Yoga Nidra

This is a 40-minute Yoga Nidra meditation that will guide you into a peaceful state at any time. Get as comfortable as possible, close your eyes, and settle into that restorative space between dreaming and sleeping. Thank you for doing this meditation, and take care.

Transcript

Welcome to a Yoga Nidra meditation.

Find somewhere comfortable with minimum distractions where you can rest on your back for a while.

Comfort is key,

So take these moments at the beginning of Yoga Nidra to get as comfortable as possible.

Setting yourself up with the intention that you will be remaining as still as possible during this relaxation exercise.

Please feel free to place a blanket over your body to keep warm and an eye pillow over your eyes to enhance your experience.

As you wind down,

Resting on your back,

Start to slow down your movements and breath.

On your back,

Check that your shoulders are relaxed and down away from the ears,

The arms and legs extend and relax away from the body,

And that the palms of the hands are facing upward.

If there are any necessary wiggles,

Itches,

Or movements that you need to get out of your system before we begin to transition into stillness,

Please do so now.

And then gently come back to your relaxation posture on your back.

Bring your awareness to the inside of your mouth.

Allow the tongue to rest in the mouth.

Let go of any tension you are holding in your jaw,

The lips,

And the muscles around the face.

Gently rock your head from side to side and then bring it back to center.

Now take a deep inhale and exhale gently close the eyes.

Breathing together,

Let's take a big inhale in through the nose and exhale side out.

And like that,

A deep inhale in through the nose and exhale side out.

One more time,

Inhale in through the nose,

Exhale side out of the mouth.

Now if possible,

Seal the lips and start to inhale and exhale just through the nose.

A yoga nidra meditation is all about relaxation.

And although relaxation sounds easy,

It can sometimes be the hardest thing to do.

During yoga nidra,

All that is asked is that you feel and listen.

As sensations arise in the body during the meditation,

Do your best to feel without thinking or judging.

And as you listen to my voice,

Do your best not to overthink too much about what I am saying.

And because you are alive and human,

Your mind is going to wander.

So don't be too hard on yourself.

When this happens,

Gently just drift back to listening to the sound of my voice or the sound of your own breath.

There is a chance you might fall asleep.

If you do so,

Allow yourself to stay there because that is what your body and mind needs.

Yoga nidra translates to yogic sleep.

It is a place,

A place of deep meditative state of consciousness.

It hovers between the states of being awake and being asleep.

It is there where we are relaxed and alert that we will locate,

Rediscover and experience the peace that is always existing deep within us.

The peace that has just been buried beneath all the distractions and stressors we have taken on daily during our lifetime.

During this exercise,

Be willing to experience and accept everything as it is in the present moment no matter what happens,

What thoughts and what distractions arise during this meditation.

As your body and mind become more and more relaxed,

You will effortlessly begin drifting in and out of the space of consciousness.

Bring your awareness to your breath.

As you breathe,

Feel the support from the ground beneath you.

Feel all points of contact between you and the ground beneath you.

Now let your body and breath come to whatever natural rhythm it wants.

Feel how still the body is.

Listen to the natural ebb and flow of your breath.

Let's now take this time to set a positive affirmation or intention for this meditation.

Silently repeat to yourself three times,

I am safe and comfortable.

I am safe and comfortable.

I am safe and comfortable.

Now come up with your own intention.

Once you have chosen your personal intention,

Repeat it silently to yourself three times as if in the present moment.

For example,

I am relaxed.

I am relaxed.

I am relaxed.

Without judgment,

Start observing your breath and how you are feeling right now.

We will now begin to bring awareness to certain parts of the body,

Continuing to remain as relaxed and still as possible.

As I say a point in your body,

You can imagine as if you see or feel a point of light coming out from that certain part of your body.

Bring your awareness to the right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of the hand,

The wrist,

The right lower arm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The armpit,

The right waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The kneecap,

The calf muscle,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the right foot,

The top of the right foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The entire right side of the body.

Now become aware of the left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of your hand,

The wrist,

The left lower arm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The armpit,

The left waist,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The kneecap,

The calf muscle,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the left foot,

The top of the foot,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The entire left side of the body.

Now bring your awareness to the back of your body,

The right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

The right lower back,

The left lower back,

The spine,

The back of the neck.

Feel the whole back of the body.

Now bring your awareness to the top of the head,

Both sides of the head,

The forehead,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

A space of light between the eyebrows.

