Yoga Nidra For Deep Relaxation

Yoga Nidra, or Yogic Sleep, is a guided relaxation and meditation practice that invites a state of consciousness between being awake and asleep. It is the deepest state of relaxation while remaining awake, where the body is completely relaxed and the inner consciousness remains aware and awake. You will be left feeling deeply relaxed. The practice ends with a gentle guided re-awakening of the body, but does not include a bell, so you can take your time emerging from this deep relaxation.

Transcript

This is a practice of yoga nidra.

The body should be in a position in which it can relax and surrender.

For example,

Shavasana.

Allow for support here to settle in and maybe a cushion or blanket underneath the head or underneath the knees.

And if you feel like you'll be falling asleep here,

Perhaps maybe laying on the ground or in an upright posture.

But if you'd like to use this practice to fall asleep,

Then it's perfectly okay to be laying on a bed.

Settle your body into shavasana or the position being used.

We're going to do a guided awareness to help draw the mind and senses inward.

As we progress,

You may not hear everything I say.

This is completely fine.

You may even feel as if you are sleeping.

This is also completely fine.

Whatever happens for you is fine and just right for you right now.

In yoga nidra,

The goal is to stay awake and know if you do fall asleep,

It's alright.

At some level of consciousness,

You will hear everything I say.

In yoga nidra,

We also use a sankalpa or resolution.

Whatever it is you would like to see come into your life,

Create your sankalpa by using positive words in the present tense as though it has already happened.

Let's begin.

Close your eyes and become motionless.

And know that if at any time you become uncomfortable,

Please feel free to roll to your side.

Now is the time to make any adjustments.

For just a while,

Forget your problems and worries and concentrate on yoga nidra.

Take a long deep breath and as you breathe out,

Feel yourself letting go.

Become aware of distant sounds.

Allow your sense of hearing to range into the distance and then gradually withdraw it back into the building,

Back into the room.

Develop your awareness of the room and yourself lying on the floor.

Become aware of your body lying on the floor.

Become aware of your breathing.

Become aware of your breathing.

Just be conscious that you are breathing.

Do not concentrate.

Awareness of your breath and awareness of your body.

Remember your purpose and say mentally to yourself,

I am going to practice yoga nidra.

I will remain awake.

I will not sleep.

Remember that yoga nidra is not so much something that you do as something you feel.

Essentially sleep with a slight trace of awareness.

When you repeat your sankalpa,

Do so precisely and with an absolute certainty that your resolve is real.

Feel the resolution permeate your mind,

Body,

And your deepest recesses of your being.

First,

To plant the seeds of your intention,

Create a feeling of gratitude.

A deep and complete feeling of gratitude.

At this moment,

Feel grateful for everything that has led you to now.

Grateful for all actions,

Events,

And decisions that have led you to the present.

Grounded in a feeling of gratitude,

Mentally repeat your sankalpa now.

Clearly and with conviction,

Three times.

And now give thanks.

Feel thankful that your resolve has come true.

Being thankful that you have realized your resolve.

See your face as you achieve your sankalpa.

Now we move into rotation of consciousness.

Awareness of different parts of the body.

Feel each part of the body as I am naming them.

Feel the right hand,

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side,

Waist,

Hip,

Right thigh,

Knee cap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Left foot,

Left foot,

Left foot,

Right foot,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Right toes,

First,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth.

Now,

The left hand.

Think of the left hand.

Left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side,

Waist,

Hip,

Left thigh,

Knee cap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Left toes,

First,

Second,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth.

Bring your awareness to the top of the head,

The top of the head,

Forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Eyebrow center,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right chest,

Left chest,

Middle of the chest,

Navel,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right toes,

Left toes.

Now moving awareness to the back,

Right soul,

Left soul,

Right heel,

Left heel,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Back of the right knee,

Back of the left knee,

Back of the right thigh,

Back of the left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right hip,

Left hip,

The whole spine,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Top of the head,

Awareness to the whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole head together,

The whole back together,

The whole front together,

The whole body together,

The whole body together,

The whole body together.

Now bring your attention to the natural breath.

Become aware that you are breathing quietly and slowly.

Become conscious of your breathing,

Nothing else.

Concentrate now on the flow of the breath between the nose and the navel.

