Yoga Nidra For Health and Well-Being

This Yoga Nidra practice will take you into deeper states of relaxation to help you cultivate and embody the energetic qualities of health and wellness.

This recording was recorded, mixed and mastered by Artisan Jones. Together we are Sonic Flow.

Transcript

Welcome to this yoga nidra practice.

This practice will focus on cultivating and embodying the energetic qualities of health and wellness,

Allowing you to deepen your awareness of the vital force which animates your entire being from the inside out.

For this practice,

Lie down on your back either on a padded yoga mat,

On a comfortable couch,

Or even in bed.

It may feel nice to place cushioning beneath your head and also under your knees to support your lower back.

During this time of inactivity,

The body temperature will drop so you may want to grab blankets and socks to make sure that you're comfortable.

As you lie back,

Allow your heels to fall about a foot apart.

Release your arms next to your sides with the palms facing up in a receptive nidra.

Make sure that your nose and your chin aren't elevated much higher than the heart and then check in to see if there are any other intuitive movements that you can make so that you can commit to stillness for the duration of this practice.

Once you've settled in,

Find a full breath in and out and feel the dust of your mind settle.

Take another deep breath in,

Expanding through your back ribs,

Your side ribs,

And your front ribs.

As you exhale,

Feel any and all residual tension drain out of the body and into the earth as if the earth were absorbing your attention.

Before we get started,

I'll ask you to tense and release certain body parts to stimulate circulation throughout the body in an effort to ease you into deeper relaxation.

Bring your awareness to the hands and the arms.

Spread all ten of your fingers as wide as you can and feel the bones of your fingers expand.

Take a deep breath in and hold.

Make fists with your hands and feel tension surge up the arms and feel your arms and hands vibrating with awareness.

Exhale and release.

Allow your arms and hands to drop heavy into the support of the surface beneath you.

Find another slow breath in,

Fill up and hold.

Flex your feet,

Feel the muscles in your legs fire and hug to the bones.

Hold it.

Feel the legs shaking with tension.

Exhale and release.

Feel your legs sink heavy into the ground.

Take a fuller breath in all the way to capacity.

Let it feel good and hold.

Tighten the buttocks,

The abdomen,

The chest,

And upper back.

Hold it.

Exhale and release.

Now bring your awareness to your face as you breathe in and pause at the top.

Contract all of the muscles in your face.

Scrunch up the nose,

The cheeks,

The forehead,

Lips,

And chin.

Hold it.

Exhale with ease and release.

Find your next exhalation and then inhale slowly and fully all the way to the top portion of your lungs under your collarbones and hold.

Pull tension into your entire body.

Flex the feet,

Legs,

Buttocks,

Abdomen,

Fists,

Arms,

Chest,

And face.

Gentle exhale and release your entire body into the support of the ground.

Let go of all of the effort.

Just soften and sink.

Notice how when you relax your entire body,

The natural spaciousness of your mind begins to expand.

Feel this wide open space between your thoughts.

During this practice of Yoga Nidra,

I invite you to let go of all of the doing.

Let go of your to-do list,

Your monologues and dialogues,

The need to figure anything out.

Imagine as if you had an infinite amount of time to commit to this experience of letting go.

Find a slow,

Easy breath in and as you exhale,

Allow your entire being to surrender from the inside out.

See if you can embody the intention of letting go as if there was nothing to do and nowhere to go.

As you begin to relax more and more deeply,

Draw your awareness to your experience of sound.

Allow the inner ears to soften and imagine as if all sound were being drawn in towards your ears.

Become aware of the vibration of sound as it enters your ears without identifying it or labeling it with your preferences.

Use your experience of sound to intensify your awareness of this present moment experience.

Listen closely as reality reveals itself in your ears.

Bring your awareness into the space in between your ears and allow yourself to experience this space,

The space inside where stillness and silence meet.

Listen to the experience of space.

Notice the breath,

The deep,

Natural,

Spontaneous breath.

