This meditation is focused on helping you to sleep.
Dedicate this present moment to honoring your natural need for rest.
As you begin to settle,
Allow yourself to be drifted away by the waves of relaxation as they wash over your body.
Welcome yourself exactly as you are.
Let this Yoga Nidra sleep meditation envelop you in a feeling of safety and acceptance.
Yoga Nidra is a powerful ancient practice that offers us a gateway into a more restful,
Restorative and peaceful sleep rhythm.
It is a wonderful tool we can draw on at any time in order for us to access our inner calm,
Quiet in the mind and just be,
Creating a ceremony,
A sacredness in our preparation for sleep.
Whether you are sitting or lying down,
On a bus or plane,
Or completely still in the comfort of your own bed,
Begin by settling into any position that feels good and right for you.
Drop into your body and use these first few moments to make any adjustments you need for a sense of complete and utter release.
Our sleeping patterns can fluctuate wildly from day to day,
Week to week.
This can be due to many different factors in our busy,
Often overstimulated lives.
Emotionally,
Physically and energetically,
We can find ourselves wrestling with letting go,
Fighting with the mind,
Not quite finding the space to fully surrender to stillness.
And when our sleep is disturbed,
It can manifest itself into different areas of our daily lives in many detrimental ways.
Use this yoga nidra,
Sleep meditation,
As a friend,
A guide,
Easing you into a natural and blissful period of rejuvenation.
As we connect to the breath,
When it feels good for you,
Gently close down the eyes if you haven't already.
Feel the structure and density of the body shift and spread as you soften.
Observe the natural flow of your breath.
Watch as the exhale follows the inhale without you even having to think about it.
Welcome the change of pace,
The ease and slowness beginning to settle over your entire being.
Gentle full expansion into the ribcage as you draw the breath in.
And whole body softening as you begin to let it all be.
Deeply nourishing inhales from toes to crown of the head.
Easy emptying exhales from the head to the tips of the toes.
And hold your awareness there.
Feel the toes begin to relax.
Allow the feet to fall away from each other.
Moving up through the ankles.
The shin bones and the calves.
Feel the muscles releasing.
Soften the skin and the area around the knees.
Grind into the earth element of the thighs.
Embrace the heaviness of the bones.
Hips sinking,
Supported.
Breath traveling to the lower back.
Linger for a moment here around the lumbar section and breathe into this space.
Feel the breath reach up to the navel and heart space.
Notice the gentle rise and fall as you inhale and exhale with ease.
Feel the entire back body supported and safe.
Give yourself permission to consciously relax the shoulders and the neck.
Sensation of heavy arms and heavy hands.
Gravity encouraging each little finger to let go.
Jaw softening.
Relax the tongue away from the roof of the mouth.
Paying special attention to the forehead.
Breathe into the area between and behind the eyes.
Revel in the heaviness of the eyelids as they drop and release into sleep.
As we settle here,
Completely still,
Completely calm.
Allow a feeling of love and kindness to spread throughout your body.
Feel with your whole being.
I am well.
I am safe.
I am at peace with myself and the world around me.
I am well.
I am safe.
I am at peace with myself and the world around me.
Now we can radiate this energy of loving kindness out into the universe.
May others be well.
May others be safe.
May others be at peace with themselves and the world around them.
Continuing to observe the breath.
Any sensations rising and falling away.
Allow the free flow of restful energy to circulate.
No thinking,
Simply being.
One breath at a time.
You are well.
You are safe.
You are at peace.
You are well.
You are safe.
You are at peace.