Bedtime Stretch & Yoga Nidra For Deep Sleep

Welcome to the Sacred Practice of an effective sleep ritual.

This guided evening practice is designed to help you drift easily into deep, restorative sleep. Comfortably in your bed, you’ll be led through gentle bedtime stretches to release tension in the legs, hips, and back, preparing your body to fully relax.

From there, a soothing yoga nidra body scan will calm your mind, dissolve stress, and guide you toward sleep bit by bit. The session includes 15 minutes of stretching followed by 15 minutes of yoga nidra and silence, closing with a soft “good night” as the music fades.

Background sound is a 432 Hz binaural beat—known for its healing vibration, nervous system regulation, and deep restoration—creating the perfect soundscape for peaceful sleep meditation.

Transcript

Welcome to your sacred practice,

A bedtime yoga stretch and yoga nidra that will lead you straight into a deep sleep.

If you aren't already,

Get in bed.

You can move the covers to the side.

If you've got a lot of pillows,

Put those to the side too,

Leaving just one under your head.

Lay on your back,

And then as you lay down on your back with your legs extended,

Place your left hand on your chest and your right hand on your belly.

And simply begin to observe your breathing.

Notice the sensation of your inhale,

And notice the sensation of your exhale.

Notice the quality of your breathing.

Notice the length of your breathing.

Are the breaths even?

Are the breaths deep,

Shallow?

Just,

Without judgment,

Notice how your breath is breathing you right now.

Begin to feel the rise and the fall of your torso as you breathe.

Notice the chest rises,

The belly rises.

Feel the sensation of your body in space,

The sensation of you lying on your bed,

The back of your body touching the mattress,

The front of the body rising and falling with the breath.

Begin to bend both knees and place both feet on your bed.

And then if it feels comfortable,

Pull the knees into your chest and give yourself a hug.

You can hold behind the knees,

You can hold in front of the knees,

You can have the thighs wide or narrow.

Whatever feels good to you right now,

Just bring those knees in as much as is possible.

And breathe into the sensation that shows up.

Maybe it's a stretch in the hips,

Maybe in the lower back,

Maybe in the legs.

Whatever shows up for you is perfect.

If you feel like rocking a little bit from side to side,

Do that.

And then keep your right knee in and let your left leg go.

So the left leg extends on the bed,

Straight or bent if you'd like to keep the foot on the bed,

That works too.

What works for you is perfect.

And then start to take your hands and interlace them behind the right leg.

And see how it feels to straighten that leg.

As much as possible straightening the leg and giving the back of that right leg a stretch.

See how it feels to play with your range of motion,

Bringing that right leg all the way open to the right and then bringing it back to center.

The range of motion doesn't matter,

The movement is what matters here.

Just giving yourself a little bit of stretch and a little bit of movement.

Opening and closing that right leg as much as is useful for you in this moment now.

And then just come back to center with the leg straight up as much as possible.

And then once again,

Bend that left knee,

Placing the left foot on the bed.

And then place your right ankle on top of that left knee in like a figure four position.

Just pause here and see how that feels.

Your hands can be on the thighs,

They can be on the belly.

And then see how it feels to just rock from side to side with that right and left leg.

So as you rock to the right,

That right knee will come towards the bed,

The left knee will come towards the bed.

And as you rock to the left,

The left knee comes to the bed and the right foot comes near the bed.

Back and forth you go,

Bringing the whole package to the right and the whole package to the left.

And doing that just a few more times.

The range of motion is your own.

Just breathe as you move and feel the stretch and release of any tension that might be holding the hips and the legs,

Even in the lower back.

And then come back to center.

You can stay here if this feels good.

You can also deepen the hip stretch if you like by interlacing the fingers behind the left thigh.

And then bringing that left thigh in towards the body.

Just any amount to get a stretch into the right hip.

You'll feel it.

No forcing.

No pushing.

Just enough where you feel a stretch and you can still breathe peacefully.

Still inhaling and exhaling.

And then gently letting that leg go.

Letting the left foot come to the bed.

And then letting the right foot come to the bed.

Both feet on the bed,

Both knees bent.

Hands on the belly.

And heel-toe your feet a little wider than the knees and bring your knees together.

Pause here for a moment.

Just feeling the change of the physical posture.

And then bring both knees together to the right.

And both knees together to the left.

Back and forth like a windshield wiper.

Knees to the right and knees to the left.

Gentle and steady.

And the next time you finish on the left,

Come back up to center.

And once again bring both knees in and give yourself a hug.

Breathing deeply and steadily.

And we'll do the other side.

Keeping the left knee in,

You'll send the right leg low.

Or if you prefer,

The right foot can stay on the bed with the knee bent.

Whatever feels good in your body.

Breath is steady.

And when you feel ready,

Start to interlace the fingers behind the back of that left thigh and straighten the left leg.

Any amount is okay.

Just enough until you feel a stretch.

And breathe into that stretch.

