the ribs. Lower back. Back of the hips back of the pelvis. The sitting bones. Tailbone. Whole back of the body resting Supported. Around. Now bringing your awareness to the front of the body. The forehead. Smooth wide and open Eyebrows The space between the eyebrows. I need. Gently closed. The cheeks. It knows. The nostrils. The upper lip. And lower lip. The mouth. The jaw. Let it soften. The chin. The throat. Collarbones the chest. Bringing your awareness to your heart. Acknowledging whatever lives there tonight Letting it rest. The belly The navel. And lower belly and hips. Whole front of the body. Open like a night sky. Bringing your awareness to the face and the head one more time. Scalp of your head. Skin. The top of your head. Temples. Your ears. Receiving the silence. The tongue resting in the mouth. Eyes behind closed lids. Still and soft. The whole face. Melting into peace. Bring your awareness to the whole body together now. From the crown of your head to the tip of your toes. Whole body together the whole body together. One living, Breathing, Luminous thing. Held by the Earth. The whole body together. Now we will move through pairs of opposites. Sensations and images. Just receive them. Let them arise and pass like clouds. Feel heaviness. Feel heaviness in the body. The body is sinking. Densestone Heavy is the earth itself. Feel heaviness in the body. Now feel the sensation of lightness. Feel lightness in the body. Feel the body floating feel the body weightless Drifting like smoke in the sky A lightness in the body. Now feel the sensation of warmth. Feel warmth in your body. As if the golden afternoon sunlight it's moving slowly across your skin Feel the sensation of warmth in your body. Now feel the sensation of coolness. Feel coolness in the body. Gentle breeze. A touch of morning air. Feel the sensation of coolness in your body. Your pleasure. Feel the sensation of pleasure. In your body. Deep, Quiet, Spreading pleasure. Like warm water. Feel the sensation of pleasure Now feel pain. Feel the sensation of pain in your body. Somewhere distant. A dull ache. Not yours to hold. Feel the sensation of pain. Feel movement. Feel the sensation of movement in your body. You are traveling. Being carried on a slow river. Feel the sensation of movement in the body Now feel stillness. Absolute stillness. Feel stillness in your body. Stillness at the bottom of a deep lake. Feel the sensation of stillness in your body. Your wakefulness. Feel the sensation of wakefulness in your body. Alert. When? Every sense alike. Feel the sensation of wakefulness. Now feel sleep. Feel the sensation of sleep in your body. Darkness gathering at the edges Soft, Safe darkness drawing close. Feel the sensation of sleep Now returning to the seed we planted at the beginning of the practice. Your sankalpa, Your intention. Let it rise again from wherever it settled. Bring it to the surface of your awareness like something precious carried up from deep water. Say it again to yourself Three times slowly. The sankalpa is received, The mind is quieter now, The heart is more open. Let the sankalpa dissolve back into the stillness and return to the breath. Find it again. That quiet, Faithful companion. Still moving. Still keeping you here. Belly rising and falling Rising, Four legs. You are breathing and you are being breathed. The boundary between the two has softened. Let each exhale carry you a little further into the night. Each breath like a gentle tide drawing back into the vast dark restful sleep. Slowly now and very gently. Begin to become aware of the room around you. The sounds of the space you are in. New sounds. The sounds that are far away Becoming aware of the surface beneath you its solidity and support. Begin to deepen the breath. Just slightly. Just letting a little more air move in and move out. When you feel ready to just bring in some very small movements to the fingers and toes. Maybe starting to stretch a little, Wake up. If your body calls for it Let the practice carry you the rest of the way. Into restfulness and sleep into the healing dark. You are safe, You are held. Practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete. Goodnight.