No matter where you live in the world, and no matter what body you inhabit, this is a time of unrest. Some of the unrest is fruitful—necessary and painful steps on the journey toward a more just world. Some of the unrest is just painful—the raw consequences of disease, inequality, greed, prejudice, and division.
Wherever you find yourself, you need and deserve rest. You need and deserve spaces and times in which to wrest yourself from the unrest that surrounds you.
In recent weeks, I’ve found myself turning over and over to yoga nidra to cultivate deep rest. Yoga nidra is a form of guided meditation, designed to ease you into the relaxed state of consciousness that exists between sleep and wakefulness. Some practitioners engage in yoga nidra to cultivate enlightenment. I confess that my goals are not so lofty. I practice yoga nidra at bedtime, in my bed, because it allows me to let go of unrest, settle my body and mind, and drift toward sleep. It feels like a lullaby for my big-girl self.
More often than not, I fall asleep as soon as my yoga nidra practice is done or—oops—before it is done. On the rare occasion that I don’t drift off so quickly, I’m too relaxed to mind. All of these are positive outcomes—restful outcomes.
With this email, you’ll find a 16-minute yoga nidra practice that you can try when your mind and body are craving rest. Use it as a midday pause, or—like me—at bedtime. This is my first attempt at guiding a meditation, so please let me know what you think and how I can improve the experience for you!
Rest For Times of Unrest