30-Minute Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a great way to reduce stress, increase energy and promote feelings of peace, clarity and calm. Think of it as a bath for the mind. Yoga Nidra has been proven to promote the relaxation response, helping the brain drop into a beta wave state. And as the mind calms, so does the body. The order of the body scan and the tone of voice are important as this helps the mind to drop into a hypnogogic state.
Transcript
This yoga nidra recording is from the Bihar School of Yoga.
Get ready for your yoga nidra.
Yoga nidra is a practice of deep relaxation.
The body is fully relaxed,
The eyes are closed but the mind stays awake following the instructions of the practice.
It may be tempting to want to fall asleep during the practice.
Please make a conscious effort to stay awake and aware throughout the session.
Now settle the body comfortably.
Remove any watches or glasses or loosen any tight belts or tight clothing around the waist.
Put a support under the thighs or the head if you need to.
The body temperature will come down naturally during the practice.
If you know you will become cold,
Please use a blanket.
If you find the room too bright,
Please cover the eyes.
Make any final adjustments to the resting position and now commit to stillness.
You may rest the arms beside the body or the palms on the belly.
Relax the toes and the feet and soften the back of the knees.
Relax both of the buttocks.
Feel the natural breath in the belly and notice the space between the floor and the lower back.
Relax the chest.
Allow the shoulders and the arms to feel heavy.
The elbows are soft and allow all ten fingers to curl in naturally.
Relax the throat.
Feel the space between the floor and the back of the neck.
Relax the muscles of the eyes.
Open between the eyebrow centre.
Relax the tongue in the mouth and unclench the teeth.
Allow both of the lips to separate slightly.
Relax the jaw.
Behind your closed eyes,
See the body's position in the room.
See the body's position in the room.
Smell the air in the room.
Smell the air in the room.
Observe any tastes in the mouth.
Observe any tastes in the mouth.
Feel the back of the body in contact with the mat.
Feel the parts of the body covered by the blanket.
Feel the parts of the skin in contact with the air in the room.
Now take the awareness outside of the room.
Search for sounds outside.
Listen to all of the sounds from outside.
Now move your attention to the sounds in the room.
Listen for sounds in the room.
From the most obvious sound to the quietest sound in the room.
And bring the sound closer into the body.
Pay attention to the sound of the breath.
And the sound of the natural breath entering in and out of the nostrils.
Begin to form a sankalpa or intention in the mind.
A sankalpa intention is a statement of affirmation.
Think about something you'd like to change in your life in a positive way.
Think of something realistic and achievable in the near future.
Start with a resolve with the words I will.
Begin the statements with the words I will.
Once you have the sankalpa or intention repeat it three times in your head with the words I will.
Keeping the sankalpa or intention in the mind shift the awareness to the physical body on the floor.
The names of each body part will be called out.
Have a vision of the body part,
Feel that body part and then quickly move to the next.
There is no need to move the body at all but keep the mind awake following the rotation of each body part.
Starting from the right side of the body.
Take the awareness to the right big thumb.
The right index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the right hand.
Back of the hand.
Right wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Top of the shoulder.
Right armpit.
Right side of the waist.
Right hip.
Right thigh.
Right knee.
Right shin.
Right calf.
Right ankle.
Front of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth toe.
Now shift awareness to the left side of the body.
Left big thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the hand.
Left wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Top of the shoulder.
Left armpit.
Left side of the waist.
Left hip.
Left thigh.
Left knee.
Left shin.
Left calf.
Left ankle.
Front of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth toe.
Now shift the awareness to the back of the body.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Small of the back.
Lower back.
Mid back.
Upper back.
The right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Back of the neck.
Back of the head.
Crown of the head.
Forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Eyebrow center.
Right temple.
Left temple.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Tip of the nose.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Front of the neck.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Right side of the chest.
Left side of the chest.
Sternum.
Upper abdomen.
Navel.
Lower abdomen.
Pelvis.
Pubic bone.
Awareness of the whole right arm.
