Good evening and welcome to this yoga nidra practice designed to help you relax and release down ready for a restful night's sleep.
So to begin,
Make sure you are comfortable in your bed.
Cover yourself with your covers and switch your light off.
Give yourself a little bit of time to find comfort.
You may wish to start this practice on your back,
But if at any point during the recording you feel like you want to roll over onto your side and fall asleep,
Just allow yourself to do that.
As you settle in,
Allow yourself to sink fully into that comfortable position.
Feel the bed beneath you,
Holding you completely,
And now close your eyes softly.
Take a few deep and slow breaths.
With each exhale,
Feel any tension melting away,
Softening into the surface beneath you.
Allow yourself to be fully here,
Giving yourself permission to let go of the day,
Knowing that there's nothing else to do and nowhere else to be.
This time is for you,
For deep rest and for ease as you drift towards a state of complete relaxation.
Paying attention to your face now,
Let the muscles in the forehead and around the eyes soften.
Let the cheeks come loose and release all expression from your face.
Let go of the jaw,
Maybe inviting your teeth to part slightly,
And then again,
Just settling your awareness back on your breathing,
Noticing the breath coming and going,
Coming and going.
Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.
This is your heartfelt intention or desire.
If you are already working with a sankalpa,
You can use it now,
But if you don't have one,
You can use this one.
I invite deep rest to my mind and my body.
Now repeat this three times in your mind,
Silently.
Now just stay focused on the sound of my voice as I take you on a journey through your physical body.
As I name each part of the body,
Just rest your dental attention on that part.
Feel into it and allow that area to soften and relax.
Start by bringing awareness to the right hand,
And now the right hand thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
The right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
And the right shoulder.
The right armpit,
Right side of the ribs,
The right waist,
And the right hip,
The thigh on the right side,
The knee,
And the lower leg,
The right ankle,
And then the whole of the right foot,
The top of the foot,
The sole of the foot,
Feeling all five toes,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth toe,
Feeling the whole right side of the body.
Awareness now in the left hand,
The left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And the little finger,
The palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
The left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
The left shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left side of the ribs,
And the ribs,
Left side of the waist,
Left hip,
The thigh on the left side,
The knee,
And the lower leg,
The ankle,
And the whole of the left foot,
The top of the foot,
And the sole of the foot,
All five toes,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth toe,
Feeling the whole left side of the body.
Now shifting awareness up into the crown of the head,
The forehead,
The right eyebrow,
And the left eyebrow,
The center of the eyebrows,
The right eye,
And the left eye,
The right ear,
And the left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The nose,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
The upper lip,
And the lower lip,
Feeling the teeth,
The tongue,
And the jaw,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
The chin,
And now center your awareness in the whole right arm,
Awareness in the entire left arm,
Both arms together,
Awareness in the whole right leg,
And then the whole left leg,
Feeling both legs together,
Place your awareness in the right side of the body,
And the left side of the body,
And now your awareness in the entire body,
Awareness in the entire body,
The entire body,
The entire body,
Now allow yourself to sink even more deeply into this restful space,
Knowing that everything you need is already here within you,
There is no need to do anything,
Just let yourself be,
Feel the gentle rhythm of your breath as it flows effortlessly,
Creating you in this peace and calm,
Let go completely,
And drift into the comforting embrace of sleep,
May you rest deeply,
And may you wake refreshed,
Renewed,
And fully restored.
