Yoga Nidra - Beginners

This is an entry-level Yoga Nidra meditation suitable for those new to the practice. The word 'Nidra' means sleep and this meditation is designed to put you in a state of 'yogic sleep' which in modern psychology is known as the hypnagogic state. A 30-minute Yoga Nidra practice (such as this one) has the same physiological benefits as four hours of sleep, so this is an ideal practice to do in the afternoon if you have not slept well, are feeling tired, or are low on energy.

Transcript

Welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra.

The word,

Nidra,

Means sleep.

So,

The idea is that we're putting ourselves into a state of yogic sleep.

This is also known as the Hypnagogic state.

And it's basically that knife edge between being awake and being asleep.

Take a moment now to get yourself comfortable in the posture of Shavasana.

Lying flat on the back,

Having the hands a little bit away from the body with the palms turned up.

Having the legs slightly apart with the feet flopping open.

Make any last little adjustments that you need to now.

You want to be as comfortable as possible so that you can remain completely still for the duration of the practice.

Take one final look around the space that you're in and then gently close the eyes.

Feel your body lying on the floor.

Feel the thin line of contact between your body and the floor.

Noticing the parts of your body that are touching the floor.

And notice where there is a small space between your body and the floor.

Feel the space between the arms and the torso.

Feel the space between the legs.

Notice where you end and the floor begins.

Notice where the floor ends and you begin.

Feeling the thin line of contact between your body and the floor.

In the same way,

Feeling the thin line of contact between your two lips.

Notice where the upper lip meets the lower lip.

And notice where the lower lip meets the upper lip.

Feeling the thin line of contact between the upper and lower lips.

Moving your awareness from the right side of the mouth to the left.

And then from the left back to the right.

Feeling the thin line of contact between your upper and lower lips.

In the same way,

Notice the contact between the upper and lower eyelids.

Feeling the upper lid and where it meets the lower lid in front of your closed eyes.

Noticing the contact between the upper and lower eyelid.

Moving the awareness back to the body and the floor.

Feeling the line where the floor ends and you begin.

Moving the awareness once again to the lips.

Feeling the meeting point between the upper and lower lips.

And finally the eyelids.

The thin line of contact between the upper and lower eyelids.

The next part of our yoga nidra practice is the body rotation.

Simply feel each part of your body as I name it.

You don't need to tense it or relax it or do anything with it.

Simply feel it.

Beginning now with your right hand thumb.

All your attention,

All your awareness on your right hand thumb.

Moving on to the index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

Palm of the right hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

Right side of the waist.

Right hip.

Upper leg.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second toe.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

Like there is a line dividing you down the centre,

Feel the whole right side of your body.

To the left side now,

Beginning with the left hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

Palm of the left hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

Left side of the waist.

Left hip.

Upper leg.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second toe.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

Like there is a line dividing you down the centre,

Feel the whole left side of your body.

To the back of the body now,

Feel the right buttock.

Left buttock.

Lower back.

Middle back.

Upper back.

Run your awareness from the bottom to the top of the spine.

Feeling the back of the neck.

The back of the head.

The crown of the head.

To the front side of your body now,

Feeling your whole forehead.

Right temple.

Left temple.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Notice the space between your two eyebrows.

Feeling the right eye.

The left eye.

The right eyelashes.

The left eyelashes.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Bridge of the nose.

Tip of the nose.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Once again,

Feel the meeting point between the two lips.

Feel the tongue.

The throat.

The right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right side of the chest.

Left side of the chest.

Notice the centre of your chest.

The upper abdomen.

Navel.

Lower abdomen.

And groin.

Feeling whole body parts all together.

Feel the whole right arm and hand.

Feel the whole left arm and hand.

The whole right leg and foot.

The whole left leg and foot.

Feel your whole torso,

Front,

Back and sides.

Feel the whole face and head.

Now feeling both arms,

Both hands,

Both legs,

Both feet,

The torso,

The face and the head.

Feeling your whole body all at once.

Total body awareness.

Notice that even though the physical body is completely still,

There is still the movement of breathing.

Feel the lateral expansion of your ribcage.

Feel your ribs moving outwards from the centre of your body as you breathe in.

And feel them folding back in towards the midline as you breathe out.

Like wings of a butterfly expanding outwards on the inhale.

