Welcome to this Yoga Nidra sleep meditation.
This is great for you if you've just been struggling to sleep tonight,
Or if you regularly suffer from insomnia,
This is a good practice to do often.
For this,
We practice laying down,
Either on the floor covered by a blanket,
Or even in bed already.
Take a moment to make yourself comfortable.
Laying down with your feet a little bit wider than your hips,
Your arms away from your body with your palms facing up towards the ceiling.
Increase the space between your shoulders and your ears as much as you can.
Soften your jaw and the muscles of your face,
And then invite your eyes to close if they're not already.
If you experience any kind of a lower back pinching or pain with your legs straight here,
You can also bend your knees so your feet lay flat on the floor.
So making any final adjustments just to feel comfortable here for the next few minutes.
See if you can soften your body into the ground or into your bed,
Just 1% more really giving your support,
Your weight.
Remembering that you're here to soften and relax,
There's no need for attention.
You're being held here so you can give yourself to that support.
For this yoga nidra practice I will guide you through a body relaxation technique asking you to rotate your consciousness around different parts of your body.
If you can bring your awareness to that part of the body,
That's great.
If you struggle with that mind-body connection,
You can just repeat the name of the body part in your mind.
For example,
If I say bring your awareness to your right thumb,
You can just say right thumb in your head instead of bringing your mind to your right thumb.
Either is great.
Let's start by tuning into your breath,
Just noticing the rise and fall of the belly as you inhale and exhale.
Not forcing it,
Just noticing the natural breath in the body.
We're going to arrive into the practice just counting 10 breaths,
Down 10,
Down to one.
At the end of your next exhale,
Just say the number 10.
Exhale 9,
Exhale 8,
And so on,
Counting in your mind for the next 7 breaths.
We'll start our body scan from your right thumb.
So either bring your awareness to your right thumb or just say right thumb in your head.
Your index finger on your right hand,
Middle finger,
Your ring finger,
And your little finger,
Palm of your right hand,
Your right wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
And shoulder,
The right side of your chest,
Your right rib cage,
Side ribs,
Back of your ribs,
Right side waist,
Your right hip,
Right thigh,
Your right knee,
Right shin,
Right ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Sole of your right foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And little toe,
Whole right side together,
Whole right side of your body,
Your left thumb,
Left index finger,
Left middle finger,
Left ring finger,
And little finger,
Palm of your left hand,
Left wrist,
Left forearm,
Left elbow,
Left upper arm,
Left shoulder,
The left side of your chest,
Left rib cage,
Left side waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Left knee,
Left shin,
Left ankle,
Top of the left foot,
Sole of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe,
Whole left side together,
Whole left side of your body,
Bring your awareness to all 10 toes together,
Both feet together,
Both shins and calf muscles together,
Both knees,
Both thighs,
Your hips,
Your abdomen,
Solar plexus,
Both sides of your ribs,
Both sides of your chest,
Both shoulders together,
Both upper arms,
Both elbows,
Both forearms,
Both wrists,
Palms of both hands,
All your fingers and both thumbs together,
Whole body together,
Feel your whole body,
Your neck and your throat,
Your lower jaw,
Your tongue,
Your cheeks,
Temples,
Eyelids,
The space behind both eyes,
Both eyebrows,
Space between the eyebrows,
Forehead and the crown of your head,
Whole body together,
Feel into your whole body as one,
Start to become aware of your breath again,
Just noticing small movements of the breath in the body,
The body breathing itself,
Allow an inward smile,
If you were laying on the floor,
Make some small movements of your fingers and your toes,
Your hands and your feet,
Maybe roll onto one side,
And then push yourself up to a seat,
Taking one more deep breath,
If you'd like to open your eyes,
If you are already in bed,
Have a beautiful night's sleep.
