Night bloom.
A yoga nidra for intrusive thoughts,
Restlessness,
And sleep.
Settle into your bed.
Let the blankets fall around you.
And give yourself permission to let this day soften and fade.
This is practice for nights when the mind feels full.
When intrusive thoughts keep circling.
When the body wants rest but the mind is still awake.
Tonight we invite the whole system to drift.
To loosen.
To open.
Like a lotus blooming in the dark.
So take a slow breath in.
And a long gentle breath out.
Let night time's pace take over for you.
And let your breath become a quiet wave.
If you know Ujjayi,
Let that soft oceanic whisper breath fill the back of your throat.
If not,
Simply breathe with your belly and chest rising like a tide and falling like the returning wave.
No effort.
No counting.
Just rhythm.
The breath is the lagoon.
The lagoon is the breath.
And now your sankalpa.
A message of truth that you want to embed in your subconscious.
Whispered only once at the beginning of practice.
I release this day.
Hey.
Let it drift outward.
Floating across the surface of the dark waters you wade in.
Now to dissolve into the bed,
Bring awareness at your feet first.
And imagine them sinking deeper into the mattress.
As if wrapped in warm sand.
The ankles soften.
The calves let go.
Muscles dissolving at the edges.
Like ink fading into the water.
Your knees growing heavier.
Your thighs growing heavier.
As if the whole lower body is resting under a gentle weighted blanket.
Now the hips soften.
The pelvis relaxes.
And your belly loosens its grip.
The chest rises and falls with the tide of your breath.
Slow.
Steady.
Safe.
Arms grow heavy.
Hands melting into the sheets.
Fingers softening at the tips.
Now let your throat relax.
Feel the jaw unclench.
And the tongue softens.
Let your eyes grow heavy in their sockets.
And let the forehead smooth.
The crown of the head spacious and open.
Tingly perhaps.
Your entire body is warm,
Heavy,
Resting.
Now imagine a lotus resting in the center of your body.
A nighttime bloom.
Every time you inhale it opens a petal.
And each exhale closes it again.
So open and imagine your lotus petal opening with you as you inhale.
And close as you exhale.
The petal closes.
Open.
And close.
Slow,
Rhythmic,
Effortless.
And now one petal loosens and falls.
Then another.
And another.
Drifting down the water like soft pieces of moonlight.
Each petal is a thought.
And we can let go of our attachments to our thoughts.
The lagoon around you receives them.
So let go,
Let the petals break off and float down the lagoon.
The sky above you is filled with stars.
Thousands of tiny lights scattered across velvet darkness.
As you lie near deep moonlit lagoon.
The moon hangs low and luminous.
Casting silver ripples across the water.
Lotus blooms float around you.
Their petals shimmering.
Softly glowing.
The air is warm.
It is still.
And you are suspended in a perfect night.
You are safe here.
Held by the lagoon's slow ancient breath.
Now imagine the tide begins to move very gently.
Drawing the petals across the surface.
Each intrusive thought is a petal.
It loosens.
It falls.
Touches the water.
And the tide carries it away.
Self-doubt,
Drifting.
Worry,
Drifting.
Mental noise,
Drifting.
Anything heavy,
Drifting.
One petal at a time.
Each thought you let go of your attachment to and let it drift away.
Softly.
Slowly.
In real time.
Effortlessly carried into the night.
Your mind becomes that quiet lagoon.
Still.
Silver.
Silent.
There is nothing sharp here.
Nothing urgent.
Nothing to fix.
Just the soft release.
Of thought after thought.
Petal after petal.
Say goodbye.
Let it float into the darkness.
Feel your body now wrapped in a soft nighttime cocoon.
The bed beneath you is warm and steady.
The blankets are the gentle weight of safety.
The night air strokes your skin with cool softness.
You are suspended between moonlight and water.
Held in a space where nothing is required of you.
A space where sleep finds you naturally.
Softly.
Slowly.
Lovingly.
Let your breath become quieter.
Rhythmic.
Let your thoughts be dimmer.
Silent.
Your whole body sinking.
Deeper into rest.
The stars above you begin to dim.
The lagoon darkens.
The petals stop falling.
The water becomes still.
Your breath slows.
Slows.
Slows.
Slows.
Slower.
The last flicker of wakefulness softens.
Like a lantern going out.
You are drifting now.
Held.
Cocooned.
Safe.
Safe.
Sweet dreams.
Sweet dreams.
Namaste.
