Yoga Nidra for a Good Night's Sleep

Welcome to your yoga nidra.

The first thing is to get comfortable.

Make yourself as comfortable as possible,

Laying on your back,

Grabbing all the support that you need underneath your head,

Maybe something underneath your knees to support your lower back,

Fluffing yourself up underneath a comforter or a blanket.

And check that your environment is set up for a good night's sleep,

Whether you want to darken the room or put an eye mask over your eyes.

Taking this time,

Maybe even pausing this recording,

To set yourself up to relax and let go.

And once you've created the physical space around you and underneath your back,

Grabbing your pillows,

Grabbing your cushions,

Just take a big breath in and a big cleansing sigh.

Let go.

And then as you let go,

You can take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

And a big cleansing sigh.

Let go of your day.

Let go of tension.

Let go of what you want to release.

And if you notice there's anything that might be bothering you or a distraction to you right now,

Mentally or emotionally,

Imagine that you can package that up softly and that you could visualize it,

Packaging it up and setting it in the palms of your hands.

And looking at this package,

This situation,

This distraction,

Looking at it with compassion and loving kindness and choosing to set it aside for now.

Set it aside until tomorrow.

You could visualize setting it aside on your nightstand.

You could envision maybe even setting it aside outside of the room where you're in,

In a comfortable place.

You could even check in the situation in a five-star Ritz hotel and tell the situation,

You are really,

Really important to me.

So important and so special.

I want you to stay here comfortable in this really nice place.

But for right now,

I am putting myself to sleep and I'll come back to you tomorrow.

So do what you need to go ahead and set aside whatever distractions you need to,

To let it go.

And then come back to yourself.

Come back to the present moment,

To this environment,

To your bed,

To the sensation of the back body sinking deeper into your foundation.

And now let's take another big breath in and a sigh,

Release,

Let that go.

And bring to mind what you're grateful for.

What are you grateful for in this moment?

Bring to mind something you're grateful for that happened today.

Bring this attitude of gratitude into the mind.

Bring in this positivity into your sleep.

And whenever there's a challenge to find something you're grateful for,

We can always be grateful for our breath,

Our ability to breathe right now.

Take another breath into what you're grateful for and another sigh to decompress and let go.

And as I begin this yoga nidra,

Notice if there's any other fidgeting you need to release out of the body,

Any other movement,

Any other adjustments to make yourself more comfortable.

And then we will begin.

Repeat to yourself,

I enter the state of yoga nidra.

I allow my body to be completely still and my mind awake and aware.

So as I begin this body scan,

At the mention of a body part,

Observe and notice.

Nothing to fix,

Nothing to correct,

No judgment,

No criticism.

Observe and listen.

Notice the forehead,

The skin across the forehead.

Notice the right eyeball.

Let it sink deeper into the eye socket.

Notice the left eyeball.

Let it sink deeper into your eye socket.

Notice the eyelids.

Let them softly close.

Eyes are relaxed.

Eyeball sinking into your eye sockets.

Relax the eyebrows.

Relax the eyelashes.

Eyes relaxed.

Forehead relaxed.

Notice the right cheekbone.

Left cheekbone.

Right jaw.

Left jaw.

Chin.

Notice the bones of the face.

Notice the bones of the face.

Bring your attention back to the center of your forehead.

Travel down the bridge of your nose.

Notice the tip of your nose.

Notice the cartilage of the bridge of your nose.

Notice the breath soft breathing in through the nostrils.

Notice the temperature of the breath.

Inhaling,

Breathing in.

And notice the temperature of the breath as you exhale and let that go.

Notice the softness of the upper lip.

The lower lip.

Notice where the lips touch.

Or maybe they're gently parted.

Notice the tongue.

The inside of the cheeks.

The gums.

The teeth.

The entire mouth.

Notice the entire face.

The skin.

Notice.

Notice what you hear.

The sound of my voice.

Notice what you hear in the right ear.

Notice what you hear in the left ear.

Notice what you hear out of both ears.

Relax the ears.

The cartilage.

The ridges of the ears.

Inside the ears.

The eardrums.

Relax the head.

The scalp.

The follicles.

The top of the scalp.

The sides of the scalp.

The back of the scalp.

The entire face relaxed.

The sides of the head relaxed.

The back of the head relaxed.

Feel the weight of the head sink deeper into your foundation.

Bring your attention to your throat.

Maybe notice if you'd like to swallow.

Notice what it feels like.

Does it feel open?

Does it feel tight?

Observe.

Notice.

Travel down the throat to the collarbones.

Travel across the right collarbone to the right shoulder.

Travel down the right arm to the elbow to the right wrist,

The back of the right hand,

The palm of the right hand,

And the fingers.

Notice the right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger.

Notice the bones of the hand,

The bones of the fingers.

Let them relax.

Notice the softness of the palm of your right hand.

Notice the temperature.

Notice the skin.

Notice the palm.

Travel up the inside of the right wrist,

The forearm,

The inside of the elbow,

The bicep,

The right shoulder,

Back to the center of the collarbones.

Notice the right arm,

Heavy and relaxed.

Travel across the left collarbone to the left shoulder.

