Yoga Nidra: Deep Rest Between Sleep And Wakefulness

This Yoga Nidra practice guides you into deep rest while remaining gently awake and aware.
You are invited to let go of effort as awareness moves through the body, sensation, and spacious silence, allowing the nervous system to settle naturally.
The practice explores the in-between state between sleep and wakefulness, where restoration and integration can occur without trying to achieve anything.
This recording was captured live during a Zoom workshop and reflects the organic pacing and presence of a shared group experience.

Transcript

This is where we go a little more into the realm of deeper surrender by Yoga Nidra,

A practice that will help you to get into the stages of the body,

Many layers of the body.

These are called Koshas and Koshas are basically like sheets of the body and we are going to be moving into each layer.

Think of it like peeling of an onion,

Layer by layer by layer getting into the root,

Into the center of it and really looking at what we find there.

It's a very relaxing practice.

It's a lying down practice so you will be lying down and I really recommend to have something under your head,

To have something under your knees.

So if you want to grab some pillows,

Some cushions,

Also recommend a blanket in case you do get cold just to warm yourself up,

Maybe your feet.

These are very normal sensations for your body to experience as I will walk you through the Yoga Nidra.

So it is guided.

I will be talking a lot.

I will be walking you through very specifically but I'm also going to be leaving spaces of quietness.

There'll be moments where I go quiet for you to experience what you're experiencing without the influence of my direction or my guide to you.

This is a practice that we all need.

With Yoga Nidra I find that if we can stay alert for the whole practice there's many many moments where you can find yourself falling asleep or being in the in-between state which is the sort of center between waking state and sleeping state.

There is an in-between which will tend to happen when we are being moved and guided through Yoga Nidra.

I invite you right now to lie down and you don't have to do this on your yoga mat so if you want to do this in your bed,

Lying on your couch,

Whether you're watching this on your phone,

Your tablet,

Your computer,

Just take me where you need to go wherever is going to be very comfortable for you.

And if you fall asleep,

You fall asleep.

No big deal.

It's okay.

You can always come back to this.

Try not to fight yourself from falling asleep.

So if you kind of feel yourself dozing off again in that in-between kind of state,

Don't resist it.

Don't try to fight it and say I need to stay here for the whole session.

Let whatever's supposed to happen,

Let it happen.

Alright,

So kind of take yourself away from the control and really find this state of deep surrender.

You've got nothing to do but just listen to my voice and allow me to take you on this journey of Yoga Nidra.

As you lie down,

Let your eyes very gently close.

Let yourself settle into your space.

And as you settle into your space,

Take a few moments to let your breath be very natural.

Just breathe the way you naturally breathe.

The natural cadence of your breath,

Notice it.

Width and the depth and the height of your breath,

Just notice it.

And as you settle,

Try to keep yourself fully still throughout your practice so that your body and your brain can fully relax into this.

Throughout the whole practice,

Let your eyes be fully closed until the end where I'll cue you to open them.

And in this session of Yoga Nidra,

Which is really the practice of yogic sleep,

We'll help you to get into the state,

That in-between state between waking state and sleeping state.

Throughout the practice,

Try to remain awake by just simply listening to the sound of my voice.

And as I've mentioned before,

If you notice yourself kind of dozing off,

Don't resist it.

But do try to stay awake,

But don't resist it so much.

In this session,

I will be asking you to become aware of bodily sensations,

As I will ask you to move your awareness through every part of your body.

But in everything I say,

Try not to focus so much,

Try not to focus so deeply and intensely that that prevents you from a deep relaxation.

If at any time the mind starts to take over,

Just simply come back to the sound of my voice.

There will be moments where I will be talking quite a lot.

And there will be moments where I will go silent to give you white space.

So right now,

Let yourself fully,

Fully relax and become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.

Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear,

If any.

And let your sense of hearing radiate outwards.

Searching out these distant sounds and following them for a few moments.

See if you can move your attention from sound to sound without labeling the source at all.

And start to gradually bring any attention that you,

Your attention that you hear closer to the sounds.

And the sounds that you hear outside of this building that you are in,

Bring it to the sounds inside of this building that you're in.

And now bring it into the sounds inside of the room that you are in.

And we are going to be moving into each layer.

Think of it like peeling of an onion,

Layer by layer by layer,

Getting into the root,

Into the center of it,

And really looking at what we find there.

It's a very relaxing practice.

It's a lying down practice.

