Healing Darkness For Sleep

Enjoy deep rest as you invite your eyes to set like the sun, open and strengthen the magic of night vision, and welcome the healing powers of natural darkness into your body with this Yoga Nidra for Sleep.

Transcript

You can use this practice anytime you need a little pocket of rest,

Wherever you are,

Or to support and deepen your sleep experience.

When we enter natural rest and sleep cycles,

There is a whole network of intelligence that comes alive,

Just shimmering under the surface of things,

Often obscured through waking consciousness.

This kind of intelligence is not something you need to think about.

Allow thinking to dissolve into sensing,

Feeling,

And being.

This practice is also intended to help you to welcome the healing powers of natural darkness.

Our nervous system,

In fact our whole ecosystem,

Needs natural darkness to turn on all the beautiful,

Built-in,

Quieting and healing responses available to us.

Yet we live in a time of addiction to junk light,

Many of us overstimulated,

Anxious,

Inflamed.

Our sensitive biorhythms literally brainwashed into thinking we should always be awake,

And that it's not safe to rest.

So I invite you to welcome this Yoga Nidra session as a practice in cultivating a kind of night vision,

Coupled with an indestructible sense of inner refuge.

Fine-tune your comfort as much as you possibly can.

Be warm,

Cozy,

And allow the chin to release slightly down below the level of your forehead,

In whatever position you've chosen to receive this in.

As we begin,

Calling back all of your energy from external demands,

Pressures,

Expectations,

Entanglements.

This is a time of returning to you as your own,

As your own,

As your own,

As your own.

Calling back all of the energy that is usually flowing out,

And redirecting that flow toward nothing but this moment,

This breath.

And as we begin,

Calling back all of the energy that is usually flowing out,

And redirecting that flow toward nothing but this moment,

This breath.

Notice if you might like to set a personal intention.

And if not,

Know that you can embrace and relax with the sweetness of no intention.

However,

If you want to,

You could also ask yourself,

Is there something in your life right now that could use some extra support,

Or energy,

Or encouragement?

Is there something you wish to hand over to the Oracle of Sleep,

The Goddess of Sacred Sleep,

Just this intelligence that awakens in sleep that we simply don't access when we're awake and analyzing?

If you feel something naturally arise,

Take a moment to call it in,

To name it inwardly.

Repeat it three times.

And then simply drop it into the pool of your practice and trust.

Nothing else you need to do.

Let go of thinking.

Free yourself into sensing,

Feeling,

And just being.

Feel the space all around you,

Space beneath you,

Space above you,

Space in front,

And space behind you.

Space to the left,

And space to the right of you.

And listen to the sounds carried within space.

A sense of ears open in all directions,

Listening to the sound of your own breathing.

Like waves.

Feel the skin,

The skin breathing.

The skin expanding.

The skin expanding,

Expanding and condensing,

One breath at a time.

The mouth,

A sense of vacation mouth,

Soft jaws,

And root of tongue decompressing.

Full of ease.

Feel the nostrils,

The beautiful air filters that are your nostrils.

And the way they clean and clear and warm the air,

One breath at a time.

And feel the eyes,

All the muscles that would usually scrunch when you squint,

Allowing those muscles to release pressure,

Decompressing,

Broadening,

Vacation eyes,

Full of ease,

Effortlessness,

Peace.

Feel the eyes being gently bathed by the breath.

Heavy eyes,

Heavy eyelids,

Heavy eyelids,

Breathing into the eyeballs.

Feel the breath soak into the space between the eyebrows,

Breath by breath,

Bathing the space between the eyebrows.

Rest in the space behind the eyes.

Feel the eyes set like the sun,

Eye globes falling back and down,

Eyes bathing in the glow of sunset hues,

Oranges and reds,

Pinks and purples,

The fires of the day soothing into the coolness of night,

Eyes setting like the sun.

Feel your breath as a stream of sensation mingling from the eyes down to the heart,

And feel the breath touch the heart,

And feel the breath touch the heart,

Heart being breathed,

And from the sensation,

The awareness of the heart,

Feel anything you can be thankful for,

Anything worthy of celebration or appreciation,

Anything worthy of celebration or appreciation,

Anything worthy of celebration or appreciation,

And we take some time to circulate presence through the physical body,

And I invite you to imagine your body like a sprawling beautiful home with many rooms,

Many nooks and crannies,

Hallways and secret passageways.

And in this beautiful home,

All the lights are switched on.

As we move presence through the body home,

One by one,

We will switch the lights off.

And even when lights are switched off,

There is still the electrical current running through the wires.

And this is like your awareness,

Always present amidst changing rhythms.

Let attention travel and feel without effort.

Feel the sensation at the pit of the throat,

The inner walls of the throat,

The space of the throat,

Base of the tongue sensation,

Center of the tongue,

Tip of the tongue,

Taste buds,

Space above the tongue,

Space below the tongue,

Floor of the mouth sensation,

Ceiling of the mouth,

Teeth,

Gums,

Jaws,

Lips,

Whole mouth and throat sensation.

All the lights switched off,

Dark and quiet and still.

