Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra for deep relaxation or sleep. Sensing into different parts of your body to deeply relax these areas and rest physically and mentally. Try this during the daytime when you want to rest and relax or at bedtime.
Transcript
This is a yoga nidra practice and the aim of yoga nidra is to bring deep relaxation whilst being conscious and awake.
So getting comfortable,
Lying down,
Cover yourself up if you want to,
Just feeling relaxed,
Softening against the surface you're resting on.
Just feeling relaxed,
Softening against the surface you're resting on.
So as we come to the start,
Maybe making an intention for yourself for the practice.
So a wish that you might want to make for yourself,
A word or a sentence,
Maybe why you're here,
Maybe about being kind to yourself,
Maybe about listening to your body and responding to its needs,
Maybe about rest,
Relaxing,
Recharging,
And if nothing comes to mind that's okay too.
So getting comfortable,
Lying down,
Letting the body settle and rest against the surface that you're resting on.
If you have any difficulties with your back you might want to get a bolster for the back,
You might want to get a pillow under your knees for extra comfort,
A pillow under the head or a cushion,
And something to cover yourself up,
A blanket.
Just getting comfortable and making any adjustments that you need to.
And you can move at any point to get more comfortable.
Ideally yoga nidra is perfect for that.
So if you'd like to close your eyes or lower your gaze to rest the eyes and limit the distractions around you.
And maybe making yourself aware of the room that you're in,
So even though your eyes are closed,
Mentally recognizing the room and where you're positioned in the room.
And then noticing sounds outside the room,
Just hearing those sounds as pure sensations,
And just being aware of where you're at in the room.
Noticing sounds outside the room,
Just hearing those sounds as pure sensations,
Not getting attached to them,
Not getting carried off with them,
Not judging them,
Just noticing the sounds outside the room as auditory sensations coming into your ears.
And perhaps noticing any sounds in the room,
Again not getting carried off with them and judging them,
Just letting them come and go and being part of your experience,
Just noticing and observing sounds.
And then letting sounds fall into the background of your awareness.
And if it's comfortable for you,
Taking a few deliberate breaths,
Focusing on the exhale.
So just noticing your out-breath,
Noticing the exhale,
Allowing each breath as you exhale to ground the body even further.
So just noticing your out-breath,
Allowing the body to be supported and grounded by the surface beneath you,
The surface that's holding you.
Maybe having a sense of tension falling away from your body and going into the ground.
And if you'd like to bring your awareness to the hinge of the jaw,
Let it soften,
Let it relax,
Let the tongue soften and flatten in the mouth,
Let the rest of the mouth relax,
Softening the eyes,
The eyelids,
The muscles around the eyes,
Letting them soften and rest deeply,
Softening the eyebrows and the gap between the eyebrows.
And if you have a busy mind right now,
You might be thinking,
And if you have a busy mind right now,
You might have lots of thoughts.
So noticing those thoughts and seeing if you can soften towards them and let them go.
So letting them come and go at their own pace,
Letting go of them and coming back to relaxing each part of the body as we go through the practice.
And throughout the practice,
When you notice your mind wandering,
Just bring it back to the body part that we're sensing through the practice.
And doing that with a sense of kindness,
And doing that with a sense of kindness,
Not judging yourself,
Not criticizing,
Just coming back to the body part and carrying on with the practice.
Let the throat and neck relax,
Let the shoulders surrender to the support beneath you,
Softening further with every exhale,
Letting your arms,
The muscles of the arms relax and soften,
The whole body softening,
Settling,
Relaxing,
Giving yourself permission to rest deeply,
Giving yourself permission to rest deeply.
There's nothing to do except to bring your attention to each body part in turn.
You may even use the word rest silently as you come to each body part to help you relax.
So,
In your mind,
Just saying rest as we go through each body part.
So,
Coming to the arms,
The upper arms,
The elbow,
The lower arms,
The wrist,
The right thumb,
The index finger,
The middle finger,
The fourth finger,
The right little finger,
Coming to the right palm,
The back of the right hand,
And then coming back up,
The wrist,
The elbow,
The right shoulder,
The left shoulder,
Letting the whole of your right arm rest and relax deeply.
