Deep & Soothing Sleep With Yoga Nidra

This Yoga Nidra session helps you to sleep better and deeper. Do you have trouble falling asleep? Is fretting or other mental (or physical) restlessness keeping you awake? Or, you just want to recharge your batteries. This session will help you. Research shows that Yoga Nidra significantly increases your sleep quality and helps you fall asleep more easily. During this session, you are guided to deeply relax mentally and physically, so that you can surrender to a soothing night's sleep.

Transcript

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra session for deep and soothing sleep.

I am Femke from Studio Yoga Nidra and I am going to guide you to unwind mentally and physically so you can indulge in a deep and soothing sleep based on Yoga Nidra techniques.

You can do this session right before going to sleep for a better night's sleep,

Because research shows that Yoga Nidra improves the quality of your sleep and helps you fall asleep.

But you can also do this session as a power nap,

Or if you want to refuel on the go.

First,

Bring your attention to your posture.

Lie on your back in a comfortable position you can easily hold for the next 25 minutes,

In a place where you won't be disturbed.

If you can,

Cover yourself with a blanket.

This will give your brain a cue that it's time to rest.

If necessary,

Support your head and knees with a pillow.

Then drop your arms beside your body with the palms facing up.

Spread your legs slightly apart and let your feet fall outward.

Close your eyes and leave them closed until the end of this session.

The effect of this Yoga Nidra is the greatest if you do not move during this session.

But if you do need to move,

Do so gently and then return to my voice.

If it's not possible for you to lie on your back for medical or practical reasons,

Simply sit or lie in a comfortable and relaxed position.

When you are ready,

Breathe in deeply and as you exhale,

Let go of everything that has happened before and everything that is yet to come.

Make it this pact with yourself.

The next 25 minutes are all mine.

There is nothing I need to do right now,

Nothing I need to plan or resolve at this moment in time.

I don't have to do anything but feel my body and listen to this voice.

During this session I'm going to ask you to bring your attention to certain body parts or sensations.

Try not to focus too heavily or listen in a forced way,

As this will just backfire.

Experience it as it is.

Whatever your experience today,

This exercise always makes an impact.

And know that there is no way to do this wrong.

Now bring your attention to the sounds around you,

Only the sounds that reach you without extra effort.

Focus first on the furthest sounds,

One by one,

Without trying to name them.

Then let go of the sound and move on to the next one.

Gradually listen to the sounds closer by,

One at a time.

The sounds in this building,

This room,

And finally the sounds around you and within you.

Now bring your attention to what your other senses are telling you.

What smells do you notice?

The taste in your mouth?

Feel where your body touches the ground.

How your clothes rest on your body.

Now become aware of your breathing.

Breathe in and feel how you inhale the cold air through your nose.

Hold it for a moment.

And feel how you exhale warm air back through your nostrils.

Repeat this two more times.

Take a deep breath in.

Hold it.

And then release it with a sigh.

One last time.

Breathe in.

Hold it.

And sigh it out.

Next,

We are going to alternate breaths.

This practice will deepen your breathing and gently nut you to let go of your mind and enter your body.

This is not an exact science,

So don't strain yourself with trying to do this perfectly.

Inhale through your left nostril.

Hold your breath for a moment.

And exhale through your right nostril.

Then breathe back in through your right nostril.

Hold the breath for a moment.

And breathe out through your left nostril.

Don't start analyzing or rationalizing.

Just focus on the breath.

Inhale through your left nostril.

Hold for a moment.

And exhale through your right nostril.

Breathe in through your right nostril.

Hold it.

And breathe out through your left nostril.

And go on.

As you breathe in,

Imagine how the fresh air makes its way down to your toes,

Taking with it all your worries,

Thoughts,

To-do's or emotions.

And as you exhale,

You let all of it go.

Now,

We are going to count down from 10 to 0 with each exhalation.

If you lose count or get distracted,

That's no problem.

Just start back at 10.

Breathe in through your left nostril.

Hold for a moment.

And breathe out through your right nostril.

Inhale through your right nostril.

Hold.

And exhale through your left nostril.

Nine.

And continue this breathing by yourself.

With each exhalation,

You let go a little more.

You carry a little less balance.

More space is created.

You become a little lighter.

And you feel your body become more and more relaxed.

Allow your body to become heavy.

Now,

We are going to declare your sankalpa.

A sankalpa is a statement of intention based on what you need the most in your life right now.

This could be,

For example,

More peace of mind or better sleep.

Importantly,

It should be a positive short sentence,

In the present tense,

As if it's already happening.

Like,

I find peace within myself.

Or I feel rested.

Now,

Think of your own intention or sankalpa.

And imagine how that sankalpa will affect your day.

How you will feel the choices you make.

Visualize it as vivid as you can.

Imprint this feeling.

Say your sankalpa now three times to yourself,

As if it's already reality.

Now I'm going to take you on a journey through your body.

One by one,

I'm going to name different body parts.

Bring your attention to the body part I name,

Repeat it to yourself,

And simply feel each part as it is named,

Without any judgement.

