Yoga Nidra For Bedtime

Hi,

Hello and welcome.

My name is Julie and I'll be taking you through a relaxation exercise in just a moment.

This week's exercise is one to practice before sleep.

Sometimes,

While you relax,

I tell you not to fall asleep.

But today,

Falling asleep is encouraged.

We'll crawl into bed and we'll try to become conscious of the different parts of our bodies and try to release any tension that may be present in our body at the moment.

We'll try to focus on slow,

Steady breathing and relax our minds and our bodies before sleep.

I definitely recommend you do the exercise lying down in your bed,

Either on your back or in any position that's comfortable for you before sleep.

I don't want to bother you with housekeeping at the end of the episode as you drift into sleep,

So I'll throw my little pitch now.

If you would like to support the podcast and gain access to some bonus episodes,

You can go to patreon.

Com slash Julie Albrecht or follow the link in the description.

The exercise will take around 25 minutes.

Get comfortable.

Okay,

Let's start by bringing one hand on your belly and one on your chest.

Give yourself a few moments to arrive here in this exercise and then to notice your breathing.

Notice then how your body feels right now without judging yourself too much.

Then we'll try to make our breathing a bit bigger.

You can breathe through your mouth or you can breathe through your nose,

The choice is yours.

Breathe in and feel how your belly swells,

How your navel rises and then breathe out.

Breathe in.

Feel the hand on your belly and the hand on your chest rise and then breathe out.

Breathe in and as you breathe out,

Allow your body to sink a little bit deeper into your bed.

You don't need to move to do this.

Just let your bed carry you.

Breathe in,

Feel your belly rise,

Feel your chest and breathe out.

Move yourself over to gravity a bit more.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Breathe in and breathe out.

Take a few more breaths if you want to make your breathing a bit slower.

Breathe in slowly and breathe out fully.

Breathe in and give yourself permission to let go a bit while you breathe out.

And then try to let go of controlling your breathing.

Let your breath do what it does best and give yourself permission to let go and to drift along this exercise.

Now direct your attention to your feet and feel your heels.

Feel where they make contact with the bed or with your blanket.

I invite you to feel your right heel,

To send your attention to your right heel.

Without moving it,

You can even imagine that the neurons in your brain direct themselves to the right heel.

Feel the right heel.

Bring the right heel in your attention.

Feel the sole of the right foot.

And then bring your awareness to the top of the right foot.

Send your awareness to the big toe on the right foot.

Feel that big toe.

And then bring your awareness to your second right toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Bring your entire right foot into your attention.

Allow gravity to take hold of the right foot.

You don't have to hold it anymore.

And then let your awareness move over to the right calf.

Feel the front of the lower leg,

The shin.

And then send your attention to the backside of the lower leg.

Feel where the calf comes into contact with the bed.

And think,

Let go.

Bring your awareness to the right knee.

I invite you to imagine that your right knee softens,

That it rests,

As if all the cells in the right knee become a bit limp.

Then bring your attention to your right thigh.

Feel the front of the right thigh.

Feel the right thigh where it comes into contact with the bed beneath you.

Hold the entire upper right leg in your attention and think,

Let go.

And then send your awareness to your right buttock,

To all the points where it comes into contact with the surface beneath you.

Allow gravity to get a little bit more of that right leg and let it sink a bit deeper.

Then move your attention to your left buttock.

Feel how heavy it is.

And think,

Let go.

And then the left thigh,

Feel the top of the left thigh and the underside of the thigh.

Feel each of them and then feel them together.

Allow the left thigh to become heavier.

Let gravity carry you away and think,

Let go.

Then move your attention to your left knee.

If you want,

You can imagine that your whole left knee softens,

That the tissues in the knee find a bit more space.

Bring your attention to the left calf.

Feel the top and then the bottom of the lower leg and then bring them together in your awareness.

And think,

Let go.

Feel the left heel against the bend or the blanket.

Let the heel be heavy.

Feel the sole of the left foot,

The top of the left foot.

And think,

Let go.

Bring your attention to your left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

And think,

Let go.

Feel both of your legs.

Feel both of your legs completely relaxed.

And bring your attention to your belly.

I invite you to imagine that your belly softens a bit,

That it melts and relaxes.

See everything in your belly.

See it drift apart.

Let it sit a bit looser,

A bit more relaxed within your belly.

If your hand is still on your belly,

Feel your belly relax underneath your hand.

You can visualize a bit more space between your organs.

And think,

Let go.

If you want,

You can move your hands to lie by your sides.

And then slowly bring your attention to the back of your neck.

Bring your attention to your right shoulder.

Let the shoulder become a bit heavier.

Let it give into gravity a bit more.

And think,

Let go.

Move your attention to your right upper arm.

Let gravity grab hold of your arm.

And think,

Let go.

Feel where the right arm comes into contact with the bend.

And think,

Let go.

Bring your attention to your right elbow.

Let go.

Your lower right arm.

Let go.

Bring your attention to the right wrist.

And then the palm of the hand.

Bring your awareness to the top of the hand.

The right thumb.

The second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Hold your entire right hand in your awareness.

And think,

Let go.

Feel the whole right side of the body.

Let it relax.

Let it become heavier.

And then bring your awareness to your left shoulder.

Feel it soften.

Feel it sink down.

Move your attention to your left upper arm.

Feel the top of the arm.

Feel the armpit.

Feel your elbow.

Bring your attention to your lower left arm.

And think,

Let go.

And then the left wrist.

The back of the left hand.

Let the whole hand relax.

The left thumb.

The second finger.

The third finger.

The fourth finger.

The fifth finger.

Bring the whole left hand under your attention.

And think,

Let go.

Let the whole hand relax.

Feel the whole left side of your body.

Let it become heavier.

Let it sink further into your bend.

And think,

Let go.

Let gravity draw you down further.

And let yourself become heavier and heavier.

Without trying to control the breath.

And if you like,

After your next breath out,

See if you can find a moment where you don't immediately have to breathe in again.

Rest in the pauses between your breathing.

And feel your body becoming heavier.

Feel inside of your body.

And let yourself be carried by your bed.

Where you rest.

Limp.

Supported.

Peaceful.

And tell your whole body,

Let go.

Allow yourself to be heavy.

So heavy.

And feel how the breath breathes itself.

Let your body adjust to a position in which you can sleep comfortably.

Continue to breathe easily.

And enjoy the feeling of your belly and your chest as they move with the breath.

And sleep tight.