And from the top of the right shoulder,
Coming to the neck,
Letting your throat,
Letting your neck relax further,
And coming to the left shoulder,
Coming down to the left elbow,
The left wrist,
The left thumb,
The left index finger,
The middle finger,
The fourth finger,
The left little finger,
The left palm of the hand,
The left back of the hand,
The left wrist,
The left elbow,
The left shoulder,
Letting the whole of the left arm rest.
Bring your attention back to your throat,
Letting it rest,
Coming to the centre of the chest,
The right side of the chest,
The centre of the chest,
The left side of the chest,
Coming to the navel,
Let the whole of the abdomen rest and relax,
Letting the whole of the torso relax,
And then coming to the right hip,
Letting your attention run down to the right thigh,
The right knee,
Through the right shin to the right ankle,
The right big toe,
The right big toe,
The second toe,
The middle toe,
The fourth toe,
And the right little toe,
Back up to the ankle,
The knee,
The right hip,
Let the whole of the right leg rest,
And then coming to the left hip and letting your attention run down the left thigh to the left knee,
Through the left shin to the left ankle,
To the left big toe,
The second toe,
The third toe,
The middle left toe,
The fourth toe,
The left little toe,
The left little toe,
And coming back up,
The ankle,
The knee,
The left hip,
Letting the whole of the left leg rest,
Bringing your attention to the navel,
Letting your whole abdomen relax,
Coming to the centre of the chest,
The throat,
Space between the eyebrows,
Letting the whole body rest,
Letting the whole body rest,
Letting the whole body rest,
Moving to the back of the body,
The upper back,
The middle of the back,
The lower back,
Let the whole back rest,
Let the whole body rest,
And noticing the rhythm of the breath,
Just resting in changing sensations of the in-breath and the out-breath,
Just noticing the sensations as you breathe,
The sense of movement,
In your body,
If it's comfortable for you,
Add a count to the breathing,
So counting backwards from 21,
Down to zero,
With every out-breath,
So on the next out-breath starting at 21,
Then counting backwards from there with every exhale,
So just doing this at your own pace,
And every time you lose count or your mind wanders,
Just start again at 21,
Counting down backwards to zero,
And continue this count silently,
Silently for a few moments,
There's no straining,
No forcing,
Just breathing easily,
Counting the out-breath,
And every time you lose count,
And every time you lose count,
Or the mind wanders,
Simply starting at 21 again,
And when you're ready,
Letting all the counting fall away,
And let all the effort dissolve into deep rest,
A sense of deep,
Deep rest in the body,
A sense of deep,
Deep rest in the mind,
A sense of deep,
Deep rest in the whole being,
A sense of resting,
A sense of wholeness,
A sense of resting,
A sense of wholeness,
Letting the whole body rest,
And if you'd like to,
Remembering the intention that you set yourself at the beginning of the practice,
The wish for yourself,
The reason why you're here,
Just revisiting that,
And sending yourself that wish again,
And letting that sink in to your subconscious,
As you repeat it in your mind silently,
And then bringing your awareness back to the body,
The body,
The resting nature of the whole self,
Noticing how your body feels,
Resting against the surface it's lying on,
The weight of your body,
Your muscles,
The bones,
Noticing the parts of you touching the surface you're resting on,
Your head,
Shoulder blades,
The backs of the arms,
The back,
The ribs at the back,
The back of the pelvis,
The bum,
The upper legs,
The lower legs,
The backs of the heels,
The feet,
The feet,
The feet,
The feet,
The feet,
The feet,
The feet,
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The feet Feel to inhale versus exhaling Just resting,
Relaxing Feeling calm Knowing that resting feels soothing and relaxing It's good for your well-being And if you wake in the middle of the night Use this as an opportunity to relax and rest and let go Feeling calm And drifting off into a comfortable,
Restful sleep Feeling comfortable,
Relaxed,
Sleepy And drifting off into a relaxing sleep
