Yoga Nidra For Peaceful Sleep

Drift off into a peaceful sleep easily and effortlessly with this Yoga Nidra guided sleep meditation. This is an excellent sleep aid if you suffer from insomnia. It will help your body and your nervous system to relax deeply, so that sleep will come more easily.

Transcript

Namaste,

Dear one.

This is Ellara at Heartful Way.

I feel so honored that you are here with me tonight.

This yoga nidra is for helping you to fall into a deep,

Peaceful sleep for the rest of the night.

I will be using yoga nidra techniques to systematically help your body and mind relax.

But unlike in yoga nidra where you are encouraged to stay awake as you relax,

Allow yourself to drift off at any point during my guidance.

And I will not be guiding you back into wakeful awareness so that you can drift off whenever you feel that the body is getting sleepy,

And starting to fall asleep.

Simply allow that to happen.

Now take a few moments to get really comfortable in your bed.

Get as comfortable in your bed as you possibly can,

Noticing how the body feels in your chosen position.

If it's comfortable for you,

You might choose to lay on your back to begin with,

With arms by your side,

Tucking your chin towards the chest a little bit to lengthen the neck.

You might bring a pillow underneath your thighs or knees to take any pressure off the lower back.

Tuck in your covers so that you are completely warm.

Or feel free to choose a sideline position,

Supporting your body to be totally comfortable with a pillow underneath your head,

Maybe a pillow between your knees and or between your arms.

Closing your eyes,

Letting go of all thoughts,

Worry and tension.

Now breathe in fully and exhale with a deep sigh.

And again.

And let go even more.

Feel a deep sense of contentment and peace in your heart.

Now shift from thinking and going to feeling and being.

Doing absolutely nothing from now on.

Simply relax.

Let's state an intention for helping us to fall into a deep peaceful sleep.

We'll state our intention of sankalpa in the present tense.

You may have your own intention or you can repeat after me.

I fall into a peaceful sleep easily and effortlessly now.

Repeating this three times.

I fall into a peaceful sleep easily and effortlessly now.

Now follow my direction as I guide you through your body,

Rotating attention through the physical body.

Start by bringing your awareness inside your mouth.

Become aware of sensations throughout the mouth.

Perhaps a taste inside the mouth.

Notice the tongue resting in the mouth.

Sense the tip of the thumb,

The root of the tongue,

The gums and teeth,

Insides of the cheeks.

Follow sensations toward the right inner ear.

Sensing the outer ear,

The folds of the ear,

The earlobe.

Following sensations back through the right inner ear into the mouth and then over to the left inner ear,

Towards the outer ear,

The folds of the ear,

The earlobe.

Now sense the space,

The distance between the ears.

Allow the space to be at ease.

Become aware of sensations throughout the forehead.

Sense the temples.

Eyebrows.

The space between the eyebrows.

The right eyelid and eyelashes.

The right eye itself.

Sense the warmth of the eye.

Resting deep in the eye socket.

The left eyelid and eyelashes.

The left eye itself.

The warmth of the eye.

Resting deep in the eye socket.

Sense both eyes simultaneously now.

Sense the bridge of the nose and the nostrils.

Sense the air moving in and out of the nostrils.

Sense the air on the upper lip.

Sense the lower lip.

The space between the lips.

Chin.

Jaw.

Feel sensations throughout the whole face now.

And throughout the skull.

Back of the neck.

Front of the throat.

Tops of the shoulders.

Feel the right shoulder.

Upper arm.

Elbow.

Forearm.

Wrist.

Palm of the right hand.

Back of the hand.

Right thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

Feel all five fingers of the right hand.

Sense the space between the fingers.

Sense the fingertips.

Fingernails.

Sense the whole of the right hand.

The whole right arm and shoulder.

Right collarbone.

Right side of the chest.

Right side of the ribcage.

Waist.

Right side of the belly.

Right side of the pelvis.

Right hip joint.

Thigh.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Heel.

The sole of the right foot.

Right big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

And little toe.

Sense the tips of the toes.

The toenails.

The space between the toes.

Sense the whole right foot.

Right leg.

Hip.

The whole right side of the torso.

The whole right side of the body with the arm and leg.

Right side of the torso.

Feel sensations throughout the right side of the body.

Simultaneously become aware of the left hemisphere of the brain.

The left hemisphere and the right hemisphere of the body.

Now guide your awareness to the center of the chest.

Notice the left collarbone.

Left side of the chest.

Sensing the left shoulder.

Upper arm.

Elbow.

Lower arm.

Wrist.

Palm of the left hand and the back of the hand.

Left thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

All five fingers of the left hand.

And the space between the fingers.

The fingertips.

Fingernails.

Sense the whole of the left hand.

Left arm.

Shoulder.

And the left side of the chest.

Left side of the ribcage.

Waist.

Left side of the belly.

Left side of the pelvis.

Left hip joint.

Thigh.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Heel.

The sole of the left foot and the top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

And little toe.

All five toes.

And the space between the toes.

The tips of the toes.

The nails.

Sense the whole left foot.

Leg.

Hip.

And the whole left side of the torso.

Left arm and hand.

Sense the whole left side of the body.

Arm.

The leg.

Left side of the torso.

Feel sensations throughout the left side of the body.

And now sense the right side of the brain.

The right hemisphere of the brain.

And the left hemisphere of the body.

