Hello,
I'm Alice and welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra for Sleep.
Yoga Nidra means yogic sleep in Sanskrit and it is a practice to help the body and mind to deeply relax so you can feel centered and grounded as your mind becomes quiet and calm.
Bring yourself into a comfortable position.
Perhaps having your feet flopping to the sides and your hands relaxed.
However you settle yourself,
Make sure you are as comfy as possible and give yourself the time to find this ease.
Make any adjustments to your clothes or position that you need to.
Be comforted that there are no tasks to complete,
Nothing to achieve during your time here.
And I invite you to close your eyes or lower your gaze and begin to allow your whole body to rest and soften down into the surface beneath you.
Breathe in through your nose and exhale gently through your mouth.
Soften your forehead,
Soften your jaw and all of the muscles of the face.
And as you practice Yoga Nidra,
Know and trust that even if you don't hear everything I say,
You can let the words flow to you.
There is nothing you need to do but relax and listen.
Let's take a few equalizing breaths to calm the mind.
Inhaling for 2,
3,
4.
Exhaling 2,
3,
4.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Exhaling.
Continuing to breathe in and out of the nose.
Noticing what it feels like to smooth out the breath evenly in and out.
As you breathe,
Feel yourself gradually sink into the surface beneath you.
Emptying of tension and becoming aware of sensation.
Notice sounds and your ears hearing the sounds.
The ears picking up on all the little layers of sound.
In the distance and close by.
Imagine the whole body listening.
Feel the touch of breath inside the nostrils.
Noticing the air flowing within the nose and any scent you can sense.
From the nose,
Move to the eyes.
Let the eyes completely rest from looking and seeing.
Relaxing all the muscles around the eyes.
Let the eyes fall back into the sockets.
Relaxing the whole visual cortex.
Visual cortex.
All of the muscles behind the eyes.
And feeling the skin of the body now.
Sensitive.
Receptive.
Imagine that you could breathe into the skin.
With all five senses wide open now.
Ask yourself what intention you have for the practice.
See if any word or feeling comes to mind.
And this is called your sankalpa in the yoga nidra practice.
It could simply be to feel deeply rested or to feel restored.
Or it may be something else that you sense you need right now.
Allow whatever comes here.
Bringing things into the realm of possibility.
And perhaps repeat this to yourself silently.
A short positive present tense statement.
It could be something like,
I am rested.
Welcome this and feel it with your whole body.
Begin to rotate awareness through your whole body now.
As I say the name of the body part,
Bring your attention to that area.
Bring your attention to the tongue.
The teeth and the gums.
Roof of the mouth.
Inside of the cheeks.
Upper and lower lips.
A sense of the whole face.
The flow of air at the tip of the nose and inside the nostrils.
The right eye and all of the little muscles behind the right eye.
The left eye.
The left eye and all the little muscles behind the right eye.
Left eye and all the little muscles behind the left eye.
Bring awareness to the right hand thumb.
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and little finger.
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
A sense of the neck and the head.
The whole right side of the trunk.
The right hip.
The thigh,
Front and back.
The knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot and all five toes on the right foot.
Bring attention to the whole right hemisphere of the body.
The whole right side of the body,
Alive with radiant sensation.
Bring awareness now to the left hand thumb.
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and little finger.
Little finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
A sense of the neck and the head.
The whole left side of the trunk.
Left hip,
Thigh,
Front and back.
The knee,
Shin,
Calf,
The ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot and all five toes on the left foot.
Bring attention to the whole left hemisphere of the body.
The whole left side of the body,
Alive with radiant sensation.
Alive,
Warm and tingling with sensation.
Begin to sense the rhythm of your breath.
Without changing the breath in any way.
Noticing the rhythm of your natural breath.
Notice the inhale as the belly rises.
And the exhale as it releases.
Bring awareness now to the whole right hemisphere of the body.
The whole right hemisphere of the body,
Alive with radiant sensation.
Alive,
Warm and tingling with sensation.
Notice the inhale as the belly rises.
And the exhale as it releases.
On the inhale,
Welcoming warmth and fullness.
Exhaling,
Relaxing into the deepest layers of rest.
On the inhale,
Letting heaviness lift just a little.
On the exhale,
Releasing and dropping into deep rest.
And now feel the whole body become very heavy.
Experience heaviness,
Weight and density.
Heaviness in the whole body.
Heavy body.
The body's weight against the surface beneath you.
Feeling grounded,
Supported and nourished.
Feeling grounded,
Supported and nourished.
Feeling grounded,
Supported and nourished.
Feeling grounded,
Supported and nourished.
Feeling grounded,
Supported and nourished.
Now you might notice a feeling of lightness come up.
Lightness like air.
Feel a sense of expansion,
Freedom,
Weightlessness.
The body is barely touching the earth.
Sense this feeling of lightness and be with it.
And now allow your body to move between lightness and heaviness.
Back and forth.
Hold lightness and heaviness in your body at the same time.
You can't do this with your mind.
But you can feel it in your body by opening up to pure sensation.
Take your attention to the centre of the forehead.
Let your attention rest here in the centre of the forehead.
And welcome in a flow of images or impressions.
An even flow of light.
A flow of light.
A flow of light.
A flow of light.
An evening sunset.
Glowing orange and pink.
An evening sunset.
Glowing orange and pink.
A swan gliding across a calm lake.
A swan gliding across a calm lake.
A gently babbling brook.
A gently babbling brook.
A warm wind rustling through a forest of trees.
A warm wind rustling through a forest of trees.
A warm wind rustling through a forest of trees.
And now relaxing back into it all.
Relaxing back into what you already are.
Pure awareness.
Radiant.
And alive.
Welcoming back your intention now.
And feeling it with your whole body.
Feeling once again the weight of your body on the surface beneath you.
Bringing awareness back.
Noticing the effects of your practice on your body and on your mind.
Making a commitment to bring these benefits into the rest of your day,
Evening or week.
Knowing that the cumulative effects of your practice will compound over time.
Greater ease in fully relaxing.
Deeper,
More restful sleep.
A calmer,
Clearer mind.
Thank you for joining me.
