Welcome to the practice of yoga nidra for sleep.
So if you're listening to this nidra during the day,
Be sure to set an alarm so that you can bring yourself back around,
As I'll be giving you space to drift off to sleep at the end of the nidra.
If you're listening to the nidra before bed,
Then let go of any expectations to fall asleep.
Make yourself warm and comfortable.
Cover the eyes with an eye pillow if you have one or something to block out any ambient light.
You can lie however you like.
You have nothing to do now,
Nowhere to be.
Give yourself permission to let go and to completely relax during this yoga nidra.
Start to notice your breath.
Start to make your breaths longer and smoother.
Every exhalation is an invitation to soften,
Maybe even lengthen the exhale.
Really letting go every time you breathe out.
Soften the point between your eyebrows.
Soften the inner and outer corners of your eyes.
Allow your eyeballs to release down into the back of your head.
Release your jaw.
Start to notice the heaviness of your body.
Every time you exhale,
Feel your body become heavier.
Every time you exhale,
Feel the weight in your body sink down,
Merging with the surface beneath you.
Maybe you'd like to sigh a couple of times in your own time.
Releasing anything you're holding onto every time you let go.
Let your body breathe just on its own natural breath.
We're going to set a sankalpa,
A resolve,
Around the theme of sleep.
So you could choose something like,
I fall asleep every night.
Or,
I wake up every morning feeling refreshed.
Perhaps you'll choose something else.
Repeat the words as if they are true.
Even if they are not true at this moment.
Even if you don't currently believe them.
Repeat the phrase three times whilst visualizing yourself living a life in which your sankalpa is true.
A life in which you sleep well.
We're going to come to an awareness of the body now.
We're going to rotate our consciousness around the physical body.
So don't worry if your mind drifts off.
Simply come back when you hear my voice again.
Starting on the left side of the body,
Bring your awareness to the left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
The palm,
The back of the hand,
The wrist,
The forearm,
The left elbow,
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The armpit,
The chest,
The left waist,
The hip,
The thigh,
The knee,
The shin,
The collarbone,
The neck,
The shoulders,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The arms,
The legs,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms,
The arms The forearm,
The back of the hand,
The wrist,
The forearm,
The right elbow,
The upper arm,
The shoulder,
The armpit,
The chest,
The right waist,
The hip,
The thigh,
The knee,
The shin,
The ankle,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole of the right side of the body,
The whole of the right side of the body,
And now the left heel,
The right heel,
The left glute,
The right glute,
The left shoulder blade,
The right shoulder blade,
The whole of the back of the body,
Moving to the forehead,
The point between the eyebrows,
The left eye,
The right eye,
Both eyes together,
The left ear,
The right ear,
Both ears together,
The left cheek,
The right cheek,
Both cheeks together,
The nose,
The tip of the nose,
Top lip,
Bottom lip,
Both lips together,
The base of the throat,
The left collarbone,
The right collarbone,
The left abdomen,
The right abdomen,
The whole of the front of the body,
The whole of the head,
The whole of the left arm,
The whole of the right arm,
The whole of the left leg,
The whole of the right leg,
The whole of the left side of the body,
The whole of the right side of the body,
The whole of the back of the body,
The whole of the front of the body,
And now the whole body,
Feel the whole of your body,
The whole of your being totally at ease.
We'll now come to a phase of breath awareness,
So start to notice the natural flow of your breath moving in and out of your body,
Not changing the breath in any way,
Simply observing.
Notice how your body gently moves as you breathe,
And we're going to begin to count down on each exhalation,
Starting at 33 as you exhale,
32 as you exhale,
And continue to count down on your exhalations each time you lose count or your mind wanders.
Start again at 33.
If it feels uncomfortable,
Try not to force it.
You can always return to observing the sensations in your body as you breathe.
Your body is breathing for you.
Continue to count your breaths,
Starting again at 33.
If you've lost your count,
If your mind has wandered,
No judgement,
Simply starting again.
Keep coming back to your breath,
Counting down each exhalation.
Let go of this counting of breaths,
Of this breath awareness.
I'm going to invite you to watch a movie of your day,
Bringing your awareness to behind your closed eyelids.
Start to visualise images from your day,
Or getting a sense of what happened in your day to day.
Start from this moment,
Start to go back through the yoga nidra,
Through the rotation of awareness through the body,
And continue to travel backwards,
Seeing your day in reverse.
If you don't see anything,
That's fine as well.
Just get a sense of your day and what happened,
And going back through the things that happened today.
Perhaps these feelings or images bring up emotions.
Remember that this is not real,
It's not happening right now.
It's simply like watching a movie.
You can turn it off at any point that you wish.
Continue to travel back through your day,
Remembering journeys you've been on,
People you've seen,
Conversations you've had.
Recall the food you've eaten,
Any feelings or emotions.
Continue to travel backwards,
All the way back to your morning routine,
Recalling that moment when you first opened your eyes today.
Maybe even travelling further back into your dreams,
Allowing any images to rise and fall from your consciousness.
Allow your thoughts to drift now,
Losing focus of them.
Continue to drift,
Mind and body totally relaxed and calm.
Now bring in your awareness behind your relaxed eyelids.
Allow your gaze to soften behind your closed eyes,
And just noticing the darkness there,
Without any expectation,
Without any grasping,
Just noticing if any colours or shapes begin to rise in this darkness.
Allow yourself to drift.
Let any images come to you without forcing,
Without any judgement.
Allow any images to dissolve and observe any new images that might come up,
Or simply stay with the dark space,
Allowing yourself to float.
Let any images wash over you today.
