Yoga Nidra For Sleep

Allow yourself to naturally fall into a deep sleep with this calming Yoga Nidra guided practice. If you have trouble falling asleep or want to have a conscious nap, this will gracefully guide your entire being into the relaxation of your dreams.

Transcript

Welcome to the practice of yoga nidra.

I'm Lauren and I'll be guiding you through this meditation.

This specific practice is meant to help guide you and bring you to a beautiful blissful sleep.

Sleep is so important for our total well-being and health.

And if you're feeling anxious or stressed or can't sleep,

This meditation is perfect to listen to while lying in bed.

To get ready for the practice of yoga nidra,

Make sure that you're completely comfortable lying in your bed,

On your back.

The head is resting on a pillow.

The blankets are covering the body.

Begin to relax into this comfortable position.

Notice if you could be 5 or 10% more comfortable.

Allow your whole body to be heavy and held by the bed below.

Knowing that this is your time to relax,

Calm the mind,

Let go of tension in the body,

And fall asleep organically,

Naturally.

Closing,

Relaxing the eyes away from the world of looking and seeing.

And beginning to look within now,

Your internal vision opening.

We'll begin this practice by releasing any leftover tension or strain or holding in the body.

We'll begin tuning in to the sensation and feeling of your feet.

And take a big,

Deep breath in through the nose.

And as you inhale,

Squeeze and tighten every single muscle of the feet.

Holding the breath at the top for a moment.

And exhale,

Release the feet,

Letting go.

And now inhale,

Squeeze and tighten all the muscles of the legs,

The thighs,

The calves,

The feet,

The toes.

Holding it tight.

And then exhale the breath,

Release the legs,

Softening.

And inhale,

Squeeze,

Tighten,

Tense the bottom.

Holding,

Holding,

Creating tension.

And then exhale,

Relax and release.

Inhaling,

Creating tension in the abdomen and the back.

Holding.

And exhale,

Release.

Relaxing the belly and the back.

Breathing in,

Bringing the shoulders to the ears and tensing and shrugging the shoulders.

Holding the breath.

And exhale,

Letting go,

Release.

Inhale,

Make fists with the hands.

And squeeze every single muscle of the hands together.

Holding and exhale,

Letting go,

Relaxing the palms,

The hands,

The fingers.

Allowing them to be soft and open.

Moving to the face.

Observing all of the muscles in the face.

And then inhale,

Squeeze and tighten and scrunch the face really,

Really tight so your eyes and your lips and your cheeks are tight.

Holding and exhale,

Softening,

Relaxing all the muscles of the face.

And again,

Inhaling,

Squeeze the face.

Make it really scrunched.

And exhale,

Letting go.

One last time with the face.

Inhale,

Tighten every single muscle and cell of the face.

Really,

Really tight,

As tight and strong and tense as you can make it.

And exhale,

Letting go.

Allowing all the muscles,

The skin,

The bones of the face to relax and melt.

And now begin to inhale and tighten and tense every single muscle and bone in your body,

From your feet to your legs,

Your bottom,

Your belly,

Your back,

Your fist,

Your face.

Hold and exhale,

Let go.

Again,

Inhaling,

Tightening every muscle,

Every cell,

Every single inch of your whole entire body,

Making it really tense.

Saving it,

And exhale,

Surrender.

Last time,

Inhaling and squeezing your entire body,

As tight as you can,

Squeezing.

Three,

Two,

One,

And release.

Whole body is relaxing.

The whole body is letting go.

All of the tension in the body is melting away into the bed.

And feeling the weight of your body on the bed.

Feeling the head and the connection to the bed held and supported by the pillow below.

Feeling the shoulders and the back,

The bottom and the legs held.

Feeling the weight and the warmth of the blanket laying on your body.

And moving to the face.

Feeling the skin on the face.

Feeling the eyes gently closed.

So lightly closed that they're almost fluttering,

Softening,

Relaxing the lips,

Relaxing the muscles of the jaw,

And softening the forehead and the eyebrows.

And start to tune in to the natural flow of air in and out of the nostrils.

Cool air on the inhale and warm air on the exhale.

And start to listen to all of the sounds around you.

Allowing any sounds to be a part of this practice.

Tune in to observe the sounds of the body,

Listening deeply to the sound of the heartbeat.