And starting to play with movement.

Opening that left leg out to the left.

And bringing it back to center.

Back and forth to the left.

And to the center.

And a couple more times in your own way and your own pace.

Just feeling your range of motion.

And whatever that is,

Is perfect.

And then coming back to center,

Bend your right knee and place your right foot on the bed.

And then place your left ankle on top of that right thigh.

And pause.

Taking a few deep breaths here.

And then begin to rock the leg side to side,

Bringing the knee all the way to the left.

And then all the way to the right.

Exploring your own range of motion here.

Letting each movement release a little more tension.

And then making your way back to center.

And interlacing the fingers around the right thigh and bringing the right thigh in.

Getting a good stretch on the left hip.

Breathe.

And then bring that right foot back down.

Bring the left foot back down.

Have your knees together and your feet wider than your right knee.

And your hips just a little bit.

And then have your knees go side to side like the windshield wiper action that you did before.

And do that a few times as you breathe.

And come back to center once again.

And then you can bring the knees apart a little bit.

And bring the feet together a little bit.

And bring both knees in and give yourself a hug.

And here we'll take a gentle twist.

As you hug those knees in,

Start to bring them to the right.

So your left hip's going to come up a little bit.

You're going to take a twist where the knees are on the right.

So let the knees fall to the right.

Breathe into your lower back.

And gently come back to center.

And let the knees fall the other way.

Knees go to the left as much as you can.

The right hip will come up.

As much as possible,

You keep your back on the bed.

Your right shoulder is grounded as the hips go to the left.

And come back to the center once again.

Hugging your knees in.

And then let the legs go.

Feet come to the bed.

And the legs extend.

One at a time.

Laying your body sweetly and comfortably once again on your back.

Letting your head be comfortable on your pillow and your shoulders relaxed.

Once again,

Come into awareness of your breath.

Breathing in.

And breathing out.

And as we enter yoga nidra,

I'll invite you to bring your awareness to each part of the body that I name.

Imagine a white ball of light.

Touching each part of this body and putting it to sleep.

Begin at the crown.

Imagine a white orb of light hovering right above the top of your head.

White orb of light at the third eye.

White orb of light at the throat.

White orb heart.

White orb pelvis.

White orb tailbone.

White orb tailbone.

White orb pelvis.

White orb belly.

White orb heart.

White orb throat.

White orb third eye.

White orb crown.

White orb third eye.

White orb throat.

White orb right shoulder.

White orb right elbow.

White orb right hand.

White orb the palm of your hand.

White orb the back of your hand.

White orb your entire hand.

White orb right wrist.

White orb right forearm.

White orb right elbow.

White orb right upper arm.

White orb right shoulder.

White orb right arm.

White orb right arm.

White orb right arm.

White orb left shoulder.

White orb left elbow.

White orb left wrist.

White orb left hand.

White orb palm of the left hand.

White orb back of the left hand.

White orb entire left hand.

White orb left wrist.

White orb left forearm.

White orb left elbow.

White orb left upper arm.

White orb left shoulder.

White orb left arm.

White orb left arm.

White orb left arm.

White orb both arms.

White orb both arms.

White orb both arms.

White orbs sternum.

White orb chest.

White orb shoulder blades.

White orb belly.

White orb lower back.

White orb pelvis.

White orb left hip.

White orb right hip.

White orb left hip.

White orb right hip.

White orb pelvis.

White orb lower back.

White orb pelvis.

White orb lower back.

White orb belly.

White orb mid back.

White orb chest.

White orb shoulder blades.

White orb sternum.

White orb torso.

White orb torso.

White orb torso.

White orb right thigh.

White orb right knee.

White orb right calf.

White orb right foot.

White orb the front of your right foot.

White orb the sole of your right foot.

White orb your whole right foot.

White orb your right ankle.

White orb your right shin.

White orb your right knee.

White orb right thigh.

White orb right buttock.

White orb right leg.

White orb right leg.

White orb right leg.

White orb left thigh.

White orb left knee.

White orb left shin.

White orb left foot.

White orb front of the left foot.

White orb sole of the left foot.

White orb entire left foot.

White orb left ankle.

White orb left calf.

White orb left knee.

White orb left thigh.

White orb left buttock.

White orb left leg.

White orb left leg.

White orb left leg.

White orb both legs.

White orb both legs.

White orb both legs.

White orb entire body.

White orb entire body.

White orb entire body.

The body is sleeping.

The body is deeply relaxed.

Allow yourself to stay right here.

Feeling the body relaxed.

Feeling the body asleep.

Knowing the mind will follow soon if it hasn't already.

If you're still awake,

Simply keep watching your breath.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Feeling the chest rise and the chest fall.

Mind getting more quiet.

Breath getting more deep.

Sleep slowly taking over.

Sweet dreams.

Reviews

Love this! I plan to use the stretching session nightly. It’s easy to follow and feels so good! Thank you.