So you will be lying down.

And I really recommend to have something under your head,

To have something under your knees.

So if you want to grab some pillows,

Some cushions,

Also recommend a blanket in case you do get cold,

Just to warm yourself up.

Maybe your feet.

These are very normal sensations for your body to experience as I will walk you through the yoga nidra.

So it is guided.

I will be talking a lot,

I will be walking you through very specifically,

But I'm also going to be leaving spaces of quietness.

There'll be moments where I go quiet for you to experience what you're experiencing without the influence of my direction or my guide to you.

This is a practice that we all need.

With yoga nidra,

I find that if we can stay alert for the whole practice,

There's many,

Many moments where you can find yourself falling asleep or being in the in-between state,

Which is the sort of the center between waking state and sleeping state.

There is an in-between,

Which will tend to happen when we are being moved and guided through yoga nidra.

I invite you right now to lie down.

And you don't have to do this on your yoga mat.

So if you want to do this in your bed,

Lying on your couch,

Whether you're watching this on your phone,

Your tablet,

Your computer,

Just take me where you need to go,

Wherever is going to be very comfortable for you.

And if you fall asleep,

You fall asleep.

No big deal.

It's okay.

You can always come back to this.

Try not to fight yourself from falling asleep.

So if you kind of feel yourself dozing off again in that in-between kind of state,

Don't resist it.

Don't try to fight it and say,

I need to stay here for the whole session.

Let whatever's supposed to happen.

Let it happen.

All right.

So kind of take yourself away from the control and really find this state of deep surrender.

You've got nothing to do but just listen to my voice and allow me to take you on this journey of yoga nidra.

As you lie down,

Let your eyes very gently close.

Let yourself settle into your space.

And as you settle into your space,

Take a few moments to let your breath be very natural.

Just breathe the way you naturally breathe,

The natural cadence of your breath.

Notice it.

Width and the depth and the height of your breath.

Just notice it.

And as you settle,

Try to keep yourself fully still throughout your practice so that your body and your brain can fully relax into this.

Throughout the whole practice,

Let your eyes be fully closed until the end where I'll cue you to open them.

And in this session of yoga nidra,

Which is really the practice of yogic sleep,

Will help you to get into the state,

That in-between state,

Between waking state and sleeping state.

Throughout the practice,

Try to remain awake by just simply listening to the sound of my voice.

And as I've mentioned before,

If you notice yourself kind of dozing off,

Don't resist it.

But do try to stay awake,

But don't resist it so much.

In this session,

I will be asking you to become aware of bodily sensations as I will ask you to move your awareness through every part of your body.

But in everything I say,

Try not to focus so much,

Try not to focus so deeply and intensely that that prevents you from a deep relaxation.

If at any time the mind starts to take over,

Just simply come back to the sound of my voice.

There will be moments where I will be talking quite a lot.

And there will be moments where I will go silent to give you white space.

So right now,

Let yourself fully,

Fully relax and become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.

Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear,

If any.

And let your sense of hearing radiate outwards.

Searching out these distant sounds and following them for a few moments.

See if you can move your attention from sound to sound without labeling the source at all.

And start to gradually bring any attention that you,

Your attention that you hear closer to the sounds.

And the sounds that you hear outside of this building that you are in,

Bring it to the sounds inside of this building that you're in.

And now bring it into the sounds inside of the room that you are in.

The top of the foot.

The right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the pinky toe.

And now the left hand thumb.

The left first finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And the pinky.

Palm of the hand.

The back of the hand.

The forearm.

The elbow.

The upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

The waist.

The hip.

The thigh.

Heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

And now go to the back of your body.

The back of your right heel.

Left heel.

Right calf.

Left calf.

Right thigh.

Left thigh.

The right glute.

The left glute.

Lower back.

Middle back.

The entire spine now.

The right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Back of the neck.

And the back of your head.

And now go to the top of your head.

Forehead.

Right temple.

Left temple.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Middle of the eyebrows.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Right cheek.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Both lips together.

The chin.

The jaw.

The throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right side of the chest.

Left side of the chest.

The upper abdomen.

The navel.

The lower abdomen.

Right groin.

Left groin.

And the whole pelvic floor.

And now feel the whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

The whole right arm.

The whole left arm.

The whole face.

The whole head.

The whole torso.

Feel the whole body.

The whole body.

The whole body.

Now imagine your whole body being light.

So light like a feather.

Your head is light and weightless.

