Rest As You Are: A Yoga Nidra For Inner Peace & Sleep

Welcome to this yoga nidra.

A yoga nidra for peace and tranquility.

A yoga nidra to feel and celebrate into the space within you.

Just take a moment to get completely comfortable.

Notice if you would like something under your head or maybe a support under your knees or your ankles.

Notice if you would like to let your arms release away from your body.

Maybe your feet might like to come a little further away from one another.

If you're lying on your side you may like to bring a pillow between your legs.

Reach your body with the kindness and respect it deserves.

Become completely comfortable.

If you could even be just a percent more comfortable,

Notice what that is.

What can you do to make yourself even more settled,

Even more comfortable.

And when you've finally built your nest,

Just allow your body to soften and sink down into the comfort of the space that you're in.

Become aware of the space around you,

The air on your skin,

The sounds that you can hear,

Each and every one of them.

From the most subtlest of sounds to the most invasive.

Let them all in.

Eyes open or eyes closed,

Become aware of the light that surrounds you.

If there's sunlight falling on you,

You might even become aware of the warmth of that light.

Even if the eyes are closed,

You can be aware of the light just behind the eyelids.

Just being aware of it all.

Becoming aware of the energy around you.

It may be of other beings.

It might be a still,

Calm energy.

Just becoming aware,

Feeling into the energetic elements around you.

And then just becoming aware of one thing around you at this very moment that gives you gratitude.

It might be the sound of the birds.

It might be the safety of the space that you're in.

Feeling the heat of the sun,

The cosiness of your blanket.

Just one thing.

And invite that sensation of gratitude into your heart center.

Bring the awareness into your body.

Become aware of the rise and the fall of your body with your inhale and your exhale.

And become aware of your breath as it flows through the nostrils.

The coolness of your inhale.

The warmth of your exhale.

You may even become aware of the inhale and that moment it turns and becomes your exhale.

And the moment a new breath comes in.

Just following your breath now.

In and out through the nostrils.

Can you count your breaths?

Maybe up to 10 breaths.

Don't worry if you lose count.

If that happens,

Just come back to one and start again.

Now just letting that go.

And bringing to mind one thing,

Just one thing in your life that has given you gratitude in the past.

It might be a place,

A person,

An experience.

One thing that you're grateful for.

And can you merge that one thing with the gratitude that you're feeling at this very moment in the here and now.

Can you feel them merging together?

And can you now bring in one thing about yourself that you're grateful for?

It could be anything.

It could be the ability to find joy in the smallest of things.

It could be the ability to learn.

It could be the pure joy of being able to effortlessly breathe.

Just one thing that you are grateful to yourself for.

Let all three elements of gratitude now merge into one.

Let that sensation merge into one.

And imagine that sensation coming into your heart center.

With the three elements of gratitude merged together at your heart space,

You now may like to form a sankalpa,

A heartfelt intention.

Or you may feel that it's enough.

You're enough.

Just as you are.

Imagine now the sensation of gratitude for being a beautiful,

Brilliant light.

In everywhere mentioned in your body,

This light flows and touches the body and fills it.

With light.

Comes all the way into the right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The palm of the right hand,

The back of the right hand,

All the way around and into the right wrist,

The right forearm,

Palm,

Deep into the right shoulder,

All around the right shoulder,

Around the back of the right shoulder,

To the space between the shoulder blades,

To the back of the left shoulder,

And all the way down into the left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Middle finger,

Little finger,

The palm of the left hand,

Back of the left hand,

Around and within the left wrist,

The left forearm,

Upper arm,

Deep into the left shoulder,

All around the left shoulder,

Across the collarbone,

To the space of the chest,

Into the space of the sternum,

And deeper to the space of the heart,

Nestled between the lungs,

Down now into the space of the ribcage,

To all the organs protected within,

All around the ribcage,

From the front of the ribcage,

All the way around to the back of the ribcage,

Either sides of the back,

All the way to the sides of the spine,

Between each and every vertebra,

From the tailbone,

All the way up to the back of the neck,

All the way to the back of the head,

And all the way back down again,

All the way to the lower back,

Across the whole of the lower back,

All the way to the right heel,

The right sole of the foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The whole of the right foot,

