Sleep is both common and magical.
Every night we await its arrival as it travels to us across uncharted waters.
No matter how eager we are for its arrival,
It requires us to be patient.
Like love,
We can't force sleep,
But we can be open to it.
To open yourself to sleep,
Begin by making yourself comfortable.
Adjust any blankets or pillows.
Find a position that feels cozy.
Once you've settled into your resting position,
Take a moment to hold tension in every muscle.
Squeeze your fists,
Curl your toes,
Hold tension in your limbs,
Scrunch up your face,
Hold all this tension in the whole body for just another few moments,
And now release it.
Notice what this release feels like.
Know that this act of tensing and releasing is available anytime you need to remind your body and mind what it feels like to relax.
In Yoga Nidra,
We begin by setting an intention or sankalpa.
As your body relaxes,
See what sankalpa emerges for you.
It should be a simple statement in the present tense.
It may be helpful to focus on your relationship to sleep with a phrase like,
I welcome sleep or I value rest.
Once you've selected your sankalpa,
Repeat it quietly to yourself three times.
Now turn your attention to your breath.
If possible,
Breathe deeply in and out through your nose,
Feeling how your torso inflates with each inhale and gently deflates with each exhale.
Imagine each breath as a gentle invitation for sleep to come a little closer.
Imagine sleep is a shy,
Nervous cat.
With each slow,
Long breath,
You are softening yourself,
Letting sleep know it can approach you.
Like love,
Sleep arrives quietly.
Like love,
We fall into it.
Like love,
Sleep asks us to surrender our armor.
Like love,
Sleep takes care of us.
Now we will conjure the loving energy of sleep by saying goodnight to parts of the body.
Through this body scan,
You will move your attention to these parts,
Settling both mind and body at the same time.
First,
Say goodnight to your eyes,
Letting the eyelids grow heavy.
Goodnight nose.
Goodnight mouth.
Goodnight left ear.
Goodnight right ear.
Goodnight scalp.
Goodnight eyebrows.
Goodnight face.
Goodnight throat.
Goodnight right shoulder.
Goodnight right arm.
Goodnight right hand and fingers.
Goodnight left shoulder.
Goodnight left arm.
Goodnight left hand and fingers.
Goodnight belly.
Goodnight pelvis.
Goodnight right leg.
Goodnight right foot and toes.
Goodnight left leg.
Goodnight left foot and toes.
Goodnight to the whole right side of the body.
Goodnight to the whole left side of the body.
Goodnight dear heart.
Goodnight body.
If you're still awake,
Know that sleep has arrived on its little cat feet.
It holds you lovingly.
Like love,
Sleep is all around you.
Like love,
You can relax into it with each slow,
Soft breath.
Whispering to yourself,
Goodnight,
Goodnight,
Goodnight.
