I recently came across a tool I had never heard of when two colleagues told me about Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is a restorative meditation that focuses on achieving "conscious sleep." Historically I have struggled with insomnia; when my obsessive monologue gets to fretting late at night, it can be hard for me to "turn off." One of the benefits (ha!) of having young kids is that I'm so exhausted all the time that I don't often struggle to fall asleep anymore. A couple weeks back, I had significant restless anxiety, so I decided it would be a great time to try out some Yoga Nidra.
You can find examples of Yoga Nidra anywhere; however, one of my colleagues had suggested checking it out on the app Insight Timer, so that's what I used. Yoga Nidra was a very different type of meditation. It asks you to swiftly and intentionally hold and shift focus on different parts of your body. Although it was not the type of meditation I am used to, I did find it helpful and was able to drift off to a restful night in the middle of it. 5 stars
I also liked the app Insight Timer. It has a spectrum of meditation and related practices. They do an excellent job of providing a range of secular to spiritual, allowing for many different preferences. Also, they offer additional education and training, resulting in a pretty expansive resource that can be partially accessed on their free plan, with more features available to paid members. 5 stars.
Check out Yoga Nidra on Insight Timer here