Peaceful Sleep With Yoga Nidra

A welcome to your yoga nidra practice for today.

Go ahead and make yourself comfortable lying down and you can pull any props you would like to use as you set yourself up.

Maybe put a pillow under the knees or cover yourself with a blanket and if you choose to use a blanket,

See if it's warm enough in your space that you can keep your arms outside of the blanket with your palms facing up.

And then sway your feet a little side to side and let them come into stillness.

And wiggle your fingers and then release them.

Lift up your right shoulder blade and widen it out to the side and set it back down.

And then do the same with the left,

Making the upper back just a little bit bigger.

And then ever so gently turn your head side to side and notice if there's any spot on the back of the head that maybe feels a little flat.

Maybe that's the space you want to turn your head in,

Just slightly off center,

But find just the right spot for you.

And then take a really big breath.

Fill up the center of your body with as much air as you can.

And once you've taken in as much air as your body will hold,

Part the lips and push the air out.

One more time,

Really,

Really big,

Breathe in,

Breathe in,

Breathe in.

And when you're ready,

Let it go.

And I want you to shift your hands for a few moments.

Place your dominant hand over your navel and then the other hand just slightly above it.

Give yourself a moment to tune in and notice your breath.

Feel the belly gently pushing into the hands as you breathe and the gentle weight of the hands on the body as you exhale.

And as you are breathing,

Begin to notice how you feel.

Are you exhausted?

Exhilarated from the small movements?

Are you anxious or unsettled?

Whatever it is that you are feeling,

I want you to think of those feelings as simply labels and words because in this moment,

They have no power.

Let go of the words that are descriptive.

Let go of their meaning.

They are just words.

They are not who you are.

And instead,

Really begin to tune in to how the body feels without any labels.

No labels,

No pressure,

Simply feeling.

And take a deeper dive into the body.

Does one hip feel heavier than the other as they settle on the mat?

Do your shoulders feel tight or achy?

Does your jaw feel tense?

Notice what's happening within you.

Without any judgment,

Just allowing yourself to take notice and to really feel.

And now begin to make your breath just a little bit bigger.

Beneath your hands,

Feel your belly rise on the inhale and soften on the exhale.

As you inhale,

You breathe in,

Breathe in,

Breathe in.

And as you exhale,

Slowly allowing gravity to settle you deeper and deeper.

Guide your breath,

Breathing in deeply and softly releasing.

Each release brings you comfort.

Each release brings you calm.

Each release of your breath brings you closer and closer home to the core of who you are.

And take a few more big rounds of breath.

You are controlling and shaping the breath.

And begin to invite sensation into the body with every breath you take.

Where can you feel the breath?

Can you expand it further than just the rise and the fall of the center of the body?

Can you imagine sending the breath through the legs to the toes?

Can you send the breath from the chest to the shoulders?

Through the arms and into the fingertips?

Imagine that you feel the breath moving all through the body and every place the breath touches feels alive,

Awakening all of who you are from the inside out.

You are shaping the breath.

You are imagining that breath reaches into the deepest parts of the body,

Awakening you,

Bringing back a spark of your life.

Now begin to release the shaping of your breath so it can return to your natural rhythm.

And you are welcome to keep your hands on your body or place them down by your sides.

And we're going to move the attention to points on the body,

Starting with your feet.

Can you feel your heels touching the ground?

Feel the gentle pressure where they make contact.

Feel your right heel.

Send all of your awareness into your right heel.

Without moving it,

Just feel the presence of the right heel.

Feel the sole of the right foot.

Letting your awareness hover all around the right foot.

Let gravity have more of the right foot.

Releasing tension,

Softening,

And send your awareness to the right lower leg.

Feel the front of the lower leg,

Your shin,

The back of the lower leg.

Where the calf is in contact with the floor.

Can you feel the connection,

The support?

Allow the lower right leg to fully rest.

Let your awareness rise to your right knee.

Imagine your knee softening.

As if you could loosen the kneecap like the top of a bottle.

All the tissue and the muscle surrounding the knee relaxes.

Bring your awareness to your right thigh bone.

Feel the front of the right thigh.

Feel the back of the right thigh.

Where it is in contact with the floor.

Hold your awareness to the whole right thigh.

Feel the big muscles of the leg relax.

And the smaller inner muscles relax.

Notice your right glute.

Feel the cushion where it connects with the floor.

Give your right glute to gravity.

Allowing it to settle further into the floor.

Allowing it to settle further into the mat.

Your entire right leg is resting.

You are resting.

With every conscious release of your breath,

You become calmer.

Each release of your breath brings you closer and closer to a full sense of peacefulness.

Begin to glide your awareness over to the left glute.

Feel the left sit bone become heavy.

The left side of the body becomes heavy.

Let your awareness move down to the left thigh.

Feel the top of the left thigh.

And the bottom of the left thigh.

Let the left thigh become heavier.

Let gravity hold you.

Support you.

So you can release the muscle tension and let go.

Move your awareness down to the left knee.

Imagine the whole knee softening.

And then it shifts to the left shin.

Bring your awareness to your left calf.

Feel the top and bottom of the left leg.

Feel the left heel resting on the ground.

Let it be heavy.

Become aware of the sole of your left foot.

And the top of your left foot.

Feel your whole foot become relaxed.

Both legs are completely relaxed.

Your entire lower body is resting.

You are resting.

With every conscious release of your breath,

You are calmer.

Each release of your breath brings you closer and closer to a sense of peacefulness.

