Guided Meditation for Sleep

This is Meg,

The owner and creator of Yoga Yogi Studio.

Today I want to lead us through a guided meditation for relaxation.

This Yoga Nidra tonight.

This Yoga Nidra will help you to relax before bed,

Find calm in a stressful situation,

And overall quiet the mind and settle in with the breath.

Find yourself in a comfortable seated position.

If you're listening to this before bed,

Perhaps laying down,

Legs stretched out,

Knees and feet rolling away from the center of the body,

And start to come into your breath.

Notice the way the ribs expand as you inhale,

And soften as you exhale.

With every new breath,

Think of it getting a little bit longer,

Slower,

And deeper.

Maybe holding onto a three or four count inhale,

A slight pause at the top,

And a six or seven count exhale.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Inhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Pause.

Exhale,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six.

Stay with this pattern,

Noticing the big inhale through the nose,

Filling the lungs with air,

Light pause,

And deep,

Steady exhale.

Take a moment to scan the body,

Noticing any areas of tension or tightness,

Thinking about where you physically hold stress in the body,

And bring a little bit of kindness and sweetness to yourself.

Big inhale,

Exhale here.

Then bring your awareness down to your toes.

Let the toes start to melt into the floor,

Traveling from the toes to the heels and ankles.

Now the toes,

Heels,

And ankles are relaxed and soft,

Traveling up behind the calves,

Up and around the top of the shins,

All the way up behind the knees,

And swirling around the tops of the knees.

Relax,

Soften in here.

From the knees traveling up the tops and backs of the thighs,

Up to the pelvis,

Glutes,

Low back,

Take special care around the low back.

Take a special inhale here,

And exhale,

Release any tension in the low back.

From there,

Traveling up the spine,

Around the ribs to the chest,

Notice the breath in the body melting into the floor.

Relaxing here.

Up the chest to the shoulders,

Down the arms to the elbows,

And reaching down the arms to the elbows,

Reaching towards the wrists and extending out the fingers,

Scanning the body,

Quieting the mind.

Focus on the shoulders,

Up the neck to the back of the head.

Release any tension around the jaw,

The face is smooth and relaxed.

And you're laying quietly,

Noticing the breath in the body,

Feeling relaxed,

Calm,

And peaceful.

Bringing some loving kindness into your day,

Mentally repeat after me,

I am happy,

I am peaceful,

I am whole.

I am happy,

I am peaceful,

I am whole.

Happy,

Peaceful,

Whole.

Now think of someone that you care about.

We will send them loving kindness,

And repeat after me mentally.

I wish you happiness,

I wish you peace,

I wish you wholeness,

Happiness,

Peace,

And wholeness.

And now we make the last wish for the universe,

Including ourselves and all of those we know and do not know.

We are happy,

We are peaceful,

We are whole.

We are happy,

We are peaceful,

We are whole.

We are happy,

Peaceful,

Whole.

Take a moment here,

And just quiet the mind,

Clear the mental pictures away,

And just visualize the chest as it rises and falls with the breath.

Take three more big inhale exhales here.

Inhale exhale is one,

And exhale is two.

Inhale exhale is one,

And exhale is two.

And if you have the time,

You can stay here in your relaxed state.

Otherwise slowly start to wiggle the toes and the fingers,

Blinking the eyes,

Turn the head from right to left.

Big inhale exhale here.

And if you're going to take this time to prepare for bed,

Enjoy the sleep,

And take the deep breaths into relaxation.

Thank you so much for listening to Yoga Yogi's Guided Relaxation.

I hope that you will join us again next week for another one of our meditative practices.

Wishing you happiness of body and mind.

Thank you so much.