Yoga Nidra For Sleep (With Music)

This deeply soothing Yoga Nidra session is designed to guide you into a profound state of relaxation and restful sleep. One hour of guided meditation followed by half an hour of soothing sleep frequencies, it will help you release physical, mental and emotional tension through the classic yoga nidra sequence including a sequential physical relaxation and a visualization journey through the chakras. Prepare yourself for a night of deep, rejuvenating, peaceful rest.

Make yourself comfortable by lying down in bed, ensuring you are as comfortable as you can be. Close your eyes, relax and simply listen to the voice as your body becomes more and more calm and at ease.

Transcript

This is Lara of Listen Lightly and this is a yoga nidra practice intending to help you drift off into a deep nourishing healing sleep.

Please prepare yourself for yoga nidra,

Putting yourself into a laying down position,

Making yourself as comfortable as you can be.

Pillows,

Blankets,

Really ensuring that you can maintain a still position for the remainder of this practice,

Making any final adjustments to make yourself a tiny bit more comfortable.

And when you're ready,

Closing your eyes and slowly becoming quiet,

As quiet as possible.

Take three long deep breaths now,

And each time as you breathe out,

Feel yourself letting go.

For the remainder of this practice,

Forgetting your cares and worries,

And concentrating on yoga nidra,

On relaxation,

On surrendering.

Noticing any place in your body that could be a little bit more relaxed,

Letting go in the face and the eyes,

And all the little muscles around the eyes,

Around the nose,

Around the jaw,

Lips,

And tongue.

Scanning your body now for any place you could release a little bit more,

Any place that can be softer or open,

And letting your exhales help you let go.

And now become aware of distant sounds,

The furthest away sounds that you can notice,

And move your attention from sound to sound,

Just listening,

Do not try to analyze.

Now bring your attention to closer sounds,

Gradually drawing in your awareness,

Listening to sounds outside your building,

In all directions.

And then two sounds inside the building,

Noticing the sounds in this room,

And develop your awareness of this room with your eyes closed.

Visualize the walls,

The ceiling,

Your body lying in bed.

See your body lying in bed,

Becoming aware of your physical existence,

Almost like you're observing your body from outside of it.

And notice how still and relaxed your body is becoming.

With your awareness on the existence of your physical body,

Become aware of the natural breath,

Following the natural breath in and out.

You are not doing it,

It is happening naturally and spontaneously.

The body is breathing on its own,

And you are simply aware of it.

Feel yourself becoming more relaxed,

And become aware that you are going to practice yoga nidra.

Say to yourself now,

I am going to practice yoga nidra.

I am going to practice deep relaxation.

Only two doors of perception are open now,

Those of feeling and hearing.

And the practice of yoga nidra begins now.

Stating your sankalpa or intention or resolve,

Now using the same one as you have committed to,

Knowing it will come true.

So repeating to yourself three times in the same words,

A short positive statement,

Something you want to be true in your life.

With feeling and emphasis,

Knowing it will come true.

Go ahead,

Now.

And then letting it go.

We are going to move through the rotation of consciousness,

Becoming aware of different parts of our body.

The mind will jump from part to part as I name them,

Not concentrating too hard,

Simply following along with my voice.

We will begin with the right hand.

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of the right hand,

The back of the hand,

Right wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Right armpit,

Right side of the waist,

Right hip,

Hamstring,

Right thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the right foot,

The right toes altogether,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

To the left side now,

Bringing your awareness to the left hand,

The left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of the left hand,

The back of the hand,

Left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Left armpit,

Left side of the waist,

Left hip,

Left hamstring,

Left thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

The left heel,

The sole of the foot,

The top of the foot,

The left toes altogether,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now go to the top of the head,

At the top of the head,

Become aware of the forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

The chin,

The jaw,

The throat,

The right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

The center of the chest,

The navel,

The abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right toes,

Left toes.

Now to the back of the body,

We'll start from the bottom,

Right toes,

Feeling all of your right toes,

Left toes,

The sole of the right foot,

The sole of the left foot,

The right heel,

Left heel,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

The right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

The back of the right knee,

The back of the left knee,

The back of the right thigh,

The back of the left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right hip,

Left hip,

The whole spine,

Feeling the whole spine,

The right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

The back of the neck,

The back of the head,

And the top of the head.

We're going to go through the inner parts of the body now,

Just following along,

Bringing your awareness to the parts I name,

Starting with the brain,

The nasal passage between the nose and the throat,

The tongue,

The teeth,

The palate or roof of the mouth,

The right eardrum,

The left eardrum,

The throat through which the air passes,

The canal or food passage along the throat,

The right lung,

The left lung,

The heart.

Feel the heart by concentrating on the heartbeat.

The stomach above your navel towards the left side,

The liver above the navel towards the right side,

The right kidney and the left kidney towards the back above waist level,

And in the abdomen,

A long coiled tube called the small intestine,

And a u-shaped tube called the large intestine.

