Yoga Nidra Sleep Meditation

Welcome to our first recorded Yoga Nidra session after a full year of live practice sessions. Improve your sleep, deepen your relaxation, and decrease your stress with this traditional Yoga Nidra practice. Welcome to our Yoga Nidra community!

Transcript

Welcome to our yoga nidra session.

We have a few steps to prepare for our practice.

So take a few moments to lie down in a comfortable quiet environment.

Our traditional yoga nidra position is lying on your back,

Legs slightly apart,

Arms a little bit away from your body,

Palms turned upwards.

Close your eyes and keep them closed throughout our session and simply follow the sound of my voice.

Let your body sink into the floor or the bed or whatever it is that supports you.

Take these few moments to get comfortable.

Shift and move a little to let your body settle a little more deeply and then allow your body to become still and quiet.

Let your breathing become slower and deeper.

Just know that nothing else matters right now.

There is nowhere else you need to be and nothing else to do.

You are here simply to feel your body and listen.

Don't worry or become agitated if you don't hear everything I say.

During yoga nidra it is natural to float in and out of conscious hearing.

The deepest part of you,

Your core self,

Is always listening.

Whatever you experience today,

This practice will benefit you.

There is no way to do this wrong.

We begin by stepping into the experience of gratitude.

Just consider one thing in your day so far that you can feel grateful for.

Perhaps you had a really good meal,

Maybe a walk through a garden,

Perhaps a hot shower,

Maybe a chat with a friend,

Maybe you accomplished something today or completed a project.

Just find one thing in this day that you can feel appreciation for and then feel what that feels like.

When you feel grateful,

How does that feel in your body?

An opening and awareness of the senses.

Let's move into an attention to the world around you.

Become aware of sounds.

Start with sounds out in the distance.

Maybe the sound of a plane overhead,

Maybe a passing car,

A barking dog,

And listen for sounds closer in.

Sounds just outside your home,

Sounds inside your home,

And sounds inside the room that you are in.

Just notice the texture and tone of the sounds and bring your awareness now to the sense of smell.

Anything you might be able to smell,

Maybe food,

Maybe a cup of coffee nearby,

Maybe a fragrance like lotion on your skin or shampoo in your hair.

Just notice if there's anything you are able to smell or notice the absence of smell.

Bring your awareness to the sense of taste.

Being aware of any moisture in your mouth or any taste,

Perhaps the taste of something you ate recently,

Maybe the taste of toothpaste after brushing your teeth,

Or notice the absence of taste.

Just bring your awareness to the sense of taste.

And move your awareness now to the sense of touch.

Notice your clothing touching your skin or any covering you might have that is touching your skin.

Notice where your body is touching the surface you are lying on,

The bed or sofa or mat on the floor.

Notice every point of contact,

The back of your head,

Your back,

Buttocks,

Your arms and hands,

The backs of your legs,

Your ankles and heels of your feet.

Notice the points of contact between your body and the support that holds you.

And bringing now your awareness to the sense of sight,

Even with eyes closed,

Looking inward.

Without opening your eyes,

Become aware of your body in the room,

Your body lying in the room.

And without opening your eyes,

Visualize the four walls of the room,

The ceiling,

The floor,

Your body lying in the room.

And visualize your body,

The position of your body,

Your clothes,

Your hair,

Your face.

Just become deeply aware of the existence of your physical body lying in the room that you are in.

Complete awareness of your body,

Total awareness of your body lying in perfect stillness.

The practice of yoga nidra begins now.

And just say silently to yourself,

I am aware.

I am practicing yoga nidra.

We begin and end yoga nidra with an intention,

A resolve.

So look deep inside to notice your heart's longing.

What does your heart desire?

Perhaps it is a desire for health,

For better sleep,

For well-being,

For awakening.

And so now you will create a simple intention statement based on this heart's longing.

We call this a sankalpa.

You'll need this to be,

To have three different characteristics.

This is positive,

It is brief,

And it is in present tense as though it is already happening.

For example,

I sleep deeply and peacefully,

Or I am relaxed,

Or I have everything I need.

Whatever your intention,

Feel your desire with your entire body while imagining and experiencing it in this moment as if it is already true.

State your intention three times silently and then let it go without any more thought.

And just let it linger in your subconscious during your practice.

We now begin rotation of consciousness through different parts of the body.

Mentally,

Repeat the name of each part after me.

At the same time,

Become aware of that part.

Notice any sense of vibration there,

Or simply put your awareness in that body part,

Or perhaps visualize a light at that part.

We begin with the right side of the body.

Bring your awareness to the right side of your body and become aware of your right hand.

Your right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The palm of the right hand.

