Blissful Sleep Meditation

A yoga nidra practice designed for optimum rest, even if you can't sleep, this meditation will help you to feel deeply rested and deeply relaxed. Ideal if you struggle with sleep or are needing 20 minutes out of your hectic day for rejuvination and stillness.

Transcript

Hi this is Maraika Knight from Cool Karma Collected and today's meditation is a yoga nidra which will be primarily used for relaxation to help us to get some rest.

That doesn't necessarily mean that this will lead to sleep but if it does fantastic.

But just the mere fact that we're going to have this opportunity to spend 20 or so minutes really truly relaxing the body and mind should in itself give us a lot of rejuvenation and rest.

So whether you're someone who is a shift worker that struggles to sleep during the day or a new mum or jet lagged or just happen to struggle with getting to sleep I hope that this meditation will assist you with a feeling or sense of restfulness.

So if you are listening to this before bed perhaps lying down and fighting a position where you are most comfortable or you feel most supported.

You might choose a bed or if you are listening to this during the day it might be a couch or on the floor.

Just finding a place where you know you're going to be able to just really relax for the next 20 or so minutes.

Maybe turning off the notifications of your phone giving yourself permission to take this time.

Giving yourself permission to unwind.

When you're ready just beginning to start to drop into your breath.

Just noticing the way the belly expands as you inhale and softens as you exhale.

With every new breath just thinking about how you can perhaps lengthen the breath.

Making a little bit longer,

A little bit slower,

A little bit deeper.

It's almost as if we're ironing out the kinks of our breath.

Just long deep slow steady breaths.

It's these breaths that by their very nature start to help us to let go.

Let go of the thoughts.

Let go of all the to do lists.

Perhaps even letting go of that feeling that I should be doing something else right now.

Perhaps reminding yourself as you would a friend that yes life is busy.

Yes you have a lot going on.

But right in this moment,

Just for this next little while,

Is it possible to set it all down?

To just have a bit of a break from all of the doing and to just lie here and breathe.

Okay just as you are.

And you might begin to let go of the control of the breath now if you were still holding that breath and just let it do its thing.

It might be a little bit shallower and shorter or choppier.

It might stay long and steady.

Not worrying too much about what it does.

Just knowing or trusting that it will and does do exactly what it needs to do.

That's how intelligent our bodies are.

And we're going to begin to move into our yoga nidra now.

And with the yoga nidra whenever I say the word of one of the body parts,

Just visualizing and feeling into this body part and then if you can just seeing if you can let it grow heavier.

Let it grow more relaxed.

So we're going to be starting with the right hand thumb.

Just moving all of your attention and energy now into the right hand thumb.

Seeing if you can feel the weight of the right hand thumb.

And if it's possible just let it get relaxed,

Heavier.

Moving to the fore finger,

The index finger,

The ring finger and the little finger.

Feeling into the back of the hand and the palm of the hand.

Feeling the whole hand,

All five fingers.

Feeling the weight of the hand resting on the floor or the body.

Perhaps letting it get a little bit more relaxed.

Moving to the wrist,

The forearm,

The elbow and the elbow pit.

All the way along the forearm and the upper arm.

To the shoulder and the armpit.

Just feeling the entire length and volume of the right arm.

And if it's possible on the next couple of exhalations can you allow the right arm and hand to just grow more heavy.

Feeling fully supported by the bed or the floor or the couch that you're lying on.

Totally relaxed.

Just letting go.

Moving down now the right side of the waist,

The chest.

Maybe feeling the way that there's some expansion or movement there of breath.

And every exhalation can you just allow that side of the chest to grow heavier.

The middle waist,

The right hip,

The buttock,

The top of the leg and the back of the leg.

The knee,

The knee pit,

The right hand shin and the right calf.

Now to the ankles,

To the heel,

To the sole of the foot and the top of the foot.

The big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and little toe.

Taking in the whole foot,

The whole foot,

The whole foot and leg,

The whole right hand,

Foot and leg.

Perhaps taking in the whole right side now.

The whole right side and just noticing perhaps a difference from right to left.

And on the next few breaths perhaps just letting the right side melt a little more the way an ice cube does in water.

Ice to water,

Water to vapor.

And then just moving your attention from the right hand side of the body to the left hand side of the body and taking your attention all the way down to the left hand thumb.

The left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and little finger.

The back of the hand,

The palm of the hand,

The whole left hand,

The wrist,

The forearm,

Elbow and elbow pit.

The top of the arm all the way to the shoulder,

The armpit,

The whole left arm and hand.

Feeling into the whole left arm and hand.