We're going to go through these one more time,

A little bit faster,

Taking your awareness to the brain,

The nasal passage between the nose and the throat,

The tongue,

The teeth,

The roof of the mouth or palate,

The right eardrum,

The left eardrum,

The throat,

The right lung,

The left lung,

The heart,

Concentrating on the heartbeat,

The stomach,

The liver,

The right kidney and the left kidney towards the back above waist level,

The small intestine,

And the large intestine,

And the whole abdomen.

Now the major parts of the body,

Feeling the whole of the right leg,

Now the whole of the left leg,

And both legs together.

Now the whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

And both arms together.

The whole of the head all together,

The whole of the back all together,

The whole of the front of the body together.

Together.

All of the internal organs together.

And now the whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Visualizing the whole body with complete intense awareness.

We are going to move through this rotation of awareness one more time,

Starting with the right hand,

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of the right hand,

The back of the hand,

The right wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Right armpit,

Right side of the waist,

Right hip,

Right hamstring,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the right foot,

The right toes all together,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The left hand now,

Bringing your awareness to the left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of the left hand,

The back of the hand,

The left wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Left armpit,

Left side of the waist,

The left hip,

Hamstring,

The left thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel of the left foot,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the left foot,

The left toes all together,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Go to the top of the head now,

The top of the head,

Forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

The chin,

The jaw,

The throat,

The right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

The center of the chest,

The navel,

The abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right thigh,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right toes,

Left toes.

Now to the back of the body,

Starting at the toes,

Awareness of the right toes,

Left toes,

The sole of the right foot,

The sole of the left foot,

The right heel,

Left heel,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

The right calf muscle,

The left calf muscle,

The right calf muscle,

Back of the right knee,

Back of the left knee,

Back of the right thigh,

Back of the left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right hip,

Left hip,

The whole spine,

The right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

The back of the neck,

The back of the head,

And the top of the head.

And the inner parts of the body one more time,

Bringing your awareness to the brain,

The nasal passage between the nose and the throat,

The tongue,

The teeth,

The palate or roof of the mouth,

The right eardrum,

The left eardrum,

The throat through which the air passes,

The right lung,

The left lung,

The heart,

Feeling the heart by concentrating on the heartbeat,

The stomach,

The liver,

The right kidney and the left kidney towards the back,

Above waist level,

The small intestine and the large intestine.

And now the major parts of the body,

Feeling the whole of your right leg and the whole of the left leg.

And both legs together.

Now the whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

And both arms together.

Now the whole of the head all together.

The whole of the back all together.

The whole of the front all together.

All of the internal organs all together.

And now the whole body.

The whole body.

Visualizing your whole body lying in stillness.

Concentrate on the body lying in bed completely comfortable and become aware of the meeting points between the body and the mattress,

The mattress and the body.

The body and the pillow.

Feeling that meeting point between your head and the pillow,

Your shoulders and the pillow,

Your arms and the mattress,

Your back and the mattress,

Your buttocks and the mattress,

Your thighs and the mattress,

Calves,

Mattress,

Heels,

Mattress,

The whole body lying in bed.

Become intensely aware of the body in stillness.

In bed.

And bring your awareness to the breath and become aware that you are breathing.

Simply become conscious that you are breathing.

Nothing else is required.

Continue your awareness of breathing.

The body is breathing on its own.

There is no effort.

And imagine now you are breathing in through the right nostril.

The breath moves up to the eyebrow center and then exhale the other side of the triangle out through the left nostril and then inhale through the left.

The breath meets at the eyebrow center and exhale through the right.

We're going to keep going with this pattern of alternate nostril breathing.

Inhaling through the right.

Exhaling through the left.

Inhaling left.

Exhaling right.

Inhaling right.

Breath moves to the eyebrow center.

Exhaling left.

Inhaling left.

Exhaling right.

Keep going with this pattern.

And we're going to start counting down from 54,

Our breaths.

So on your next hit,

Inhale,

Repeating to yourself,

Inhaling 54.

Exhaling 54.

Inhaling 53.

Exhaling 53.

Inhaling 52.

Exhaling 52.

Inhaling 51.

Exhaling 51.

Keep going counting backwards at your own count.

Complete awareness of counting and breathing.

If you make a mistake,

Start again at 54.

If you reach zero,

Start again at 54.

I'm going to be quiet and let you count on your own for a few minutes.

Complete awareness on breathing and counting.

Breathing and counting.

You're doing great.

And now you can cease the counting,

But maintain awareness of breathing.

You are aware of breathing.

And you are aware that you are lying in Shavasana.

And nothing else besides these.

And now we are going to do a chakra visualization.

Visualize your spine lying down.

Just the spine,

Not any other part of the body.

The spine on its own in bed.

Feel as if you are standing nearby and watching it.

And at the very bottom of the spine,

See a stem emerging from the inside.

At the top of this stem,

A flower is forming.

And around the flower are several leaves.

Beautiful,

Green,

Round leaves with drops of dew glistening on them.

Like pearls.

If you shake the leaves,

The pearls fragment into many small beads.

And if you shake them again,

The small beads come together again to form big pearls.

As you shake the leaves,

The water comes together and then disperses and fragments.

Oh,

And the flower at Muladhara chakra,

At the base chakra,

Is dark red with four petals.

