This is Sara Eiler with Deep Rest Yoga.
Welcome to this Ocean Waves Sleep Nidra.
Listening to the gentle sounds of the ocean can help reduce stress and anxiety,
Encourage deeper sleep,
And improve the overall quality of your sleep.
Let the soothing sounds of the ocean on this recording calm your mind and allow your body to flow down into a deeply restorative state of being,
Allowing the sounds of the waves to start to drown out other noises and distractions,
Their continuous pattern acting as a soothing background to help repair your body,
Mind,
And nervous system to drift down into a deep night's rest.
Lying on your back or your side,
Finding a position of stillness that allows you to rest comfortably,
Allowing yourself to be fully supported by warm blankets or pillows or whatever you need to prepare for sleep.
Making any final adjustments,
Maybe moving the neck from side to side,
Gently parting the lips,
Softening the jaw,
Releasing any tension in the forehead or the muscles of the face,
And then closing down your eyes,
Allowing them to sink down heavy in their sockets,
Beginning to welcome all parts of you to be present here and now as you continue to listen to the calming sounds of the ocean on this recording,
Letting the ocean's steady,
Predictable pattern begin to quiet your mind,
Allowing the whole weight of your body to transfer down into your bed as you soften even deeper into rest and stillness,
Listening to my voice and trying to maintain a hint of consciousness until the end of the recording,
When I will invite you to fall into a deep sleep.
However,
You may lose track of my voice,
Just trusting in your body's wisdom and that tonight it knows what it needs.
Beginning to take long,
Slow,
Deep belly breaths,
The belly filling with air and then exhaling it all out,
The belly rising and falling like the waves in the ocean,
Allowing the mind to anchor into the sound of your breath,
Sinking and attuning your breath to the sounds of the ocean as the low belly continues to rise and fall,
Continuing to take long,
Deep belly breaths for several more rounds,
Coming back now to your normal rhythm of breath and dropping into your body,
Awareness starting to scan the whole body,
Sensing where your body is in space and time,
Where it's making contact with the bed below you,
The blankets covering you,
Just noticing any and all sensations,
Curious as to what shows up,
Noticing where the body is holding on to tightness,
Noticing any and all sensations.
I invite you to bring in a Sankalpa or intention into this practice now.
If sleep is what you most need and desire,
Perhaps working with the statements,
I am worthy of rest and I sleep deeply and wake up feeling energized and well-rested,
Allowing your intention to fill your mind and then repeating it silently to yourself three times,
Flowing your attention now to the tip of your tongue,
The base of your tongue,
Inside the right cheek and inside the left cheek,
And then the entire mouth all at once,
Noticing sensations in both sides of your jaw,
Noticing the flow of air at the base of your nose,
The tip of your nose,
And then any and all sensations at the very bridge of the nose,
Noticing any sensations in your cheekbones,
Both eyes and eye sockets,
The center of your eyebrows,
Both temples,
The very center of your forehead,
Your scalp,
Both hemispheres of your brain,
Noticing all sensations in both hemispheres of the brain,
All parts of your brain and brainstem deeply resting,
Tension to the very top of your head and then flowing into the back of the head,
Down the back of the neck,
Noticing any and all sensations in both shoulder blades,
Flowing down the column of the spine,
Starting with the upper spine,
The mid spine,
And the low spine,
The entire spinal column deeply resting,
Flowing your attention into the low back,
The back of both hips,
The back of the legs,
Knees,
The heels,
Into the soles of both feet,
Noticing any and all sensations in the soles of both feet and all ten toes,
Noticing any tingling or aliveness in all ten toes and the empty spaces between each toe,
Allowing your feet and toes to sink down even further into deep rest,
Sensing the front of both ankles,
Both knees,
Both hips,
And the low belly,
Noticing any and all sensations in the low belly and then the navel and then the very center of the chest,
Bringing all your awareness to both shoulders,
Both elbows,
Both wrists,
And the palms of both hands,
Noticing any sensations flowing through the palms of both hands and all ten fingers and the empty spaces between each finger,
Bringing your awareness back to both palms,
Both wrists,
Elbows,
And shoulders,
Back to the center of your chest,
The base of your throat,
Your chin,
And then coming back to both lips,
Welcoming now any and all sensations in the whole body,
The whole body deeply resting,
Start to tune back into your breath without changing its pattern,
Just notice your breath flowing in and out,
Cresting and falling like a wave in the ocean,
The ebb and flow of the waves,
Mirroring the natural rise and fall of your breath,
With each inhale,
Breathing in a sense of peace,
And with each exhale,
Sinking deeper into rest,
Inhaling and imagining waves cresting on a sandy beach and then flowing back into the vastness of the ocean,
Waves rolling in and out,
Inhaling calm and exhaling stress,
Each wave inviting a sense of peace to wash over your entire body,
Continuing to breathe deeply as you drift and flow and sink down even more,
Letting go of any lingering thoughts or worries,
Surrendering down below the surface of the waves to a place of peace that is always available,
A place where your true self resides,
That part of you that is timeless,
Formless,
And complete,
Still part of the ocean but unaffected by the storms,
From this place of peace,
Bring your intention statement back into your mind one final time and repeating it silently to yourself three times,
Letting your body become even heavier now,
Mind even softer,
Body and mind prepared and ready to flow down into a deep and restful sleep,
Carrying the peaceful rhythm of the ocean waves with you,
Allowing you to release and let go,
Releasing any last bit of consciousness,
Allowing the body and mind to drift off into a deep and restful sleep.
