The following meditation is designed to prepare you for a deep sleep.
Yoga Nidra,
Otherwise known as the art of conscious relaxation or yogic sleep,
Can also be done any time of the day for a deep reset.
Whether you're listening to this in the middle of the day or right before bedtime,
Go ahead and lie down.
Set yourself up with pillows and blankets to be as comfortable and supported as possible.
Take your time and make any last adjustments so that you can remain comfortably still for roughly 10 minutes.
Once you've lied down,
Begin to notice the belly expand as you breathe in and recede when you breathe out.
Observe the natural rhythm of your breath in this very moment.
Notice the cool air flowing through your nostrils as you inhale and a sense of warmth as you exhale.
Now bring your attention to your right thumb.
Completely release any tension being held in your right thumb.
Shift your attention to your pointer finger,
Releasing any tension being held in your pointer finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
And your pinky finger.
The palm of your hand,
The back of your hand,
The entire right hand,
The right hand is completely relaxed,
The right hand is letting go.
Bring your attention to your right wrist,
Noticing the spaces within your right wrist.
Let go of any holding,
Control,
Or tension.
The elbow,
The inside of the elbow,
And the back of the elbow as well.
The forearm,
The shoulder,
The right side of your chest,
And the armpit.
Feel your entire right arm.
The entire right arm is completely relaxed.
The entire right arm is letting go.
Bring your attention over to your left thumb.
Completely release any tension being held in your left thumb.
Shift your attention to your left pointer finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
And the left pinky finger.
The palm of your hand,
And the back of your hand as well.
Relaxing the whole hand,
The left hand is completely relaxed,
The left hand is letting go.
Bring your attention to your left wrist,
Noticing all the spaces within your left wrist,
Letting go of any holding,
Control,
Or tension.
The elbow,
The inside of the elbow,
And the back of the elbow as well.
The left forearm,
To the left shoulder.
Relaxing the left side of your chest,
Armpit,
And the entire left arm.
The entire left arm is completely relaxed.
The entire left arm is letting go.
Both arms,
Feel the weight of both arms relaxing.
Allow all ten toes to relax,
The top of both feet,
And the soles of both feet.
Let gravity take the feet where gravity wants the feet to go.
Feel within the ankles,
Letting go of any holding,
Control,
Or tension in the ankles.
Allow the knees to relax,
The front of the knees as well as the backs of the knees.
The calves,
The shins,
The thighs,
Allowing the thigh bones to relax.
The pelvic floor,
The glutes,
And your entire right leg.
Bring your awareness to your pelvis,
Feel the weight of your pelvis,
And allow it to completely relax.
Let go of any holding at the belly,
The low back,
The chest,
The physical heart,
And the emotional heart as well.
Letting go in the entire back.
The entire back is completely relaxed.
The entire back is letting go.
The throat,
Jaw,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
The tongue.
All the muscles of the face can relax.
The eyes,
And even the brain.
The entire body.
The entire body is completely relaxed.
The entire body is letting go.
Let go.
Allow the consciousness to move throughout the body,
Throughout the mind,
And let go of any holding,
Control,
Or tension you may find there.
Letting go.
We will now transition out of our yoga knee to practice.
Know that the body and the mind are self-healing mechanisms.
Begin to take a deep breath in,
And sigh it out.
You may choose to stay right here and drift off into sleep.
Otherwise,
Start to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Coming back to the physical body.
Begin to stretch your arms up over your head,
And eventually hug both knees into your chest.
Moving however you'd like,
But take your time,
And find a comfortable seat.
Standing well for one more moment,
Take a nourishing breath in,
And a full breath out.
And I hope you enjoyed this Yoga Nidra meditation.