Feel the breath moving along this passage.

As you inhale,

The air falls from the nose to the navel.

And as you exhale,

It rises from the navel to the nose.

Become aware of this.

Now you'll begin to practice mental alternate nostril breathing,

Mental awareness of breathing through alternate nostrils,

Inhaling first through the right and exhaling through the left.

Next,

Inhaling through the left and exhaling through the right,

And so on.

Begin.

Now we will begin to count our alternate nostril breaths backwards from 10 to 0 as follows.

Inhale,

Right nostril 10.

Exhale,

Left nostril 10.

Inhale,

Left nostril 9.

Exhale,

Right nostril 9.

Inhale,

Right nostril 8.

Exhale,

Left nostril 8,

And so on.

Count mentally to yourself as you practice.

Don't worry if you lose count or finish early.

Just start at 10 again.

Full awareness of alternate nostril breathing and counting.

Now,

Please stop counting.

It doesn't matter how far you've gotten.

Breathe through both nostrils evenly and allow the breath to be just as it is from moment to moment.

We will move now into awareness of sensations.

Awareness of sensations.

Pain.

Pain.

Recollect the experience of pain,

Any kind of pain you've experienced in your life,

Head pain,

Stomach pain,

Any physical pain or mental pain.

Everyone has experienced pain at some time in their life.

Remember that pain.

Feel that pain now.

Make that experience of pain as clear as possible.

Deepen your awareness and feel that pain intensely,

Acutely.

See yourself in pain.

Pleasure.

Pleasure.

Now experience the feeling of pleasure,

Any pleasure.

Concentrate and remember the feeling of pleasure.

It may be according to your sense of touch,

Smell,

Taste,

Hearing,

Or sight.

Any kind of mental pleasure.

Recall that pleasure and develop it into an intense,

Ecstatic experience.

Anger.

Anger.

Imagine the feeling of anger.

See yourself and feel yourself angry.

See your face angry.

Feel your clenched fists angry.

Recollect how your body feels when it is so angry you don't know what to do or how to react to the anger.

Experience the sensation of anger.

Laughter.

Laughter.

Now see yourself laughing.

Remember an experience of laughing so hard that tears came to your eyes.

Suddenly everything became so funny.

See yourself bent over,

Holding your belly from laughing so hard it hurt.

Recollect the feeling of uncontrollable laughter.

Become aware now of Chittakasha,

The inner space you see in front of your eyes.

Develop your awareness of this black space,

An infinite space that extends as far as you can see,

As low or as high and as wide as you can see.

Be totally aware but not involved.

Observe it as if you were watching a movie.

Watch this space carefully for any colors or patterns that may emerge.

What you see is a projection of your subconscious,

The way your mind is manifesting.

Continue looking deep into the infinite space.

There is no effort,

Just awareness of watching.

Now please bring your awareness back to the present.

We are now going to move into rapid image visualization.

I'm going to name different objects and without really trying you're going to allow the image of it to appear in your mind.

Don't worry if the images don't always come.

As your relaxation becomes more complete they will.

Now let's begin.

Sunrise over the ocean,

The full moon,

A field of wildflowers,

A candle flame,

A cross above a church,

A golden Buddha,

Mother nursing her child,

The barren desert,

A frozen lake,

A silent sage,

Morning birds singing,

Leaves scattering in the wind,

A still lake high in the mountains,

A star-filled night,

A flowing river,

A billowing field of wheat,

A red rose,

A tiny seed,

A skeleton,

A dry lakebed,

A coffin at the side of a grave,

A priceless gem,

A king on his throne,

A thickening snowstorm,

A deer grazing,

A crocodile lurking,

A saint in prayer,

A child laughing,

A holy shrine,

An elephant trumpeting,

A lotus blossom,

Dreamless sleep,

A brown leaf,

A yellow leaf,

A red leaf,

Sunset,

A boundless sky,

Snow-capped mountains,

The infinite ocean,

A dark empty cave,

The sound of silence,

A yogi in deep meditation,

The distinct sounds of a jungle.

Now,

See yourself on a journey to climb a sacred mountain.

You know that it's going to be a long and difficult climb,

But you feel sure you will reach the summit.

As you leave your hometown,

You meet your guide,

A person whom you've never met before,

But you know he is a qualified and experienced guide.