Your limbs are light and weightless.

Like you could float off of the ground and up to the sky.

So light.

So weightless.

So light.

So light.

So weightless.

And now imagine your whole body heavy.

So heavy.

So heavy.

Pinned to the floor.

Your weight is heavy.

Limbs are heavy.

Your whole body heavy.

And start to go back and forth now between this lightness and heaviness.

Light,

Heavy,

Light,

Heavy,

Light,

Heavy.

And now awaken the experience of cold in your body.

The experience of chilly cold.

Imagine being outside in winter with not enough clothing.

And you can feel this chill permeating your whole entire body.

Now allow the sensation of warmth to spread throughout your whole body.

See if you can feel the radiance on your skin,

The heat all around your body,

That warmthness.

Maybe even feeling slightly too hot.

And start to go back and forth between feeling cold and then hot.

Hot,

Cold,

Cold,

Hot,

Hot,

Cold.

Now find an experience where you felt severe and intense anxiety,

Worry.

Find an experience,

Go back to that experience.

Feel that intense anxiety in your body.

Feel the stress in your body,

But try not to focus on the source of where it came from.

Just the feeling.

Feel the worry,

Feel the stress,

Feel the anxiety.

Be aware of the sensations.

Do not focus on its source.

And now bring your attention to a time and space where you are so calm.

So calm,

So collected.

So tranquil.

See if you can manifest the sense of calm into your whole body,

Your mind.

You are so calm,

So at ease.

So collected.

You are fully relaxed.

And start to go back and forth now between this anxiety and calmness.

Anxiety and calmness,

Anxiety and calmness.

The sensations,

Not the source.

And now imagine there is a canvas just before you,

Just in front of your closed eyelids.

You have all the colors that you need.

Go ahead and visualize what you would draw,

Paint,

Create on this blank canvas.

And visualize yourself painting,

Drawing,

Creating something on this black canvas using all the colors that you need.

Using your imagination.

And now stop.

And now there's a new canvas right in front of you.

Start again.

You have all the colors that you need.

Begin again.

Notice if it's the same thing that you are creating or something else.

Fill in this blank canvas.

And now stop.

Another blank canvas.

Start from scratch,

All the colors that you need.

Go ahead and create whatever it is that you want to manifest.

Whatever it is that comes through you,

Out of you.

Whatever images that you are seeing,

Just notice them.

Don't attach yourself to them.

Don't make a story.

Don't label.

Don't put it in a box.

Just become aware.

What is it that you're creating?

What images show up?

What signs?

What lines?

What colors?

Detach yourself from labeling it.

Just aware.

Now there will be some different things I will be naming.

I invite you to envision them on the level of emotion and memory and imagination as best as you can.

Then you'll jump from image to image as soon as you hear it.

So just focusing on the emotional,

The memory,

The imagination.

Full moon.

Waiting for results.

A tall tree.

A good night's rest.

Foggy morning.

A dog stretching.

A relaxing afternoon.

A peacock feather.

Receiving help from others.

The Buddha meditating.

A bouquet of beautiful flowers.

Burning candle.

Taking a deep breath.

Your favorite song.

A path in the woods.

The sound of my voice.

Your body lying on the floor.

And now repeat your intention.

The same intention that you made in the beginning of this practice three times again now.

Repeat your intention,

Your sankalpa,

Three times again.

Now come back to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.

Coming back to the breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.

As you start to return.

As always,

We must return back from any journey.

Returning home.

Become aware of the whole entirety of your body.

Your physicality,

Your physical form.

Now just bring your attention to every single point of your body that is touching something.

The floor,

The bed,

The pillows,

The cushion,

The blanket.

Anything in the back of your body that is touching something.

Bring awareness to that.

Let your body be heavy.

But also still relaxed.

Keep your eyes still closed,

But start to visualize the room that you are in.

Without opening your eyes,

Just visualize the room that you are in.

Continue to lie quietly there.

And very slowly start to bring movement into your hands.

Eyes are still closed,

The feet.

And slowly reawakening from this experience.

Being in that in-between state of sleep and wakefulness.

Stay here.

Feel this transition.

As the journey of that yogic sleep is now over.

Breathe fully in.

Breathe fully out.

Thank yourself for what you needed to see,

What you needed to hear,

And what you needed to remember through this journey.

And slowly,

As you're ready,

You'll open your eyes on three.

One,

Two,

And three.

Come back now.

Come back.