Sleep Deeply With A Restful Guided Yoga Nidra

My name is Jax and this is your yoga nidra to really help you feel rested and get some well-needed restoration.

If you're looking to drift off into slumberland,

This yoga nidra here is to support you on that journey.

And I know that sometimes getting to sleep or feeling that rest can definitely be a struggle and that's why I created this yoga nidra for you.

So that it's a tool to help you really relax and soften wherever you're at on your journey.

So first things first,

Let's go ahead and get started with our foundation.

And the best thing about yoga nidra for me is you just gotta lie down.

You gotta lie down and relax and start to find that softening and start to find that rest.

So go ahead and find a place where you can get really cozy.

And I like to say you can get as snug as a bug in a rug.

So yes,

Feel free to grab any blankets you need.

Feel free to grab any pillows that you might want to use.

Maybe you want to place something over the eyes if that's comfortable for you.

And if you don't have an eye mask,

Maybe you use a sock over the eyes.

Or maybe just use something to place over the eyes.

I usually find that when it's nice and covered over the eyes,

You can just really drift into a deeper place of peace and relaxation.

And you want to create a space that's easy,

Meaning you have enough space to stretch out if you need to.

And it's a place where you won't get distracted and you can start to really find your serene sanctuary.

So take these next couple of moments to get yourself all nice and snug in your own space.

And when it comes to yoga nidra,

It's really recommended to be completely still as possible.

And that's because when we still the body,

We start to still the mind.

It's all one unit.

However,

Know that if you do need to move,

You can.

This is your practice and you know what you need.

All I ask is that if you do move,

Just do so mindfully.

So instead of reacting and fidgeting instantly,

Respond with mindful movement.

If you feel you need to move,

Bringing awareness to the movement and then acting upon it.

So hopefully by now you're as snug as a bug in a rug.

You're taking these last couple of moments to do any last minute wiggles or fidgets you need.

Maybe you take off a piece of jewelry.

Maybe you remove something that's in your hair.

Move around a t-shirt,

Any last little things.

And know that now the practice of yoga nidra is starting.

And to strengthen your restful practice,

We're going to breathe together.

And I love doing a little bit of breath work right away.

And that's because breath work is such a powerful way to get out of the head and to get into the body and into the practice.

So we're going to do a counting breath practice where in a moment,

We're going to inhale to four and then exhale our way out to a count of 10.

We're going to do that slowly and gently to really cultivate a soothing nature.

And I'll guide you through all of it with intention to really strengthen that soothing feeling.

So wherever you're at,

Go ahead and take an exhale out the nose.

And then let's begin.

Inhale,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold the breath.

Exhale for four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold the breath.

Exhale for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold the breath.

Exhale for six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold.

Exhale seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold.

Exhale eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Inhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold.

Exhale nine,

Eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Last round.

Inhale for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold.

Exhale 10,

Nine,

Eight,

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

One more time.

Take a deep breath in.

Take a deeper breath out.

Then open your mouth and drop your jaw away from your upper jaw.

Drop your lower jaw away from your upper jaw and let it hang really heavy.

Unclench your teeth.

Soften your mouth as much as you can.

Let your eyes sink into their sockets.

Unfurrow your brows,

The space in between your brows,

The eyebrows on both sides of the face,

The forehead.

Can you relax that space in between the ears?

Let the sides of the cheeks grow really heavy and soften.

Can you start to feel that removal of grasping and tension in the face with your breath?

Start to expand your breath into the face.

Can you breathe from the top of your head all the way down to your chin?

Can you breathe from your chin all the way to the top of your head?

And while you're doing this,

Can you tell all the muscles on your face to soften?

And even if you feel like you can't physically soften the muscles in your face,

Can you visualize it?

Or can you silently say it to yourself,

Hey face,

It's time to soften.

We're going to send that same message to the top of the neck,

To the shoulders,

Tell the body it's time to soften.

All the way from the shoulders down past the belly to the hips,

To the knees,

To the feet,

Even the toes,

Even the fingers.

Tell them that it's time to soften.

Tell the body that this is a journey,

A journey of restoration in cozy,

Deep,

Deep breaths.

And then I want you to start to deepen your breath.

Long,

Slow,

Deep breaths in,

And long,

Slow,

Deep breaths out.

These breaths can be in and out of the nose,

Or they can be in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Whatever helps you relax.

And if your mind has wondered,

Or if it does wonder throughout this practice,

That's okay.

It's what the mind has been conditioned to do.

However,

Can you pivot?