With each breath in and out,

Feel your body sink more and more deeply into the ground.

Feel the entire body sink into the support of the earth and become aware of the contact points between your body and the earth.

Feel the imprint that your body makes on the earth and as you exhale,

See if you can become 5% more relaxed.

Feel that you are held in this moment by a giant ball of energy,

The source of everything that supports you.

As you drop into its embrace,

Feel how it lifts you up and cradles you.

Start to become aware of the movement of breath in the area of your belly.

Feel the gentle rise and fall of the belly with each breath in and each breath out.

Feel that the belly is free of tension,

Moving with complete ease and effortlessness.

Now move your awareness to the area of the chest and feel how it moves with each inhalation and each exhalation.

Notice how the chest expands and releases as you continue to breathe softly and smoothly.

Now notice movement in the throat in response to the breath.

Our awareness is becoming subtler as we observe the small fluctuations that take place in the cylinder below the chin and above the collarbones.

Becoming even more subtle now,

Search for movement taking place in the nasal cavity with each breath cycle.

Perhaps you're able to pick up on either a heating or cooling sensation in the nose as you breathe in and out.

As we move into deeper states of relaxation,

The mind becomes an incredibly fertile space to plant seeds,

To change our mind-body code in a way where we can really embody and in turn manifest changes that we wish to bring forth.

In Yoga Nidra we call this a sankalpa.

A sankalpa is a positive,

Affirmative statement,

Usually beginning with I am or I will.

A declaration,

If you will,

Of how you want to be,

How you want to feel.

You might consider I am a radiant beam of vibration and light or I am a manifestation of health and well-being.

It is important to keep in mind a sankalpa is more than an intellectual idea.

It's something you feel ready to embody.

Instead of simply thinking about your sankalpa,

Feel it being mirrored in every cell of your body as truth with a capital T.

Take a moment to consider the seed you'd like to plant now.

Once you've found something that feels authentic and natural to you,

Repeat it to yourself three times with a deep sense of awareness and feeling.

You can practice– chase it.

We'll now move through a rotation of consciousness as I name a particular As you feel this particular part of your body,

Imagine it filled with light,

Experiencing a completely free flow of energy.

Bring your awareness to the skin of your scalp.

Feel the scalp vibrate with awareness,

Completely free of tension.

Sense the skin of your forehead,

Soft,

Breathing with ease.

Feel your right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow.

Feel the ever-expanding space between your eyebrows.

Sense your right eye,

Left eye,

And then feel the infinite space behind your eyes.

Feel the outer right ear,

Outer left ear.

Feel both of your inner ears together.

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Both cheeks together.

Feel the bridge of your nose,

The tip of your nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril.

Feel the whole nose together.

Feel the whole nose now as pure sensation.

Notice your upper lip,

Lower lip.

Feel both of your lips together.

Feel the space between your lips and then bring your awareness into your mouth.

Sense your upper row of teeth,

Lower row of teeth.

Feel your gums,

The roof of your mouth,

The floor of your mouth.

Feel your tongue and then feel your whole mouth together.

Feel your entire mouth as a mass of sensation.

Move your awareness to the right side of your jaw,

The left side of your jaw.

Feel your chin and your throat.

Sense your right collarbone,

Right shoulder,

Upper arm,

Elbow crease,

Forearm,

Wrist.

Notice the sensation and temperature of your right palm,

Right thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Middle finger.

Feel the space between all five of your fingers.

Feel the tips of your fingers.

Feel the back of your right hand and the bones that construct it.

To the armpit,

Right ribs,

Waist,

Right hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

The space directly below your knee,

Right shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Arch,

Feel the top of your right foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Feel all five of your toes together.

Feel the whole right foot together.

Feel the whole right leg together.

Feel the whole right side of the body together.

Shift your attention up to the center of your chest.

Sense that there is an unfolding of awareness right at the center of your chest,

The space of your energetic heart.

