Yoga Nidra,
Meaning yogic sleep,
Is about connecting to the inner stillness within,
The point of nothingness.
Clearing the thinking mind out of the way to access our subconscious.
One great benefit that comes with doing Yoga Nidra is that it helps you to have a better sleep.
And it is a great pre-lead to use to get to sleep.
And in some cases of insomnia,
Or if you have an over excited mind,
Yoga Nidra can help induce sleep.
Start by turning the lights off and getting into bed,
With the blanket on and your head resting on the pillow.
Lay down in Shavasana,
Corpse Pose,
On your back with your arms slightly away from your side,
Palms facing upwards and your feet a bit wider than hip width apart.
And let them flop a little sideways.
Move and adjust your body and blanket one last time to find that extra 5-10% comfort before lying completely still for the practice.
But don't stress if you need to move during the practice,
Just do so mindfully and then come back to stillness.
And if you haven't already,
Please close your eyes.
We will start by listening to the sounds outside the room,
Bringing your attention to the sounds that sound the furthest away and moving from sound to sound,
Getting closer towards you.
Listening to the sounds but not trying to analyse the source.
Now bring your attention to the sounds inside the room,
Again not trying to analyse the source of the sound.
Now picture yourself in the room,
Picture the floor,
The walls,
The windows,
The roof and picture yourself lying completely still on your bed.
And now bring your attention to the meeting points between your body and the bed.
Feel your head resting on your pillow,
Your shoulders touching the bed,
Arms touching the bed,
Hands,
Your whole back touching the bed and start to notice how tired the body is becoming.
Just a sleep coming through in each part of the body,
Your buttocks touching the bed,
Your legs,
Your feet resting on the bed,
You're going to become aware of your whole body on the bed,
Feeling the tired and sleepy sensations throughout your whole body.
Now bring your attention to your breath,
Become aware of your deep natural breath.
Feel your belly as you breathe,
Feel it rise with every in breath and feel it fall and let out a sigh with every out breath and continue to notice your breath but please don't concentrate too hard as this will interfere with the natural process.
Keep on listening to me and know that you are breathing.
We will now start a rotation of consciousness through different centres of the body.
Please repeat mentally the name of each part after me and at the same time become aware of that body part.
The practice always begins with the right hand.
Bring your awareness to the right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Right elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Right armpit,
Waist,
Hip,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Right ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Move to your left side,
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the left hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Left elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Left armpit,
Waist,
Hip,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Move to the back of your body,
Your right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
The spine,
The whole of the back together,
Now to the front of your body,
The top of the head,
Forehead,
Your right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow centre,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Nose,
Tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel,
Abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
Whole of the right leg,
Whole of the left leg,
Both legs together,
Whole of your right arm,
Whole of your left arm,
Both arms together,
Whole of the back,
Whole of the front,
Whole of the head,
Legs,
Arms,
Back,
Front,
Head,
Together,
The whole of the body together,
The whole of the body together,
The whole of the body together,
Now let go of the body and start to become aware of the breath,
The natural breath,
Start to take slow deep breaths,
In through the nose and out through the mouth,
In and out,
In and out,
In and out.
And now just come back to your normal breath.
We will now begin a mental alternate nostril practice.
Start by breathing in through your left nostril and then breathing out through your right and in through your right and out through your left,
In left out right,
In right out left,
In left out right,
In right out left.
We continue breathing like this.
Start to count the breaths backwards from 54 to 1,
Like this,
In left 54,
Out right 54,
In right 53,
Out left 53,
In left 52,
Out right 52.
In right 51,
Out left 51,
In left 50,
Out right 51.
And as this recording comes to a finish,
Continue to keep on counting your breaths backwards like this at your own pace until you reach 1 or you fall asleep,
Whichever occurs first.
And if you get lost in your counting,
Don't worry,
Just start again at 54.