This can be quick,

So the idea is not to think about it,

But just to feel.

Bring your attention to your right hand,

Your right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of your hand,

Back of your hand.

Feel your hand as a whole.

Feel your wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder.

Guide your attention to your armpit and further down along your right ribs,

Your right hip,

To your right thigh,

Your knee,

Your shin,

Then your ankle,

The top of your right foot,

Your big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And your little toe.

The sole of your right foot,

Your heel.

Feel your right foot as a whole.

Now move on to your calf,

The hollow of your knee,

To your right buttock.

Then bring your attention to your left hand,

Your left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The back of your hand,

The palm of your hand,

And the back of your hand.

Notice how your entire left hand feels heavy and rested.

Your wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Entire left shoulder.

Move on to your armpit,

Your left ribs,

Hip,

To your left thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Top of your foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And little toe.

Then go to the sole of your left foot and your heel.

Feel your entire left foot as a whole,

Heavy and relaxed.

Move on to your calf,

The hollow of the knee,

And your left buttock.

Then move your attention to your lower back and travel up your spine,

To your shoulder blades,

Your neck,

The back of your head,

Your crown.

Then go to your forehead and your right eyebrow,

Your right eyelid,

Your lower eyelid,

And the place where the eyelids meet.

Then travel to the place between your eyebrows and go on to your left eyebrow,

Your upper eyelid,

The lower eyelid of your left eye,

And the place where your eyelids meet.

Then bring your attention to your nose and the tip of your nose,

Your upper lip,

Lower lip,

And the place where your lips meet.

Further down to your chin and your neck.

Now feel your head as a whole,

Feel how relaxed it feels.

Then move on to your right collarbone,

Your left collarbone,

Your right breast,

Your left breast,

And your solar plexus.

Down to your navel and your lower belly.

Feel how relaxed your right arm feels,

Your left arm,

And both together.

Don't analyze it,

Just feel it.

Feel your right leg,

Your left leg,

And both legs together.

Your head,

Your upper body,

And now feel your body as one.

Feel how your entire body is relaxed and resting,

How each body part flows into another and enveloped by your skin,

How the muscles have completely let go and surrendered to gravity.

If you are distracted for a moment,

Don't worry,

Just return to my voice.

Now feel how heavy your body is,

Feel how your body pushes down on your mattress,

Feel how heavy your head is,

Your arms weighing down,

Your upper body,

Your legs,

So heavy that you cannot move them.

Now feel how light your body feels,

How light your head feels,

As if it starts to float like a feather.

Feel how light your arms are,

Your legs,

Your entire body,

As if you were floating above the ground.

Then feel again how heavy your body is,

Pushed down by gravity,

And then bring back the feeling of lightness throughout your body.

Now feel both of them together.

Bring your attention back to your breathing,

Your natural breathing as it flows through you.

Feel how the breath swirls through your body,

How the air fills your belly,

Your chest rises and then it floats.

How with each breath you sink deeper and deeper into your mattress.

Now remember your sankalpa.

Repeat it three times within yourself as if it's already happening.

Then return to your breathing and the feeling of pure rest.

With each breath let go a little bit more and surrender.

With each exhalation surrender more and more to the feeling of deep and soothing rest.

Good night and namaste.

Reviews

Going to come back to this one. Good pace and calming voice. Background music was not distracting and faded out at the end.

A heartfelt thank you for your beautiful nidra practice Femke. Perfect for winding down with your words and cadence.

Fell asleep. 4:30 am Montauk. Don’t remember. 8/9/23

This was highly effective as I fell asleep before it ended & I woke up feeling extremely relaxed and rejuvenated.

Great meditation. She has a wonderful voice and pace that relaxed me into sleep.

Really good meditation 🧘‍♂️ marked for future reference 🙏🏻😌

Excellent! Relaxed my mind and body and lulled me into sleep. Thank you. 🙏❤️😴

Lovely practice♾️
Thank you kindly♾️💜
Namaste🙏🏼✨️🖤🪔

Thankyou I really enjoyed the breathing exercises!! Also the practice was very relaxing.. namaste 🕉☮️🎣🙏💜x

I fell asleep❤

Great meditation. I fell asleep

Love your tone/voice and honestly I fell right to sleep! 🙏

Yoga Nidra was the best way to put me to sleep at night. Thank you

That was incredible. I hope to make very good use of this meditation.
Thank you very much.
Peace and light,
Peter

Really relaxing. Think i fell asleep.

Haven't stayed awake through a session yet.❤

I have been meditating for about 5 years now and there are only a couple of teachers on this site that I have been able to really let go and relax. You are one of those teachers. This was amazing. Thank you so much! ❤️

I only got a few minutes into it and fell right asleep! I loved the pace and your voice was so calming. This will be one of my nightly meditations 😃

Voice and pace was very calming, I immediately felt drwn in. I loved the way we were prepared and actively helped to settle into this nidra. It felt safe to let go and sink into the depth.

Very effective and relaxing. Some really nice breathing techniques that made my body totally relax . A quiet and calming voice. Thank you 🙏💜