Yoga Nidra For More Continuous Sleep

A calming Yoga Nidra practice designed to support restful, more continuous sleep. This guided practice uses body awareness, breath observation, sensory withdrawal (pratyāhāra), and gentle intention (saṅkalpa) to encourage deep relaxation and reduce the effort and mental activity that can arise around sleep. Especially supportive for those who experience nighttime waking or difficulty settling back into rest.

Transcript

Welcome to today's yoga nidra. My name is Vero and this yoga nidra is for restful and more continuous sleep. If you hear silence, It is normal for this practice. Allow yourself to settle into the position in which you naturally sleep. Feel the weight of your body. Being received by the bed. Notice the back of the head. The shoulders. The back. The pelvis. The legs. The heels. Nothing needs to be held up now. The activities of the day can remain outside of this moment. There is nowhere else you need to go right now. Nothing you need to solve. Nothing you need to accomplish. For now, Simply rest. Notice your breathing without changing it. Feel the inhale arrive. Feel the exhale leave Notice specifically the exhalation. Not making it longer. Simply following it. All the way to its natural end. Inhale. Exhale and release. Inhale. Exhale and settle. With each exhalation. Notice whether the body gives a little more of its weight to the bed. Bring awareness gently toward the center of your chest. Listen inwardly to these words I can rest without trying. Again. I can rest. Without trying. One more time. I can rest without trying. There is no need to make the words true. Simply place them quietly within awareness. Then release them. Bring awareness to the right hand. The right thumb. Second finger third finger. Fourth finger fifth finger back of the hand. Rest. Forearm. Elbow. Upper arm. Shoulder. Right side of the chest right waist, Right hip Bye. Knee Lower leg. Ankle, Heel. Soul of the foot. Top of the foot. Big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe 5th toe Now the left hand, Left thumb. Second finger. Third finger, Fourth finger fifth finger palm. Back of the hand, Wrist for elbow. Upper arm. Shoulder. Left side of the chest. Left waist left hip. Bye. Knee. Lower leg. And cool heal soul of the food. Top of the foot. Big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe Fifth. Become aware of both feet together. Both legs together. Both hands. Both arms. The whole back body. The whole front body. The entire body resting. Become aware of the weight of the body. The head is heavy. The shoulders are heavy. The arms are heavy. The hands are heavy. The pelvis is heavy. The legs are heavy. The feet are heavy. The whole body is heavy. Not heavy in a burdensome way. Heavy because it no longer needs to hold itself up. The bed is doing the holding. Bring awareness again to the breathing. Imagine each breath as a small wave. The inhale arises, The exhale recedes. Nothing holds the wave. Nothing pushes it away. It comes. It goes. Perhaps begin counting backward. Very gently from 12. 12, Breathing in Breathing out 11. . . Breathing in. . . Breathing out. 10. Nine if you lose count. There is nothing to correct. Simply return to 12. The returning is part of the practice. Become aware of sounds. You do not need to identify them. A sound appears. A sound disappears. Nothing needs your response. Become aware of sensations in the body. Warmth, Coolness pressure. Contact. Perhaps movement. Nothing needs to be changed. The senses can remain open. Without following everything they encounter. Sounds can remain outside. Sensations can come and go. Thoughts can come and go. You remain resting. Now imagine the middle of the night. You become aware that you are awake. Notice whether simply Imagining this creates a response in the body. There is nothing to fix simply notice. Now imagine recognizing I am awake right now. And nothing more. Not. How long have I been awake? Not. How much sleep will I get? Knot What time is it? Simply. I am awake right now. Feel the bed underneath you. Feel the weight of the body. Notice one exhalation. Than another. And silently here I can return to resting not I must sleep. Simply. I can return to resting. For a moment, Allow the idea of 7 or 8 hours to appear. Seven or eight. Notice what happens when you think about that number. Does the body soften? There's something tight in. Does the mind begin calculating? Simply notice. Allow the number to disappear. Tonight does not have to prove anything. Return instead. To the experience immediately available. Those breaths. This bad. This moment of rest. Return once more to the intention. I can rest without trying. Again, I can rest without trying. And once more. I can rest without trying. Then release even the intention. Nothing more needs to be done. Feel the whole body at once. Supported, Quiet. Breathing. There is no need to wait for sleep. There is no need to look for sleep. There is no need to know when sleep begins. Allow the voice to become less important. Allow. The words to become less important. Allow awareness to become quiet. Rest. If sleep comes, Let the practice end here.