26-Minute Yoga Nidra For Peaceful Sleep

Hello,

This is Amanda and I will be guiding you through your yoga nidra practice today.

Today's yoga nidra practice is designed to help you rest deeply and settle into a peaceful and relaxing sleep.

We will use this practice to invite deep rest,

Safety,

Softness,

And a slow sensory unwinding.

This practice is perfect if you are feeling tired,

Overwhelmed,

With a busy mind,

And wanting to settle into deep rest.

Let's get started.

Begin to settle in for your yoga nidra practice.

You can lie on your back,

On the floor,

On a couch,

Or on a bed.

If you are planning to sleep,

I would settle in on your bed,

Just as if you were setting up for bedtime.

Getting nice and comfortable here,

You can place a pillow under your knees to support the legs,

As well as a pillow under your head to support the neck.

You can cover yourself with a blanket and place a covering over your eyes.

As you settle in,

Allow yourself to feel fully supported by the earth beneath you,

By the bed beneath you.

Allow yourself to settle in to the bed beneath you,

Feeling as comfy and cozy as possible.

Even if you are not going to sleep here,

Imagine that you are settling in for a nice long slumber.

As you settle in,

Begin to notice your breath moving in and out of your body.

Feel your belly rise as you inhale,

And fall as you exhale.

We'll take two inhales in through the nose,

Followed by an exhale and sigh through the mouth.

A few more just like that,

Two sips of air in through the nose.

Exhale,

Sigh it out through the mouth.

Twice more just like that,

Two sips of air in through the nose.

Exhale,

Sigh it out through the mouth.

Once more,

Inhale two sips of air.

Exhale,

Sigh it out through the mouth.

Now release that and return to your regular inhale and exhale.

Feeling the belly rise and fall.

Feeling the chest rise and fall.

Feeling the rib cage expand and contract.

Tuning in to what it feels like to be a living,

Breathing human in this moment.

What can you do to get even 1% more comfortable here?

Feel your toes soften and melt.

Allow the legs to grow heavy and warm.

The face smooths.

The jaw relaxes.

The eyes rest heavy in your head.

Allow your body to get heavy,

Fully surrendering in to the support beneath you.

This is a time for deep rest.

There is nothing you need to do now.

We will begin by setting a sankalpa or an intention.

If you're not working with a sankalpa,

The one that I will offer for today's practice is I surrender to rest.

I surrender to rest.

I surrender to rest.

Repeat this in your mind three times.

Allowing it to settle into your heart space.

Planting a deep seed of intention for our practice today.

And now rotating attention throughout the body.

Letting your attention move from place to place as you listen to my voice.

The only thing there is for you to do is listen,

Sense,

And feel.

Moving your attention to different parts of your body as you hear them named.

Following the sound of my voice.

Starting with your mouth.

The tongue.

The tip of your nose.

Inside the right nostril.

Inside the left nostril.

The flow of air inside your nose.

The space between your eyebrows.

Sensations of both of the eyes.

The ears listening.

Back of the head.

Back of the neck.

Inside the throat.

The whole head and neck.

The base of the throat.

The center of the heart.

The right shoulder.

Elbow.

Wrist.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

The whole right arm.

Bring your awareness to your waist.

Feel your foot.

First toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The whole foot.

The whole foot.

The whole right leg.

The whole right side of the body.

Bring your awareness back to the center of the heart.

Notice the quiet pulse of life within you.

Shift your awareness to the left shoulder.

Elbow.

Wrist.

Palm.

Fingers.

Thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

The whole hand.

The whole left arm.

The whole left arm.

Shift your awareness to your waist.

Hip.

Ankle.

Feel your foot.

Toes.

First toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The whole foot.

The whole left leg.

The whole left leg.

The whole left side of the body.

The whole right side of the body.

The whole left side of the body.

And right side of the body simultaneously.

The whole body.

The whole body.

Awareness throughout the whole body.

Now feel the gentle rise and fall of your breath.

Like waves meeting the shore.

The natural breath in and out.

Without forcing or controlling it.

Just sensing.

Feeling.

Unforced,

Easy breath.

Observing that natural breath like waves in and out.

Not trying to change or shape your breath in any way.

Just feeling the natural breath in the body.

Sensing the expansion and contraction.

The filling and the emptying out.

You can feel the inhale.

Soft,

Effortless.

And feel the exhale.

Releasing.

Letting go.

Softening.

Feel the breath at the belly.

Expanding in all directions.

And then contracting and emptying out.

Beautiful,

Natural,

Unaltered breath.

Feel the subtle sensation of your diaphragm.

Rising and falling.

Rising and falling.

The subtle rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.

And now begin to count your exhalations.

Counting from 10 all the way down to 1.

Inhaling 10.

Exhaling 10.

Continue at your own pace.

If you lose track along the way,

Just beginning again back at 10.

Gently guiding your attention back to counting down the breath.

There's plenty of time.

There's nowhere to go.

Nothing else to do.

Just becoming absorbed in the process of witnessing an easy,

Natural breath.

Counting down from 10 at your own pace.

Now bringing awareness to the heaviness in your body.

What does heavy feel like?

Sensing heaviness in your body.

Now bringing awareness to lightness.

What does lightness feel like in your body?

Sensing lightness in your body.

Bring awareness to the warmth in your body.

What does the sensation of warmth feel like?

Sensing warmth in your body.

Now bring awareness to coolness.

What does the sensation of cool feel like in your body?

Bring awareness to the effort in your body.

What does effort feel like?

What is the sensation of effort in your body?

Now bring awareness to ease.

What does ease feel like in your body?

What does the sensation of ease feel like?

Now bring awareness to the sensation of still.

What does still feel like in your body?

What does the sensation of still feel like in your body?

Now bring awareness to the feeling of floating in your body.

What does floating feel like?

Now bring awareness to floating.

What does floating feel like in your body?

What is the sensation of floating?

Heaviness,

Lightness,

Warmth,

Cool,

Effort,

Ease,

Still,

Floating.

Feeling the sensations in your body.

Now imagine that you are lying on soft earth beneath a vast night sky.

Imagine that you are lying on soft earth beneath a vast night sky.

Imagine the stars.

Feel the moonlight spreading across the body.

Imagine the stars.

Feel the moonlight spreading across the body.

You are floating on calm water.

You feel warm,

Safe,

And relaxed.

You are floating on calm water.

You feel warm,

Safe,

And relaxed.

A gentle wave washes away the tension in your body.

A gentle wave washes away the tension in your body.

You are floating in stillness.

You are held,

Supported,

And safe.

You are floating in stillness.

You are held,

Supported,

And safe.

Spend a few moments resting here.

I will invite you to revisit your intention or sankalpa.

I surrender to rest.

I surrender to rest.

I surrender to rest.

Consider if this is something that you would like to carry with you for the rest of your day,

Consider if this is something that you would like to carry with you for the rest of your day,

Or leave here in your cozy yoga nidra nest.

Now I invite you to bring your attention back to your breath.

We will take 10 deep inhales and exhales together.

Exhale deeply.

Inhale deeply.

Exhale deeply.

Continue at your own pace,

Counting up to 10.

No need to worry if you get lost.

While counting,

You can just start over from 1 again.

While counting,

You can just start over from 1 again.

Take your deep inhales and exhales now.

I will invite you to settle into sleep now.

Rest deeply.

Thank you so much for practicing with me.

I will see you next time.

Namaste.