Travel down the left arm,

Down to the elbow,

The wrist,

The back of the hand,

The palm of the hand.

Notice the fingers.

Notice the fingers.

Left thumb,

Index finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger.

Notice the webbing in between each finger.

Notice the bones of the fingers.

Notice the bones of the hand.

Notice the padding and the cushion of the palm of the left hand.

Observe and notice the palm of your hand.

Travel up the inside of the left wrist,

Left forearm,

Inside of the elbow,

Bicep,

Left shoulder,

Back to the center of the collarbones.

Notice the left arm,

Heavy and relaxed.

Travel down to the bottom of the ribs and notice the breath.

Notice the inhale expand into the lungs and the rib cage.

And as you exhale,

Notice the soft release and letting go.

Notice how the ribs move in the right side,

Expanding with the inhale and releasing with the exhale.

Notice how the ribs of the left side expand with the inhale and release with the exhale.

Now notice the breath in both sides of the body,

In both lungs,

Both rib cages.

Observe the front of the body,

The sides of the body,

The back of the body,

Receiving breath and releasing breath.

Continue noticing this breath while you repeat to yourself,

I am in the state of yoga nidra.

My mind is awake and aware.

My body is completely still.

So with the body heavy and relaxed,

Notice there's still movement,

Soft gentle movement of the rib cages,

The lungs,

The internal organs.

Notice the breath in the back body.

Notice the breath in the upper back,

The middle back,

The lower back.

Notice the breath in the entire back.

Notice the breath in the upper chest,

The mid belly,

The low belly.

As I mention these body parts,

Nothing to fix,

Nothing to change.

Observe and notice and you might observe that just as you notice each body part,

That body part might organically on its own let go of tension.

Relax and let go.

Notice the body.

Notice what you feel.

Bring to mind your sankalpa and repeat it to yourself three times.

Travel your attention down to the belly,

The low belly,

Down to the pelvis.

Notice the right side of the pelvis,

The left side of the pelvis,

The right hip joint,

The left hip joint,

The right buttock,

The left buttock,

The internal organs,

The reproductive organs.

Observe and notice and bring your attention to your belly button.

Notice the rise and fall of the breath as the belly rises and the belly falls.

From the belly button,

Travel to the right hip joint.

Bring an awareness of what might seem open,

What might seem closed.

Notice what might feel tight and what might feel loose.

Observe and notice.

Bring your attention down the right leg,

From the upper thigh,

The kneecap,

The shin,

The right ankle,

The top of the right foot,

The right toes,

The sole of the right foot.

Relax the right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Notice the webbing in between every single toe.

Notice the bones of the foot,

Bones of the toes,

And notice the padding in the sole of your right foot.

Notice what might feel hard in that right foot,

What might feel soft and cushioned in the sole of that foot.

Observe and notice.

Travel up the back of the right leg,

The ankle,

The calf,

The back of the kneecap,

The hamstring,

The buttock,

Back to the right hip joint.

Notice how you feel.

Notice the weight of the entire right leg.

Notice the right leg heavy and relaxed.

Travel your attention back to the belly button.

Observe the belly rise.

Observe the belly fall.

Travel across to the left hip joint.

Observe and notice what seems closed,

What seems open,

What seems loose,

And what seems tight.

Travel down the left leg from the left hip joint down the upper thigh,

The kneecap,

The shin,

The ankle,

The top of the left foot,

The toes,

The sole of the left foot.

Notice the left big toe.

Notice the left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Notice the webbing in between every single toe.

Notice the bones of the toes,

The bones of the foot.

And notice the softness,

The padding,

The cushion of the sole of the left foot.

Observe and notice the left foot.

Travel up the back of the left leg from the heel,

The ankle,

The calf,

The back of the kneecap,

The hamstring,

The buttock,

Back to the left hip joint.

Notice the entire left leg.

Notice the weight.

Notice the heaviness.

Left leg heavy and relaxed.

Notice the entire lower body.

Let the weight sink deeper into your foundation.

Notice the entire upper body.

Let the weight of the upper torso sink deeper into your foundation.

And notice the skin wrapping all around you.

Notice it's smooth,

Soft,

Letting go.

Now notice the whole body.

Letting go.

Now notice the whole body.

The front,

The sides,

And the back.

Notice the whole body.

And repeat to yourself,

I am whole and complete.

I am whole and complete.

I am whole and complete.

Repeat to yourself your sankalpa three more times.

Repeat to yourself,

I am in a state of yoga nidra.

Repeat to yourself,

I am in a state of yoga nidra.

My mind is awake and aware.

My body is completely still.

My bones are solid and heavy.

My bones sink deeper into my foundation.

My skin is soft and smooth.

My skin is soft and smooth.

My muscles are relaxed.

My connective tissue is soft.

I am prepared for sleep with a relaxed body and a calm mind.

Inviting my sankalpa,

My intention,

Into my body,

Into my mind,

Into myself.

I allow a deep sleep to welcome healing to welcome rest.

I will wake up rested,

Rejuvenated,

And refreshed.

This yoga nidra session is now complete.

May you enter a deep,

Rejuvenating sleep.

I wish you well.

I send you much peace,

Compassion,

And loving kindness.

Peace out.