Yoga Nidra for Sleep

Yoga Nidra prompts the body to relax deeply while the mind remains inwardly alert. One 20 minute practice of Yoga Nidra equals approximately 2 hours of deep sleep. This practice will gently guide you through four main stages of brain wave activity – beta, alpha, theta, and delta. The goal is to finally achieve a “hypnagogic state” — the state between wakefulness and sleep. Use this practice as a transition into sleep or a way of "yoga napping" during the day. The benefits are enormous! Enjoy!

Transcript

Today's practice is yoga nidra.

As we begin our practice we need to get ourselves comfortable.

You should be laying on your back,

On the floor or on your bed with the knees slightly bent and supported.

So putting a cushion behind the knees is a good option or a yoga bolster.

Make sure you're warm enough and that your position is one that will be comfortable for the duration of your practice.

If you're on a hard floor you may want to put a cushion or a towel behind your head as the back of the head can become quite sensitive.

It's best that you remain still during the yoga nidra so both your body and your mind have the chance to fully relax.

However if you become uncomfortable please feel free to change position.

Now allow your eyes to close and keep them closed until the practice has ended.

The practice of yoga nidra is often called yogic sleep.

It will allow you to get into a deep relaxation,

A state between waking and sleeping.

Try to remain awake by listening to the sound of my voice.

As I guide you through the yoga nidra you'll be asked to move your awareness to various bodily sensations,

Emotions and images.

Try not to concentrate too intensely as this may prevent you from relaxing.

If your mind becomes overactive with thoughts just come back to the sound of my voice.

Start laying here feeling your body contacting the surface beneath you.

Become aware of any sounds that you can hear in this moment,

Nothing else but what you can hear.

Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear.

Let your sense of hearing radiate outwards.

Searching out the further sounds and following them but not placing a story to them.

Following them for a few moments.

Move your attention now to sounds that are closer,

Outside where you are.

Then bringing them inside where you are,

Sounds that are close to you.

Without opening your eyes,

Visualise the four walls of your room,

The ceiling,

The floor,

Your body lying on the floor or the bed.

Visualise your body lying on the floor,

The position of your body,

Your clothes,

Your hair,

Your face.

Become acutely aware of the existence of your physical body lying on the floor.

Become aware of the natural breath.

Become aware of your natural and spontaneous breath that moves in and moves out of your body without any effort.

The natural breath flows in through both nostrils.

Feel the breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils.

There's a sense of coolness as you inhale the breath.

Follow this feeling as it comes into the nose,

Your sinuses,

The back of your throat,

Into your chest.

Then experience the sense of warm as you exhale,

Feel the warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.

The natural breath flows through both nostrils during the inhale and the exhale.

Allow your breath to become longer and slower.

Take a long slow inhalation followed by a longer slower exhalation.

Make your exhale even slower.

Notice the slight pause after the exhale.

Slowly inhale even slower on the exhale and pause.

Feel the urge to breathe in all the way up inside you.

When you need to exhale please do so.

Slowly inhale longer slower exhale and then pause where the body is neither breathing in nor out.

Continue breathing in this slow steady way.

When ready the natural breath will ensue,

Release control over the inhale or the exhale.

We will begin the yoga nidra now.

You should now make your sankalpa or your resolve.

The sankalpa should be a short yet positive statement in a simple language,

An affirmation.

Try to discover one naturally.

State your sankalpa clearly and with the awareness three times.

The sankalpa you make during your nidra plants a seed in the fertile soil of your mind to bring about transformation and healing.

Also say to yourself I'm in a state of yoga nidra.

I am awake yet relaxed.

We will now begin a systematic journey of sensory awareness through the body.

You will move your awareness,

Your attention to different parts of the body as you hear them named.

Please say the name of the body part in your mind and feel that part of your body yet do not move it.

This practice begins on the right side of the body.

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now go to the back of the body,

Right heel,

Left heel,

Right calf,

Left calf,

Right thumb,

Left thigh,

Left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

The entire spine,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Top of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Middle of the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

The pelvic floor,

The whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

The whole right arm,

Whole right arm,

The whole face,

The whole head,

The whole torso,

The whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Now imagine the whole body becoming very light as though your body could float away from the floor and toward the ceiling.

The head is light and weightless.

The limbs are light and weightless.

The torso is light and weightless.

The whole body light and weightless.

You're rising higher and higher away from the floor.

Imagine your body becoming heavy now.

Feel the heaviness in all parts of the body as each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy.

The limbs are heavy.

The torso is heavy.

The whole body is heavy,

So heavy that it's sinking down into the floor.

Imagine the experience now of cold in the body,

Experience chilly cold.

Imagine being outside in the winter.

You feel this chill all across your skin.

Now allow the sensation of warmth to spread through the entire body.

Feel the feeling of the heat in the summer from the sun beating down without the shade.

You feel heat radiating onto your skin all around the body.

Begin to concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids.

Imagine before you a glass ball,

A crystal,

Creating a screen that is as wide as the eyes can see.

Concentrate on this crystal screen and observe anything that arrives.

Light,

Patterns,

Anything you see that is manifesting within the mind.

Do not become too involved.

Practice detached awareness.

If images arrive,

Simply notice them without directing the scene.

If thoughts come and go,

Let them float by like clouds in the sky.

I'm going to state a number of different things that you are to envision.

You are allowed to feel emotion.

You're allowed to have memory.

Just jump from image to image as soon as I say it.

Full moon,

Peacock,

Sunset,

Roses,

Pine forest,

Love.

A summer's day,

Cold,

Crisp snow,

Buddha on a mountain top,

A path through the trees,

A dog yawning,

A cat stretching,

The sound of my voice,

Your body lying on the floor.

It's time to repeat your sankalpa.

Repeat the same statement you made at the beginning three times mentally now.

Come back to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.

Maintain your awareness of breath and at the same time become more aware of the body.

You are relaxed and laying down.

Feel the body containing you,

Your clothes hanging off.

Notice the heaviness of the body as it rests.

Feel each point as it touches the surface beneath you,

The back of your heels,

Your thighs,

Your bum cheeks,

Your shoulders,

Arms,

Hands and head.

Do not open your eyes yet visualize the surrounding room.

Imagine where you are.

Think about the objects in the room.

Lie quietly until you feel ready to move.

Start by slowly moving your hands and feet.

Take your time.

There's no hurry.

When you're sure that you're fully awake,

Gently,

Oh so gently open your eyes.

Roll over to your right side.

No rush.

Stay on your right side for a few more moments.

Using your hands to press yourself up from the floor or the bed.

Let your head come up last.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.