Bring your full awareness to the palm of the right hand,

The back of the hand,

The wrist,

The lower right arm,

The elbow,

The inside of the elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The armpit,

The right side of your waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The kneecap,

The back of your knee,

The calf muscle,

The shin,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the right foot,

Full awareness on the sole of the right foot,

The top of the foot,

The big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Now bringing your awareness to the left side of your body,

The left side of your body,

Bringing your awareness to the left hand.

Become aware of the left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The palm of the left hand,

Full awareness on the palm of the left hand,

The back of the hand,

The wrist,

The lower arm,

The elbow,

The inside of the elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The armpit,

The left side of your waist,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The kneecap,

The back of the knee,

The calf muscle,

The shin,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the left foot,

Full awareness on the sole of the left foot,

The top of the foot,

The big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And little toe.

Now to the back,

Become aware of the right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

The right buttock,

The left buttock,

The spine,

The lower back,

Mid back,

Upper back,

The whole back together,

The whole back together.

Now go to the top of your head,

The top of the head,

The forehead,

Both sides of the head,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The nose,

The tip of the nose,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The chin,

The throat,

The right side of your chest,

The left side of your chest,

The middle of your chest,

The navel,

The abdomen.

Bring your awareness now to the whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole backside buttocks,

Spine,

Shoulder blades,

The whole front side,

Abdomen,

Chest,

And now the whole back and front together,

The whole head,

The whole body all together,

The whole body all together.

And now develop an equal awareness of the whole body at the same time becoming aware of the space occupied by the body,

Awareness of your body and the space occupied by your body,

Body and space.

And become aware of the whole body and the support that holds you.

At the same time become aware of those meeting points of the body and support.

Feel the meeting point at the back of your head,

Shoulder blades,

Elbows,

Backs of the hands,

Buttocks,

Calves,

Heels,

Against the support that holds you,

Awareness of all the meeting points,

And switching your attention to the eyelids,

Feel that narrow line of meeting between the upper and lower eyelids,

Feel the sharp points where they meet,

And then the lips.

Bring your attention to the line between the lips,

The meeting point of the lips,

The space between the lips,

And from the lips we come back to the breath,

Bringing your attention to the natural,

In-going,

Outgoing breath.

And feel the breath moving along the passage between the navel and throat.

On inhaling it rises from the navel to the throat,

On exhaling it descends from throat to navel.

And just become completely aware of your respiration,

Navel to throat,

Throat to navel,

Your respiration as constant as the movement of the ocean,

And turning now to your inner sanctuary,

Moving inward for a moment,

See if you can find a place of safe haven within.

Remember a time when you felt a sense of calm or well-being,

Maybe it was when you were on holiday at the beach,

Maybe floating in a boat on a still lake,

Maybe it was being cuddled on your grandma's lap when you were a kid,

Or curled up in bed with a good book.

It could also be something completely from your imagination,

Like imagining yourself surrounded by white light,

Or floating on a cloud,

Or sitting under a big old tree at the top of a mountain looking out over a beautiful untouched forest.

Or it could be visualizing your deity of choice,

Or simply noticing your breath entering and leaving your body.

It doesn't matter what it is,

The idea is simply to choose something that brings you a sense of peace,

Security,

Or comfort.

Whatever it is,

Just take a moment to conjure it up in your mind.

Explore it using all of your senses.

What does it look like?

What do you see there?

What do you taste there?

What do you smell in that place?

What does it sound like?

What does it feel like on your skin?

What emotions do you experience?

How does it feel in your body?

This is how you cultivate your inner resource.

You can return to your inner resource anytime during your practice,

Or actually anytime when you need a moment of peace.

We now awaken our awareness of sensations,

Beginning with the experience of cold.

Awaken the experience of bitter cold in your body.

Imagine yourself walking on a cold floor in winter.

Your feet feel very cold.

The cold moving up your legs,

Your cold all over your skin,

Freezing,

Shivering.

Awareness of cold.

Awareness of cold,

Freezing.

And now,

Awaken the sensation of heat.

Awaken the experience of heat.

The whole body hot.

You feel hot all over.

Just recall the feeling of being outside in summer,

Out under the sun with no shade,

Maybe even on a beach.

The heat pouring over you.

Heat all over the body.

Sweating,

Perspiring.

Awareness of heat.

And now,

Moving back and forth,

Feeling the experience of cold,

Shivering,

And freezing,

And switching to the experience of heat,

Perspiring,

Sweating.

And now,

Feel hot and cold all at the same time.

Let them meld together and bleed together.

Feeling hot and cold all at the same time.

And now,

Awakening the sensation of heaviness in the body.

Welcoming heaviness in all parts of the body.

Feel the weight of gravity,

The feeling of heaviness,

As though your body is filling up with sand.