Can you refocus on relaxing your body and breathing deeply as my voice guides you?

I'm here to support you.

And I'm so glad that you're taking this time for you.

That's so important.

So just giving that moment of gratitude here,

Gratitude for showing up to the practice.

You've already done the work.

You're here.

Now allow that breath to really support you as we continue on our yoga nature journey.

So I have a question for you to ask yourself right now.

My question for you is,

How am I feeling right now in this moment?

How am I feeling right now in this moment?

We're just taking this moment to start with simple awareness and breathing.

So take these next few breaths to tune into your body and just feel what's going on with that question of how am I feeling right now in this moment?

And my next question for you is,

What do I need in this moment?

What do I need in this moment?

And linger in those questions for a couple of breaths.

So maybe you need rest.

Maybe you need peace and gratitude.

Maybe you need relief,

Restoring your energy.

Whatever you need,

We're gonna use that to help create your own personal intention.

And this intention is known as a sankopa.

And this is a positive present I am statement.

So maybe your intention is rest.

So your sankopa for the evening might be,

I am giving myself the gift of rest.

I am giving myself the gift of rest.

Or maybe your intention was gratitude and peace.

So maybe your intention is,

I am in a grateful and peaceful state of being.

I am in a grateful and peaceful state of being.

So I'll give you a couple of breaths to really land on an intention.

And know that we can't force someone to hear a message they're not ready to receive.

However,

We must never underestimate the power of planting a seed.

I'll give you those couple of breaths right here in silence to linger on that intention of yours.

Whatever your intention is for the practice,

Silently,

Internally,

Repeat your intention to yourself three times.

I am.

I am.

I am.

And know that you can let that intention fade away from your mind knowing that you've planted a seed.

Never underestimate the power of a planted seed knowing that every flower of every tomorrow are in the seeds of today.

And notice how your breath is in this moment.

It goes long,

Deep inhales.

And those long,

Deep exhales to really move you into that soothing internal sanctuary.

And next,

Let's acknowledge our senses.

So what noises do you hear right now?

Aside from the sound of my voice,

What other sounds can you hear?

So take this next moment to slip into that observer role as you observe the sounds around you.

What do you hear?

Then you can allow those sounds to fade away starting to become white noise in the background.

And next,

Can you smell anything?

Are there any aromas in the room that you're in?

Just notice anything you can smell.

And then what about taste?

Maybe you circle the tongue around the teeth and the mouth,

Just moving into that curiosity role.

In yoga nidra,

We move into a role of non-judgmental observation and having compassion for ourselves if judgment does make an appearance or if we start to get fixated on a thought.

When that happens,

We just bring ourselves back to that innate awareness that's within us at all times.

And just know that everything is done at one step at a time.

That's what matters.

Just taking that first step.

So as we move along and take some steps in our yoga nidra journey,

We're gonna move on to a body scan.

And following the guidance of my voice,

I'll touch on different parts of the body.

And with rested awareness,

You'll focus on each body part and begin to connect deeper with your body.

And stay curious and open to what you're noticing and start to connect with those sensations in your body.

And sensations might include buzzing or tingling,

Pressure,

Temperature,

Or anything else you notice.

And if you don't notice any strong sensations or feel neutral,

You can just simply notice that too.

There are no right answers here.

We're just tuning in to what's present as best as you can without judgment.

We're not trying to change what you find.

We're just taking note of it.

So starting with the top of the head,

Allow that awareness to come into the top of your head.

And it's like your awareness are little streamers and that awareness moves from the top of the head and glides down the sides of the head,

The back of the head,

The forehead,

Just slowly moving its way down until your awareness lands into the top of your left ear,

Inside the left ear,

The left earlobe,

And the left ear listening.

And allow that awareness to wrap itself over to the left side of the face and land on the left temple,

Eyebrow,

Eyelid,

And all the muscles behind the left eye.

And allow that awareness to glide over to the middle of the eyebrows and the right eyebrow,

The right eyelid,

And trillions of muscles behind the right eye.

Awareness gliding over to the right temple,

Right earlobe,

Inside the right ear,

The right ear listening,

And the top of the right ear.

And then allow that awareness to travel to the back of the head and awareness flowing down to the back of the head all the way down to the bottom of the skull where the skull connects to the top of the neck.

And awareness going down vertebrae by vertebrae in the spine down the neck.

That awareness now landing into the sides of the neck.

Imagine your awareness is like a mini elevator and it travels up the sides of the neck and lands in the hinges of the jaw,

In the chin,

In the lower lip,

Upper lip,

The space in between the lips.

