Yoga Nidra For Deep Rest & Inner Clarity

This Yoga Nidra practice guides you into the healing space between wakefulness and sleep. Through breath, body awareness, and vivid imagery, you are invited to release tension and experience profound relaxation. The repetition of your sankalpa helps plant a clear intention in the subconscious mind. Let this session support deep rest, emotional balance, and gentle renewal.

Transcript

Welcome to Yoga Nidra with Go With Gertrude.

I invite you to lie on your back with knees slightly bent and supported.

Make sure that you are not too warm,

Nor too cold,

And that your position is one that will be comfortable for the duration of the practice.

It is best that you remain still during Yoga Nidra,

So that both your body and brain have a chance to fully relax.

However,

If you do become uncomfortable,

Please feel free to change position a little.

Allow your eyes to close and keep them closed until the practice has ended.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is a practice of yogic sleep that will guide you to the hypnagogic state that is a state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleeping.

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

You will be asked to move your awareness to various bodily sensations,

Emotions and images.

Try not to concentrate too intensely as this may prevent you from relaxing.

During this meditation,

Please use and absorb what you need in the moment and leave the rest behind.

If the mind becomes overactive with thoughts and worries,

Just come back to the sound of my voice.

Now let's begin.

Become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.

Nothing else but what you can hear without strain.

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

Let your sense of hearing radiate outward,

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

Move your attention from sound to sound without labeling the source and gradually bring your attention to closer sounds,

To sounds outside this building,

Then to sounds in sound this building,

To sounds inside the room.

Without opening your eyes,

Visualize the four walls of this room,

The ceiling,

The floor,

Your body lying on the floor.

Visualize your body lying on the floor,

The position of your body,

Your clothes,

Your hair,

Your face.

Become aware of the existence of your physical body lying on the floor.

Now become aware of your natural breath.

Become aware of your natural and spontaneous breath that moves in and out of your body without any effort.

The natural breath flows in through both nostrils.

Notice the feeling of the breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils.

There is a sense of coolness as you inhale the breath.

Follow this feeling into your nose,

Your sinuses,

The back of your throat,

Into your lungs.

There is a sense of warmth as you exhale the breath.

Feel this warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.

The natural breath flows through both nostrils during the inhale and the exhale.

Allow your breath to become longer and slower.

Take a long,

Slow inhalation followed by a longer,

Slower exhalation.

Now make your exhale even slower and notice the slight pause after the exhale.

Slow inhale.

Even slower exhale.

And pause.

Feel the urge to breathe in arise inside of you.

When you need to inhale,

Please do so.

Long,

Slow inhale.

Longer,

Slower exhale.

And then pause where the body is neither breathing in nor out.

Please continue breathing in this way.

Now go back to the natural,

Easy breath.

Releasing any control over the inhale or exhale.

Let's set your sankalpa.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

At this moment,

I invite you to make your sankalpa or resolve.

A sankalpa means a one-pointed resolve to focus both psychologically and philosophically on a specific goal.

Choose a word or a thought or a phrase that states your resolve,

Your intention of the practice.

Within your mind,

State your sankalpa clearly and with awareness three times.

The sankalpa you make during Yoga Nidra plants a seed in the fertile soil of your mind to bring about transformation and healing.

Also,

Now say to yourself,

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

I am awake and relaxed.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

I am awake and relaxed.

Now we will begin a systematic journey of sensory awareness throughout the body.

You will move your awareness to different parts of your body as soon as you hear them named by me.

Please say the name of the part to yourself and feel that part of your body,

But do not move any part.

The practice begins on the right side.

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and pinky.

The palm of your right hand,

The back of the hand,

The wrist,

Your right forearm,

Your elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder.

Your right armpit,

Your right waist,

Your right hip,

Your right heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top toe,

The second toe,

The middle right toe,

The fourth toe and the right tiny toe.

Let's move to your left hand.

The left hand thumb,

The left hand index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and pinky finger.

The palm of your left hand,

The back of your left hand,

Your wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit foot,

The top of the foot,

The left middle toe,

The fourth toe.

