Yoga Nidra For Sleep: Experience Ultimate Inner Peace

Begin by becoming aware of your physical body.

Return your mind home to the breath.

Gently close your eyes and turn your awareness within.

Adjust your body and close one last time before beginning the practice of yoga nidra.

Your arms should be loose by your sides.

Your legs spread a comfortable distance apart.

Make your body perfectly symmetrical,

Still,

And silent.

Now go ahead and take a nice,

Deep,

Refreshing breath in and exhale,

Releasing all those pent-up thoughts and emotions.

Inhale in,

Rejuvenating white light.

And exhale out,

A cloud of dark smoke.

Inhale white light.

Exhale dark smoke.

As you exhale,

See the dark smoke getting lighter and lighter.

As you release every last care.

Just drop the physical body now as physical stillness gradually spreads through each and every limb and muscle.

Visualize the warm red rays of the early morning sun rising over the horizon.

Snow capped mountains.

The deep roots of an ancient tree.

Now,

Repeat your sankalpa three times silently.

Now,

Bring your awareness to the right hand.

As I name a body part,

Allow yourself to feel that location as you mentally repeat its name after me.

Starting with the right hand thumb,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the abdomen,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Back of the thigh,

Kneecap,

Knee cap,

Back of the knee,

Shin,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth,

Sixth,

Seventh,

And fifth toe,

The whole right side of the body.

Now,

For the left hand,

The left hand thumb,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

And fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Left wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

And left side of the abdomen,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

And kneecap.

Back of the thigh,

Left kneecap,

Back of the knee,

Shin,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

And kneecap.

So,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

The left big toe,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

And fifth toe,

The whole left side of the body.

The top of the head,

Forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right ear,

Left ear,

The nose,

Tip of the nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

The tongue,

The tongue,

The tongue,

The tongue,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Chin,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right chest muscle,

Left chest muscle,

The sternum,

Abdomen,

Navel,

And the hip.

The lower abdomen,

Groin,

The whole right leg,

Whole left leg,

Both legs together,

Whole right arm,

Whole left arm,

Both arms together.

The front side of the torso,

Back side of the torso,

Both the front and back sides of the torso together.

The shoulders,

Neck,

Face,

And head,

The whole body together.

The whole body,

From the top of the head to the tips of your fingers and toes.

Now,

Switch your awareness to the points of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.

Feel all the individual points of contact at once.

Feel the subtle points of contact together at once.

Notice the line of levity between your body and the floor.

Feel that your body is part of the ground.

Completely relax,

But remain aware.

Become aware to the beating of the heart inside your chest.

Feel each beat pumping blood throughout your body.

Experience the whole body pulsating with each beat.

Take this moment to show gratitude to your heart,

Which continues pumping and circulating oxygen-rich blood throughout your entire body,

Both day and night,

Without stop.

Experience the never ceasing beating and pumping of the heart.

Have antidote immediately.

Ynodin…?

Now become aware to the sensation of the pulse in the wrists of each arm.

Feel the pulse at the inside of the elbow.

The navel.

Groin.

Feel the pulse behind your knees.

And on the tops of your feet.

Become aware to the pulse at the neck.

And at the brow center.

Now feel the coordination between the beating of the heart and the pulse.

Feel them occurring simultaneously as one.

Be aware of your body pulsating in harmony with your heart.

Allow this awareness to absorb your whole attention.

Now become aware of the breath.

Experience the re-energizing sensation of air flowing through the nostrils.

Taste the air.

Feel as though it were the first time you have ever breathed.

Respiration like circulation never stops.

Just observe the natural rhythm and flow of the breath.

Feel each breath.

As the breath becomes calm and silent,

The thoughts also become calm and silent.

Allow the breath to become relaxed by relaxing the muscles of respiration in the abdomen and chest,

Release the muscles in your mouth and tongue.

Continue breath awareness as you very gently place your tongue against the roof of your mouth.

As the tongue becomes still,

The mind becomes still.

Allow your breathing to remain natural,

Having no concern for if it is deep or slow.

Just go on maintaining awareness of the peaceful and soothing ebb and flow of each breath.

Feel the air flowing in through the nostrils.

Being drawn into the lungs,

Expanding the rib cage and causing the belly to rise.

Then feel the air being released from the body,

Like a balloon expelling its air and contracting back down.

Inhale in with total awareness.

Exhale out,

Releasing and letting go.

As you breathe in,

Mentally count one.

As you breathe out,

Mentally count two.

Breathe in three and out four.

Continue counting in this way to a count of 40.

Your breathing should be natural.

Don't try to influence the breath any way.

Maintain awareness of both breathing and the mental counting.

Maintain awareness of both breathing and the mental counting.

Maintain awareness of both breathing and the mental counting.

Maintain awareness of both breathing and the mental counting.

Now feel the air moving in and out of the throat.

Heighten your awareness to the sensation of the breath flowing in and out at the throat.

Again,

Start to mentally count each inhalation and exhalation.

Inhale one,

Exhale two,

And so on.

Continue to count to 40 with awareness on the sensation of air at the throat.

Inhale one,

Exhale two,

And so on.

Inhale one,

Exhale two,

And so on.

Inhale one,

Exhale two,

And so on.

Now become aware of the chest.

As you breathe in,

Feel the expansion of the rib cage and feel the air being drawn into the lungs.

Breathe out,

Contracting and releasing.

Become sensitive to the breath flowing in the chest.

Now count up to 40 with continual awareness of the expansion and contraction of the chest and the sensation of air entering and leaving the lungs.

Inhale one,

Exhale two,

And so on.

Inhale one,

Exhale two,

And so on.

Inhale one,

Exhale two,

And so on.

Now bring your awareness down to the abdomen.

Feel the soothing,

Rising,

And falling movements of the belly.

Allow the breath to remain normal and natural.

Don't try to force the breathing or expansiveness.

Merely breathe as your body dictates.

As you breathe in,

Feel the air being drawn all the way into your body.

As you breathe out,

Feel the unused waste being expelled away from your body.

Totally relax all the muscles of respiration as you continue breath awareness at the belly.

Now start to count the inhalation and exhalation just like before.

Feeling the expansion of the abdomen.

Be aware of the breath,

Abdominal movements,

And the counting.

Now start to count the inhalation and exhalation just like before.

Now start to count the inhalation and exhalation just like before.

Now drop awareness of the counting and the breath as you return your awareness to the physical body.

Quickly scan your body and again release those large groups of muscles.

Experiencing expansiveness and self-born bliss.

Again recall your sankalpa,

The same exact sankalpa from earlier.

Silently repeat your sankalpa with firm conviction three times.

Now slowly begin to extrovert your awareness back to the outer world around you.

Back to the world of the senses.

You may be pleasantly surprised to find that as you begin to re-engage with the outer world,

This deep sense of inner peace remains with you throughout.

Now whenever you are ready,

Gently begin to move and stretch your body and open your eyes to end this session.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Om shanti shanti shantihi.

Om shanti shanti shantihi.