And letting go of all sounds.

Now tuning in to your personal sankalpa or a short positive statement of intention for this practice and for your life.

Ask yourself in your life right now,

What is your deepest,

Most heartfelt desire?

And think of this as a seed you are planting into your time in the world of sleep.

As you contemplate your sankalpa,

See and feel your life with the fulfillment of this desire.

Repeat your sankalpa three times from your heart with full faith,

Knowing it will manifest the more you use it.

Letting go of your sankalpa,

Knowing it is planted now in the subconscious mind.

Now moving in to body rotation.

Your awareness will flow from body part to body part.

When a body part is named,

Mentally repeat it,

Visualize it,

And bring a light awareness to it.

Bring on the right hand side,

Tuning in to the right hand,

Right hand thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Right wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the waist,

Hip,

Upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Right ankle,

Heel,

Bottom of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Feeling and sensing the whole entire right side of the body.

Moving on to the left hand side,

Feeling the left hand,

Left hand thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Left wrist,

Left foot,

Fore arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of the waist,

Upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Left ankle,

Bottom of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Feeling the whole entire left side of the body.

Moving now to the back of the body,

Back of the heels,

Back of the legs,

Whole of the bottom,

The lower back,

The upper back and shoulders,

The whole of the spine from the sit bone all the way to the neck,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Top of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Eyebrow center,

Eyebrow center,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Bridge of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The upper lip,

Lower lip,

Tongue in the mouth,

Teeth,

The chin,

The jaw,

The throat,

Whole of the neck,

Whole of the chest,

The abdomen,

Right hip,

Left hip,

The whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

Both arms together,

Both arms and both legs together,

Now feeling the whole entire back of the body,

A whole entire front of the body,

The whole entire body all together,

The whole body,

Feeling the whole entire body,

Laying in its position,

Letting go of the awareness of the body and bringing your awareness now to the natural flow of the breath,

Allow your attention to be spontaneously drawn into the breath without needing to change it or control it,

Relax into the simplicity of being breathed,

Notice your body relaxing deeper with every breath,

Noticing the inhalation of the breath is like beginning a day and the exhalation is like ending the day,

The flowing of beginning and ending,

Focusing on the slow exhalations as they bring you into this time of rest,

Relaxation and sleep,

The exhalation is ending,

Closing and saying goodbye to the day,

And as you inhale,

Begin counting backwards starting from 11,

So inhale 11 and exhale the sound of Aum,

Inhaling 10,

Exhale Aum,

And continue doing this breath all the way down to zero.

Releasing,

Letting go of the breath,

Finding stillness and peace in the body,

Now imagine and sense that the whole body is heavy,

Feeling heaviness throughout the whole body like the body is made of lead or bricks,

The body is so heavy it can almost leave an imprint on the bed,

Welcoming the sensation of heaviness in all parts of the body,

Feel the immense weight of the head,

The weight of the torso and the arms,

The legs and the feet are heavy,

The whole body feels very dense and full,

Releasing the sensation of heaviness,

Recreate and sense now the feeling of lightness,

Feel that the whole body is light,

Imagine that the whole body is filled and made of feathers,

The body is so light that it's almost floating off of the bed,

The head is light,

The torso and the arms are floaty and weightless,

The legs feel like they're floating in grace,

The whole body like it's floating in space,

So light,

And letting go of the sensation,

And come now and rest in this empty space,

This space for being,

There's nothing to do,

Nowhere to go,

Be still,

Let go of time and space,

Notice what remains,

Let yourself fall back into the heart space,

Letting go of any feelings,

Any thoughts,

Any images,

Letting yourself fall into the heart,

Falling into bliss,

Into relaxation,

And into restful sleep.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

Reviews

Thanks for the quiet and music-free calm.

Very relaxing, thanks 🙏
Very relaxing! Thanks! 🙏

Lauren has a lovely voice and she invited my daughter to camp wondergirls on zoom in 2020 and she loved it. it was her favorite camp she ever did
You go Lauren
From Jess and Sammi

Wonderful way to drift into sleep. And what a lovely voice.

Thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻The pace and your voice felt just right🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Really nice yoga nidra! Not too fast, not too slow. Perfect!

Such a delicious yoga nidra! Always fall asleep before it ends 🙏 wake up in the morning feeling great! 💚