Bring your awareness to your belly.

I want you to imagine your stomach unclenching and unraveling.

So often we feel the stomach all knotted up.

So I want you to imagine your belly becoming really soft.

Feel a slack coming into all of the tissues and the muscles and the organs.

Visualize your stomach uncoiling.

Tissues uncoiling.

You are giving your body all the energy it needs.

Tissues uncoiling.

You are giving your body permission to become soft.

Let the center of your body be vulnerable.

Be open.

You are creating space.

Space for your entire body to relax.

You are resting.

Everything within you is effortless.

With every conscious release of tension,

You are calmer.

With every release of your breath,

You are becoming more and more peaceful.

If you still have your hands on your belly,

Please move them by your sides with the palms facing up.

And then bring your awareness into the palm of your right hand.

Feel the tension in your right hand.

Feel the back of the right hand resting next to you.

Feel the whole palm of the hand relaxing the entire right hand.

And then shift your awareness to the right wrist.

And then slide that up to the forearm and to the elbow.

Your arm is softening and relaxing.

Move your awareness to your right upper arm.

To the bicep.

And then feel where your arm is in contact with the floor.

Feel the support.

Let your arm be heavy.

Allow your body to succumb to gravity.

Bring your attention and your energy to your right shoulder.

The shoulder blade is supported by the mat beneath you.

The muscles are melting,

Releasing tension.

And you feel the whole right side of your body.

And you allow it to unwind,

To uncoil,

To be heavy.

You are resting.

Everything within you is effortless.

With every release of your breath,

You are unraveling tension.

And becoming calmer and calmer all along the way.

Bring your awareness to your left shoulder.

Feel it heavy on the mat.

And then move your awareness to the left bicep.

Feel the top of the arm.

Feel the top of the arm and the underside of the arm.

The whole upper left arm is relaxed.

And then your attention moves to your left elbow.

Left forearm.

Bring your energy to your left wrist.

To the palm of the left hand.

Feel the whole left hand.

Feel the whole left hand soften and relax.

The left side of your body is feeling heavier and heavier.

You are unraveling.

You are resting.

Everything within you is effortless.

With every conscious release of tension,

You are becoming calmer and calmer.

Bringing you closer to a sense of ease within your body.

Begin to turn deeper inward.

Can you visualize the core of your body?

Imagine creating space between all of your organs.

You feel the density of your body being heavy and grounded.

But the inside begins to feel light.

As if your organs,

Your heart,

Your lungs,

Your lungs,

Your lungs,

Your lungs,

Your lungs,

Your lungs,

Your kidneys are floating.

The center of your body is light as gravity continues to anchor everything else around you.

You are resting.

Everything within you is effortless.

With every conscious release of tension,

You are calmer.

Each release brings you closer and closer to complete and total peacefulness.

Let your attention shift to the back of your neck.

Very gently think of lengthening the back of your neck.

Notice your chin.

Maybe dip it just slightly downward.

Allow your jaw,

Tongue,

And lips to soften.

Feel your left cheekbone.

Your right cheekbone.

Bring your attention to your right eye.

Relax the space behind the eye.

Move to the left eye and allow it to relax.

Feel the back of your head on the floor.

Feel the security,

The connection of the head resting on the floor.

Feel the space between your eyebrows.

Can you soften that space?

Release the tension.

You are resting.

Everything within you is effortless.

With every conscious release of tension,

You are calmer.

Each release brings you more and more comfort.

You are relaxing.

You are resting.

You are at peace.

Shift your attention to the mind.

Please visualize a picture of yourself in your mind.

Imagine you are enveloped in the most nourishing,

Comforting hug.

Let yourself be held.

Within this hug you feel the warmth of the sun.

You are smiling.

You are radiating joy.

You encompass peace.

You are the embodiment of compassion for yourself and for others.

From the core of your body,

You know you are exactly who you are meant to be.

This loving,

Nourishing,

Comforting embrace is you.

The peace and the comfort you feel is yours.

Created and cultivated from the inside out.

Feel the true presence of yourself.

You are whole.

You are supported.

You are effortless.

And you are home.

Bring your energy to the center of your body.

Feel a sense of lightness there.

The center of your body is light as gravity continues to anchor everything else around you.

Feel your body breathing.

And with the breath,

There is a subtle sensation beginning to roll through your body.

And that sensation is recharging you.

It is renewing you.

As you rest in this healing space,

You are supported.

You are renewed.

You are returning home to yourself with a full sense of peacefulness.

Allow yourself to rest.

Renewing everything within you as you rest.

Now start to bring a sense of awareness back to your body and into your breath.

And let your next inhale be slightly bigger.

And when you're ready,

Exhale it out.

And take a few more slow,

Steady breaths.

And begin to imagine every part of your body becoming alive with your breath.

Every cell has been energized and renewed.

Your body and your mind have absorbed all of the goodness,

All of the restfulness.

All of the peacefulness of your practice.

Allow a sense of lightness,

A sense of gratitude wash over you as you begin to awaken.

Bringing some gentle movements into your fingers.

And then sway the feet gently side to side.

Let the head turn from one side to the other and back again.

And begin blinking the eyes a few times.

And then allowing them to open.

You can awaken fully in your own time and in your own way.

Or you can stay right here,

Resting.

Your yoga nidra is now complete.

I thank you so very much for joining today's practice.

I hope you feel well rested.

I hope you feel peaceful and calm.

Thank you,

Thank you,

Thank you.

Namaste