Awareness of the whole left arm.
Awareness of both arms.
Awareness of the whole right leg.
The whole left leg.
Awareness of both legs.
Awareness of the front body.
Awareness of the back body.
Awareness of the whole body.
The whole body.
Awareness of the whole body resting on the floor.
Check that the mind is still awake and aware.
Bring awareness to the abdomen.
Observe the rise and fall of the navel with each natural breath.
On the inhalation observe the navel rise.
And on the exhalation observe the navel fall.
Observe the rise and fall of the navel with each breath.
Visualise a long passageway from the navel to the throat.
Begin to breathe up and down the long passageway from navel to throat.
Now begin to introduce counting to the breath.
Count the breath from 27 all the way down to one count.
Counting the breath breathe in 27 breathe out 27.
Breathe in 26 breathe out 26.
Continue counting all the way down to one count.
Stay focused with the counting of the breath.
If the mind has lost count go back to 27 and count down to one again.
Stay awake and aware.
Now begin to breathe up and down the long passageway from navel to throat.
Now let's go of all counting.
Take the awareness back to the natural breath in the abdomen.
Now visualise the body as heavy rock.
The body feels heavy and is sinking into the earth.
The body is heavy.
Now visualise the body light as a feather.
The body feels light and is floating above the floor.
The body is light.
Recall the last time the body experienced heat.
The body feels hot and is perspiring.
The body is hot.
Recall the last time the body experienced cold.
The body feels cold and is shivering.
The body is cold.
Now allow all images and experiences to fade away.
Behind your closed eyes see a blank screen.
Listen to the sounds of birds chirping.
Listen to the sounds of birds chirping.
Smell the scent of fresh linen.
Feel the softness of the sand on the beach.
Feel the softness of the sand on the beach.
Taste the sweetness of caramel.
See a lotus flower in a pond.
See a lotus flower in a pond.
And gradually allow all experiences and images to fade away in the distance.
Now behind your closed eyes bring to mind your sankalpa or intention that you made at the beginning of the practice.
Bring to mind the sankalpa or intention made at the beginning of the practice.
Repeat this sankalpa three times in the head.
Repeat the statement with sincerity and belief.
Allow the sankalpa or intention to be embedded deep in the mind.
Now start to bring awareness back to the natural breath in the abdomen.
Feel the rise and fall of the navel with each breath.
Gradually allow the breath to deepen into the chest.
As the breath deepens listen to the sound of the breath.
Awaken the sense of hearing.
Make the sound outside the body and listen for sounds in the room.
Now bring the sound further out and search for sounds outside.
Allow all sounds to fade away in the distance.
Bring your awareness of the physical body resting on the floor.
Feel the body in contact with the earth.
Recall the body's resting position in the room.
Remember all the people laying next to you.
And remember the time of the day.
The practice of yoga nija has now ended.
Begin to initiate movement in the fingers and the toes.
Stretch the arms overhead and begin to awaken the body.
Hug the knees into the chest.
Observe which nostril is breathing stronger and roll over to that side.
Slowly open your eyes and get used to the light in the room.
And when you're ready rise up into a seated position.
Thank you so much for joining me on this nija journey.
I do hope that you feel more relaxed.
If you'd like to know more about me and what I work with my clients on from a coaching yoga perspective or if you'd like to listen to my podcast Becoming Whole then please go to my website clare-bradshaw.
Com
4.6 (55)
Recent Reviews
Pekka
December 7, 2020
Very good guidance. So clear..
Frédéric
June 28, 2020
That was a lovely yoga nidra session - deeply relaxing and very pleasant 🤗 Thank you for your guidance 🌸 Namaste 🙏🏻
Bob
July 24, 2019
Perfect! Thanks!
Koen
July 22, 2019
Very nice practice !! Yoga nidra like I know it, yet with a slight touch.. great & loved it.. will also check out your other work.. Thank you
Lynda
July 22, 2019
Excellent! Very relaxing! Thanks.
David
July 21, 2019
Very enjoyable Claire