That awareness travels inside the mouth,

Inside the left cheek,

Inside the right cheek,

In the tip of the tongue,

The root of the tongue,

Inside the throat.

That awareness travels all the way down the throat and lands into the center of the chest.

And the right collarbone,

Right shoulder,

Bicep,

Elbow,

Forearm,

Wrist,

Palm of the right hand,

The right thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

The whole right hand and the right arm,

Trillions of cells vibrating with sensation.

And allow that awareness to continue into the right side of the body with the right lung,

Right rib cage,

The sides of the right torso,

Pelvis,

The right hip,

Front and back of the right thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf,

Ankle,

The heel of the right foot,

Sole of the right foot,

And top of the right foot,

And the right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe,

And allow awareness to be into the whole right side of the body,

The whole right side of the body,

Rested effortlessly,

Sensations in the whole right side of the body.

And now allow your awareness to return back to the center of the chest in the heart space.

And feel sensation radiating in that beautiful heart space in the center of the chest.

And that radiation of awareness travels from the center of the chest to the left collarbone,

Left shoulder,

Bicep,

Elbow,

Forearm,

Wrist,

And the left palm,

And the left thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger,

And the whole left hand and the whole left arm,

Buzzing with sensations,

The whole left hand and the whole left arm relaxed and aware.

And allow that awareness to keep continuing its awareness in the left side of the body as it travels to the left lung,

Left ribcage,

And the side of the left torso and pelvis,

And the left hip,

Front and back of the left thigh,

Kneecap,

Shin,

Ankle,

And the heel of the left foot,

Sole of the foot,

And top of the foot,

And the left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe,

The whole left side of the body,

Awareness in all the cells of the whole left side of the body.

And now feel the whole body,

The left and right side of the body,

The whole body as well,

Resting,

Relaxed,

And restful,

The whole body resting,

Relaxed,

Restful.

And with every breath you take,

You go deeper and deeper into a state of rest.

And start to tune into the rhythm of your breath.

And can you feel the natural flow of breath?

Your breath flows in and the breath flows out.

You don't need to do anything to your breath.

No need to force it to be a certain way.

Because in this moment,

We're just taking it to this moment to be aware,

To notice.

And if your breath has changed by you noticing it,

Notice that too.

Just allow the breath to be,

Allow it to be natural,

Steady,

And smooth.

Where do you feel the breath in your body?

It is in the rise and fall of the abdomen.

Do you feel it when your chest moves?

Is it in your throat or in your nostrils?

And if you're not able to notice the breath in a certain area of the body,

That's okay.

Sometimes we're more connected to certain areas of the body than others just at different times.

We're just taking this moment to notice the breath and where you feel it in your body.

And can you let that breath be a steady stream,

An unbreakable stream?

Just feeling the sensations of breath one at a time,

Noticing that when one breath ends,

The next one begins.

So I want you to bring your awareness to your left thumb.

And on your next inhale,

Breathe from the left thumb all the way up the left arm and into the center of your chest where your heart is.

And then on your next exhale,

Breathe from the heart down the right arm and landing into the right thumb.

So let's do that a couple of times.

So starting at the neck,

Starting at your left thumb,

Take a mindful inhale from the left thumb all the way up your left arm past the left shoulder and land into that beautiful heart of yours.

And then now starting at that beautiful heart,

Take a mindful exhale from the heart down the right shoulder,

Down the right arm and landing into the right thumb.

So we'll do that again.

On your next inhale,

Breathe from the left thumb up the left arm and into the center of your chest.

And then on your next exhale,

Breathe from the heart down the right arm and land into the right thumb.

So do several more like that at your own pace.

Breathing up the left arm on an inhale,

Landing in the chest,

And breathing down the right arm on an exhale,

Landing into the front.

All while noticing your breath in the silence,

Noticing that beautiful breath in the silence,

Finding your own way into the stillness and allowing your breath to be your anchor if the mind has started to wander.

And you can let that guided breath fade as we go over to the other side of the arm.

So now this time,

We're gonna bring our awareness to your right thumb.

And on your next inhale,

Breathe from the right thumb up the right arm and into the center of your chest where your heart is.

Then on your next exhale,

Breathe from the heart down the left arm and landing that awareness into the left thumb.

So we'll do that a couple of times.

Starting at the right thumb,

Take a mindful inhale from the right thumb up the right arm past the right shoulder and landing into that radiant heart of yours.