Now feel the left collarbone,

Left shoulder,

Upper arm,

Elbow crease,

Forearm,

Wrist.

Feel consciousness manifesting in your left palm,

Left thumb,

Pointer finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger.

Feel the space between all five of your fingers.

Feel the tips of your fingers.

Feel the back of your left hand,

And feel the weight of the bones inside.

Shift your inner gaze up to the left armpit,

Left ribs,

Waist,

Hip,

Left thigh,

Knee,

The space directly below the knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Arch.

Sense the skin on the top of your foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

Feel all five of your toes together.

Feel the whole left foot together.

Feel the whole left leg together.

Feel the whole left side of your body together.

Move your attention to the back plane of your body.

Feel your right heel,

Left heel.

Feel both heels together.

Right calf,

Left calf.

Feel both calves together.

Feel the back of the right knee,

Back of the left knee.

Feel the backs of both of your knees together.

Right hamstrings,

Left hamstrings.

Feel both sets of hamstrings together.

Right buttock,

Left buttock.

Feel both buttocks together.

Feel your lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

And back of head.

And then feel your entire spine together.

Feel your entire spine as one unit from the base of your spine through the top of your head.

Feel your entire back plane of your body together.

Feel the front plane of your body.

Feel both of your arms together.

Feel both of your legs together.

Feel the top half of your body.

Feel the lower half of your body.

Feel the whole body together.

Feel your entire body together.

Feel your entire body together.

Feel the lower half of your body.

Feel the whole body together.

Feel your entire body as one living breathing unit,

One piece,

A mass of sensation.

Find your breath.

Feel your body breathing.

Allow the breath to bathe the body with awareness.

Feel the breath rinsing the body with health and vitality.

Experience the natural intelligence that is your body,

A manifestation of consciousness.

Take a slow,

Full,

Deep breath in.

Gently exhale and sink deeper into the earth.

As you follow the breath,

Begin to count backwards from 27.

I am breathing in 27.

I am breathing out 27.

I am breathing in 26.

I am breathing out 26.

Continue on your own.

If you lose count,

Just start over.

Stay connected to the sound of my voice.

Begin to imagine that you're walking down a path full of thick,

Tropical vegetation.

The muggy air is very warm and the humidity is saturating your skin.

As you feel your body perspiring,

You find yourself approaching a hut made of bamboo.

As you walk into this hut,

You find yourself in a single room with a pool built into the earth.

There is a hole in the roof with a ray of sunshine illuminating the cool blue water.

As you step into the cool pool,

You feel a slow surge of invigoration move up your limbs and into your torso and chest.

You have never experienced such a refreshing sensation on your skin or inside of your body.

Your entire being is completely restored as you allow your body to float effortlessly in the rejuvenating liquid.

Feeling as though your body temperature has dropped to a level of complete satisfaction,

You decide to make your way out of the pool to continue your journey.

As you leave the hut,

You notice that your environment has completely changed.

You begin to walk down the path and see that the trees that lie in the path have lost almost all of their leaves which cover the cold,

Dry earth.

Your feet feel cold on the ground and a chilly breeze begins to pick up.

Your hair begins to blow around and your eyes begin to water in response to the wind.

You begin to feel cold in your entire body all the way down to your bones.

As you look up,

You see a cabin made of logs and stones.

When you walk inside of the cabin,

You experience an immediate sense of silence and calm as the wind is completely cut out.

You stand in a room covered with small candles and experience the stillness of the space as the visceral aroma of Palo Santo reaches your nostrils.

Still feeling chilled,

Your eyes wander to a tub in which you see full of warm steaming golden liquid.

As you step into this tub,

The consistency is thicker than water,

More like oil or honey.

It's soothing warmth envelops your entire body.

You feel as though you're being held with so much love as your muscles completely soften and you completely surrender into the embrace of the sultry liquid.

You feel 100% safe and secure.

You aren't exerting an ounce of effort.

Enjoy this experience of simply being.

Allow your front body to completely sink into the back body.

