Not every night requires an all-night practice.
Some evenings, what we need most is a soft place to land, a way to transition out of the day and into rest without effort or pressure. A shorter Yoga Nidra can offer exactly that: enough time to unwind deeply, without committing to an overnight container.
This 1-hour Yoga Nidra was created as a gentle bridge between waking and sleep.
Yoga Nidra, often called “yogic sleep,” is a guided meditation practiced lying down in a state of effortless awareness. Unlike traditional meditation, there is nothing to focus on and nothing to do correctly. You are simply guided into rest, layer by layer, allowing the body and mind to settle naturally.
In this 1-hour version, the intention is simple: help the nervous system slow down and prepare for sleep.
The practice begins by inviting awareness to the breath. Gentle breath awareness and counting help create an immediate shift away from the momentum of the day. This alone can be incredibly regulating, especially if your mind tends to stay active at night.
From there, the awareness moves gradually through the body in a slow, calming body scan. This part of Yoga Nidra is deeply soothing for the nervous system. As attention moves from place to place, tension often begins to release without force. The body softens. The breath deepens. The mind loosens its grip.
What makes this practice especially supportive is that it removes the pressure around sleep.
There is no goal to fall asleep by a certain point. No expectation to follow every word. No need to “do it right.” You can listen fully, drift in and out, or fall asleep halfway through. All of it is part of the experience.
This shorter format is ideal if you want a contained, accessible practice you can return to regularly. Some people use it as part of their nightly wind-down, allowing the repetition to signal safety and familiarity to the nervous system. Others use it on evenings when they feel wired but don’t want stimulation from screens or more active relaxation techniques.
It can also be helpful beyond bedtime. A 1-hour Yoga Nidra can support afternoon rest, emotional reset, or recovery during stressful periods. Because the body is guided into deep relaxation while the mind remains lightly aware, many people find it restorative in a way that feels different from sleep alone.
Most importantly, this practice invites a shift in how we relate to rest.
Instead of trying to make sleep happen, Yoga Nidra creates the conditions where rest can arise naturally. It gives you permission to step out of effort and into support. To lie down without needing to fix or force anything.
And sometimes, that gentle permission is exactly what allows the body to finally let go.
Whether you use this practice to fall asleep, unwind after a long day, or simply reconnect with stillness, it’s here as a quiet space you can return to again and again.