Yoga Nidra: Sleep, Surrender, Heal

I welcome you to this yoga nidra practice in which you surrender to the soothing balm of deep relaxation.

Abandoning the day gone past,

Allowing the body to restore and to heal.

And in doing so enabling the mind to calmly merge into the tomorrows.

Nidra is the Sanskrit word for sleep and so yoga nidra is often referred to as the sleep of the yogi.

My intention for you is that you stop worrying,

Fussing and ruminating and that you allow the mind to cease its frivolous play and the body to let go of the strain and pain that tends to accumulate over time.

You may be in bed or lying in some warm cozy space so ensure you are in a place where it is unlikely you will be disturbed and where darkness prevails or the lighting has been dimmed.

Do not have any devices near you,

They are distracting and even if you are slightly addicted to your phone for example,

You will always be tempted to view its content rather than listen to the messages that your body and mind are sending to you.

A comfortable pillow is a must.

Perhaps spray your pillow with a scent that you find relaxing such as lavender or dab some lavender oil at the eyebrow center or the temples.

Cover yourself in a blanket or light wrap for a sense of grounding and ease.

Perhaps fill a hot water bottle with warm water and place it over your abdomen just below your ribcage.

Such a vulnerable part of your being,

That place where you get that gut feeling,

That intuitive spot where knowledge sits and awaits your calling.

May I also suggest you create what is called a sankalpa or resolve.

This is a short concise affirmation,

Intention or heartfelt desire stated in the present tense.

So for example you may repeat yourself several times,

I'm at peace or I'm ready for sleep or I am resting as though it has already happened.

It is said that Sun means to become one with and kalpa means time and subconscious mind and so create your sankalpa now.

It is time to lay your life aside to let all your worries,

Concerns,

Plans,

Desires and fears to melt away like leaving droplets of butter in the warm Sun.

Mentally and emotionally given to rest,

Let peace wash over you and the whispers of nature gently soothe your soul and perhaps reflect on the words by the great novelist Charlotte Bronte,

A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.

If your mind wanders off to the tones of my voice and you feel drowsy then that is good and if you sometimes or generally find it a little challenging to sleep,

The most we can ask for is for the body and mind to slow down and to become calm.

Sleep often follows from practicing yoga nidra or at the very least a deep sense of calm may envelop you.

Your feet are separated about hip-width distance apart,

Your legs are long and loose and the little toes are gently falling outwards.

Be as still as you can be but if you do need to shuffle a little do so with complete awareness.

You could rest your hands one over the other on your belly or on top of a water bottle if you are using one.

Unclenched,

Fingers soft,

Snuggle into the warmth and the textures around you.

Observe the flow of your breath,

Visualize your breath rising from your navel to your throat,

Your throat to your navel.

Begin to count your breath,

Descending from ten to one.

Inhale breath rising ten,

Exhale breath descending ten.

Inhale breath rising nine,

Exhale breath descending nine.

Continue on with your breathing maintaining awareness.

If you lose track of your counting begin again at ten.

If you finish counting to one before I give further instructions simply go back to ten again and begin counting down a second time.

Now cease the practice of counting and let the numbers float away.

We are about to journey through the body.

Hear my voice,

Allow my voice to guide you peacefully and gently.

With eyes softly closed drop the jaw and again and again.

Feel all tension leave your face.

Roll the head from side to side with full awareness,

Relaxing the back of the neck,

Throat and the shoulders and soften the lower back.

Melt into the earth.

Inhale fill the body with breath,

Exhale release all tension and fatigue.

Feel the gentle rhythm of your heart and sense the breath flowing through you.

Toes to crown,

Crown to toe.

Toes to crown,

Crown to toes.

Toes to crown,

Crown to toes.

Bring your awareness to the soles of your feet.

What can you feel in the soles of the feet?

Perhaps warmth or tingling or cool or gentle pulsing.

Thousands of nerve endings make up the map of your feet.

Energy flowing through.

Imagine energy flowing through the soles of your feet and out through your toes.

Don't think about them,

Feel them,

Truly feel them.

The softness in the soles,

The tingling in the soles,

The vibrancy in the soles.

And if thoughts are arising,

Allow these thoughts to gently float by as though you are watching a silent movie.

Each image crossing your vision.

Just let them pass by.

The mind will frolic and at times annoy you.

Just bring your mind back to my voice.

The mind is playful but often full of nonsense,

Worries and concerns.

