Yoga Nidra For Everyone

Yoga Nidra takes us to the liminal between wakefulness and sleep, a place where we can find deep rest, healing, connection to source consciousness, and profound relaxation. This yoga Nidra includes the traditional stages of grounding and settling, a rotation of consciousness body scan, awareness of breath, Sankalpa, and externalization. There are no bells or music just a gentle, soothing voice. It can be helpful to incorporate Yoga Nidra as part of your bedtime routine to improve sleep quality.

Transcript

Settle into the position you have chosen for maximum comfort. Lying on your back or side or semi-reclining. Straighten your body to align yourself to alertness if you can. If you have any conditions, Injuries or disabilities or pain present in your body that can't be dissipated, Let kindness be the tone of this time. And aim for stillness, But move any time you need to. Close your eyes if you haven't already. Enjoy the heaviness of your eyelids over your eyes. Imagine breathing in through the front of your face, Refreshing the whole of the inside of your head. Become aware as you follow the breath into and out from the centre of your head that you are here. Turn your gaze inwards and engage the part of your consciousness who is the observer, Witness or deep self, Whichever you can most identify with. From here, You can observe everything you will experience with compassionate detachment. Decide if you would like to have your hands on your body, Perhaps one hand on your pelvis or solar plexus just above the navel, And the other on your heart centre in the middle of your chest, Giving you the feeling of lovingly holding yourself. Or if you prefer, Just let them lie beside you at waist level, With your palms facing upwards and fingers slightly curled, In the traditional yoga nidra pose. Take a slightly deeper breath, And on the out-breath, Let your body sink and be fully received by the surface beneath you. Relax and soften the base of your back by lifting it very slightly from the support and sinking back a little more deeply. Relax the buttocks by clenching them a little with control and releasing them. Move your awareness out to your hips. Rest deeply inside your hip joints. Let them receive the support of the surface beneath them as they sink and release. Let your whole pelvic area be soft and at ease. Soften your stomach by slowly inflating it with your breath, And very gradually, With control, Let the breath out. Let the back of your head and neck soften and sink into the pillow beneath you. Imagine your shoulders, Shoulder blades and upper back softening and sinking, The middle and lower back expanding and releasing into the support beneath you. Let gravity bring a feeling of heaviness throughout your whole body. Feel your arms, Heavy and warm. Feel your legs, Heavy and warm. Let your whole body and being come to rest. If there are any final adjustments you want to make to your posture, Do them now, Before the body is guided into deeper stillness. We will now begin a rotation of consciousness journey through parts of the body. Let your attention flow freely and be guided from part to part as soon as you hear it. Strengthen connection with each part you alight on by briefly feeling into any natural sensations here. Anoint each part with your careful and loving attention. Allow your body to breathe itself and take in whatever breath it needs as it naturally settles. Check that your witnessing consciousness is still present. Watch yourself feeling into the point between your two eyebrows, The hollow of your throat, The whole surface of your face, The inside of the face. Feel for sensations behind the right eye socket, The left eye socket. Expand your attention to include the indentation of the right temple, The right ear, Deep inside the right inner ear where the balance and equilibrium of your body is maintained. Over to the left temple, The indentation of the left temple, The left ear. Feeling into any sensations deep inside the left inner ear where the balance and equilibrium of the body is maintained. The whole surface of the face, The right cheek, The left cheek, The chin, The lower jaw, The right hinge of the jaw, The left hinge of the jaw. Sensations in the top lip, Sensations in the bottom lip, The area around the outside of the mouth, The area above the top lip and beneath the nose, The bridge of the nose, Deep inside the nose, Into the mouth, The whole of the inside of the mouth, The tongue lying on the bottom of the mouth, The root of the tongue, The teeth and gums, The back of the throat, Over to the right shoulder joint, Deep inside the right shoulder joint, The cave of the right armpit, The upper arm, The right elbow joint, The lower right arm, The soft skin on the middle of the inside right wrist, The front of the right waist, The back of the right waist, The very tip of the right thumb, Tip of the index finger, Middle finger, Tip of the right fourth finger, Little finger. Now move over to the left shoulder joint, Deep inside the left shoulder joint, The cave of the left armpit, Deep inside the cave of the left armpit, The upper arm, The left elbow joint, The lower left arm, The soft skin on the middle of the inside left wrist, The front of the left waist, The back of the left waist, Tip of the left thumb, Tip of the index finger, Tip of the left middle finger, Tip of the fourth finger, The left small finger, Up to the breastbone, Deep inside the breastbone, The right nipple, The left nipple, The heart centre, Deep inside the heart centre, The solar plexus, Just above the navel, The stomach, The whole surface of the stomach, The whole of the pelvic bowl, Deep inside the pelvic bowl, The pubic bone, Deep inside the pubic bone, Over to the right hip joint, Down into the right thigh, Right kneecap, Right shin, Right calf, Right heel, The whole of the right heel in contact with the surface beneath it, The right big toe, Tip of the second toe, Third toe, Fourth right toe, Tip of the small toe, Over to the left hip joint, Deep inside the left hip joint, Down into the left thigh, Left kneecap, Left shin, Left calf, Left heel, The whole of the left heel, The left big toe, Tip of the second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe, Tip of the small left toe, The whole of the right leg, The whole of the right arm, The whole of the right side of the body together, The whole of the left leg, The whole of the left arm, The whole of the left side of the body together, Both legs together, Both arms together, Both sides of the body together, The whole of the head and neck, The whole of the face and throat, The whole of the front of the body, The whole of the back of the body, The whole body together, The whole body together, The whole body together. Begin now to notice the presence of your breath. Watch from deep inside the witness, The in and out of your breathing, The rise and fall of your body, The feeling of the breath as it comes in at your nostrils. Follow this feeling into your nose, Your sinuses, The back of your throat and into your lungs. Enjoy feeling quiet inside the breath. Perhaps the breath is slower and deeper. Perhaps the energy field of your body feels more unified. Bring your awareness up to your heart center where there is boundless kindness and gratitude. Breathe in towards your heart center and out from it. Move deeper inside your heart center. Feel yourself sinking deeper and deeper into its peaceful presence. Bring to mind something or someone you feel grateful for in your life right now. Gratitude is the fertile ground in which we can plant the seeds of our hopes and intentions. If you have a heart's desire or resolve, Let it rise from your heart to the surface of your mind. If you don't have a new intention or not just now, Continue to rest in the depths of your heart. Begin to be aware of the physical body again now. Perhaps starting to move the fingers and toes or stretching in whatever way you need to. With a soft focus, Gently open your eyes and become aware of the room. Remain on your back or roll onto your side for a few minutes. Rest with whatever tranquility you have generated within yourself during this time before getting up to go.

Reviews

I came from from work and did this yoga Nidra and it helped me prepare for my evening. Thank you!

I tried to stay awake but dozed off for a few minutes before it ended.

I fell asleep. It was relaxing. I heard some parts of the body I never did in Yoga Nidra. I remember in my ear. I must of fallen asleep.

Wonderfully calming experience. Will definitely put this meditation in regular rotation…it feels like serenity in practice. Thank you for sharing your guidance. 🙏🏻☯️🌸💚

That’s was a beautiful practice this morning and my body was so relaxed I didn’t want to get up. Fell back into a yummy sleep. Thank you!