20-Minute Guided Yoga Nidra For Restoration

Embark on a transformative journey of relaxation and restoration. Tune in and discover the power of Yoga Nidra to nurture your body, calm your mind, and restore your spirit. Yoga Nidra is a form of meditation, that goes deeper than a traditional meditation. This is a guided practice where you will explore altered consciousness in a state between wakefulness and sleep.

This can be done at any time of day as it is a restorative practice. You can also use it before bed.

Thank you for listening, I am very grateful to share my practice with you.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to yoga nidra.

Yoga nidra is a deep state of relaxation where you drift between wakefulness and sleep.

You won't be asleep during this practice but you're going to experience a form of rest that is very similar and very restorative.

So you can do this at any time of day to restore your body and mind.

I also love to do it before bed.

So this is a deeper form of meditation where we enter altered states where the body is consciously asleep but our awareness is present.

So when you're ready find a comfortable position to lie down in shavasana either on the floor or your bed and just start to let the body sink in to rest.

Let the feet spread wider than your hips and allow them to flop to the sides,

Leaving your palms a little bit away from the hips,

Allowing your armpits to breathe,

Making sure you are warm enough and taking a position that will be comfortable for the duration of the practice.

Just making sure you're comfortable and then maybe fine-tune your comfort just a little bit more.

Relaxing your shoulders,

Relaxing your arms,

Letting the hips release,

Your back relaxed,

Your knees and your ankles.

Maybe lifting your head a couple of times to release any tight spots from the back of the neck.

Now allow your eyes to close and keep them closed for the duration of the entire practice.

If you feel any tension or tight spots in the body just take your awareness to that body part and consciously relax.

During yoga nidra you can move if you want to but if you need to move try to do it slowly and gently.

And again while practicing yoga nidra try not to fall completely asleep.

The secret of the practice is to reach and sustain a state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleeping.

My voice will act as an anchor to keep you relaxed and in the present moment.

If the mind becomes overactive with thoughts just continue listening to my voice.

If you feel yourself drifting return to the sound of my voice and continue with the practice.

Besides the sound of my voice notice what other sounds can you hear.

Radiate your sense of hearing outward to take in all the ambient noises that are occurring and listen for the most distant sounds and follow them for a few moments.

Listen to each sound without trying to label,

Gradually bringing your attention to the closer sounds and then to those sounds outside of the building or space you are in.

Listening to the sounds that are coming from inside the building,

What sounds are coming from inside the room,

And what sounds are arising from inside your body.

Can you hear the sound of your breath moving in and out of your body?

Start to follow this slow and steady rhythm without trying to change it.

Feel the fullness of the inhalation and the surrender of the exhalation.

Would each breath become more relaxed and centered?

We'll now begin our body scan.

So when i mention a body part just bring your awareness there and really start to feel that body part.

Whether it's the weight of it,

The temperature,

And if you'd like you can imagine filling each body part with a warm golden nurturing light.

So starting with the top of the head,

Noticing the forehead,

The right eye,

The left eye,

Both eyes together,

The nose,

The mouth,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

And both cheeks together,

The right ear,

The left ear,

Both ears together,

The back of the head,

The neck,

And the throat.

Now focusing on the right side of the body,

The body,

A golden light gently touching the right shoulder,

The upper arm,

The elbow,

The forearm,

The hand,

The right hand thumb,

The first finger,

The second finger,

The third finger,

The fourth finger,

The palm,

The back of the hand,

The whole right arm,

The right armpit,

And the outside of the ribs and the waist.

Noticing the space between the outside of the upper body and the arm,

The right side of the chest,

The right side of the belly,

The right hip,

The right groin,

The butt cheek,

The thigh,

The calf,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the foot,

The top of the foot,

The right big toe,

The second toe,

The third toe,

The fourth toe,

The fifth toe,

The whole right leg,

The right side of the pelvis,

The lower back,

The upper back,

The whole right side of the body.

And notice if there's a difference between the sensations in the right and the left side of the body.

Now bringing the attention to the left side of the body,

A golden light gently touching the left shoulder,

The upper arm,

The elbow,

The forearm,

The hand,

The left thumb,

The first finger,

The second finger,

The third finger,

The fourth finger,

The palm,

The back of the hand,

The whole left arm,

The left armpit,

The outside of the ribs and the waist,

The space between the side of the body and the arm,

The left side of the chest,

The heart,

The left side of the belly,

The left hip,

The left part of your groin,

The butt cheek,

The thigh,

The knee,

The lower leg,

The calf,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the foot,

The top of the foot,

The left big toe,

The second toe,

The third toe,

The fourth toe,

The whole left leg,

The left side of the pelvis,

The lower back,

The upper back,

The whole left side of the body.

