The Simplest Sleep Meditation (Yoganidra)

In this video, you will learn one of the simplest and most effective sleep meditations. As you gently observe the natural rhythm of your breath while lying in bed, the mind gradually becomes quieter and the body relaxes, allowing you to drift into sleep with calm awareness. Please remember not to listen to this meditation while driving or operating heavy machinery.

Transcript

Let's talk about the most simple conscious sleep meditation that we can do. This is a meditation which is taught in vipassana courses, Where during the day you do the process of noting everything that is happening. So, In the practice of vipassana, You are walking or you are sitting, And you are observing what is happening in your body, And you are mentally making note of it, As if you are talking to yourself internally. If you're sitting, Then you're observing that you're sitting. If you are walking, You are observing that you're walking. And what we're going to do is we're going to do the meditation that one is instructed to do while going to sleep in such retreats. And what we do is we simply lie down with our head on the mat. The Buddha reclined on his right side with his left side up, And so it is recommended by them that you do this type of reclining position. But you can also do this on your back or in any position, Because it really doesn't matter. And all you need to do is find a comfortable position in which you can go to sleep and start to observe your breathing. When you inhale, You will notice that your belly is rising, And so you mentally note rising. And when you exhale, Your belly falls down. And as this happens, You simply note falling. And as exhalation finishes and before inhalation begins, You note to yourself lying. That is, You are lying on the mat, On the bed. And then when you notice that inhalation is starting again, You note again rising, And then falling, Lying, Rising, Falling, Lying. Now you do this internally, Without speaking, As if you are noting to yourself, As if you are saying this in your head. Try not to control the breath. We want to allow the body to be completely normal and natural. We just want to become aware of what happens to it naturally. If we are aware of what happens to it naturally without affecting it, We may be able to let the body fall asleep while we remain aware. But so long as we are trying to control the body, Control the breath, Our body cannot go to sleep. When we are doing the daily vipassana meditation, If we hear something from the outer world, We usually acknowledge it three times, Hearing, Hearing, Hearing, Or seeing, Seeing, Seeing. But in this nighttime meditation, We are going to ignore the external signals and focus only on our internal world. So if you have thoughts, Simply repeat three times, Thinking, Thinking, Thinking. If you feel uncomfortable, You can acknowledge that, Discomfort, Discomfort, Discomfort. And if you decide to move, Then very slowly move and acknowledge that, Moving, Moving, Moving. Always come back to the breath. Coming back to the breath keeps us anchored in the present moment. In awareness. If any memories come up, Acknowledge remembering, Remembering, Remembering. And if something is coming up again and again, After acknowledging it three times, You can ignore it and just stay with your breath. You can acknowledge your sensations, Heavy, Heavy, Heavy, Or whatever it is that you are experiencing. If there are any emotions, Then acknowledge them, Such as sad, Sad, Sad, Or happy, Happy, Happy. And then come back to the breath. You can close the lights. You can go underneath the covers. In any position, In any situation, You can do this meditation. Simply allow yourself to fall asleep in this meditation. Just remaining aware, Allowing the body to fall asleep. I am performing this meditation on the bed, But you can go under the covers, In the same position that you would take if you would normally go to sleep. You can use as many cushions as you like, Whichever way you feel comfortable and like to sleep in.