Simultaneously.

Now sense the whole brain.

The whole head.

Both shoulders.

Both arms and hands together.

Sense the whole torso.

Front.

And back.

And inside.

The pelvis.

Both hips.

Both legs.

Both feet.

Sense the whole body.

The whole body as sensation.

Now begin to sense your breath.

Body breathing itself.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Next inhale.

Begin to count to four.

Inhaling to the count of four.

Next exhale.

Count to six.

Exhaling to the count of six.

Continuing this way.

Inhaling to four.

Exhaling to six.

Making the exhalation longer than the inhalation.

Focusing on the long and steady out-breath.

Inhaling to four.

Exhaling to six.

After a while,

Maybe exhaling out to seven or eight.

Allowing the exhalations to grow long and steady.

Notice the little pause between the breaths.

On top of the inhale and bottom of the exhale.

And see if you can smooth out that pause.

Creating a continuous circular breathing pattern.

Not forcing the breath in any way.

Simply allowing the inhale and exhale to flow together.

Like a great big circle.

You're welcome to release the counting now as you breathe in this circular fashion.

But keep the general shape of the breath.

Inhaling deeply and exhaling fully.

Long slow exhale.

Inhales and exhales flowing into each other.

With no pause in between.

Continue this way for several breath cycles.

Gently begin to release the control over the breath.

Allowing your body to take care of the breathing process for you now.

Notice how the breath feels now in the body.

And sense once again the body itself.

And now bring the sensation of cold to each body part as I name the different parts of the body.

Feel your feet so very very cold.

Lower legs,

Thighs and hips ice cold.

Penetrating,

Wet.

Feel your belly,

Chest and back.

Freezing,

Freezing cold.

Shoulders,

Arms and hands.

So cold.

Eyes cold.

Your face.

So freezing cold.

Your whole head.

Experience the whole body cold.

Chilled to the bone.

As though you are barefoot in the snow.

Shivering.

Wind howling.

Snow caught in your hair.

Swirling snow everywhere around you.

Now shift your awareness and bring a sense of warmth to the whole body as though you are now sitting in front of a beautiful warm fire.

Feet are warm and dry.

Lower legs,

Thighs and hips.

So very warm.

Glowing with warmth.

Belly,

Chest and back.

Radiating heat.

Arms and hands.

So very nice and warm.

Your whole face and whole head.

Comfortably warm.

Experience your whole body warm.

Like lying in the sun with no wind.

The whole body radiating heat.

Sun beating down on your body.

Feel the heat.

Feel your body getting very hot now.

Inside and out.

Now shift your awareness.

Notice that your body is perfectly comfortable.

Not too hot.

Not too cold.

But just the right temperature.

Gently bring your awareness into the space between the eyebrows.

Dropping into the deepest level of relaxation.

Resting in witness consciousness.

Move with my guidance as you bring to mind the images and experiences that I name.

Allowing them to just pass by in the field of awareness.

A hive of honey bees.

Torrential rain.

Sunrise on a desert.

Sunset on the ocean.

A star in the sky.

Soaring flock of birds.

Snow-capped mountains.

The flame of a candle.

Golden spider web.

A pink rose.

Crescent moon.

Butterflies.

Waves crashing on a shore.

A tiger.

A deer.

Church bells ringing.

Now allow the images and associated feelings and sensations to dissolve.

Focusing gently on the center of the eyebrows.

Dropping even deeper into relaxation and inner peace.

Here there remains nothing to do or to achieve.

You have entered the domain of grace.

Here you are witness to all that is happening but doing nothing to make anything happen.

Feel completely safe and comfortable as you hand yourself over to the power and protection of your inner presence.

Sensing this inner presence of peace and comfort.

Handing over all fear,

Apprehension and anxiety about all that you may want to change,

Control and manage.

Letting go.

Replacing all worries with trust and faith in your higher power.

Let your mind merge and melt into the presence.

Enter the inner sanctuary of silence.

Repeat your intention again silently three times.

Falling into a peaceful sleep.

Easily and effortlessly now.

Falling into a peaceful sleep.

Easily and effortlessly now.

I'm falling into a peaceful sleep.

Easily and effortlessly now.

Allow yourself to drift.

Allow these following affirmations to resonate deep within you.

My source is silent stillness.

I rest in peace.

I go to the source within that heals all conflicts and restores my health and peace of mind.

I am at peace with myself as I am.

I relax so completely and let go so fully that the inner healing blueprint of my body functions freely and optimally.

Now that I have entered the deepest levels of letting go,

I have entered a complete state of synergy and balance.

I am linked to the self-healing cosmic power of prana,

The life force that restores my health and well-being.

I let the radiant light of love melt all energy blocks in my body and mind.

I feel my burden is lifted.

I feel complete freedom from managing or controlling outcomes.

I feel fully trusting of life to take care of all my needs.

I am liberated from all becoming and live in the power of being that I am.

I fall asleep peacefully,

Easily and effortlessly.

Resting deep in my inner being.

Knowing that I am deeply loved,

Just as I am in this moment and always.

Knowing that I am always in the right place,

Doing the right thing.

All is well in my world.

I sleep peacefully now,

All through the night.

I sleep peacefully now,

All through the night.

I accept the blessings and the grace of my higher self,

Connected to the loving spirit of the universe.

I rest in my source,

Which is unconditional love.