Yoga Nidra For Relaxation 1

This is a lying down relaxation/meditation practice that can be done any time you have half an hour of free time and you want to relax deeply. All you have to do is lie down and listen to the instructions.

The practice lasts approximately 25 minutes.

Transcript

Hello,

And welcome to Yoga Nidra,

The art of conscious relaxation.

So find yourself a comfortable place to lie in Shavasana,

Either on a yoga mat on the floor,

Or on a bed if that's more comfortable for you.

And arrange yourself so that your palms are turned up,

If that is comfortable.

Again,

If it's not,

You can always turn the palms down,

Legs separated.

And make sure you have a blanket.

Perhaps you need it for your feet or for your entire body,

If it's a little cool wherever you are,

Because the body temperature will drop during this practice.

And get yourself situated.

If you can darken the room,

That's helpful too.

Or have something like an eye pillow over your eyes.

Good,

And we will begin.

Yoga Nidra,

The art of conscious relaxation.

Become aware of the breath,

Moving in and out of the nostrils.

And I want you now to formulate your Sankalpa,

A short positive phrase.

Something you want to change in your life or make manifest.

Essentially an intention,

Or your self examples are,

I am content.

I am sleeping deeply through the night.

I am more compassionate,

Or even I am finishing X,

Y,

Z project.

Whatever that is for you,

Formulate a short positive phrase.

And once you have that,

Repeat it to yourself three times mentally.

Good,

And we'll begin the rotation of consciousness over the body.

Whatever part of the body my voice says,

I want you to mentally echo it,

Mentally repeat it.

Simultaneously,

Bring all your awareness to that part of the body.

Remember the body remains still,

Only the mind moves.

The body remains still,

Only the consciousness moves.

Bring all your awareness to the right side of the body,

To the right thumb,

Second finger on the right hand,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

To the back of the right hand,

Center of the right palm,

Right wrist,

Right forearm,

Right elbow,

Right upper arm,

Right shoulder,

Right armpit,

Right ribcage,

Right waist,

Right hip,

Right thigh,

Right knee,

Right shin,

Right ankle,

The top of the right foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

To the sole of the right foot,

Right heel,

Right Achilles,

Right calf,

The back of the right knee,

The back of the right thigh.

Bring all your awareness to the left side of the body,

To the left thumb,

Second finger on the left hand,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Back of the left hand,

Center of the left palm,

Left wrist,

Left forearm,

Left elbow,

Left upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Left armpit,

Left ribcage,

Left waist,

Left hip,

Left thigh,

Left knee,

Left shin,

Left ankle,

Top of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

To the sole of the left foot,

Left heel,

Left Achilles,

Left calf,

To the back of the left knee,

Back of the left thigh.

Shift all your awareness to the right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

To the entire spine,

The entire spine,

To the back of the neck,

Back of the head,

To the top of the head,

To the forehead.

Bring all your awareness to the right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Right eyeball,

Left eyeball,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheekbone,

Left cheekbone,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

To the tip of the nose,

To the top lip,

Bottom lip,

To the top set of teeth,

Bottom set of teeth,

To the tongue,

To the chin,

To the throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right chest,

Left chest,

To the very center of the chest,

To the upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

To the navel center.

Bring your awareness to the entire right arm,

The entire right arm,

Shift your awareness to the entire left arm,

The entire left arm.

Become aware of both arms at the same time,

Both arms at the same time.

Shift your awareness to the entire right leg,

The entire right leg.

Move that awareness to the entire left leg,

Entire left leg.

Become aware of both legs at the same time,

Both legs at the same time.

Become aware of the entire body,

The entire body,

And as the body moves into deeper and deeper relaxation,

We will now relax the mind.

Bring your awareness again to the breath at the entrance of the nostrils.

Try not to control the breath,

Simply witness it moving in and out.

Good,

Now shift your awareness to the breath at the belly.

The belly naturally makes a gentle movement up and down with each breath.

Again,

Try not to control it.

Simply witness that movement of the belly up and down.

Good,

And now I want you to count the breath backwards mentally at the belly from 45 to 1.

If you lose count,

Start all over again.

If you fall asleep and wake up again,

Start all over again.

If you reach 1 before you hear my voice again,

Start all over again.

And we'll count like this.

45,

Navel up.

45,

Navel down.

44,

Navel up.

44,

Down.

43,

Navel up.

43,

Navel down.

Continue at your own pace,

No rush,

To 1.

Very good.

Remember,

No sleeping,

No sleeping.