And contracting inwards on the exhale.

Keeping your awareness here on the outward expansion of the ribcage,

Begin to count the breath.

Starting from the number 27 and working your way back down to one.

So inhaling,

Count 27.

Exhaling,

Count 27.

Inhaling,

Count 26.

Exhaling,

26.

Inhaling,

25.

And keep going,

Counting all the way down to zero.

If you lose count,

Simply start again from the number 27.

If you reach one,

Simply start again at 27.

If you find your mind wanders and you become distracted by thoughts,

Then start again from 27.

Always being willing in each and every moment to start again.

And don't let the awareness externalise.

Keep focusing on the breath and on the count.

Letting go of the breath.

Letting go of the count now.

And begin to awaken the sensation of heaviness within the physical body.

Every time you breathe out,

Let your body grow heavier and heavier.

As if your body was made of lead,

Of concrete.

Every time you breathe out,

The physical body grows heavier and heavier.

Your arms and legs feel heavy.

Your face and head feel heavy.

As if on this next breath out,

You would sink down into the floor.

With every breath out,

Let the feeling of heaviness grow stronger.

Your physical body feels heavy.

And now begin to awaken the sensation of lightness in the physical body.

With every breath in,

Feel the physical body grow lighter and lighter.

As if the body weighed no more than a feather.

As if on this next breath in,

The body would lift up and float off the floor.

Your arms and legs feel light.

Your face and head feel light.

Every time you breathe in,

Allow the body to grow lighter and lighter.

Bring your awareness to the breath now,

Feeling the cool touch of the air as it connects to the back of your throat.

Allow this sensation of coolness to spread throughout the body.

Feeling the touch of the air in the back of the throat on the inhale.

And allowing the sensation of coolness to spread up through the face and head.

Down through the torso and legs.

And out into the arms and hands.

Let the body grow cooler and cooler.

As if you've been outside on a cold winter's day with no shoes.

Let the body feel cold now.

Allow the sensation of cold to increase.

And now begin to awaken the sensation of warmth in the body.

Imagine there's a warm beam of sunlight shining down into the centre of your chest.

Let this feeling of warmth spread throughout the body.

Imagine the beam of sunlight shining golden warm light into the centre of your chest.

Feeling it spread upwards into your face and head.

Feeling it spread downwards into your legs and feet.

Feeling it spread outwards into your arms and hands.

Allow the body to feel warm.

As if you are lying in the sun on a beautiful summer's day.

Let the physical body feel warmer and warmer.

Letting go of the sensation of opposites now.

Allow your body to return to its normal state of equilibrium.

Bring your awareness to the space behind your closed eyelids.

And like images being projected up onto a movie screen.

Allow the following to appear on the screen of your mind.

A blue sky.

A blue sky with white puffy clouds.

An orange desert.

A sandy orange desert.

A red rose.

A deep red rose with a bright green stem.

A field of sunflowers.

A field of bright yellow sunflowers.

A candle in a cave.

A small candle in a dark cave.

Waves crashing on a deserted beach.

Waves crashing on a deserted beach.

A horse running.

A wild horse running through a green field.

A tightly closed white lotus flower.

And as you watch,

The petals of the white lotus flower slowly begin to unfurl.

The petals of this white lotus flower open to reveal a bright shining white light inside.

Feel this light washing over your entire body.

Feel it moving from the crown of your head.

Down over your face into your neck and shoulders.

Down your torso,

Your arms and your hands.

Past your hips,

Down through your legs to your feet.

Picture yourself bathed in this beautiful white light.

Feel your body lying here on the floor.

Feel the thin line of contact between the body and the floor.

Remembering where you are.

Remembering what clothes you're wearing.

Feel the thin line of contact between the lips.

And also the thin line of contact between the eyelids.

Notice the parts of your body that are touching the floor.

Notice where there is a small space between your body and the floor.

Perhaps the back of your neck.

Perhaps the backs of your knees.

Begin to bring a small amount of movement back into your physical body.

Deepening the breath.

Feeling that outwards expansion of the ribcage.

And giving your fingers and your toes a little wiggle.

Slowly start to move and stretch your body the way you do when you first wake up in the morning.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Move and stretch your body any way you need to.

And when you feel ready,

Gently open your eyes.