Deep Sleep Meditation Without Music
by Debra Hall
This slow and spacious sleep meditation without music for those who prefer to be guided with voice only, contains elements of Yoga Nidra and Mindfulness. It includes a grounding, and some gentle tensing and release with control to tire your mind naturally. It concludes with awareness of natural breath, a front and back body scan rotation and counting down the breath. There is no end bell so you can drift to sleep without being disturbed.
Transcript
Soften into the position you have chosen for maximum comfort,
And make your body as aligned as you can.
This will help reduce any restlessness.
You can take up your favourite sleep position once you are ready.
All you need to do is follow along with this guidance which aims to tire your mind in a natural way.
Let my voice soothe you into sleep and be a friend if you are awake in the middle of the night.
Take a few moments to connect to the deep mind.
The sea of serenity,
Deeper than any thoughts disturbing its surface.
Find some tranquility inside whatever else you are feeling.
We are going to take a journey through the layers of thought and emotion to the unchanging centre.
Even if sleep doesn't come,
The time you spend in this deep liminal space will be restful and renewing.
Place your attention now into the back of your body,
From your head through to your heels.
Take a slightly deeper breath and as you breathe out,
Let your whole body sink into the bed beneath you.
Feel all the places of contact between your body and bed.
Perhaps in your heels,
Backs of legs,
Buttocks,
Back,
Shoulders and the back of your head.
Take another deeper breath and this time sigh the breath out.
Ahhhh.
Do this for a few more breaths in your own time and feel the vibration in your body.
On an in-breath now,
Very slightly lift your right shoulder and with control on the out-breath,
Lower it back down.
On an in-breath,
Very slightly lift your left shoulder and with control on the out-breath,
Lower it back down.
Let your neck sink and release into your pillow.
Take a few resting breaths to feel the subtle effects of these movements.
On an in-breath,
Very slightly lift your right hip and with control on the out-breath,
Lower it back down.
On an in-breath,
Very slightly lift your left hip and on the out-breath,
With control,
Lower it back down.
Take a few resting breaths to feel the subtle echo of these movements.
On an in-breath,
Very slightly squeeze the buttocks together and on the out-breath,
With control,
Return them to neutral.
Take a few resting breaths to feel the effects of this movement in your lower back.
Feel heaviness and warmth in the backs of both your legs,
Your buttocks and your hips.
Feel heaviness and warmth in the backs of both of your arms.
Let gravity bring a feeling of heaviness throughout your body as you fully relax into the support beneath you.
Let your whole body and being come to rest in stillness.
Turn your gaze inwards and rest inside your inner body.
Bring awareness into your face.
Let the surface of your face be soft.
Let your jaw release.
Let the front of your throat be soft.
Notice the heaviness of your eyelids over your closed eyes.
With as small a movement as possible,
Very gently squeeze both sets of eyelids together.
And slowly,
With control,
Return them to neutral.
Rest and feel the after effect of this movement.
On an in-breath,
Very slightly raise both eyebrows.
And on the out-breath,
With as much control as possible,
Gently lower them.
Rest the face and feel the after effect of these movements.
Now feel the sensations in your top and lower lips.
On an in-breath,
Gently squeeze your lips together.
On an out-breath,
Return them to neutral.
Feel the after effect of this movement.
Now,
Very slowly,
Take in air through your mouth as if you are about to yawn.
Open your mouth as wide as you feel comfortable.
Do this for a few breaths.
If yawns do arise,
Feel the effects of them on your face and eyes.
Rest your face and feel the after echo of this movement.
Now feel the presence of your natural breath.
Follow the in-breath into your nose,
The back of your throat and into your lungs.
Notice your stomach and chest rise on the in-breath and sink on the out-breath.
Enjoy this gentle rhythm.
Move your awareness into your chest.
Breathe into and out from your heart centre.
Feel into any natural sensations in the centre of your chest as you follow your breath in and out.
Let the chest muscles around your heart soften.
