The Ocean Of Sleep: A Yoga Nidra Practice

The Ocean of Sleep,

A Yoga Nidra practice.

Lie down somewhere soft,

Your bed,

Your mat,

The place that welcomes your rest.

Let your legs stretch long,

Arms rest beside you,

Palms turned upward.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale softly through your mouth.

Again,

Inhale,

Feeling the breath expand within you.

Exhale,

Feeling yourself melt into the ground.

Feel the weight of your body settling.

The ground beneath you is holding you.

You are safe to rest.

The outer world begins to blur.

Sounds drift through the edges of awareness,

Arriving,

Fading,

Passing by.

Notice the air on your skin,

The rhythm of your heart,

The gentle movement of your breath.

Draw your awareness inward from the surface of the skin to the depth of the body,

From muscle to bone,

From breath to the stillness within.

You are sinking softly,

Like a pearl settling through clear water into the quiet beneath everything.

You are safe.

You are supported.

You are home.

Bring the attention to your breath,

The gentle pulse of the tide within you.

Inhale for four counts.

The wave rises.

Pause for two.

The crest.

Exhale for four.

The wave glides back to the sea.

Pause for two.

Still water.

Continue like this.

Inhale,

Four.

Pause,

Two.

Exhale,

Four.

Still water.

Pause,

Two.

Each cycle rocks you gently.

Each pause opens a doorway into stillness.

Your breath is the sea.

You are the tide.

Now release the count.

Let the breath return to its natural rhythm,

Easy,

Soft,

And effortless.

The body breathes itself.

Now bring your awareness to this exact moment in time,

Your body resting here in this space.

Notice the feeling of now,

The air,

The temperature,

The sense of being present.

Now gently let your mind begin to drift backward,

Like watching a film in reverse.

Go back one hour from now.

Remember where you were,

What you were doing,

How the air felt on your skin,

What your energy was like.

Then drift back another hour.

Perhaps you were speaking,

Moving,

Working,

Preparing,

Or resting.

See it all gently unwind,

Frame by frame,

Without judgment,

Without story.

Allow the sequence to keep moving backward through the small tasks,

The pauses,

The transitions of the day.

If you're practicing this in the morning,

Let your awareness drift instead into the night before.

Remember the final moments before sleep,

What the light looked like,

What you were feeling as you drifted into rest.

Now continue rewinding.

Evening becomes afternoon.

Afternoon dissolves into morning.

Morning softens into dawn.

Each moment fades like a wave pulling back to sea.

Let the whole day or night flow gently in reverse until all movement stops.

Only stillness remains.

Now bring awareness to the weight of your body.

Each part heavy,

Soft,

Relaxed.

Feet warm and heavy.

Heels anchored and still.

Ankles loose.

Calves soft and quiet.

Knees released.

Thighs broad.

Grounded.

Hips wide and resting.

Pelvis melting downward.

Lower back soft.

Middle back,

Upper back supported.

Shoulder blades spread and easy.

Belly softens.

Ribs move gently with breath.

Chest expands and settles.

Heart space open and calm.

Shoulders drop.

Arms rest long beside you.

Elbows,

Forearms,

Wrists heavy and warm.

Hands,

Palms,

Fingers relaxed,

Still.

Neck and throat soft.

Jaw unclenched.

Tongue heavy.

Cheeks,

Lips,

Eyes and brow relaxed.

Forehead smooth.

Scalp loose.

Crown open to the sky.

The whole body heavy and still.

Supported by the ground.

Cradled by the breath.

Bring your awareness to your right heel.

And then your left heel.

Notice which side feels clearer or more vivid.

Hold your attention on the side that feels less sensitive until both feel balanced.

Now bring attention to your right calf.

And then your left calf.

Which side feels more distinct?

Stay with the quieter side until sensation evens out.

Now your right knee.

And then your left knee.

Notice which one feels easier to sense.

Hold your awareness gently on that side that feels less alive until both feel equal.

Continue like this.

Right hip.

Left hip.

Right hand.

Left hand.

Right elbow.

Left elbow.

Right shoulder.

Left shoulder.

Left shoulder.

Bring your awareness to the right side of your face.

And then the left side of your face.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Hold awareness on whichever feels less vivid until they feel the same.

Now bring your attention to the right side of your brain.

The space of imagination and feeling.

And then to the left side.

The space of clarity and rhythm.

Sense both sides resting together.

Balanced.

Calm.

Unified.

Both sides of the body at ease.

Both sides of the mind in harmony.

Feel your whole body at once.

A single field of stillness.

Every inhale rises like the sea.

Every exhale returns to the shore.

You are heavy and buoyant.

Anchored and free.

You are the ocean breathing itself.

Now allow brief effortless images to move through your mind.

See them and then let them drift away.

A candle flickering in darkness.

A feather floating through still air.

A wave curling then fading away.

A silver key glinting underwater.

A bird gliding above quiet waves.

A bell ringing once then gone.

A single star reflected on the sea.

A lantern vanishing into fog.

Ripples spreading across still water.

A field of white flowers in the night breeze.

A shell that hums softly in your palm.

A horizon dissolving into mist.

Soft rain falling onto water.

A glowing window in the distance.

Driftwood turning into the tide.

A small flame in a vast cave.

A hand releasing a stone that disappears.

An open sky after rain.

The ocean,

Endless,

Waiting,

Whole.

Each image rises and falls.

Rises and falls until only stillness remains.

Now bring your awareness to the space behind your closed eyes.

The inner screen.

You might see shapes,

Colors,

Or soft darkness.

Let whatever appears simply be there.

Imagine this space as calm water beneath a starlit sky.

Thoughts drift like small ripples,

But deep beneath them,

The ocean is perfectly still.

If colors appear,

Let them swirl and fade.

If light pulses,

Let it move freely.

If darkness spreads,

Rest inside its vastness.

You are not the images.

You are the awareness beneath them.

The still ocean beneath every wave.

There is nothing to do.

Nothing to change.

Just resting in the quiet sea within.

Your breath is slow now,

Soft and even.

Your body is weightless.

Your mind wide and open.

You are floating,

Rocked by the rhythm of your own being.

Let yourself drift into sleep quietly,

Gently,

Naturally.

There is nothing left to do.

Nowhere to go.

Only the endless sea of rest holding you.

You are safe.

You are home.

You are asleep in the heart of the ocean.