Welcome to this sleep yoga nidra practice.
Let's begin lying down.
Make yourself cozy,
Comfortable.
Allow your palms to be open as if receiving the magic gift of deep,
Restful sleep.
And let your eyes wander around the room.
And gently allow them to fix onto one object.
And slowly begin to let your eyelids close and open.
Very slowly.
Melting and dissolving the world out there.
And moving inwards.
And now let them softly close.
Opening your internal vision.
Directing your energy inwards.
And begin to take a few deep breaths,
Sighing out.
Extending your exhale slightly.
And let go of doing and thinking and just notice what's here and now.
Perhaps a wave of peace washes over your body.
Relax your body and give in to the restorative powers of yoga nidra.
As we wind down into deep,
Restful sleep.
Allowing the body to move into being.
And now set the intention to remain physically still.
And find internal stillness at the same time.
Just simply allow my words to float over you.
Perhaps you'll begin to drift in and out.
Just allow whatever arises to be open and receive this practice.
Now bring your attention down to your heart area.
And allow whatever your heart's deepest desire or longing to bubble up here.
Health,
Happiness,
Love.
Whatever it is,
Welcome it.
Now drop it into the practice like a tiny seed being planted.
And allow the magic of the night to manifest your heart's deepest longing.
Begin to notice the space around you.
Allow all five senses to open to the space around you.
Feel the touch of air on your skin.
And any lingering smells or fragrances in the air.
And now sound.
The sounds close by.
The sounds further away.
And all the layers of sounds traveling through space.
And notice the difference between hearing and listening.
And welcome any colors or images behind your closed eyelids.
Opening up your internal vision.
And now the mouth and tastes.
Taste buds alive when I draw your attention to them.
And notice the space around you.
The space in front of you.
Behind you.
To the left.
And to the right.
Now notice the space around your head.
Neck.
Shoulders.
Chest.
Arms.
Hands.
And notice any sensations in the hands.
And the spaces between the fingers.
Now the space around your abdomen.
Hips.
Thighs.
Back of the knees.
Ankles.
And the spaces in between the toes.
Energy goes where attention flows.
You may not have noticed parts of your body until they are directly pointed out.
And continue to feel into the body.
And all the different layers of the body.
Moving outwards from the skin inwards.
Tissues.
Argos.
All the way down to the bones.
And feel into the bones.
Heavy.
At night when we rest our body restores and replenishes all of our cells.
Tissues.
Argos.
Allow this natural process to unfold.
And now draw your attention to the breath.
The abdomen rising and falling.
Like waves on an ocean.
Not changing,
Just noticing the breath.
And feel into the cool air entering your nostrils.
And begin to extend your exhales just slightly.
As you inhale a wave rises.
And as you exhale it moves from the crown of the head all the way down to your toes.
Inhale to rise.
And exhale to fall.
Like the ebb and flow of the ocean.
The breath rises,
The breath falls.
And now begin counting the exhales starting from ten down to one.
If you've been distracted by a thought simply go back to ten and start again.
Once you've reached one continue to flow with the breath.
Now let go of the breath and just notice this internal stillness that is here.
As if time has stopped.
Nothing to do.
Nor where to go.
Simply just a sense of peace.
Bask in this moment of stillness.
And welcome something to your mind that you're grateful for about yourself.
It could be something simple such as your eyes for seeing or your ears for hearing.
And now welcome a quality of your personality that you're grateful for.
Being optimistic or caring.
Whatever it is be grateful for this attribute in yourself.
Now allow this sense of gratitude to expand to someone in your life.
A partner.
A friend.
Expand gratitude to them.
And now expand this gratitude further to a group of people in your life.
Your family.
Your colleagues.
Your community.
And now to people you don't know.
Be grateful for the people who support you in life that you will never meet.
The farmers growing your food.
The inventors making your life easier.
And be grateful for the trees giving us oxygen to breathe.
And the rain for fresh water.
And all these large and tiny processes that support our existence.
And now bring to mind your heart's deepest longing.
And envision it as if it were true right now.
And be grateful for its manifestation.
And allow this feeling of gratitude to move through your entire body.
All the way down to your toes.
Touching each one.
As you wind down into deep restful sleep.
Sleep well,
Dear friends.