Visualize this flower at the base of the spine,

Surrounded and supported by these leaves,

Which contain these pearls of water.

And now at Svadhisthana chakra,

Or the sacral chakra,

Behind the navel.

Visualize a red-orange lotus,

Vermilion-colored,

With six petals.

The leaves also have drops of water on them,

Just like those in Muladhara chakra.

You can shake them in the same way you did in Muladhara.

And all the water disperses into many pearl-like drops.

The water never touches the petals of the lotus flower.

Though the lotus is rooted in the bottom of the pond,

And it rises up through the water,

Yet its petals are never wet.

Therefore,

The sages and yogis advise us always to be mindful of the water.

To be as detached from everything in the whole universe as the lotus leaf is from the water.

Completely non-attached.

The lotus comes from the water.

It only survives due to the water.

Yet,

It does not get wet.

The water cannot touch it.

In the same manner,

We all live in this world.

We eat,

And we enjoy,

And we suffer.

We practice.

Meditation.

We do many things.

Yet,

We should be detached from all of this.

Now,

At Manipura,

Or the solar plexus,

Just above and behind the navel,

Visualize a ten-petaled yellow lotus.

A ten-petaled yellow lotus at Manipura.

See the leaves underneath,

Sparkling with pearl-like drops of dew.

Behind the heart now,

At Anahata chakra.

See a twelve-petaled blue lotus.

A twelve-petaled blue lotus at Anahata chakra,

Behind the heart.

It also has many leaves underneath,

Covered with many fine drops of dew.

Now,

At Vishuddha chakra,

Behind the throat,

At the back of the throat,

Is a sixteen-petaled purple lotus.

A sixteen-petaled purple lotus,

With many leaves under it and dew-drops shining on them like pearls.

At Ajna chakra,

Behind the eyebrow center,

Visualize a two-petaled gray lotus,

With two leaves beneath it,

Covered with dew-drops like pearls.

And above this two-petaled lotus,

The radiant full moon is above them,

About three inches away.

Above the third eye,

Ajna chakra,

Visualize a two-petaled lotus.

A radiant full moon floating above you,

Above the lotuses.

And at the top of the crown of the head,

Sahasrara chakra,

Visualize a thousand-petaled bright red lotus.

At Sahasrara chakra,

At the crown of the head,

You see the thousand-petaled bright red lotus.

There are so many petals at Sahasrara,

And the water droplets are like gleaming corals all around the bottom of them.

Now bring your awareness to the moon floating above,

The eyebrow center,

The radiant full moon.

It is so quiet,

Tranquil,

Peaceful,

And cool.

And see the moonlight striking the drops of water on the leaves,

And all the chakras,

All the lotuses along your spine.

The moon reflects in the pearls of water,

And they shine like hundreds of jewels.

Some look simple,

Like pearls,

And others look like coral,

Depending on your angle of vision.

They are all shining like diamonds,

Like nuggets of gold and silver,

Like many moons,

Like the stars.

And the lotus flowers,

Those are only able to be seen due to the light reflected from those brightly shining jeweled drops.

We're going to go through the chakras again,

Visualizing the lotuses at each one.

Again at Muladhara chakra,

At the base of the spine.

Visualize a dark red lotus with four petals,

Its leaves shining brilliantly with diamond-like drops.

Then a little bit up in Svadhisthana chakra,

See the orange-red vermilion lotus with six petals.

Move up your spine further to the solar plexus at Manipura.

Above and behind the navel,

Visualize a ten-petaled yellow lotus.

Behind the heart chakra,

At Anahata,

See a 12-petaled blue lotus.

At Vishuddha chakra,

Behind the throat,

At the back of the throat,

A 16-petaled purple lotus.

At Ajna chakra,

Behind the eyebrow center,

See a two-petaled gray lotus with two leaves beneath it,

Covered in dewdrops like pearls.

Above the third eye,

There is the radiant full moon reflecting onto all the lotus flowers,

Reflecting in the dewdrops like diamonds.

And at the crown of the head,

At Sahasrara chakra,

You see the thousand-petaled bright red lotus.

Feel the chakras one more time moving downwards from Sahasrara at the crown,

To Ajna,

The eyebrow center,

Vishuddha in the throat,

Anahata at the heart,

Manipura at the solar plexus,

Svadhisthana and Muladhara at the base of the spine.

Now place your whole physical body on a lotus flower.

Visualize your whole physical body lying relaxed on the lotus,

Floating in calm water with the radiant full moon far above you in the sky,

Stars like diamonds surround you and are reflected in the calm water beneath you.

You are lying completely relaxed,

Incredibly comfortable,

Surrendered and relaxed on the lotus flower,

Gently floating in this serene,

Peaceful space.

As you relax deeper,

Your physical body merges with the lotus flower.

The lotus flower merges with your physical body,

Floating at peace and repeating your sankalpa or intention here three times and floating as the lotus flower.

Gently rocking on the calm surface of the water,

At ease,

Surrounded by stars and their reflections in the water,

Spacious,

Peaceful.

In the background,

You can hear the sound of Aum vibrating,

Relaxing into this vibration.