None of which are useful to you.

Now become aware of the top of your feet and all of the tiny bones and ligaments in your feet.

Now notice your toes.

Move your attention to every toe without moving any of them.

Tips of the toes,

Beneath the toes,

The top of the toes.

And perhaps whisper to yourself,

I'm relaxing my toes.

I'm relaxing my toes.

My toes are relaxed.

Sometimes you will also be aware of the sounds around you.

We live in a sound escape.

Sound constantly streaming through our lives.

Hear them but don't attach to them.

Move your attention from sound to sound without attempting to identify where or what they are.

Bring your attention to the weight of your calves.

Feel them releasing and sinking.

Sinking.

Notice the thighs and then the buttocks.

The heaviest muscles of all.

As you release through the buttocks notice what happens to your lower back.

How it releases too.

Feel the lower back arch begins to soften.

Become aware of the natural breath.

Become aware of the deep natural spontaneous breath.

And hear my voice.

You don't need to stay at the surface to hear my voice.

Just allow some part of you to be listening.

Keep listening to me and know that you are listening.

Drop throughout the shoulders.

Feel the tension leave the front,

Back and sides of the shoulders,

The upper arms,

The wrists,

The fingertips.

Unclench the fingers.

Feel the softness in the palms.

You may sense a gentle pulsing in the palms of your hands.

A gentle throbbing.

A gentle tingling.

I'm relaxing my fingers.

I'm relaxing my fingers.

My fingers are relaxed.

And now draw your attention to the top of the head.

The crown of the head.

Perhaps you can sense a slight tingling or pulsing at the crown of the head and through the scalp.

Feel the forehead.

Both sides of the head.

The right eyebrow.

The left eyebrow.

The space between the eyebrows.

The right eyelid.

The left eyelid.

The right eye.

The left eye.

The right ear.

The left ear.

The right cheek.

The left cheek.

Enter the cheek simultaneously and feel the inside of the cheek.

Be aware of the nose.

The tip of the nose.

The right nostril.

The left nostril.

The wings of the nose.

The sides of the nose.

The bridge of the nose.

Can you sense cool or warm air crossing the bridge of your nose?

Now bring your attention to the upper lip.

The lower lip.

Chin.

The jaw.

The throat.

The right collarbone.

The left collarbone.

Right chest.

The left chest.

The middle of the chest.

The navel.

The belly.

And in your imagination just watch and feel the belly rising and falling with the breath.

Rising and falling.

Rising and falling.

Can you now view your body lying here whether that be on the floor,

Your bed or in an imaginary place where you find comfort and ease and that you love for relaxation.

Your special place.

See your body lying perfectly still for a few seconds.

And then again rising and falling with the breath.

Now perhaps you can sense your body floating.

Let's create this simple visualization technique.

Observing the body rising from the ground and then gently releasing back down to the earth.

In sync with the in-breath rising.

And the out-breath falling.

Just create this vision for a little while.

Rising and falling with the breath.

Rising and falling.

Feel the breath moving along the passage between the navel and the throat.

On inhalation it rises from the navel to the throat.

On exhalation it descends from the throat to the navel.

Navel to the throat.

Throat to the navel.

Navel to the throat.

Throat to the navel.

And as you breathe softly in and out feel as though you are floating on the waves of breath.

Floating.

Floating.

Floating.

Your body floats like a cloud.

Gently undulating with each breath.

In and out.

Feel yourself awash in a soft gentle hue.

A white light penetrating your whole body.

Nourishing and calming you.

At a deep,

Deep,

Deep level.

Feel the light penetrate your eyes.

Feel the light illuminate your face.

Feel your skin glowing.

It is as though you are in the middle of the wilderness of oblivion.

Lightly floating.

Without burden.

Without cares.

Without concerns.

Just in this moment feeling light,

Soft,

Calm,

Rested.

And completely at peace.

Peace.

And now float back down.

Back into your rested body.

And allow the sweet murmurs of slumber to soothe you,

Body and mind.

Drifting.

Drifting.

Drifting.

Drifting.

Light.

Soft.

Easy.

Light.

Soft.

Easy.

Nowhere to go.

Nowhere to be.

In the middle of wilderness of oblivion.

Keep your eyes softly closed with the intention of resting fully.

And perhaps falling into a deep,

Deep sleep.

Peace.

Peace.

Peace.

Take it easy.