Now let's go back to the back of the body.

The entire spine,

Your right shoulder blade,

Your left shoulder blade,

The back of the neck,

Back of the head,

The top of your head,

Your forehead,

Your right temple,

Your left temple.

Middle of the eyebrow,

Your frown,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Your upper lip,

Your lower lip together,

Your chin,

Your jaw,

Your throat,

Your wrist.

Your upper abdomen.

Now feel the whole right leg.

Feel your whole right arm.

Feel your whole face,

Your whole head,

Your whole torso.

Feel your whole body.

Next we will focus on opposite sensations.

Now imagine the whole body becoming light.

As though your body could float away from the floor and towards the ceiling.

The head is light and weightless,

The limbs are light and weightless,

The torso is light and weightless.

Your whole body is light and weightless.

You are rising higher and higher away from the floor.

Now imagine your body becoming heavy.

Feel the heaviness in all parts of your body.

Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy,

The limbs are heavy,

The torso is heavy,

The whole body is heavy.

So heavy that it is sinking down into the floor.

Now awaken the experience of cold in the body.

The experience of chilly cold.

Imagine being outside in winter without enough clothing.

You feel this chill permeating your entire body.

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

Remember the feeling of heat in summer when you are out in the sun with no shade.

You feel heat radiating onto your skin,

Heat in and all around your body.

Now let's recollect the experience of anxiety.

Intense anxiety and worry.

Feel this stress in your mind and body,

But do not concentrate on its source.

Just create the experience of anxiety as clearly as possible.

But now allow the feeling of complete calm to envelope you.

Manifest the experience of calm into your entire mind,

Body and emotions.

You are relaxed and aware.

You are completely calm.

We move on to inner space visualization.

Begin to concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids.

Imagine before you its transparent screen as though you were at a movie theater.

The screen is as high and as wide as the eyes can see.

Concentrate on this mind screen and become aware of any phenomena that manifests within it.

Colors,

Patterns,

Light.

Whatever you see is a manifesting state of your mind.

Continue your awareness of this space,

But do not become involved.

Practice detached awareness only.

If any subtle images make themselves known,

Simply notice them without directing the images.

If thoughts occur,

Let them come and go.

But continue watching the dark space.

Continue this with detached awareness.

Now we move on to rapid image visualization.

Now a number of different things will be named and I invite you to envision them on the level of emotion,

Memory and imagination as best as you can.

Jump from image to image as soon as you hear it.

A red desert.

A peacock feather.

A Buddha meditating.

A doctor's office.

A good night's rest.

The full moon.

Your reflection in a mirror.

A foggy morning.

Waiting for results.

Sun shining overhead.

A bouquet of flowers.

A tall tree.

Receiving help from others.

Cool clear water.

Making appointments.

A relaxing afternoon.

Laughing with friends.

A warm embrace.

Burning candle.

Temple on a mountain.

A path in the woods.

A vibrant sunset.

Taking a deep breath.

A cat stretching.

A beautiful garden pot.

Your favorite song.

The sound of my voice.

Your body lying on the floor.

It is time to repeat your sankalpa,

Your resolve,

Your intention for this practice.

I invite you to repeat the same statement that you made at the beginning of the practice three times mentally now.

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

Maintain your awareness of breath and at the same time develop your awareness of your physical body.

Your body is relaxed and lying on the floor.

Feel the whole of your skin and the clothes and props that are touching you.

Notice the heaviness of your body as it rests on the floor and take your awareness into all the points that are touching the floor.

The back of your heels,

Thighs,

Bum,

Shoulder blades,

Arms,

Hands and head.

Do not open your eyes yet but visualize the surrounding room.

Imagine where you are in the room and the other objects or people that are around you.

Lie quietly until you are feeling ready to move.

Start by slowly moving your hands and feet.

Take your time,

There is no hurry.

When you are sure that you are fully awake,

You can gently open your eyes.

When you are ready,

You can roll over to your right side.

Stay on your right side in a fetal position for a few more moments.

Now use your hands to press yourself up from the floor and let your head come up last.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.