Yoga Nidra For Sleep And Anxiety Reduction

Yoga Nidra works by guiding you into a state of conscious relaxation, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone). This practice leads to a profound sense of calm and clarity, easing anxiety and promoting a restful state of mind.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the practice of yoga nidra.

My name is Kumari and I'll be your guide today.

Thank you so much for choosing to meditate with me today.

I truly appreciate your presence and your desire to create more peace in your being.

Today's yoga nidra is short and sweet.

It can be used at any time of the day to help bring calm and peace into your being.

Take time now to get settled,

Making sure that you feel very supported,

Very cozy and warm,

Perhaps covering the eyes to block out any light.

Really,

Any position that you choose is perfect.

We just want to be comfortable and in this way the physical body has an easier time of letting go,

Allowing us to dive deeper into the more subtle layers of our beingness.

And now just scanning the whole body from head to toe.

I'm just seeing if there's any other little adjustments you could make to facilitate even more comfort.

I'm just starting to sense how the body is being received by the surface you're on,

Making that connection between your body and the surface,

Letting go even more.

It's time to just allow yourself to receive and slow down your nervous system,

Naturally becoming regulated through this practice.

Noticing the face,

Letting go of any holding in the forehead,

The eyes,

The cheek,

The jaw,

And letting that release,

That softness flow down your whole body.

And you start to imagine that each inhale and exhale are bringing your body into an even more relaxed state.

That the presence of these long,

Slow,

Deep breaths are truly a catalyst into deep breaths.

Just following your natural inhale and exhale.

Not changing the breath in any way.

Just the observer of this divine flow.

Every muscle,

Every cell responding to your cultivation of stillness.

Resting back.

Each conscious breath bringing you into your own state of presence.

Your own state of awareness of my voice and the releasing of every muscle in your body.

Moving into a breathing practice.

This is the 5-5-5 breath.

We'll be taking five little sniffs of breath through the nose like this.

Holding the breath for five seconds and then exhaling for five.

I'll guide you through the first few rounds and I'll give some time for you to practice a few more times on your own.

Together,

Let's take in a big breath now.

Inhaling and hold five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Exhale.

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

And hold.

Exhale five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One,

Exhale.

Go ahead and take a few more rounds.

And now this next exhale will be your last one.

I'm just feeling the effects of this breathing practice on the body and the mind.

Allow awareness to rest at the center of the forehead.

Now at the point between the eyebrow and the hollow of the throat and the center of the chest.

Pour all of your awareness into the center of your chest.

Imagine an emerald glow here.

Connecting with the space of your heart.

Each breath radiating this emerald glow.

In this space of awareness of the heart,

Call in your sankalpa or create one for this practice.

Your sankalpa is like an intention.

Speak it as if it's already done.

Like I allow myself deep rest and self-care every day.

Take another moment now to cultivate your own sankalpa.

Now repeating this sankalpa three times in the mind.

Planting the seed of your truest intention,

Your heart's desire,

Deep in the subconscious where it can flourish and grow.

We'll come back to our sankalpa later in the practice.

Now we'll move into the rotation of consciousness.

The journey around the body where we place attention on specific areas.

A sort of mental acupuncture helping the body to release on an even deeper and more profound level.

Guiding your awareness to the soles of the feet.

Sensing the heels,

The arches,

And the balls.

The soles of the feet,

Aware.

And now a sense of all 10 toes,

A felt sense of the 10 toes,

And the tops of the feet,

And both feet.

Perhaps feeling a sense of energy or warmth here,

Both feet.

The right ankle and the left ankle.

Right calf,

Left calf,

Right shin,

Left shin,

Left shin.

The right knee and the left knee,

Both knees now.

The front and back of the right thigh.

The front and back of the left thigh.

Could you sense the hip joints,

The right side,

The left side?

Awareness expanding into the flesh of the hips and the buttocks.

And then into a sense of the whole lower half of the body.

The whole lower half of the body.

Now become aware of the lower part of the abdomen underneath the belly button.

And then the space of the abdomen above the belly button.

Can you sense the whole right half of the rib cage?

And the whole left half of the rib cage.

The whole chest,

The shoulder blades,

The right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right shoulder,

Left shoulder,

Both shoulders.

The upper arm on the right and on the left.

The crease of the right elbow,

The bone of the right elbow.

And now the crease of the left elbow and the bone of the left elbow.

The lower arm on the right side and now the left side.

Both wrists and now both palms and all 10 fingers.

Could you sense subtle energy in the palms and fingers?

In the tops of the hands,

Both hands subtly vibrating.

In both arms,

Imagining the inside of the throat and the root of the tongue.

The surface of the tongue,

The tip of the tongue,

The roof of the mouth,

The gums and teeth,

The lips,

The whole inside of the mouth subtly shimmering with energy.

Sense now both nostrils,

The right eye,

Eyebrow,

Temple,

Lower eye,

The whole right side of the face.

And now the left eye,

Brow,

Temple,

Under eye,

The whole left half of the face.

The forehead,

Inside the skull,

Could you sense the brain?

And now both ears simultaneously,

Listening,

Receiving.

The whole scalp as if you could sense each hair follicle.

The whole head,

The whole upper body.

Sense now the whole backside of the body,

The whole front side.

The entire body now fills your awareness.

The entire body like a field of energy,

Radiating,

Subtly vibrating.

Trillions of intelligent cells shimmering.

Feeling the breath within the body now.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Now begin to imagine the lungs filling and emptying inside the body.

Feel how the ribcage gently expands and condenses with each breath.

Now feel how the abdomen moves with each breath.

Like the belly gently poofing out with each inhale and sinking back down with each exhale.

Now could you sense both of those places at the same time?

Feel how both places equally expand with each inhale and equally soften back with each exhale.

Keeping this awareness as we breathe from 10 down to 1 like this.

Inhale 10.

Exhale 10.

Inhale 9.

Exhale 9.

All the way down to 1 at your own pace.

Letting go of the breath,

Awareness.

Allowing your awareness to saturate your whole body.

The sense of the whole body.

The whole body still and deeply relaxed now.

Resting as pure presence.

As if the body were floating.

Peace permeating every layer,

Every cell of your being.

Connected with the deep,

Innate knowing of your goodness and perfection.

Deep.

Deep.

Deep.

Deep.

Deep.

Could you call back to mind your sankalpa?

Watering the seed of your intention by repeating it three more times in the mind.

Now taking two sips of breath through the nose.

And a nice long exhale.

Two more times.

Healing your breath and your whole body.

Starting to guide your awareness back to the felt sense of your body.

How your body meets the surface you're on.

And how it feels to start to gently move the fingers and the toes.

Allowing these little movements to become bigger movements at your own pace.

Perhaps a few more deeper breaths.

And as you're ready,

Switching positions.

And just bringing yourself back to the awareness of this time and space as you're ready.

Taking all the time you need.

Moving on with your day or evening.

Feeling this peaceful energy.

Wishing you all the best.

Thank you for joining.

Namaste.

Reviews

I had a wonderful yoga nidra nap! Ty! Beautiful voice Recommended and bookmarked 💫

Another great nidra from Kumari. Love the spaciousness and lack of music. 🙏🏽