Bring your awareness to the inside of your head,

The right brain,

The left brain,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

The upper lip,

And the lower lip,

The whole right ear,

The whole left ear.

Now the front of the body.

Visualize the right chest muscle,

Left chest muscle,

The abdomen,

The right hip,

Left hip,

The entire front of the body.

Visualize the whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

The entire back,

The spine,

The whole head,

The whole body,

Together.

Again,

Bring your awareness to the right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of the hand,

The wrist,

The right lower arm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The armpit,

The right waist,

The right hip,

Thigh,

Kneecap,

The right calf muscle,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the right foot,

The top of the right foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The entire right side of the body.

Now become aware of the left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of your hand,

The wrist,

The lower arm,

The left elbow,

Upper arm,

The shoulder,

Left armpit,

Left waist,

The hip,

The left thigh,

The kneecap,

The left calf muscle,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the left foot,

The top of the left foot,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The entire left side of the body.

Now bring your awareness to the back of your body,

The right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

Right lower back,

Left lower back,

The spine,

The back of the neck,

Feel the whole back of the body.

Now bring your awareness to the top of the head,

Both sides of the head,

The forehead,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow.

Feel and see a space of light between the eyebrows.

Bring your awareness to the inside of your head,

The right brain,

The left brain,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The right cheek,

And the left cheek,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The whole right ear,

The whole left ear.

Now the front of the body,

Visualize the right chest muscle,

Left chest muscle,

The abdomen,

The right hip,

Left hip,

The entire front of the body.

Visualize the whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

The entire back,

The spine,

The whole head,

The whole body together.

Feel the points of your body resting on the surface beneath you.

Feel all points of contact between your body and the ground,

Remaining still,

Remaining effortless,

Just breathing and feeling.

Begin to observe the relationship between the inhale and the exhale.

Experience the opposition of movement in the breath.

As you inhale,

Feel your body expanding with the breath.

And as you exhale,

Feel your body contracting as you release the breath.

Feel the temperature of your breath.

Feel your inhale as warmth.

Feel your exhale as cool.

Notice the amount of energy in your breath.

As you inhale,

Feel the activeness of filling up your entire body with breath.

And as you exhale,

Feel the more passive nature of letting go and releasing the breath.

Become aware of these opposite qualities of the breath.

Take this time to observe how although these two opposite parts seem separate from one another,

They actually couldn't exist without the other.

I will now list pairs of opposites that exist inside and outside of the body,

Without judgment and continuing to remain still.

Just feel where sensations arise in the body.

Bring your awareness to the right side of your body.

The left side of your body.

Now at the same time,

Welcome the sensations in both the right and left side of your body.

Bring your attention to the back of your body.

Bring your attention to both the back and front of your body at the same time.

Notice where you are holding tension in your body.

Notice where you feel eased and relaxed in your body.

In your body,

Feel both these areas where you are holding tension and feeling relaxed together at the same time.

With each breath,

Feel your body becoming lighter and lighter.

Now feel gravity take over.

Give gravity permission to aid in grounding and relaxing you,

Allowing your body to become heavier and heavier.

Staying still,

Remaining effortless,

We will now slowly transition into stillness and silence.

As your mind drifts in and out of yoga nidra,

Continue to keep gently coming back to your breath.

I will watch the time,

And when you hear the bell at the end,

Continue to remain still.

I will watch the time,

And when you hear the bell at the end,

Continue to remain still.

I will watch the time,

And when you hear the bell at the end,

Continue to remain still.

I will watch the time,

And when you hear the bell at the end,

Continue to remain still.

I will watch the time,

And when you hear the bell at the end,

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I will watch the time,

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I will watch the time,

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Continue to remain still.

Health Control Notice your surroundings.

Open your ears.

Listen to the sounds,

All of the noises around you at this moment.

What is the sound you hear farthest away,

Off in the distance?

And now,

Sound by sound,

Listening closer and closer,

What is the sound that you can hear closest to you?

Remain still mentally scan your entire body starting down from the tips of your toes all the way up to the top of your head.

Now,

Bring your awareness to the person you are.

Listen to the sound of your body and mind.

Your true peaceful self that is always with you and always accessible through the breath.

Take this time to thank yourself for taking time out of your day to connect with the breath and sensation during this yoga nidra meditation.

As slow as possible,

Invite movement to your fingertips and toes.

Make sure to take as much time as you need to reawaken and move forward with your day.

This yoga nidra meditation is now complete.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you Dorothy. That was a great start to my day.