You find it difficult to assess his character,

And he is not very talkative,

But as you want to make the journey,

You follow him.

The path you are following passes through a large forest beneath a canopy of trees and crossing many streams.

You come to an enormous lake,

A tranquilizing blue color,

Clear and fresh,

And you stop.

You and the guide drink the water and rest for a while.

After continuing the journey,

You begin to feel some frustration and mistrust of the guide.

The forest has become so dense that you cannot see far in any direction.

The sacred mountain is completely obscured from your view,

And you feel far from your home.

However,

After a little time,

You begin to ascend,

And the forest becomes less dense.

You look back into the direction you came from.

You see the forest and the rooftops of the houses of your town.

The sight of the town and the tiredness of your body make you feel that the journey is perhaps useless,

And you want to return to the comforts of your home and the friends you have left behind.

But the guide insists you go on,

So you follow.

The ascent becomes steeper,

And you are feeling tired,

But the guide continues at his steady pace.

Sometimes you feel angry at his relentless pace,

But at other times you are grateful for his expertise in climbing the more difficult terrain and in avoiding the places that would have been impossible for you to climb.

The vegetation becomes less dense.

The ground is rocky and rugged.

All thoughts of home and past and gone as you need to concentrate completely on climbing and keeping up with the guide.

Overcome by fatigue,

You collapse on the ground to rest.

You feel exhausted and defeated and do not care if the guide waits for you or not.

The whole journey seems pointless.

The guide comes to you,

Takes you by the hand,

And starts walking again.

With each step,

He repeats the words,

I will.

You find that you are walking in step with him,

And the sounds of the words,

I will,

Is echoing through your body and mind,

Giving you tremendous strength and energy.

The guide releases your hand,

But the words keep resounding in your mind as you follow him further upwards.

As you near the top of the sacred mountain,

The ascent is even more difficult,

And the guide is far ahead of you.

You trudge languidly on alone and finally reach the top where the guide is waiting for you.

As you observe the spectacular panoramic view,

A feeling of exhilaration floods through your body and mind.

The guide gives you a meaningful smile,

And you are grateful to him for his forcefulness during the climb.

You are exalted by the environment,

Overcome by a feeling you have never experienced before.

You are still absorbed in this exhilaration when the guide says,

Follow me,

And leaps from the peak,

Disappearing into space.

Without further thought,

You follow.

Think of an ocean.

Think of a dark blue ocean.

Become aware of the waves.

That ocean lies within the inner space,

And the rolling waves represent sleep.

The manifesting unconscious state of your mind.

Become aware of sleep and try to visualize the state of unconsciousness within you,

Like waves of an ocean.

Above is a beautiful blue sky,

And below is the vast ocean with infinite waves.

The manifesting process of unconsciousness.

As you look at the ocean,

See now a giant lotus flower floating on the ocean.

Look closer into the flower and see there a golden egg nestled in the heart of the flower.

A beautiful golden egg that represents the true self,

The pure awareness that is you.

Merge with a golden egg that is you.

All arises within it,

Unfolds within it,

And dissolves back into it.

Awareness always remains.

Notice that part of you who has been aware of the entire process of Yoga Nidra.

Become aware of your resolve.

Remember the resolve you made at the beginning of the practice.

This is the time to repeat your resolve or your sankalpa.

State your sankalpa three times in the same words and with the same attitude,

With feeling and emphasis.

Become aware of your breathing.

Become aware of the natural breath.

Become aware of the breath through the nostrils.

Develop total awareness of the nostril breath and continue practicing this.

Now,

Mental awareness of alternate nostril breathing.

Practice this for a short time.

Extend your awareness of the breath to every part of the body.

As you inhale,

Feel the life-giving force permeate your whole body.

Take a long,

Slow breath and become aware of your relaxed body.

Become aware of your physical existence.

Develop awareness of your surroundings,

The floor you are lying on,

The room you are in.

Externalize your attention.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

You can begin moving again,

Wiggling your fingers and hands,

Toes and feet,

Beginning to move in any way that you like,

Bringing that inner experience of stillness and quietude with you,

Even as you move.

Reviews

Very nice 🙂

Fantastic!!!

Loved this classic yoga nidra🙏🏼