Now feel the whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole right leg,

Both legs together,

The entire torso,

The face,

The head,

The head,

The body,

The whole body,

Your entire body,

Feeling your whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body glowing.

Now let your awareness rest at the soles of the feet for a moment and just observe how it feels.

If there's no sensation at all,

That is also an observation.

If you want,

When you breathe in,

Imagine drawing energy up through the soles of the feet,

Along your legs,

Your hips,

Your upper body,

All the way up to the shoulders.

And as you exhale,

Energy moves in the opposite direction,

From the shoulders all the way down through the soles of your feet.

So inhale from the soles of your feet up to the shoulders,

And exhale from the shoulders to the soles of the feet,

Continuing at your own pace,

Like a soft wave that gives you energy and that washes over anything that you do not need.

Taking your last round of breath and then letting go of the awareness of the breath.

And now explore any part of the body that feels a little warmer than the rest.

If you can't find anything special,

You can choose to focus on your heart,

For example,

And imagine a nurturing warmth from there.

And now feel if any part of the body feels a little cooler than the rest.

If you can't find anything special,

Then you can choose to focus on the sensation between your upper lip and your nose.

Perhaps the air is slightly cooler as you inhale.

Now bring your attention back to where it feels warm,

And then back to where it feels cool,

And then back to where it feels warm,

And imagine that the warmth is expanding in the body.

And when the warmth reaches the areas that feel cooler,

Let these two merge.

The warmth meets the cool.

Perfect temperature,

Balance,

And let go.

We're gonna move on to our free flow,

And this is an invitation to see or feel an imaginary place in nature,

A place where you feel calm or grounded.

So imagine walking in a meadow,

Thinking about where that meadow might be anywhere in the world,

Noticing what it looks like.

What flowers do you see,

And what color are they,

And how do they smell?

You decide to explore this magical place,

And you can choose to continue walking along the meadow or take a shortcut through a small forest.

If you choose a forest,

What do the trees look like?

Shafts of sunlight shining through the tops of the trees,

And it feels so peaceful in there,

And then you hear the birds singing,

And you hear the sound of rippling water,

And you start to walk in that direction.

What does that path look like?

How does it feel underneath your feet?

Is it a dirt road,

Soft moss,

Or maybe something else?

And you reach the water that you hear.

Maybe it's a brook or a lake,

A small waterfall,

Or the ocean.

Visualize what speaks to you.

You sit down and enjoy the tranquility,

And you feel a soft and comfortable breeze against your skin,

And here you can sit for a while if you want,

Or maybe you can choose to dive into the water and swim for a while,

And the water feels like soft silk,

And the temperature is perfect.

And now visualize sitting next to the water again,

Feeling refreshed,

Feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin,

Breathing it in,

And you get up and continue walking,

And after a while,

You reach a secret garden.

There's a small gate almost hidden by bushes and trees,

And it creaks as you open it,

And you step in,

And it is so peaceful in there.

Among the weeds,

There are also beautiful flowers and berries and fruits.

Start to notice what do you see,

And you see a swing and a bench.

You choose one of them,

And you sit down,

Feeling so relaxed and free,

Feeling the soft breeze against your skin again,

And the warmth of the sunlight radiating over your body.

Taking a real deep breath here,

Breathing in the fresh air and the sunlight,

Exhaling,

Letting out a long breath,

Maybe sighing it out,

And it is time to leave this place in nature,

But you can come back here anytime,

And initiating our slow and gentle return,

Starting to listen to the sounds that you hear around you inside the room,

And then listening to the sounds a little bit further away,

Feeling your body,

The temperatures,

The tingles,

And then feeling your breath,

Noticing the rise and the fall of the chest,

How the air feels as it comes in and out of your nose,

Gently begin to move your hands and your feet,

Maybe making small fists or circles,

Playing with the fingers and toes,

And maybe you want to stretch your arms over your head and yawn,

Do what feels good.

If you would like to remain on your back,

You can,

Or you can draw your knees into your chest,

And rock side from side to gently awaken the spine,

Maybe drawing some circles with the kneecaps,

Clockwise,

And then counter-clockwise,

And then rolling over onto your side,

And in your own time,

To come up to a sitting,

Taking a deep breath in through the nose,

And opening the mouth to sigh out any breath,

Thank you so much for listening,

And take your time to ease back into your day.

Namaste.