Draw your awareness back to the space between your eyebrows.

Begin to imagine a light blue sky with clouds slowly floating across.

A warm ocean breeze.

The feeling of rain on your skin.

Making friendly eye contact.

A blue diamond.

Green trees.

Cats grooming each other.

A warm embrace.

Laughing with friends.

A red apple.

The excitement of good news.

A pink rose.

An evening walk.

A deep blue evening sky.

The sound of crickets.

A hot shower on a cold day.

A beautiful piece of music.

A great night of sleep.

A flock of birds.

A full moon.

Health.

You feel your body breathing.

Feel your entire body breathe with complete ease and effortlessness.

Notice that there is a cohesive sense of consciousness within yourselves.

A sense that everything is working and functioning properly.

Your body has a natural intelligence that is capable of expressing health,

Vigor,

Healing.

Your body's natural state is inclined towards the manifestation and continuation of physical and emotional prosperity.

All of your systems are working optimally.

Begin to recall your sankalpa.

Your positive affirmative statement that you wish to manifest within your life.

Begin to experience your sankalpa within your entire being.

Feel as if it has already come to manifestation.

Repeat your sankalpa to yourself three times.

Begin to visualize your body lying on the floor.

See your body lying on the floor complete stillness.

See that you are completely at peace and totally at ease.

Begin to visualize the room in which your body is lying on the floor.

See the ground,

The walls,

The ceiling,

And then begin to listen for sounds that you might hear inside of this room.

Allow your awareness to become more external and see if you can begin to pick up on sounds outside of this room.

Begin to deepen your breath and as you do start to find some small movements in your joints.

Feel free to roll out ankles and wrists.

It may feel intuitive to stretch your arms above the head.

When you're ready and not a moment sooner,

Begin to roll to one side.

And as you pause here,

Feel awareness arising to the forefront of your experience.

Awareness of body,

Awareness of breath,

Awareness of your existence in this moment,

The only moment.

And with your eyes still closed,

Gently begin to press up to a seat.

Bring your palms together and begin to rub the hands together to generate some heat.

When your hands feel hot,

Lay them over your eyes and allow your eyes to receive the heat of your hands.

Under the shelter of your hands,

Begin to open your eyes and slide your hands down to your heart.

Notice the quality of your mind,

The quality of your breath,

The quality of this moment.

Thank you so much for joining me for this Yoganidra practice.

Namaste.

Reviews

Awesome. I was totally absorbed for the entire time. Loved your clear voice too Thank you. I’ll be doing this again.

So beautiful and effective. I feel rejuvenated and at peace. Will be returning to this often ❤️

Don't feel like coming back.. total bliss.. ty 😊 🙏

Excellent practice! Thank you. It’s hard these days to find a practice that is well paced without music. Thank you thank you!

Thank you for this wonderful full practice. I really appreciated the explanations at the beginning and loved imagery at the end.

Thank you so very much for a perfect nidra practice.

Very good yoga nidra to return to again. Thank you xo

WOW! I love everything about your Yoga Nidra, especially your beautiful voice. Thank goodness for you and this beautiful Nidra!

I have never heard such a thorough yoga nidra I appreciate your hard work and caring that came through the entire meditation thank you 😊💕

Fabulous feel so relaxed

Loved it! So relaxing and sweet. At times the lobg reverb distracted me but all around I loved it! Thanks a lot!

Lovely. Thank you@

Lovely! I really enjoy it.

This was amazing!! Very relaxing 🙏

Lovely practice and you have such a relaxing voice thank you

It’s cold and flu season here so I decided to give this a try and it is lovely. Stay healthy everyone

Beautiful language, progression, presence and pacing. Thank you.

What am exquisite, rich, deep and healing practice. Shared with an even, mildly passionate, unaffected but non-monotone voice. I feel so renewed and rested. Wow... More nidra for me.

I loved this yoga nidra! Great pacing and soothing voice! Thank you so much!

Excellent meditation and visualizations... Thank you!