Good evening and welcome here to this practice of yoga nidra for sleep.
So go ahead and get comfortable in your bed or wherever you are sleeping tonight.
Make sure that you have your pillows,
Bed coverings,
Eye masks,
Anything you would have for a good night's sleep and preferably get cosy in the position you would normally fall asleep in.
Allow your body to settle in the bed and make yourself nice and warm.
Let go of any expectation to fall asleep and just allow the body to be here in this present moment.
You are welcome to move during the practice with the intention of coming back into stillness again.
The aim during yoga nidra is zero desire for movement.
If the need to move arises just observe it and you may find it will just pass.
If not adjust yourself accordingly.
Observe any thoughts that come up about the day and allow them to just dissolve.
They are unimportant and will still be there tomorrow.
Feeling the darkness of the room hold you here in this space and perhaps letting out a little yawn or a sigh.
This is your space no one to please here.
Turning your attention to the breath now.
How does the breath feel in the body?
Feeling the belly expand and contract with every inhale and exhale.
In and out.
There is no need to force any breathing.
Your body knows how best to breathe and just allow the body to breathe.
The whole body breathing.
The whole body breathing.
And as your body is breathing allow your body to settle down more deeply into stillness.
With each exhale feel the body settle deeper,
Deeper into stillness.
Deeper into relaxation.
Every exhale settling down further.
Feeling the weight of the body settling.
Settling against the surface that you are lying on.
All of your bones,
Muscles.
Letting go of everything from the day.
With every exhale further into stillness.
As you keep on breathing I invite you to see yourself somewhere in nature.
This could be somewhere that you often spend time in.
Or it could be somewhere completely new.
Somewhere where you can picture yourself lying down against the earth.
And as you are lying there look up and see the night sky above you.
It's a clear night.
No clouds in the sky.
And you can see all of the stars there twinkling away.
Almost like a blanket of starlight.
Keep your awareness on your breath.
Going deeper into stillness and relaxation with every exhale.
And as you are watching the stars you see a star gently fall towards you.
And landing on your eyebrow centre.
Between the two eyebrows.
And another star falling onto the base of the throat.
Between the two collar bones.
Another star gently falling from the sky.
Onto the right shoulder.
And another star at the right elbow.
The right wrist.
Little stars.
On the tips of each of the fingers.
Right hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
And little finger.
Another star at the wrist.
The elbow.
Right shoulder.
And another star at the base of the throat.
A star falling gently from the sky onto the left shoulder.
The left elbow.
Left wrist.
Little stars.
Gently falling on the tips of each of the fingers.
Left hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
And little finger.
A star at the wrist.
The elbow.
The left shoulder.
A star at the base of the throat.
A star at the centre of the chest.
A star at the right side of the chest.
And another one in the centre.
A star on the left side of the chest.
And another one falling in the centre.
A star falling gently on the navel.
And a star falling from the sky onto the pelvis.
A star on the right hip.
The right knee.
Right ankle.
And little stars falling on each of the toes.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And fifth toe.
A star at the ankle.
The knee.
The right hip.
Centre of the pelvis.
And a star falling on the left hip.
Left knee.
Left ankle.
Little stars falling on each of the toes.
The left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And the fifth toe.
A star at the ankle.
The knee.
The left hip.
Another star falling at the centre of the pelvis.
A star on the navel.
Another star at the centre of the chest.
A star gently falling on the base of the throat.
And a final star falling from the sky onto the space between the eyebrows.
The whole body covered in starlight.
The whole body covered with little stars from the sky.
And how does it feel to be in this space?
This space in nature covered with starlight.
Covered with the little stars.
And keep focusing on your breath.
On the exhale going deeper into stillness and relaxation still.
Every exhale taking you deeper.
And I invite you now just to notice the darkness behind your eyes.
Just like the darkness of the night sky.
This is a gentle and welcoming darkness.
Everyone sees something different here.
Some people see colours here in this space.
Some people see a grainy kind of effect like the static on an old television.
What is it that you see here?
There is no right or wrong.
There just is.
Can you feel the holding of this gentle darkness?
Feel this space holding you.
How does it feel to be held here?
And can you also feel the vastness of this space behind your eyes?
How does that feel?
This vastness right here within you.
The vastness of the darkness.
Can you feel both the holding and the vastness within?
Feeling both of these within the body.
How does that feel?
Be in this space for a few moments and I'll be quiet.
Sleep well and sweet dreams.
