This yoga nidra practice will soothe the tensions of your body and mind and let you drift off to a deep and relaxing sleep.
Firstly,
I'm going to get you to lie gently on your back,
On your bed or another soft surface.
Keep your body straight from head to toe,
Your legs slightly apart and your arms a little away from your body,
With your palms turned upwards.
Let your body sink into the bed or soft surface.
Relax your body and allow yourself to feel fully grounded.
Try and remain really still through the entire practice.
Gently close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in and feel the cares and worries of the day float away.
In this practice,
You are going to develop the feeling of deep relaxation in your body and mind as you get ready to fall asleep.
During yoga nidra,
You are functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness and the only important thing is to follow my voice.
Simply follow my voice with total attention and feeling and if thoughts disturb you from time to time,
As they inevitably will,
Just gently come back to the practice.
Allow yourself to become calm and steady.
Trust that you are in a safe and protected space and feel the touch of the bed or ground on your back.
Be aware of the fine space between your body and the surface you are lying on.
Simply notice and acknowledge the touch of clothes on your skin and air on uncovered parts of your body.
Bring a feeling of inner relaxation to your whole body.
Create on your body and become aware of the importance of complete stillness.
Develop your awareness of your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
From the tips of your toes to the top of your head.
Complete stillness and complete awareness of the whole body.
Whole body awareness.
Continue your awareness of the whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body.
Now become aware of your intention for this yoga nidra session.
The sankalpa or intention for the practice should be short,
A positive statement in simple language stated gently in your mind's eye with awareness and feeling.
The sankalpa is your heart's true desire in this moment.
Play your resolve in your mind's eye with whole body awareness.
Now let's take a trip through the different parts of the body to get it ready for deep relaxation and sleep.
Repeat the part in your mind and simultaneously become aware of that part of the body.
Keep yourself alert but don't concentrate too intensely.
Become aware of the right hand.
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Pinky finger,
Palm of the hand.
Become aware of your palm,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
The lower arm,
The elbow,
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The armpit,
The right waist,
The right hip,
The right thigh,
The kneecap,
The calf muscle,
The ankle,
The heel,
The sole of the right foot,
The top of the foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Pinky toe.
Become aware of the left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Pinky finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
The lower arm,
The elbow,
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The armpit,
The left waist,
The left hip,
The left thigh,
The kneecap,
The calf muscle,
The ankle,
The heel,
The sole of the left foot,
The top of the foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Pinky toe.
Now to the back.
Become aware of the right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade,
The right buttock,
The left buttock,
The spine,
The whole back together,
The top of the head,
The forehead,
Both sides of the head,
The right eyebrow,
The left eyebrow,
The space between the eyebrows,
The right eyelid,
The left eyelid,
The right eye,
The left eye,
The right ear,
The left ear,
The right cheek,
The left cheek,
The nose,
The tip of the nose,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
The chin,
The throat,
The right chest,
The left chest,
The middle of the chest,
The navel,
The abdomen,
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.
The whole of the back,
Buttocks,
Spine,
Shoulder blades,
The whole of the front,
Abdomen,
Chest,
The whole of the back and front together.
The whole of the head,
The whole body together.
The whole body together.
Whole body awareness.
Total awareness,
Stillness,
The whole body on the bed or floor.
Become aware of your body lying on the bed or floor.
Your body is lying down.
See your body lying perfectly still in this room.
Visualise this image in your mind if you can.
Become aware of your breath.
Feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs.
Don't try to change the rhythm.
Continue to gain awareness of your breath.
Continue complete awareness of your breath.
Now concentrate your awareness on the movement of your navel area.
Concentrate on your navel movements.
Your navel is rising and falling slightly with every breath.
With each and every breath it expands and contracts.
Concentrate on this movement together with your breath.
Concentrate with total awareness.
Now start counting your breaths backwards from 10 to 1.
Just like this.
10 navel rising.
10 navel falling.
9 navel rising.
9 navel falling.
8 navel rising.
8 navel falling.
Continuing down to 1.
10 navel rising.
10 navel falling.
10 navel rising.
10 navel falling.
Say the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths.
With total awareness that you are counting.
Whole breath awareness.
When you feel content,
Relaxed,
Allow yourself to repeat your sankalpa,
Your intention for the practice that you created in the beginning.
Repeat it gently with awareness.
Allow yourself to fully relax again,
Becoming aware of your breathing.
Becoming aware of the natural breath.
Awareness of the whole body and awareness of breathing.
Your body is lying down totally relaxed and readying itself for sleep.
You are breathing quietly,
Gently,
Slowly.
Develop awareness of your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
Whole body relaxation.
Become aware of your bed or the floor and the position of your body gently lying down.
Make your breath deeper and longer.
Deep and long inhalation.
Complete exhalation.
In your own time,
Deep inhalation.
Complete exhalation.
Now as we come to the end of this yoga nidra,
Slowly and gently let yourself drift off to sleep or into deep relaxation.
