Yoga Nidra For Sleep And Deep Relaxation

This soothing and nurturing Yoga Nidra relaxation will invite you into a state of deep rest and relaxation, helping you to replenish your energy and soothe away tension and stress. You can do this at any time you feel depleted or to encourage sleep before bed or if you wake in the night.

Transcript

Yoga Nidra Relaxation.

Please create a comfortable environment where you will not be disturbed and come into one of the restorative yoga postures.

As you lie here,

Cast your awareness to any sounds you can hear.

The tapestry of noise that forms a backdrop to your day.

What can you hear within the space you are in?

Lie here,

Inviting the sounds to softly subside,

To hold no relevance.

As you begin to journey deeper and deeper within,

Gently invite your physical body to lean a little more into the support of the earth and any props,

Pillows or blankets which surround you.

Observe as the muscles relax their hold,

Signalling to all the tissues and cells to release just a little.

Melt into self-compassion,

Totally effortless.

Relishing the freedom of letting go completely,

As if your entire body is sighing,

A full body sigh,

From the crown of your head to the tips of your toes.

Feeling the sigh from inside your body,

A gentle sigh radiating outwards.

Ripples of release,

Swirling in ever increasing spirals,

Until the ripples of release flow beyond your physical body.

In Yoga Nidra,

It is usual to set a resolve for yourself,

Creating a phrase or even a word that resonates with you.

It can be anything which enters your mind at this time.

There is no right or wrong.

If a word or phrase resonates with you,

Then draw it into every fibre of your being.

Repeat this resolve three times,

And then release it into the space beyond.

We are now going to journey around the physical body.

Please take your awareness to each part of the body in turn,

Consciously softening and releasing each area,

As I name it.

Awareness of the palm of the right hand,

Back of the hand and wrist,

Right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle,

Ring and little finger,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder,

Armpit,

Whole length of the arm,

From the shoulder to the fingertips,

Relax.

Awareness of the palm of the left hand,

Back of the hand and wrist,

Left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle,

Ring and little finger,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Armpit,

Whole length of the arm,

From the shoulder to the fingertips,

Relax.

Both arms and hands,

Heavy and relaxed.

Awareness into the right foot,

The sole of the right foot,

The heel and ankle,

The top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

To the calf and shin and the back and front of the knee,

Softening the right thigh,

The femur,

The longest,

Heaviest bone in the body,

Feel it sink into the earth,

The right hip and buttock,

The right inner leg,

Outside of the right leg,

Whole of the right leg.

Foot and hip,

Completely relaxed.

Awareness now into the left foot,

The sole of the left foot,

The heel and ankle,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

To the calf and shin and back and front of the knee,

Softening the left thigh,

The femur,

The longest,

Heaviest bone in the body,

Feel it sink into the earth,

The left hip and buttock,

The left inner leg,

The outside of the left leg,

Whole of the left leg.

Foot and hip,

Completely relaxed.

Both legs and feet,

Completely relaxed.

The pelvic bowl,

Crest of the hips,

Releasing.

Awareness into the tailbone and in your mind,

Tiptoeing all the way up the spine to each vertebrae,

The lumbar,

Thoracic,

Cervical,

Like a string of pearls,

Releasing and relaxing all the way to the base of the skull,

Back of the head.

And all the way down the spine.

Be aware of the discs between each vertebrae,

Soften and relax.

The muscles either side of the spine softening,

The whole of the back,

All the muscles of the back,

Letting go.

Sink into the support of the earth.

Awareness into the belly.

Feel the release spiral out from the navel to the waist,

Replenishing all the internal organs with fresh oxygenated blood,

The internal organs in complete harmony.

Soft and relaxed awareness into the heart space.

Feeling the heart centre expand with the inhale,

Soften and release on the exhale.

Move the awareness into the right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Ribcage,

The muscles between the ribs moving freely and softly with the breath,

The whole chest cavity relaxed.

Both arms,

Both legs,

Front of the body,

Back of the body relaxed.

Taking awareness to the tongue,

Heavy in the base of the mouth,

Releasing the lower jaw,

Teeth,

Gums,

Right cheekbone,

Left cheekbone.

Be aware of the softness inside the cheeks,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Lower lip,

Upper lip,

The point where the eyelids touch,

Softening the right eyelid,

Left eyelid and all the muscles around the eyes.

Feel the eyes gently sink back into the eye sockets,

Right eyebrow and left eyebrow and the point between the eyebrows.

Feel softness and smoothness from the centre of your forehead to the right temple and from the centre of your forehead to the left temple,

The crown of your head,

The right side and left side of your head.

All the way down the back of the neck,

Into the front of the neck and throat.

Whole body,

Whole physical body,

Whole front of the body,

Back of the body,

Right side of the body,

Left side of the body relaxed.

Awareness now at the rim of the nostrils,

Observing the soft caress of the inhale as it swirls into the nasal cavities.

Notice the gentle rise and fall of the belly with the breath,

Prana infusing the whole body and the exhale coaxing away any tightness,

Fatigue,

Anything you no longer need.

Observe each new breath as it arrives and each breath as it leaves.

The breath like a silken ribbon of prana,

Flowing in,

Infusing every cell,

Revitalising and replenishing,

Flowing out,

Defusing,

Relinquishing and releasing.

Notice the weight of your body now,

Sinking deeper into Mother Earth,

The body so heavy,

Sinking deeper and deeper into the Earth,

The body like an anchor,

Steady,

Still,

Secure.

Now imagine the body becoming light,

Weightless,

As if it could rise ever so slightly off the mat,

Floating like a cloud,

Free of restriction.

Feel the body move effortlessly between heaviness and lightness as you breathe,

Inhale feeling light,

Exhale feeling heavy,

Exploring sensations in rhythm with the breath,

Moving from heavy to light and light to heavy.

One sensation merging seamlessly into the next.

Now feel the body long,

From the bottom of your feet to the crown of your head,

Feel the length of your body,

Expansion and length of the body.

Now notice the body small,

Contracting ever so gently,

Moving from small to long and long to small.

One sensation moving seamlessly into the next.

Notice temperature within the body and imagine heat,

Feeling warmth flow through the body.

Heat created by the midday sun or a campfire at night,

Imagine the body warm.

Now imagine the feeling of being cool,

Feeling the seep through your cells,

Snowflakes falling,

Creating layers upon layers of crispy white snow and ice.

Cold seeping through the body,

Imagine the body cold.

Now moving from cold to hot and hot to cold.

One sensation moving seamlessly into the next.

Notice the velvety softness of the eyelids touching,

Eyes sinking into the embrace of the eye sockets.

As you begin to visualise scenes,

Like a slideshow,

Each image merging into the next.

Picture in your mind's eye,

A tree standing tall,

Branches full of leaves,

A field of wheat swaying gently in the breeze,

Pebbles glistening at the bottom of a riverbed,

A brightly coloured teapot with steam rising from the spout,

A black cat curled up on a cushion,

A butterfly with its wings spread out wide,

A rainbow of light shining through a waterfall,

A horse galloping along a beach,

An eagle flying high in the sky,

A girl laughing on a swing,

Clouds drifting along the horizon,

Clouds drifting along the horizon,

Clouds on the horizon.

Slowly draw your awareness back to the resolve you made at the beginning of this practice.

Repeat it with love and sincerity three times.

Reviews

ZzzZzzz thank you

Beautiful soothing and peaceful end to the day with a lovely gentle voice. Thank you. 🙏🏻