Free 30 Minute Yoga Nidra Script for Sleep [PDF]

Preparation, Settling In, and Intention

Please give yourself permission to enjoy the process of Yoga Nidra awareness while you transition into dozing off and sink into deep sleep.

Now is the time for slowing down to have a good night of rest with some sound sleep, knowing you’ll wake up at the appropriate time, feeling restored and refreshed.

Get yourself comfy. You can be on your back, side, or stomach. In other words, however you like to go to sleep. (Pause.)

Close your eyes, like lowering the shades, nice and comfy … It’s time for allowing your daytime awareness to gradually recede, like a turtle safely withdrawing into its shell, so nighttime and sleeping awareness can expand into sleeping soundly. Remembering just how special and important sleeping and dreaming are for your well-being. (Pause.)

It’s time to cross the bridge from wakefulness into sleeping and dreaming, taking whatever time is needed for this. And as you’re crossing this bridge, you can start to unload and clear away whatever you want … For instance, what’s no longer needed that you might want to toss off the bridge … what might get in your way of having restful sleep and beneficial dreams? … Saying goodbye to these things, at least for now, so they won’t bother your sleep.

Please take a big breath in and sigh it out. (Pause.)

And now, remembering what will help you feel protected and safe during the night … imagine being surrounded by whatever you would like to have around you that’s reassuring for you … Perhaps there’s people, animals, guardians, or special things, anything that’s comforting and will support sleeping, imagining this now. (Pause.)

Perhaps, you may want to plant some seeds for having some helpful dreams, ones that have insights, dreams that are beneficial. And if you like, being able to remember them later on. (Pause.)

During this valuable transition, you’re welcome to recall a few areas of your life you’re grateful for. (Pause.)

How about tucking yourself in even better … Go ahead and stretch, if you wish … shift around to get more and more settled. Adjusting your covers and pillows to get even more comfortable and cozy. (Pause.)

Go ahead and remind yourself that it’s time for sleeping through the night. Use your own words to ask for cooperation and support from your body, mind, and spirit for a good night’s rest. (Pause.)

Let’s continue moving through the process of going to sleep and enjoying the experience of Yoga Nidra, allowing your body to release tension and calming down any static into stillness. Enabling your mind to clear away thoughts that clutter up awareness, sweeping them away, while emotions fade into the background.

Sensory Awareness and Inner Eye Gazing (Chidakasha)

Feel free to yawn … just open your mouth up real wide, breathe in, in, in, and let yourself yawn. Go ahead and try it a few times … Open your mouth up real wide, breathe in, in, in, and let yourself yawn. (Pause.)

Next, please bring your attention to your mouth … moving your jaw up and down and all around … and now coming to rest … Perhaps moistening your lips … and letting the corners of your lips quiet down into softness … And pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth, and letting it rest … So, softening your tongue, more and more, until it kind of hovers in there. There’s no need for tension, softening your tongue relaxes the mind, all nice and quiet.

And taking your attention to your forehead. With your eyes closed, begin lifting and lowering your eyebrows … and letting them come to rest, smoothing out this entire area. (Pause.)

Even though your eyes are closed, you still have vision, inner vision. All that’s needed is to gaze at the inside of your eyelids and softly toward the middle of the eyebrows, like watching a movie screen. It might look dark, there may be splotches of color, images, or glimmers of light. It doesn’t matter what appears and disappears, it’s about impartially watching whatever is coming and going … and each time your mind wanders, simply shift your attention back to gazing inside, simply softly gazing with quiet eyes. (Longer pause.)

Feel free to fall asleep anytime. (Pause.)

Let your hearing expand into listening off into the far distance, letting the sounds come and go without having to name them or react in any way … only listening to the distant sounds. (Pause.) 

And listening to the nearby sounds as they happen, simply letting the sounds be heard, plain and simple … And now letting the sounds blend, coming and going … And if distracting sounds should happen, allow them to help deepen your experience. Simply notice how it sounds and let it go, perhaps focusing on something else. (Pause.)

It’s time to gently squeeze your hands into a ball, like a bud of a flower … and to slowly let your fingers unfold like a bud becomes a bloom … allowing your hands and fingers to rest comfortably, more and more.

Wiggle your toes … and let them rest. You may yawn or take a big breath in … and sigh it out. It’s okay to go to sleep anytime. (Pause.)

Rotation of Consciousness

It’s time to move your awareness throughout your body. Feel free to silently repeat each body part as it’s named. You might enjoy getting a concept of it, or sense feeling it, or even picture it, whatever comes easiest for you … bringing restfulness all around as we go. There’s no need to move at all, simply letting your mind’s eye follow along from place to place, bringing restful sleep throughout your mind and body.

It’s time to mentally find your right hand … sensing where your right hand is … and the right thumb … the pointer finger … the middle finger … the ring finger … and the baby finger … the palm of the hand … the back of the hand … the wrist … the elbow … right shoulder top … the armpit … down the right side to the hip … the knee … ankle … heel … bottom of the foot … top of the foot … the big toe … the second toe … the third toe … the fourth toe … and the baby toe … and now the whole foot … the whole entire foot.

