Yoga Nidra | 26 Minutes

This practice of Yoga Nidra is offered to help you refresh and reset anytime you feel tired, overwhelmed, or scattered in mind, body, or breath. The intention here is to refresh the mind and body, bring a deeper connection to the breath and provide deep rest to the whole being. There is no music in this meditation, but you are welcome to play any soft and soothing background track to support this practice.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.

This practice has no music so if you'd like very gentle,

Slow,

Calming music in the background,

Please feel free to stop the recording and reset when you're ready to go with your calming music.

Yoga Nidra is a wonderful practice that is designed to help the body reset,

Refresh,

And rejuvenate anytime you're feeling any sort of overwhelm or overwork or anytime you're feeling exhausted and need some rest.

During this practice,

The brainwaves shift from the active beta brainwave to a restful alertness alpha wave to a slower state of theta where the brain is slightly awake just above sleep and in this moment we allow the body to become as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

For this practice,

You're welcome to lie on your back on the floor or a yoga mat,

Lie on a couch or a bed.

If needed,

You can also recline yourself in a chair,

Sit supported upright,

Lie on your belly or on your side.

So please get situated in your version of Shavasana,

Get comfortable,

Cozy,

And prepare for the practice of Yoga Nidra.

If you're lying down on your back in Shavasana,

Take time to really notice how the body feels.

Allow the arms and legs to rest comfortably away from the midline of the body,

The head at the center possibly supported by a pillow,

The spine straight,

The heels about hip width apart and the feet might be flopped out and open to the left and right sides.

Make yourself as comfortable as you can,

Settle in,

And try to remain in this position throughout the whole practice,

Although if you must shift,

Go ahead and do it.

Bring your full attention now to the body and its posture,

And its posture,

Checking in with the position of the feet,

Ankles,

Knees,

The hips,

The pelvis,

The torso,

Shoulders,

The arms,

Hands,

And head.

Settle in,

Be aware of the whole physical space of your body and the space beneath you as well.

Take three deep breaths in and out through your nose,

Inviting the body to settle more fully into your Shavasana.

With each exhalation,

Feel all the muscles relax and release into the space supporting you.

Be aware of all meeting points between your body and the floor.

Feel the grounding effect between your body and that support beneath you.

Take a moment now to scan the body front and back,

Becoming aware of all points of contact between fabric and skin,

Noticing the texture of the cloth against the skin,

The weight,

Perhaps the floor,

Yoga mat,

Bed,

Couch,

Or chair against the skin.

Noticing any sensations against the skin,

Including the cool air brushing across the exposed areas of the skin.

As you breathe in and out,

Allow the body to rest a little more deeply and effortlessly into your space.

Now,

Please take a mental picture of the space,

The space that you're in.

Visualizing the four walls,

The ceiling,

The windows,

The contents of the room you're in,

And your position within it.

Shift the awareness now to sounds.

Begin to listen for different sounds inside and outside of your space.

Allow the sense of hearing to scan,

To move quickly,

To be aware of all to move quickly from one sound to the next.

Listening now for soft sounds,

Sustained sounds.

Listen for the furthest sound away,

And then bring the awareness back to the sound specifically in your space.

Then listen closer.

Listen for sounds coming from your own body,

Whatever they may be.

Eventually,

Bring the awareness to the sound of the natural breath.

Become aware of your natural breath and feel the sensation of the breath.

Cool air on the in breath,

Warm air on the out breath.

Full awareness of each and every breath flowing in and out through the nose.

And say to yourself mentally,

I am now going to practice yoga nidra.

I will remain awake.

I will remain aware.

Beginning with body rotation,

A series of body parts will be named.

Become aware of each part by feeling the part,

Visualizing the part,

And perhaps mentally naming the part.

Only the awareness moves.

The body remains still.

Follow my voice as much as you can.

If you lose touch,

No worries.

When you notice you're hearing it,

Continue to follow the sound of my voice.

Please bring your awareness to the right hand,

Right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Right wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the ribs,

Right side of the waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Instep,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the right foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth.

Check the awareness and bring the awareness to the left hand,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Left wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Left armpit,

Left side of the ribs,

Left side of the waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Left ankle,

Heel,

Instep,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth.

Check the awareness.

Move to the top of the head.

Notice the forehead,

Aware of the right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Eyebrow center,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Tongue,

Front of the neck,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

The hollow between the collarbones,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Heart center,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

Pelvis.

Check the awareness.

Move to the back of the body and notice the right buttock,

The left buttock,

The lower back,

The mid back,

The upper back,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Top of the head.

Check the awareness.

Check the awareness.

Become aware of the whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

Aware of the whole right arm,

The whole left arm.

Become aware of the torso,

The neck,

And the head,

Aware of both legs together,

Aware of both arms together,

Aware of the whole body together,

The whole body together,

Aware of the whole body together.

Now,

Please bring your awareness to the breath,

Specifically the natural breath within the nostrils.

Become aware of the flow of the breath in the nostrils,

Feeling the cool air on the inhalation and the warm air on the exhalation,

Full awareness of the breath in the nostrils.

And if it helps you,

You might mentally repeat quietly to yourself,

The body is breathing in through the nostrils,

The body is breathing out through the nostrils.

Stay awake and connected to the practice.

Full awareness of the breath and full awareness of the nostrils,

Keeping the awareness fully fixed on the flow of the breath through the nostrils.

Begin to count the breath backward from the number 18 down to the number one.

Breathing in in 18,

Breathing out 18,

Breathing in 17,

Breathing out 17,

Breathing in 16,

Breathing out 16.

Continue the count.

And if at any point the mind begins to wander,

Just begin again at the number 18.

If the number one is reached,

Also begin again at the number 18.

Remain awake,

Remain aware,

Connected to the count and to the breath.

Now,

Please let go of the count.

Wherever you are,

Let it go.

Relax and release all efforts of counting the breath.

Release the count and bring the awareness once more to the sounds around you.

Letting go of the count,

Externalizing the awareness to the sounds around you,

Listening once more to the variety of sounds inside and outside of this room.

Make a mental note of the space,

Visualizing the four walls,

The ceiling,

The contents of this room that you're in,

And most importantly,

Your position within it.

Imagine that you can see this room from above,

Looking down and you find yourself within this space,

Lying or seated.

You see yourself,

The covers,

The softness,

The relaxation,

And you make a full connection to your position in relation to the room and any others in your presence.

Be aware once more of all the contact points between clothing and skin,

Covers and skin,

And feel the textures,

The weights of the fabric against the skin.

Feel the cool air exposed,

Brushing against any areas of the skin uncovered.

Then bring your awareness specifically to the back of the body,

Feeling the full weight of the body and the space behind or beneath you.

Firmly feel the feet against the floor and then feel the backs of the legs,

The buttocks,

The whole of the back,

The shoulders,

The arms,

And the head.

Feel the grounding effect between your body and the space supporting you.

And now once more,

Bring your awareness to the breath and begin to deepen the breath.

Whether you're seated or lying down,

You might want to begin to take small stretches,

Wiggling the fingers and or the toes,

Finding gratitude for the time you've given yourself to rest,

Rejuvenate and reset.

If you're lying down and it feels appropriate,

Draw one or both knees gently into the chest.

Allow the body to give and receive a reclined twist,

Single or double leg.

Take the second reclined twist to the second side,

Feeling refreshed,

Rejuvenated,

Ready for the next moment.

If you're lying down,

Please help yourself up to a seat.

Take another breath in and out.

The practice of yoga nidra is complete.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I truly hope this was helpful for you.

Namaste.