Welcome to your yoga nidra practice for restorative sleep.
Tonight you step into yoga nidra,
Your sanctuary of conscious rest.
The body may drift into sleep,
The mind may wander,
And the nervous system drinks deeply from restoration.
You may fall asleep,
Or you may float in gentle awareness.
Either way,
The body listens and absorbs this restorative energy.
There is no way to do this wrong.
Take this time now to make your yoga nidra nest,
Taking any pillows,
Blankets,
Inviting softness and warmth,
Making yourself fully comfortable.
It can be on your bed,
So you can stay sleeping once this is over.
Making adjustments here,
Allowing the body to find a place of comfort,
Of ease.
Can you make any adjustments that will allow yourself to be even the smallest amount more comfortable?
Making your adjustments,
And then settling into stillness.
You can close down your eyes,
Sinking into the surface beneath you.
Feel gravity and comfort carry you.
There is nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
Nothing to fix.
Bring your attention to the gentle tide of your breath.
Inhale,
Drawing in calm,
Light energy.
Exhale,
Releasing tension,
Thoughts,
Holding patterns.
Lengthen the exhales,
Allowing them to be soft and complete.
Feel the breath as a river of restoration,
Washing through every cell,
Every fiber.
Your nervous system knows it is safe,
And your body knows it is held.
From this calm,
Receptive space,
Tune inwards into the heart,
Connecting to your sankalpa,
Your true intention,
Your heart's desire.
Maybe there's a phrase,
An intention you've been working with,
Or a feeling naturally arising.
Or perhaps you internally repeat,
I sleep deeply and restoratively.
Or maybe I awaken nourished,
Clear,
And light,
Internally repeating your sankalpa three times.
We will now move through rotation of consciousness,
Just allowing your awareness to flow to the different areas you hear.
There's nothing you need to do,
Simply following the sound of my voice,
Letting your awareness float through the body,
And bring all your awareness to the right hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Top of the shoulder,
Right collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
All five toes on the right foot.
Bring all your awareness to the left hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Top of the shoulder,
The left collarbone,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Left ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
All five toes on the left foot.
Bring your awareness to the lower back,
Mid-back,
Upper back,
Shoulder blades,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Forehead,
Space between the eyebrows,
Temples,
Backs of the eyes,
Cheekbones,
Bridge of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The inside of the right ear,
Outer ear,
Inside of the left ear,
Outer ear,
Upper lip,
Tongue,
Center of the chin,
Right side of the jaw,
Left side of the jaw,
The whole jaw together,
Back of the neck,
Front of the neck,
Inside of the neck,
Chest,
Ribcage,
Upper abdomen,
Navel center,
Low belly.
Bring your awareness to the whole right side of the body,
The whole right side of the body.
Bring your awareness to the whole left side of the body,
The whole left side of the body.
Bring all your awareness to the right side of the brain,
To the right side of the brain and the left side of the body.
Bring all your awareness to the left side of the brain and the left side of the body.
Left side of the brain,
Right side of the body,
Left side of the brain,
Right side of the body.
To the right side of the brain and the left side of the brain.
The right side of the body,
Left side of the body,
The whole front body,
The whole back body,
The whole body together.
Bring all your awareness to the whole body together and sinking into the body,
The body heavy and grounded.
Bones,
Muscles,
Tissues melt into all the support beneath you.
Feel the structure,
Stability and softness on the maya kosha,
The physical body.
Sensing subtle currents of warmth,
Light,
Breath flowing freely through the body.
Energy pulses quietly,
Evenly,
Restoring all that has been strained.
The breath,
Harmonizing energy,
Clearing blockages,
Softening holding patterns,
Prana maya kosha,
Breath body.
Allowing any thoughts to appear and then flow through you.
No need to follow,
Label,
Engage.
Simply observing,
Allowing a place of observation,
Awareness and presence.
And resting,
Mana maya kosha,
Mind body.
Feel spacious awareness,
Luminous,
Infinite,
Insight,
Clarity arise naturally.
And sensing into your inner knowing and trusting you have all the answers within you.
Vijnana maya kosha,
Wisdom body.
Rest in the soft glow of contentment,
The subtle joy of acceptance and trust.
The heart feels light as ease ripples through the body.
Gentle calm and peace surrounds you.
Ananda maya kosha,
Bliss body.
Bring awareness to the base of the spine.
Imagine a soft glowing light at the base of the spine.
Soft,
Steady,
And this soft light moving upwards and bathing the sacrum,
Fluid,
Warm,
Soothing.
This light radiates upwards,
Bathing the solar plexus,
Radiant.
This soft light to continue radiating upwards,
Bathing the heart space,
Expansive,
Open.
Soft,
Warm,
Soothing light radiating upwards,
Bathing the throat space,
Clear.
The light radiating,
Traveling to the space between the eyebrows,
Bathing the space in peaceful,
Peaceful insight and quiet knowing.
The light radiating upwards,
Bathing the crown of the head in soft luminosity and connection,
The infinite rest.
The light radiating,
Surrounding the whole body,
The whole body held,
This warm,
Soothing,
Radiating light,
The light within,
Harmonizing and soothing each of these centers,
Expanding warmth and ease throughout the whole body,
And the whole body radiating warmth and ease from the inside and the outside.
And now imagine yourself wrapped in absolute comfort,
A cocoon of absolute comfort,
And perfectly held,
And sinking farther,
And melting into comfort,
And softening,
Floating,
And resting deeply,
The body is safe,
The mind is quiet,
The heart is light,
And the mind is quiet,
The heart is light,
And every cell drinks deeply,
Every breath restores,
Every cell drinks deeply,
Every breath restores,
And there is no need to find awareness.
Allow the practice to dissolve naturally,
And your system knows how to rest,
How to restore,
How to heal,
And your system knows how to rest,
How to restore,
How to heal.
And sink completely into the soft,
Warm cocoon.