You're still aware of my voice.

I want you now to use the creativity of your mind to imagine your body is very heavy.

Your body is like lead,

You can't possibly lift it off the ground.

Use the creativity of your mind to feel heaviness in the body now.

Very good.

Now I want you to use the creativity of your mind to imagine your body is very,

Very light.

It's as light as a feather.

And imagine your body floating up off the floor.

Use the creativity of your mind to feel lightness throughout the body now.

Very good.

Now I want you to think back to a time when you were very,

Very happy.

Could be when you were a young child,

Teenager,

Maybe just a few weeks ago.

Remember who was there,

The time of year,

The laughter,

The joy.

And when you found that moment,

I want you to try to feel happiness in the body.

Feel happiness in the body now.

Very good.

Now I want you to imagine it's mid-morning,

The sky is clear,

And you are walking in the snowy woods,

Alone.

It just stopped snowing a little while ago,

So the snow is fresh and soft and pure.

It's not too deep,

So it's easy to navigate.

You are well bundled up and you do not feel the cold at all.

The coolness on your face is refreshing and exhilarating.

It's very quiet except for the crunch of your boots in the snow.

And you stop for a moment and look up at the brilliant blue sky and the elegant majestic trees laden with snow.

You continue on your trek and as you make your way,

You realize that the trees are thinning out and you are coming to the edge of the woods.

In front of you is a wide open space covered with untouched snow.

And in the middle of this clearing is a warming hut.

You can see smoke coming out of the chimney.

You make your way through the snow to the hut.

You open the door and feel the heat from the fireplace.

It is cozy and warm in the hut.

You shed your coat,

Your hat,

And gloves.

You turn around and realize there are three of your friends there.

Maybe it's a friend from when you were very young.

Maybe someone you met more recently.

Maybe a family member who is a friend.

Maybe a colleague,

Teacher,

Or mentor.

Don't worry or wonder why these three showed up.

They did.

Maybe next time you come to this hut,

You will meet three different friends.

But it's fortuitous that these friends are there and you greet each of them warmly.

You are very happy to see these friends and with them by your side,

You feel content and safe.

You stoke the fire,

Adding another log to it,

And the fire burns brightly.

You and your friends sit down in front of the fire,

Each on your own meditation cushion.

And you all four close your eyes to meditate.

As you sit there,

You can feel the energy,

The love emanating from your friends.

You feel supported and at peace.

Keeping your focus at the Chittakash,

The mind space,

I want you to imagine an orange,

A handkerchief,

A bunch of green grapes.

Imagine a trumpet,

A unicycle.

Imagine a sink,

A boulder.

Imagine a field of wheat.

Imagine an apple tree.

Imagine a tambourine.

Imagine a daisy.

Imagine a hedgehog.

Imagine a saxophone.

Imagine a slide.

Imagine a mountain.

Imagine a rainbow.

Imagine a field.

Imagine a mirror.

See yourself in the mirror.

See yourself in the mirror.

See yourself in the mirror.

Now I just want you to focus on the Chittakash,

The mind space,

The space right at the center of the eyebrows.

Simply observe.

If thoughts come up,

Just notice them and let them go.

If no thoughts come up,

Just enjoy the peace and quiet of your mind.

Focusing on the Chittakash,

The mind space now.

And as we come to the end of our Yoga Nidra session,

I want you to remember your Sankalpa,

That short positive phrase you formulated at the beginning.

And I want you to repeat that to yourself again mentally three times.

And then let's slowly begin to bring awareness back into the body.

You can begin by moving the fingers gently one by one,

Wiggling the toes,

Moving the ankles,

The wrists.

Maybe taking a deeper inhale and a long slow exhale.

You can move the skin on your face and gently turn the head from side to side and back to center.

Then if you have room,

You can reach your arms over the head onto the floor behind you and give yourself a full body stretch.

Stretch the right side,

Stretch the left side,

Stretch both sides.

And then allow your arms to come back down by your sides.

And you can bend your knees and bring the soles of the feet onto the mat and roll over onto your right side.

And support your head with your arm or your hand.

And just take a moment to notice how your body feels.

Muscles more relaxed,

Breath slower,

Mind more focused perhaps,

And a little quieter.

And then gently push yourself up to a seated position.

Keep the eyes closed.

And if you'd like you can draw the hands together in Namaste together at the heart center and bow your head to your heart in gratitude.

Namaste

Reviews

Amazing

Lovely yoga nidra with a snowy visualisation. Just what I was looking for this evening 😊 Thank you x