Seeing if on the next few exhalations you can make the whole left arm and hand grow more relaxed,

More heavy,

Fully supported by the bed,

The surface that you're lying on.

Moving down the left side of the body now.

The left hand,

Chest,

Ribs,

Side of the waist,

Hips.

Just feeling into that side waist now.

The left side of the torso.

All the way to the buttock,

The top of the thigh and the back of the thigh.

The knee and the knee pit.

Left shin and calf.

The inner sides of the legs and the outer.

All the way down to the ankle and the heel,

The sole of the foot,

The top of the foot.

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and little toe.

The whole left foot.

The whole left foot.

The whole left foot and leg completely relaxed,

Heavy.

The whole left side of the body.

The whole left side of the body.

The whole left side of the body,

Totally relaxed,

Heavy.

Feeling completely supported by the surface that you're lying under.

Moving now along the back of the body.

All the places where the body is touching the surface.

The heels,

Left and right the calves,

The backs of the arms,

Left and right buttock,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

The shoulder blades,

The ridges of the shoulders.

All the way down the backs of the arms,

The elbows,

The forearms,

The backs of the hands.

Feeling the weight of the body.

Feeling that sense of letting go into the bed,

Into the floor.

Moving to the back of the neck and the back of the head.

Feeling the heaviness of the skull.

The weight of the head.

Is it possible to let the head relax back?

Is it possible to even feel the brain,

The front of the brain soften to the back?

Moving now along the front of the body.

Feeling the tops of the feet.

Maybe there's a blanket lying over them or maybe you can feel the air on the feet if they're exposed.

The fronts of the shins,

The knees,

The tops of the thighs,

The hips,

The belly,

The ribs,

The chest,

The heart.

Feeling the internal organs here,

All of these amazing organs.

Just breathing into them,

Letting them also relax,

Letting them rest.

A sense of rejuvenation time for them too.

This time for nourishment,

Even if we're not sleeping.

All the way down the fronts of the arms.

All the way to the palms of the hands and the fingers.

The whole front of the body.

Just focusing now on the whole front of the body.

And the whole back of the body.

The whole front and back of the body completely heavy,

Completely relaxed.

And on the next few exhalations if it's possible to grow even a little heavier.

To feel as if you're really surrendering and fully supported by the mattress,

By the bed,

By the floor.

Just doing so.

Then moving to all of the features of the face.

To the top of the head.

To the left temple and the right temple,

The forehead.

To the left eyebrow and the right eyebrow and the eyebrow center.

Just seeing if you can let them be completely relaxed and smooth.

Softening and smoothing the brow.

Left cheekbone and right cheekbone.

Left side of the jaw and right side of the jaw.

The teeth and the tongue and the lips.

Noticing how the eyes feel and the sockets.

See if you can let the eyes soften further into the back of the head.

Let the eyelids be soft.

You might even invite just a slight smile at the corners of the eyes,

The corners of the mouth.

And just finishing by placing all of your attention at the nostrils and just feeling the air as it enters in through the nostrils and all the way down into your belly.

And then from the belly all the way back out.

And just breathing this way for the next few moments.

Just breathing nostril all the way down to your belly and all the way back out.

You might even like to breathe in through the nostrils all the way down to the tips of the fingers,

The tips of the toes.

And on the exhalation as you breathe out just growing heavier,

More relaxed,

More peaceful.

Just each breath met with this sense of easefulness.

This readiness for sleep or for rest.

And in the last few minutes of practice perhaps letting go of all of this.

All of the practice of breath and of scanning the body and instead just enjoying listening to the last few moments of music.

Just feeling this deep sense of peace.

This deep readiness for sleep.

Goodnight.

Reviews

Very nice way to go to sleep. I have problems getting to sleep usually, but I don't remember hearing the end of this meditation. Thank you very much. Have a beautiful day 🙏 ❤️ 🙂

A perfect body scan and sleep meditatuob. I just love the pace and voice. I am able to completely let go of busy life thoughts. A real treasure.

Great for relaxing before bed.

I feel so rejuventated after this meditation. Thank you

This was a great body scan , Relaxing voice and soft pleasant music in background. I will bookmark… Until next time. :-)

So beautiful. Pace and tone of her voice are exelent. Thank you
🙏

Worked beautifully, thank you ❤🌺

Well paced. Very effective for whole body relaxation. Thanks.

I liked this body scan

Went right to sleep. Thank you.

Must have worked because, I don't remember falling asleep :)

i did fall asleep then woke right before it ended.

Great relaxation, would recommend.

Excellent in all aspects. Thank you. 💐🙏🏻

My new favorite yoga nidra before sleep. Really, really relaxing.

Very relaxing
Soothing voice