And now starting at that radiant heart,

Take a mindful exhale from the heart down the left shoulder and that exhale flows down the left arm and lands into the left thumb.

So on your next inhale,

Breathe from the right thumb up the right arm and into the center of your chest where your heart is.

And on your next exhale,

Breathe from the heart down the left arm and landing into that left thumb.

So go ahead and do several of those at your own pace.

And how mindful can you be with your breath?

And let this breath soothe you.

Let this breath support you on your voyage to rested awareness and rested relaxation.

So you can gently let that breathing pattern fade away and take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

Let's do that one more time.

Deep breath in,

Deep breath out.

And now we're gonna begin counting each breath silently backwards from seven to one in the following manner.

So seven,

Inhale,

Abdomen rises.

Seven,

Exhale,

Abdomen releases.

Six,

Inhale,

Abdomen rises.

Six,

Exhale,

Abdomen releases.

Five,

Inhale,

Abdomen rises.

Five,

Exhale,

Abdomen releases.

Four,

Inhale,

Abdomen rises.

Four,

Exhale,

Abdomen releases.

Three,

Inhale,

Abdomen rises.

Three,

Exhale,

Abdomen releases.

Two,

Inhale,

Abdomen rises.

Two,

Exhale,

Abdomen releases.

One,

Inhale,

Abdomen rises.

Exhale,

Abdomen releases.

Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

Let's do that one more time.

Deep breath in,

Deep breath out.

You can let go of any counting.

Just be aware of the fields or flows of sensation throughout the body.

Once again,

Notice your body,

Your whole body lying here,

Relaxed,

Natural,

All without any effort.

Just feeling yourself sensing.

That's all we're doing here.

Just feeling and being.

Feeling deep rest in your body.

Feeling deep rest in your mind.

Just feeling deep rest in your whole being.

Your whole being in this yoga nidra board,

Resting in unchanging awareness,

Resting in restful awareness,

Resting in wholeness,

Unchanging,

Restful,

Whole.

Let your whole body rest,

Resting in the unchanging nature of your whole self.

And next,

On your journey to rest,

We'll go on a little journey together before our time comes to an end.

So I want you to imagine that you find yourself on a gravel road.

Gentle pebbles are underneath your feet as you stand and observe your surroundings.

You find yourself in a car park at the bottom of a path.

It's still and quiet and a gentle breeze sweeps by surrounding the trees,

Adding a rustle to the leaves.

You notice that it's starting to become fall and summer has come to an end,

But it's still nice outside that you're in a light jacket,

Trousers,

And hiking boots.

You gaze around and you take a deep breath in,

Soaking in the lush greenery all around you.

And in the distance,

You hear water and you notice a low gait ahead.

And behind it is a nice little carved out path leading deeper into the lush greenery around you.

So you begin walking nice and easily,

No rush.

The sun breaks through the trees and dances in patches of golden white as you continue to walk along your path.

Little rocks line the way and then the path slowly starts to descend down.

You glance at the gravel and the dirt beneath your feet as grass encompasses the exposed area around you,

The sunlight still shining.

And the sound of running water grows as you come closer to the end of your small path.

And as you near the end,

You see a still lake ahead of you with several ducks floating by on the wall.

The trees line this lake,

The sun shines down.

You feel rested here.

You feel peace in the scenery of stillness and the beauty of nature that surrounds you,

Supporting you.

With this support,

You find a nice little patch of grass to sit on as you take in the scenery.

And you remember that intention that you had at the beginning of your yoga major journey.

And you silently repeat it to yourself three times to really bask in that intention,

Knowing that we have the ability to plant the seeds.

As you finish repeating that intention one last time,

You bask in the sunlight.

You bask in the nature that surrounds you.

You even hear a couple of quacks coming from the ducks as they glide on by without a care in the walls.

And now feel your whole body here,

Your whole body together,

Together as one.

And imagine your whole body settling into rest.

Imagine your whole body surrendering to rest.

And visualize your whole body resting deeply,

Giving yourself permission to rest deeply,

Giving yourself permission to enter the deepest state of that meditative way of being right now.

Allow the edges of the body to dissolve and disappear.

And then I'll leave you here in silence for a little bit to just be with yourself,

To be in that inner sanctuary of inner peace and restful homes.

And now,

I'll leave you here in silence for a little bit to just be with yourself,

To be in that inner sanctuary of inner peace and restful homes.

Have you found yourself asleep?

What a beautiful gift that is.

And if so,

I'll leave you here to be in your own space of rested deep or in rest as you drift off into your own internal home of peace and rest.