Welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice for deep,
Restorative,
Relaxing sleep.
To begin,
Allow yourself to lie gently and comfortably on your back,
On your bed,
Or another soft surface.
Place a pillow under your knees if you feel the need to support your back.
Gently place a blanket over your body for warmth and comfort.
As best you can,
Allow your body to be straight.
From the very top of your head to the tips of your toes.
Let your legs lie comfortably,
Slightly apart.
And gently place your arms a little way from your body,
With your palms turned upwards.
Or if it feels more comfortable,
Let your hands lay gently on your stomach.
Allow your body to sink into the bed or soft surface that you're lying on.
Relax your body and allow yourself to feel fully grounded.
As best you can,
Try and remain really still through the entire practice.
Gently close down your eyes.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
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.
As you get ready to fall into a deep restorative sleep.
During this gentle practice of Yoga Nidra,
You are functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness.
The invitation here is to gently follow my voice.
Simply follow my voice as best you can.
And if thoughts disturb you from time to time,
Just come back to the practice.
Allow yourself to sink deeper into your bed or the other soft surface that you're lying on.
Right now,
You've created a space that is safe and protected.
Gently notice the touch of the bed or other soft surface on your back.
Be aware of the fine space between your body and the surface you're lying on.
See if you can notice with curiosity the touch of clothes or bed covers on your skin.
And then notice the air on uncovered parts of your body.
Now,
Bringing a feeling of inner relaxation to your whole body.
Concentrate on your body and become aware of your breaths.
Just gently noticing your breaths.
And also the importance of keeping your body as still as possible.
Gently observe your body all the way from the top of your head right down to the tips of your toes.
From the tips of your toes to the top of your head.
Noticing complete stillness.
And complete awareness of the whole body.
Noticing your whole body.
As you lie there,
Just letting yourself be gently aware of the whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body.
Now I'm going to invite you to become aware of your intention for this yoga nidra session.
For deep,
Restorative and relaxing sleep.
The sankalpa or intention for the practice can be a short,
Positive statement in simple,
Easy language.
Stated in your mind's eye three times.
The sankalpa is your heart's true desire in this moment.
Say your resolve in your mind's eye with whole body awareness.
Now,
As we get you relaxed for deep,
Restorative sleep.
Let's take a trip through the different parts of the body.
Gently repeat the part in your mind.
And simultaneously become aware of that part of the body.
Try and keep yourself alert.
But you don't have to concentrate too intensely.
Be very gentle on yourself.
Become aware of your right hand.
Right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth 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.
Fifth toe.
Now become aware of the left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth 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.
Fifth toe.
Now let's move gently onto the back.
Become aware of the right shoulder blade.
The left shoulder blade.
The right buttock.
The left buttock.
The spine.
The whole of your back together.
Now gently moving to 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 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.
And 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.
The body is calm and still.
The whole body on the bed or soft surface.
Gently becoming aware of your body lying on the bed or soft surface.
Your body is lying down.
In your mind's eye,
See your body lying perfectly still in this room.
Visualize this image in your mind.
Now becoming aware of your breath.
Feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs.
There's no need to change the rhythm.
Just keep focusing gently on your breath.
Complete awareness of your breath.
Now focusing your awareness on the movement of your navel area.
Becoming aware of your navel moving gently and softly up and down.
Your navel is rising and falling slightly with every breath.
With each and every breath,
It expands and contracts.
As best you can,
Focus on this movement together with your breath.
Now begin counting your breaths backwards from ten to one.
As best you can,
Just like this.
Ten,
Navel rising.
Ten,
Navel falling.
Ten,
Navel rising.
Nine,
Navel rising.
Nine,
Navel falling.
Eight,
Navel rising.
Eight,
Navel falling.
Down to one.
Say the words and numbers gently to yourself as you count your breaths.
With total awareness that you are counting.
When you feel content,
Relaxed,
Restored,
Allow yourself to gently repeat your sankalpa,
Your intention for the practice that you created in the beginning.
Just repeat it gently now in your mind's eye.
Allow yourself to fully relax again.
Becoming aware of your breathing.
Become aware of the natural breath.
Gentle awareness of the whole body.
And gentle awareness of your breathing.
Your body is lying down and it is now totally relaxed and readying itself for deep,
Restorative sleep.
You are breathing quietly and slowly.
You are noticing your body from the very top of your head right down to the tips of your toes.
Whole body awareness.
Whole body awareness.
Become aware of your bed or the soft surface you are lying on and the gentle position of your body lying down.
Lie quietly,
Letting your eyes remain closed.
Deliberately making your breathing deeper and longer.
Deep and long inhalation.
Complete exhalation.
Deep inhalation.
Complete exhalation.
Now,
As we come to the end of this yoga nidra,
Slowly and gently let yourself drift off to deep,
Restorative sleep or into a very deep state of relaxation.
Namaskar.
