Rest When You Can't Sleep - Yoga Nidra For Mothers

This Yoga Nidra is a rest practice for mothers whose nervous systems are stretched and fatigued.
Using imagery from the natural world, it supports your body to soften out of survival mode and settle into a deeper sense of safety, ease and belonging.

Transcript

So the following is a yoga nidra meditation for the tired nervous system that belongs to mums. It's something that I found really supportive at a time in my life when I couldn't quite sleep but I needed to rest and rest deeply. So when you're ready bring yourself into a comfortable position. You might lie down on your back. You might place something under your head or your knees. You may like to be on your side if that feels kinder to your body especially if you're pregnant or recently postpartum. I'm just taking a few sacred moments here to make sure you feel supported. Adjusting what needs to be adjusted and knowing that at any point in the meditation if you need to change position or you need to move to give yourself that permission to do so. When you're ready you can close down your eyes or if that doesn't feel right for you today just a soft gaze allowing your attention to turn inwards. Begin to notice the weight of your body where it meets the surface beneath you. It's feeling that sense of being supported, Being held. You might take a few deep breaths here, Softening on the exhale, Letting yourself really land into the support beneath you. Letting your breath return to its natural rhythm. Feeling the natural breath move in and out of your body just with ease. Each breath an invitation into this moment. An invitation to come back and start again. Noticing any sounds that you can hear. Sounds inside or outside the room. Sounds that bring you here into your body, Into this moment. The invitation now is to place your hands on your heart space and set a simple intention for yourself right now. This is your Sankalpa. It might be something like allowing your nervous system to rest or simply sensing that you're supported or to open to ease. Choosing whatever feels right, Letting your own words form quietly inside you. When you've landed on your Sankalpa, Your intention, Just repeat that silently for yourself a few times. And then letting it soften into the background. And in your own time, Beginning to move your awareness through your body, Just noticing what's here. Inviting your attention to drift to your right hand, Sensing the fingers, The palm of the right hand, Back of the hand, The wrist and the right arm. Noticing that side of your body resting. Allowing your awareness now to travel through the right side, Down to your hip, Your leg, The right foot, All the way down to your right foot's toes. Letting that side of the body feel settled. Then gently bring your awareness to the left hand, Your left arm, Noticing the fingers and the palm of your hand. Your whole arm here resting. Letting your attention move down the left side of the body, Through the hip, The left leg, Your left foot and the toes. Sensing the weight of both legs resting. From here, Let that awareness spread across the back of your body and the places in contact with the surface beneath you. Both your heels, Backs of the legs, The back of your pelvis, Your lower back, Mid-back, Shoulders, Back of the head, All being supported and held here. Then moving to the front of the body, Sensing into your face, Jaw, Your throat, Chest and the gentle movement of your belly as it rises and falls. The whole body being sensed as one. Then bringing your attention to your breath, Just noticing your breath as it is, Moving in and out to its own rhythm, Like a gentle tide flowing in and out. As you rest here, You might begin to sense the heaviness of your body, A feeling of sinking a little more into the surface beneath you. Perhaps a sense of lightness too, A bit more openness, A bit more ease. Begin to visualize yourself in a place in nature where you feel safe and at ease. It could be somewhere you know well or somewhere imagined. There's no need to picture this clearly, Just a sense of being there is enough. Noticing the ground beneath you in this place, The quality of the air, The sounds of the natural world around you. A place where your nervous system can soften, Knowing it's safe to rest here. Spending a few moments here, Letting yourself be held in this place in nature. Letting the landscape support and be with you. And when you're ready, Gently bringing your attention back to your mind, Back to your heart, Your Sankalpa. The words you chose earlier and repeating them quietly to yourself, Allowing them to land and wash over your body. And slowly in your own time begin to notice the room around you again, The sounds, Your breath, The surface beneath you. You might wiggle your fingers or your toes, Maybe stretch a little if that feels good. And taking as much time as you need before opening your eyes and allowing yourself to carry a little imprint of this moment, This Yoga Nidra with you into the rest of your day.