Sleep Deep Now With Yoga Nidra

Typically during Yoga Nidra, we aim to stay awake. But in this special session, we have full permission to drift off into a restful sleep. So do anything you need to ensure you will be set up for a restful and comfortable night's sleep. See you there!

Transcript

Hello and welcome to Yoga Nidra,

To sleep deeply now.

Typically in Yoga Nidra practice,

We resolve to remain awake.

But in this special session,

You have full permission to drift off into a deep and restful sleep.

So to begin,

Ensure that you are as comfortable as possible.

And if you need to make any adjustments to your space to make sure you're comfortable,

Pause the video and take a moment to do so.

And whenever you are ready,

We'll begin with the eyes closed,

If they're not closed already.

And bring your attention inward.

Take a deep breath in through the nose.

Open the mouth and let it go.

Good.

Again,

Deep breath in through the nose.

Open the mouth and let it go.

And let your whole body relax.

Let the mind be quiet.

Slowly beginning to disengage from thoughts,

Images,

And worries.

And allow yourself to be fully immersed in the experience of this moment.

And we're going to take three deep breaths together,

Each time holding the breath at the top of the inhalation before relaxing into the exhalation.

And while we hold the breath,

We're also going to tighten,

Tense,

And squeeze every muscle in the body to allow for our bodies to relax even more fully when we let it go.

We'll take our first breath in together now.

Deep breath in through the nose.

Close off the throat and hold the breath in.

Tighten,

Tense,

And squeeze every muscle in the body.

Clench the fists,

Clench the jaw.

Tighten,

Tighten,

And squeeze.

And exhale.

Let it go.

Release the muscles.

Unclench the fists.

Just let it go.

Good.

Again,

Deep breath in through the nose.

Close off the throat.

Hold the breath in.

Tighten,

Tense,

And squeeze every muscle.

Squeezing a little bit harder this time.

Maybe even a little bit longer.

And whenever you feel ready,

Release the breath.

Release the muscles.

Unclench the fists.

Relax the jaw.

Good.

Last time.

Deep breath in through the nose.

Even deeper.

Close off the throat.

Hold the breath in.

Tighten,

Tense,

And squeeze.

Again,

Maybe even squeezing a little bit harder this time than the past two.

Clench every muscle in the body.

Hold the breath.

And whenever you feel ready,

Release.

Feel a wave of heaviness wash over the body,

Beginning to permeate every muscle.

Every muscle releases tension.

The mind releases tension.

All tensions melting away now.

Breathe easily.

And from this point forward,

Remain as still as possible.

If you need to move to make any adjustments to your posture,

Do so mindfully and very slowly,

As if you were moving through very thick honey.

And return to stillness as soon as you are able.

Stay connected to the sound of my voice and let your whole body respond to what I say without any commentary or judgment.

And listen to your mind effortlessly and automatically as if my voice was your voice.

And now,

From thinking to feeling,

And from doing to non-doing,

Relax.

And bring your attention to your breath now.

Simply watch the flow of each breath in,

Of each breath out.

And slowly begin to take a few deeper breaths,

Allowing the inhalations to be a little longer and the exhalations a little more complete.

Without any strain or effort,

The breath flows steadily in and out.

And as you inhale,

Let the breath fill your lungs fully from bottom to top,

From pubic bone all the way up to the collarbones.

And as you exhale,

Empty the lungs completely from top to bottom,

Collarbones all the way down to the pubic bone.

Inhale deeply,

Exhale and let go completely.

Feel the expansion with every breath in,

And the relaxation with every breath out.

Slow and steady,

Breathing fully,

Inhaling bottom to top,

Exhaling top to bottom.

And with every progressive breath,

Notice a sense of calm and peace beginning to permeate your entire body.

As you inhale,

Receive the gift of energy.

And as you exhale,

Let go of tension,

Holding,

And worries.

Feel the breath heal and rejuvenate your whole body.

Let your whole body breathe in and breathe out,

And stay relaxed.

Now release any control over the breath and let it return to its natural rhythm.

Begin to notice how attention floats freely among thoughts,

Sensations,

And sounds.

Make no effort to control.

Simply allow attention to move freely throughout the experience of this moment.

Notice how it may rest on a sensation in the body,

On your breath,

Or it may be pulled towards a thought.

Watch it move spontaneously and effortlessly.

Bring your attention to the breath.

Resist any attempt to change or alter it.

Just notice how it moves in and out of your body and follow its natural flow.

Whether it's fast or slow,

Deep or shallow,

Simply relax and remain the passive observer.

If awareness moves to a thought or sound or a sensation,

Gently bring it back to the breath.

Allow yourself to be mesmerized by the movement of breath.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

With each breath,

Your body relaxes.

Your mind softens,

Feeling completely relaxed.

From this point forward,

Do absolutely nothing.

Rest back into the depths of your being.

We will now move through our body.

When a body part is named,

Simply allow attention to move to that spot and feel what is there.

Whether it is something or nothing at all,

Remain relaxed,

Free from effort or strain.

