Sleep Well: Yoga Nidra & Gratitude

Make sure you are comfortable,

Cozy and snug.

And even though this is a yoga nidra for sleep,

It's okay if you don't fall asleep.

It will be calming and nurturing for your nervous system anyway.

All you have to do is lie here listening to my voice.

And if anything that I say doesn't resonate with you,

Ignore the words in those sounds and allow your own experience to unfold.

And my voice will be a safe sound in the background,

A reminder that you are cared for.

As I guide you through the nidra,

I will be by your side.

Always by your side.

The theme for today is gratitude.

What we focus on grows and in this nidra we'll train the mind in noticing and appreciating those moments of beauty in everyday life.

Sometimes it's hard to find it.

You might feel a bit low or even sad.

But it's there.

It's always there.

It's just hiding.

So no matter what you experience in your practice,

It's not a failure.

You are slowly and gently changing patterns,

Letting go of things that no longer serve you.

And creating space so that life can flow better.

So let's start by arriving in the body.

And just observe,

Where are you holding tension now?

And if you like,

Let's tense up and soften the body four times together.

Starting with the face.

Tense the jaw,

The eyes and the forehead.

And relax.

Squeeze the shoulders,

Arms and hands.

And relax.

And then the glutes,

The legs,

The feet.

And relax.

And then squeeze the whole body.

And relax.

And again,

Bring awareness to where you're holding tension.

Choose one body part.

And if you can't think of anything,

You can choose the shoulders.

And then sigh a couple of times.

And with each sigh,

Bring your awareness into that body part and soften.

In your own time.

And now bring your awareness to the lower parts of your lungs.

Feeling them expanding when you inhale.

And softening when you exhale.

Inhaling,

Creating space.

And exhaling,

Softening into that space.

And now bring your awareness to your whole body with gratitude for your whole body.

We'll go through each body part at a time.

And when I mention a body part,

Send some extra care into the parts that feel a bit neglected.

Or that you normally don't like so much.

And if you like,

You can imagine that you're filling each part with a warm and nurturing golden light.

Or you can choose another color if that works better for you.

Starting with the mouth.

The tongue.

The inside of the mouth.

The lips.

The cheeks.

Nose.

Eyes.

Forehead.

Temples.

Top of the head.

Back of the head.

Neck.

The left shoulder.

The outside of the upper arm.

The outside of the forearm.

Back of the hand.

The palm of the hand.

The inside of the forearm.

The inside of the upper arm.

The armpit.

The side of the upper body.

The ribs and the waist.

And the space between the upper body and the left arm.

Gratitude for the heart.

The left side of the chest.

The left side of the belly.

The left hip.

Top of the thigh.

The shin bone.

The top of the foot.

The sole of the foot.

The calves.

The back of the thigh.

The glutes.

The left side of the lower back.

Middle back.

Upper back.

Gratitude for the whole left side of the body.

And then back to the neck.

And over to the right shoulder.

The outside of the upper arm.

Outside of the forearm.

Back of the hand.

Palm of the hand.

The inside of the forearm.

The inside of the upper arm.

The armpit.

The side of the upper body.

The ribs and the waist.

And the space between the upper body and the right arm.

Gratitude for the heart again.

The right side of the chest.

The right side of the belly.

The right hip.

Top of the thigh.

The shin bone.

The top of the foot.

The sole of the foot.

The calf.

The back of the thigh.

The glutes.

Right side of the lower back.

Middle back.

Upper back.

Gratitude for the whole right side of the body.

Gratitude for the whole body.

The whole body filled with a warm,

Cold and light.

The whole body glowing.

And now let your awareness rest in your feet.

And to the weight of the heels.

Grounded.

Safe.

And the space between the feet.

The space between the knees.

The tailbone.

And now let your awareness flow from the tailbone along the spine all the way up to the head.

And then back down again.

Back you can add your breath,

So letting your breath flow along the spine.

Inhaling from the tailbone to the head.

And then exhaling from the head to the tailbone.

Inhaling.

Receiving.

Inhaling.

Releasing.

And continue on your own.

As if you're painting the spine with your breath.

A soft brush.

And a warm colour.

And if you like you can add a soothing and calming rhythm to your breath without forcing it.

Count to four when you inhale.

And count to six when you exhale.

Inhaling to four from the tailbone to the head.

And exhaling to six from the head to the tailbone.

And letting go of the counting.

And letting go of awareness of the spine.

And now bring your awareness to your feet again.

And this time to the soles of your feet.

When you inhale draw the energy up through the soles of both feet,

Both legs,

To your tailbone along the spine to the head.

And when you exhale release the energy down from your head down the spine,

The legs and out through your feet.

Continue on your own.

And if you like you can add the counting again.

And inhaling to a count of four from the feet to the head.

And exhaling to six from the head to the feet.

Like waves of the ocean,

A warm summer night in starlight.

Inhaling and receiving.

And exhaling washing away what no longer serves you.

And letting go.

If you come to face of opposites,

The notice is as any part of the body which feels a bit warmer than the rest.

If you can't feel anything in particular you can choose to focus on your heart and imagine a warm feeling in there.

And now notice if there is any part of the body which feels a bit cooler than the rest.

And if you can't feel anything special you can choose to focus on your feet and imagine that you are slowly paddling with your feet or perhaps even swimming in cooling,

Refreshing water.

Bring your awareness to the warm place again.

And to the cool place.

And then imagine both the warmth and the cool expanding and meeting.

Feeling your whole body with a perfect temperature.

And letting go.

And now to a phase of images.

And we'll go through images from your day and you can choose to either listen to my instructions or just allow images to come and go as you like.

Bring your awareness to something that you are grateful for that happened in the evening.

If you can't think of anything maybe focusing on having a cosy bed to sleep in.

Safe and protected from the outside world.

And then do something in the afternoon.

Something you are grateful for.

It can be something very small.

And then do something at lunch time.

And then do something in the morning.

And then let images from any time of your day come and go.

Letting images come and go.

Maybe you are drifting into sleep.

Maybe your mind is still active.

And that is okay too.

Even if you are not fully asleep.

You are giving your body a nurturing rest.

Use this time to get out of your head and listen to what your body is trying to tell you.

Where are you holding tension now?

And with each exhalation allowing that part of the body to soften even more.

With each exhalation releasing,

Melting.

With each exhalation drifting,

Floating.

You are safe.

Supported.

Protected.

Sleep well.

Sleep well.

Sleep well.

Sleep well.

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