And now, mentally find your left hand … sensing your left hand … the left thumb … the pointer finger … the middle finger … the ring finger … and the baby finger … the palm of the hand … the back of the hand … the wrist … the elbow … left shoulder top … the armpit … down the left side to the hip … the knee … ankle … and heel … the bottom of the foot … top of the foot … the big toe … the second toe … the third toe … the fourth toe … and the baby toe … and now the whole entire foot … having a direct experience of your whole foot.

If you get distracted, it’s no big deal. Simply bring your attention back to whatever we’re doing.

Moving your awareness now to the base of your spine … up to your lower back … mid-back … and upper back … to the top of your head.

And now to the right eyebrow … left eyebrow … between the eyebrows …right eyelid … left eyelid … feeling your eyelids getting heavier and heavier … right eyeball … left eyeball … and the line between your eyelids, the line between the eyelids … letting your eyes rest … gazing at the inside of your eyelids, watching whatever’s happening. (Pause.)

And now the right ear … the left ear … right cheek … left cheek … the nose … and the tip of the nose … the upper lip … the lower lip … the line between the lips … and the corners of the lips … And now, going inside the mouth … sensing the inside of the mouth … Start pressing the tongue into the roof of your mouth or the back of your teeth … and letting your tongue rest, softening it, more and more … And now to the throat … the heart … the upper abdomen … the navel … the lower abdomen … and the base of the spine.

Becoming aware of the presence of your entire right leg, the whole of your right leg … and becoming aware of your entire left leg, the whole left leg … and now both legs at the same time, both legs … Now being aware of your right arm, the entire right arm, just for now … and the whole left arm, the entire left arm … and both arms at the same time … Moving now to the whole back side of your body, sensing the entire back side of your body … and now the front side, the entire front side … and both sides together, as one … Sensing your head … and face … and your head and face at the same time … Being aware now, of your whole self, your whole self.

You’re welcome to move around for more comfort, shifting and adjusting your position, your covers, your clothes, for more comfort, so you can easily go to sleep, right when it’s time for sleeping.

Breathing With an Intentional Exhalation and Effortless Inhalation

And now, bring your attention to your breathing. Breathing through your nose, using your mouth only to the amount it’s needed. Begin to focus on your exhalation, focusing on breathing out, and letting the inhalation take care of itself … Following your exhalation out, again and again, as it naturally happens … Each time you naturally breathe out, you may begin to silently say, “going out” or simply “out.” Silently saying “out” while breathing out for the next few minutes. (Pause 1–2 minutes.)

And softening your tongue … and having quiet eyes … continuing to breathe as effortlessly as possible. Letting go, more and more and falling asleep anytime. (Pause.)

Mental and Emotional Brushing

How about feeling a wave of healing relaxation rinse through you?

Allowing it to start at the top of your head, calming your mind, brushing away tension and unnecessary thoughts, and making room for soothing sleep and beneficial dreams … brushing and rinsing away emotions and feelings as it goes.

This wave of relaxation begins to wash down your neck and shoulders … continuing down your arms to your fingertips, rinsing away any thoughts or memories, emotions or feelings, making way for some pure awareness … Brushing away injuries and hurts, past or present … healing and restoring … and washing and rinsing all around the top of your torso … When you’re ready, it goes all around your heart and lungs, gently removing what’s no longer needed, clearing and cleansing … and on into all the other vital organs, rinsing and clearing and settling down into rest and restoration … and this wave of rest and relaxation, begins pouring in and around your hips, going all around your hips … and it’s moving down your legs, taking away any thoughts and memories, and any feelings or emotions, just rinsing and brushing all the way down to your feet and toes. Washing tension completely and safely away … and now, you can use this technique wherever you might want to use it, to continue to cleanse and clear away distractions, leaving a sense of peacefulness inside. (Pause.)

Intention

Into this potent place, you may make a personal pledge, reflecting something that supports your growth, a positive quality to support your personality, your actions, your spirit. Perhaps something that gives your life direction. (Pause.) 

Remembering your pledge when you wake up is a valuable way to start your day.

Closing

It’s okay to drift off to sleep if you’re ready and to cycle naturally through all the valuable levels of sleep, restoring your body, mind, and spirit.

Otherwise, continue to let your breathing soothe you, more and more, like a lullaby, listening to it like a comforting song, dropping distracting thoughts and feeling into the stream of your breath to be carried away … softening your tongue, more and more … again and again. And having your eyes become very quiet, comforted by the cover and protection of the eyelids, softly gazing at the inside of the eyelids like watching a movie, knowing it’s okay to either hover for a little longer on the edge of sleep, or to drop off into sleep … Sleep well.

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This script has been crafted with love and formatted in a clear, organized layout, making it easy to read aloud for individuals or groups. It is suitable for personal and professional use, including YouTube videos and monetization, and for voiceover recordings.

Use this script to lead your own Yoga Nidra meditation, edit or alter the script to suit your needs, use it in courses you create and sell, or use it privately with your clients.

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