Brow center,

Pit of the throat,

Right shoulder,

Right elbow,

Right wrist,

Tip of the right thumb,

Tip of the right index finger,

Right middle finger,

Right ring finger,

Right little finger,

Right wrist,

Right elbow,

Right shoulder,

Pit of the throat,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow,

Left wrist,

Tip of the left thumb,

Tip of the left index finger,

Left middle finger,

Left ring finger,

Left little finger,

Left wrist,

Left elbow,

Left shoulder,

Pit of the throat,

Center of the chest,

Right breast,

Center of the chest,

Left breast,

Center of the chest,

Solar plexus,

Navel point,

Center of the pubic bone,

Right hip,

Right knee,

Right ankle,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Right ankle,

Right knee,

Right hip,

Middle of the pubic bone,

Left hip,

Left knee,

Left ankle,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Left ankle,

Left knee,

Left hip,

Center of the pubic bone,

Navel point,

Solar plexus,

Middle of the chest,

Pit of the throat,

Brow center.

Now allow yourself to relax deeply,

Let go completely,

Remain passively present,

And simply observe whatever arises.

Allow thoughts,

Sounds,

And images to float by like clouds in the sky.

Remain open and relaxed,

And as you receive each of the following images,

Be the calm witness of whatever thoughts,

Judgment,

Or commentary arise.

A full moon on the horizon,

A soft spring rain,

A starry night sky,

Birds flying across the sunset,

Fluffy clouds drifting.

As you receive the following intentions,

Allow every cell in your being to remain open,

Relaxed,

And receptive.

I am relaxed,

Whole,

And complete as I am.

I recognize that my true essence can never be harmed or diminished.

I emit peace in the midst of all life's ups and downs.

I am peaceful in the midst of commotion.

I am changeless in the midst of change.

I am peaceful in the midst of commotion.

I am changeless in the midst of change.

Relax deeply,

Open yourself completely,

And allow any unhelpful tendencies,

Patterns,

Or habits to come to awareness.

With each exhalation,

Feel yourself progressively set more free from these unhelpful tendencies.

Relax more deeply,

Feel more free.

Now bring your attention to meet the experience of the breath felt in the nostrils.

Sense coolness and warmth,

Movement and stillness,

Or whatever is present.

Devote your attention to the range of sensations derived from the breath moving through the nostrils.

Your attention follow the flow of the breath into the nostrils,

Back into the sinus cavities,

And down the back of the throat.

When you exhale,

Watch as awareness curls forward into the mouth to experience the roof of the mouth,

The teeth,

The gums,

And the lips.

Feeling all the experiences present as a swirling and ever-changing cloud of sensations.

Allow attention to expand beyond the mouth to include the chin,

The lip,

The cheeks,

The eye,

The entire face and head.

Inside and out,

The entire face and head felt as a radiant,

Swirling galaxy of sensations.

Feeling all of the various sensations present in the head,

Tingling,

Vibrating,

Pulsing,

Relax and feel.

Now notice how the entire experience of the head is arising in a particular location.

It has a particular shape and a particular size.

And see how this mini galaxy of sensations exists in a vast and open space of awareness.

A space unbounded and effortlessly present to all that is within it.

Now relax into and as this spaciousness.

Be this space of awareness,

Perfectly open and allowing of all objects and experiences.

Let go.

Now invite your attention to the pit of the throat.

Feel,

And then making no effort to visualize or label.

Simply relax into the experience present at the pit of the throat.

Now allow attention to flow outwards along the collarbones to the shoulders and from the shoulders down to the arms and wrists and fingers.

Watch as attention broadens to include the torso,

The ribs,

The belly,

And the back.

The entire torso,

Shoulders,

And arms are bathed in an evenly hovering awareness.

Relax and feel.

Now notice how the entire experience of the torso and arms also has boundaries,

A location,

A shape,

And a size.

And that this experience is yet another galaxy of sensations floating in the same vast and boundless field of awareness.

Draw attention to the surrounding spaciousness.

Once again,

Relax into and as the vast awareness itself.

Be the space in which this experience is happening.

Go.

Be vast.

Allow attention to flow down to the pelvis,

Feeling all the sensations present.

In exhalation,

Watch as awareness flows down the thighs and into the knees,

Shins,

Ankles,

And feet.

Awareness filling the entire lower body,

Connected to every detail.

Feeling every sensation.

Relax and be present.

Now notice how the entire experience of the lower body is arising in a particular location,

Has a particular shape,

And a particular size.

Bring your attention to the boundaries of the experience of the lower body and notice how it is happening in that same vast field of awareness.

Bring your attention now to this space of awareness.

Relax into and as this space.

Experience yourself as this ever-present spaciousness in which experience arises.

Just be.

Feel attention moving up from the feet as if a blanket of attention was being slowly drawn up towards the head.

The blanket of attention covers the ankles,

The shins,

And the knees.

It covers the thighs and pelvis,

Moving up to cover the belly,

The hands,

The chest,

And the arms,

Shoulders,

The neck,

Face,

And head.

Breathe and feel the experience of the entirety of the body.

Every sensation and every cell felt simultaneously and equally.

Experiencing the body as a radiant,

Pulsating galaxy of ever-changing sensations and movements.

Relax.

Note once again how this experience,

The experience of the entire body,

Is happening in you in this vast,

Open space of awareness.

The tingling,

The heat,

The heaviness,

The lightness,

Whatever is arising as it arises,

All is occurring within a particular location that has a shape and various qualities.

It all arises in this vast,

Boundless field of awareness that you are.

Bring attention to the spaciousness around the experience of the body.

Now relax again as that space,

Boundless and free,

Continue to relax in and as this spaciousness,

The field in which all sensations,

All images,

All thoughts,

All smells,

All tastes,

And all experiences arise.

Just be and allow yourself to drop into the deepest state of sleep.

Let go.

Good night.