Let your heart centre be calm and spacious.
As you breathe in,
Say to yourself,
Breathing in,
I feel calm.
As you breathe out,
Say to yourself,
Breathing out,
I feel peace.
At your own pace,
Say these words to yourself.
Listen with your heart as you say them.
In,
Calm.
Out,
Peace.
Now count the breath downwards.
On the in-breath,
Say to yourself the number 30.
And on the out-breath,
Say to yourself the number 30.
On the in-breath,
Say 29.
On the out-breath,
29.
On the in-breath,
28.
On the out-breath,
28.
Continue counting the breath down at your own pace.
Let your breath be smooth and even.
On the out-breath,
Feel yourself sinking deeper and deeper.
Whatever number you are on,
Let go of the counting now.
And just be aware of your breath.
Notice your breath may have changed as the mind has deepened.
Perhaps it is slower.
We will now scan the body for subtle changes.
Feel for any natural sensations.
When you hear a body part named,
Take your attention there and briefly feel for any natural sensations.
In some places there may be little or none.
Still take your attention there and flow with the guidance from body part to body part.
Focus your attention on the crown of your head.
Feel for any natural sensations here at the crown of your head.
The point between your two eyebrows.
The front of your throat.
Glide your attention along the top of your right shoulder.
Rest deep inside your right shoulder joint.
Your right elbow.
Right forearm.
Right wrist bone on the outside.
Back of the right hand.
The right bum.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Fourth finger.
Little finger.
Middle of the right palm.
The smooth skin on the inside of the right wrist.
The curve of the inside right elbow.
Right bicep.
Right armpit.
Right collar bone.
Front of the throat.
Glide along the top of your left shoulder.
Rest deep inside your left shoulder joint.
Left elbow joint.
Left forearm.
Left wrist bone on the outside.
The back of the left hand.
Left thumb.
Left index finger.
Middle finger.
Fourth finger.
Little finger.
Middle of the left palm.
Coming back up the inside of your arm.
The smooth skin inside the left wrist.
The curve of the inside left elbow.
Left bicep.
Left armpit.
Back to the front of the throat.
Down to the upper chest.
Right chest.
Left chest.
The whole breast bone.
Front of the right waist.
Front of the left waist.
The stomach.
The navel.
Abdomen.
Pelvis.
Right groin.
Left groin.
Over to the right hip joint.
Pause deep inside the right hip joint.
Right thigh.
Kneecap.
Shin.
Right ankle joint on the outside.
Top of the right foot.
The smooth skin on the top of the right foot.
Base of the right toes.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
The right little toe.
Sole of the right foot.
Right heel.
Calf.
Back of the knee.
Back of thigh.
Right buttock.
Base of the back.
Over to the left hip joint.
Releasing deep inside the left hip joint.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Ankle joint on the outside.
Top of the left foot.
The smooth skin on the top of the left foot.
The base of the toes.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
The left little toe.
Sole of the left foot.
Left heel.
Calf.
Back of the left knee.
Back of the thigh.
Left buttock.
Base of the back.
Easing up the back little by little.
The lower back.
Back of the right waist.
Back of the left waist.
Middle of the back.
The upper back.
The right shoulder blade.
The left shoulder blade.
The back of the right shoulder.
Back of the left shoulder.
Back of the neck.
The whole back of the head.
The whole right side of the body.
The whole left side of the body.
The right and left sides of the body together.
The front of the body.
The back of the body.
The front and back of the body.
The whole of the body together.
The whole of the body together.
The whole of the body together.
The whole of the body together.
The whole of the body heavy and warm.
The whole of the body heavy and warm.
The whole of the body heavy and warm.
The whole of the body heavy and warm.
The whole of the body cradled in rest.
The whole of the body cradled in peace.
4.8 (15)
Recent Reviews
Andi
November 23, 2025
A nice sleepy meditation with no bells at the end. And if I want just backwards breath counting and a short body scan I do just the last 14 minutes. 11-22-25