Around and within the right ankle,

The right calf,

The shin,

Deep into the right knee,

Into the space of the right thigh,

The back of the right thigh,

Front of the right thigh,

Into the space of the right hip,

The right buttock,

And across now and down into the left foot,

The left heel,

The sole of the foot,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The whole of the left foot,

Around and within the left ankle,

The left calf of the leg,

The left shin,

Within the left knee,

Into the space of the left thigh,

The back of the left thigh,

Front of the left thigh,

Into the space of the left hip,

The left sit bone,

All around the pelvis and deep into the space of the pelvis,

To the space of the belly,

The waist,

Across the whole of the front body now,

The whole of the front body,

And all the way to the back body,

All the way to the space just behind the right ear,

Around the curves of the right ear,

The lobe of the right ear,

Into the space of the right ear,

And all the way across to the back of the left ear,

The curves of the left ear,

Lobe of the left ear,

Into the space of the left ear,

Right into the back of the head,

To the crown of the head,

All the way down to the base of the skull,

Into the space of the mouth,

Around the teeth,

The roof of the mouth,

The tongue,

The throat,

All the way to the space just behind the eyes,

To the eyes themselves,

To the muscles around the eye,

The space between the eyes,

The forehead,

The temple,

The whole of the head space,

The whole base of the body glowing with light.

Can you imagine that you are freezing cold,

Absolutely freezing cold,

It's bitterly cold,

All around and deep into your bones,

Completely cold.

Can you imagine being boiling hot,

Really,

Really hot,

It's really hot all around and deep within you,

Absolutely boiling.

Now can you feel the two at the same time?

Hot and cold,

Letting this sensation go now.

Can you imagine yourself really heavy,

Really,

Really heavy,

Really weighed down,

Incredibly heavy.

Can you imagine the opposite,

You're really light,

So,

So light that you may even be able to float away,

As light as a feather.

Can you feel both at the same time,

Heavy and light?

Now letting this sensation go,

Now imagining that you're really sad,

Terribly sad,

Letting the sadness come in to your whole being,

Being with that sadness.

Now imagine a complete and utter joy,

Coming into complete and utter blissful joy and noticing how that is,

Being in joy.

Now can you feel the two at the same time?

Sadness and joy,

Can you be with them both?

Notice how that is,

And then letting this sensation go,

And imagine yourself walking in a beautiful forest,

And the sun shines down through the branches.

You feel the energy around you of life and joy.

As the flowers bloom,

The leaves rustle in the breeze,

Feel the sensation of life being carried by that breeze.

As the gentle hum of the insects,

The birds chattering way above your head,

Become aware of the life of the smaller creatures beneath you,

Busy with their jobs,

Each and every one of them with their role,

Not realizing how important their role is in the whole well-being of this large earth that we all live in together.

As you walk on a beautiful earthy path,

Either side of you,

You acknowledge the presence of life.

As you walk on this earthy path to a clearing in the forest,

Where you come to a beautiful lake,

You sit at the lake and you look down and you see your reflection.

You look at your reflection and your reflection smiles back at you.

It smiles with love and warmth and gratitude for just being here at this very moment in time.

For being able to breathe in all that surrounds you.

For being not just a witness to it,

But a part of it.

For acknowledging that you belong.

That you are enough.

That you are here.

That you are.

You put your hand in the lake and you feel the water on your hand.

You feel the texture and the presence and the life of the water as you allow your hand to flow left and right,

Making ripples.

And you feel those ripples expand way beyond your view.

You look into the calmness of the lake again with a knowing.

A heartfelt knowing.

You get up and you walk back through the forest with your heart full of joy.

And you walk back,

Back to your home.

Feeling back into your body.

Back into the home space within you.

And keeping the glow of gratitude.

Allowing it to stay present.

And you may like to just allow yourself to flow into a peaceful sleep.

Knowing that you're enough.

Just the way you are.