Your body so heavy that you are sinking into the floor,

Unable to move.

Feel the sensation of heaviness,

Heaviness.

And now,

Awaken the feeling of lightness,

The feeling of weightlessness,

As though the sand is pouring out of your body.

Feeling lightness and weightlessness in all parts of the body.

You are so light that your body seems to be floating up toward the ceiling.

You are so light that you are floating on air.

Awareness of lightness.

And now,

Moving back and forth,

Returning to the sensation of heaviness,

Relaxing into heaviness,

And back to the sensation of lightness or weightlessness.

Giving yourself up to lightness and floatiness.

Now,

Feel both simultaneously.

Feel heavy and light all at the same time.

This is not for your thinking mind.

Just feel your way into it.

Heaviness and lightness dissolving into each other.

And just notice what is your relationship with your body at this moment.

And begin now to concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids.

Imagine before you a transparent screen as though you were at the movie theater.

The screen is as high and as wide as the eyes can see.

And just concentrate on this mind screen.

And become aware of anything that manifests within it.

Any colors,

Any patterns,

Any light.

Just watch the darkness that you see before you carefully,

But with detachment.

And just rest your mind in this warm and friendly darkness.

Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.

Continue your awareness of this space,

But don't become involved.

Just detached awareness only.

Without judging or trying to change anything,

Just notice any feelings,

Any emotions that are currently present within you.

If you notice anything specific like tension for example,

Just acknowledge how that feels.

Really,

Really notice what that feels like.

And then try to imagine and awaken the opposite feeling or emotion.

And we move now into rapid image visualization.

I will call out a number of different things for you to visualize on the level of memory,

Emotion,

Or imagination the best you can.

This part of yoga nidra practice is similar to a flipbook.

Just jump from image to image as soon as you hear the phrase.

If nothing comes to mind,

No problem.

Just wait until the next phrase is named.

The brightness of the morning sun.

The brightness of the morning sun.

The warmth of the sun on your skin.

Tasting hot bread fresh from the oven.

An ice-cold glass of milk.

A vision of spring.

A full moon.

A full moon.

Complete darkness in the middle of the night.

The smell of fresh coffee.

Birds chirping outside your window.

A leaf falling from a tree.

A deer running across a meadow.

A deer running across a meadow.

A brilliant sunset.

Evening shadows.

An image of autumn.

Reading a great book.

Arriving late.

Smoke rising from incense.

Smoke rising from incense.

The smell of incense.

Arriving early.

A choir singing in the distance.

A choir singing in the distance.

A thick luxurious towel after stepping out of the shower.

Steam rising.

Four inches of snow on the ground.

The color blue.

A red fire engine biting into a crisp apple.

A burning candle.

A burning candle.

A burning candle.

Imagine yourself now walking along a wooded trail.

Notice the lush greenery that surrounds you.

The streams of sunlight pouring through the trees,

The leaves,

The branches.

Hear the birds singing and calling to each other.

The sounds of tree frogs.

Hear the rustling of leaves as squirrels scurry about.

Everything is beautiful,

Calm,

And peaceful.

Suddenly you come into a clearing and in the clearing is a small temple that glows with a brilliant light.

You open the door and step in.

Inside the temple it is cool and dim,

Quiet,

And peaceful.

You sit down on the floor,

Close your eyes,

And become still.

A sense of deep peace and harmony envelops you as the sounds outside fade into the distance.

After a time the peacefulness of the temple spreads throughout your entire body.

You are calm.

You are at peace.

And now remember your intention,

Your resolve,

Your sankalpa at the beginning of this practice.

Repeat the same intention using the same words,

The same attitude that you used at the beginning of Yoga Nidra.

Repeat your intention now three times clearly with feeling and with emphasis.

Become aware now of your breathing.

Bring your awareness back to your breath.

Notice the complete stillness of your body.

Notice that your muscles have become heavier as you have become more relaxed.

Notice the movement of your belly as you breathe.

Notice the movement of your chest as you breathe.

And just begin to bring awareness back to your physical existence.

Become aware of your arms and legs and your body lying in the room.

Become aware of the meeting points between your body and the support that holds you.

And come to an awareness of the room that you are in,

The walls,

The ceiling,

The floor,

Any noises in the room,

Any noises outside the room.

Allow your mind now to become completely external.

Lie quietly for a few moments with your eyes still closed.

And then when you are ready,

Just start moving your body slowly,

No hurry,

Wiggling your toes,

Your fingers,

Slowly bringing movement back to your body.

When you are sure that you are ready,

Open your eyes and sit up slowly.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Reviews

Really good

Great help for relaxing the body and falling asleep….I fell asleep before it finished!!!