The sensation of cheeks,

Cheekbones,

Chin,

Ears,

Space inside the ears,

Earlobes,

Space behind the ears,

Tip of the nose,

Bridge,

Right nostril sensation,

Left nostril sensation,

Whole nose sensation,

Feeling eyelids,

Eyeballs,

Eye sockets,

Corners of eyes,

Eyebrows,

Space between the eyebrows,

Temples,

Skin of forehead,

Whole face sensation.

All the lights switched off,

Dark and quiet and still.

Feeling scalp sensation,

Back of skull,

Back of neck,

Whole head and neck as one sensation.

All the lights switched off,

Dark,

Quiet,

Still.

Sensation soaking down into left shoulder,

Left armpit,

Left upper arm sensation,

Deep inside left elbow,

Left forearm,

Wrist,

Palm of left hand,

Back of left hand,

Left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Pinky finger,

Tips of left fingers,

Spaces between left fingers,

Whole left hand sensation,

Whole left arm,

All the lights switched off,

Dark and quiet and still.

Soaking into right shoulder sensation,

Right armpit,

Right upper arm,

Deep into right elbow,

Right forearm sensation,

Wrist,

Palm of right hand,

Back of right hand,

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Pinky finger,

Spaces between right fingers,

Tips of right fingers,

Whole right hand sensation,

Whole right arm,

All the lights switched off,

Dark and quiet and still.

Feeling both arms together,

Both hands together.

Feel the sensation of the chest,

Upper back sensation,

Middle back sensation,

Upper abdomen,

Low belly sensation,

Low back sensation.

Feel the whole pelvis,

Buttocks,

Whole spine,

No thinking,

Just feeling your way.

Whole front side of the torso,

Whole back side of the torso,

The very center of the torso.

All the lights switched off,

Dark and quiet and still.

Sensation soaking into right hip,

Right thigh,

Deep into right knee,

Lower right leg,

Right ankle,

Heel,

Sole of right foot,

Top of right foot,

Right big toe sensation,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Pinky toe.

Feel the spaces between the toes on the right side.

Tips of toes,

Whole right leg and foot as one sensation.

All the lights switched off,

Dark,

Quiet,

Still.

Feel sensation soaking into left hip,

Left thigh,

Deep into left knee,

Left lower leg sensation,

Left ankle,

Heel,

Sole of left foot,

Top of left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Pinky toe.

Feel the spaces between the toes on the left side and the tips of the toes.

Whole left leg and foot as one sensation.

All the lights switched out,

Sweet darkness,

Quiet and still.

Whole back side of the body.

Whole front side of the body.

Whole left side.

Whole right side.

The very center of the body house.

Whole body,

Dark and quiet and still.

Now rest in the touch of the breath at the space between the eyebrows.

Breath washing into the space between the eyebrows one cycle at a time.

From this inner vision,

Sense and feel into this sweet darkness.

Welcoming the soft glow of night into your body.

Welcoming deep sleep into your whole being.

Feel the body grounded,

Supported,

Safe.

Body held by the heart of the earth.

And at the same time,

Feel the body free,

Floating,

Clear,

Expansive like starlight.

Roots descending down into the earth.

Expansive awareness like the night sky.

Let attention go in all directions at once.

Trust.

Deep well-being.

Letting attention go in all directions at once.

Effortless.

Peace.

Be carried by the ebb and flow of deep rest and sleep waves.

Be here as long as you need.

Reviews

This so intuitive, gentle, and helpful. I love love love the imagery of turning off the lights! Thank you, kind spirit, for being a midwife of sleep for me!

A great practice. A gentle and soothing voice that guided me to relax from the day's stress.

I appreciate your unique approach to the body scan.

darkness helps me recognize my fears and the light shines through the darkness with my faith.

This is my go to practice when I struggle to fall asleep or have a couple days of poor sleep. This track helps get me back on track falling asleep well before it finishes and maintaining a restful sleep till morning. Thank you.

Soothing, clear, present, calm, beautiful. Helped pull me out of an overstimulation migraine episode

This is one of the most amazing and deep healing Yoga Nidras I have ever experienced. Jennifer’s soothing voice, poetic imagery, and expertly crafted healing journey is par excellence. I will return to this journey again and again as a valued companion for my healing and peace. Thank you Jennifer!

I keep coming back to this for the thorough relaxing body scan 💗

My new favourite sleep mediation. It helps me to really relax and switch off every time. The only thing is I haven’t yet heard the whole meditation because I end up falling asleep, which is a huge result as an overtired new mother!

Always love this alternative to my usual yoga Nidra

Jennifer is really really good at yoga nidra! The best!

Slept peacefully after waking in middle of the night.

Wonderful!!, connects with our cellular being! Blessings Andrew

The second Yoga Nidra of Jennifer's that I have tried. It helps me to switch off my noisy brain. I didn't get to the end, it was very relaxing. Thank you so much 🙏❤️.

Your prompts and invitation to the depths of stillness are perfect 👌

So Grateful! I slept so soundly last night. Enjoyed the darkness behind my eyes journey! Creative and Unique piece.

I never make it to the end of this sleep meditation.

Well done! Was a great balance of guidance and rich detail to help visualization, but without being overly wordy. I like your voice. 🙏🏻

My go to sleep meditation. Don’t know what I’d do without it! Works for me 95% of the time.

Great meditation.
I was asleep even before the end.
I feel recharged and ready for my day.
Thank you :)