Yoga Nidra: Deep Rest & Relaxation For The Mind And Body
This restorative Yoga Nidra practice is designed to help you unwind from the pressures of being constantly "on," releasing stress from both the mind and body. Through guided full-body relaxation, breath awareness, mantra, visualization, and a personalized sankalpa, you'll dissolve tension and clear mental clutter. Experience deep, restorative rest that leaves you renewed, recharged, and fully present.
Transcript
Hi my friend,
It's Violeta Z here and welcome to this restorative yoga nidra practice.
This is your time to fully rest,
Recover,
And release the tension and exhaustion that build up when you're constantly in go mode.
This practice will guide you into deeper states of relaxation,
Allowing your body and mind to heal from states of burnout and the effects of constantly being on.
Let's begin.
I invite you to lie down in a comfortable position,
Either on your back with your arms at your sides or with a bolster or pillow under your knees for added support and comfort,
Closing down the eyes and allowing your body to become heavy against the ground,
Noticing the touch points between the body and the surface that you are laying on.
Feeling fully into the support that lives here.
Comfort is queen.
And so taking a moment to notice if the body needs any adjustments to feel slightly more comfortable and more present in the moment and in the body,
Making any micro movements and adjustments that will help bring forth a deeper sense of comfort and presence.
And when you're ready,
Inhaling from the bottom of your belly and using the awareness to travel with the breath to and through your chest and exhaling out the nose.
Once again,
Inhaling from the bottom of your belly,
Using the awareness to travel with the breath to and through your chest and out your nose.
One more time.
Inhaling from the bottom of your belly,
Breathing in to and through your chest and exhaling out the nose,
Taking a moment to simply notice how it is for the body to be breath,
Breath,
Filling up the body,
Breath,
Expanding the lungs and the slight contraction that follows on the exhale.
This is your space.
This is your time just for you.
And on your next inhalation,
I invite you to clench all of the muscles in the body that you can notice from your face to your fists,
To your toes,
To your buttocks.
So exhaling completely and on the inhale,
Clenching all of the muscles,
Breathing in,
Scrunching the face,
The fists,
Curling the toes,
The buttocks and releasing,
Allowing the body's weight to meet the surface.
Once again,
We will do this two more times.
Progressive muscle relaxation.
On your next inhale,
Tensing and scrunching the face,
The shoulders,
The chest,
The thighs,
The toes,
And any other muscles that you can,
And on the exhale,
Releasing completely and allowing the body to reconnect with the surface beneath you.
One last time on the inhale,
Tensing the muscles in the face,
The shoulders,
The abdomen,
The thighs,
The toes,
The fists,
Squeezing everything,
Breathing in,
Holding the breath,
And releasing any effort,
Any tension on the exhale,
Allowing the body to reconnect with the surface once again.
And just noticing how this moment is right here,
Right now,
And if anything has changed.
Now,
Set an intention,
A sankalpa for your practice,
A quality that you'd like to cultivate more of,
A state you'd like to reach.
Seeing if there's a word or phrase,
A sensation,
A flash of an image,
A color that comes to mind when you think of an intention for our time together.
Perhaps it's as simple as I allow myself to rest and rejuvenate.
I give myself permission to simply be.
Noticing what comes in this moment,
What information emerges,
And holding it in your awareness.
We will be using the sankalpa to guide our practice.
Now,
Begin to focus your awareness to the different parts of your body,
Inviting relaxation as you move your focus and your awareness.
Attention shifts to the right hand,
Beginning with the right hand thumb.
Feel and notice your right hand thumb.
Awareness moves to the right hand index finger,
Middle finger,
And index finger.
Ring finger,
Pinky finger.
Awareness notices the palm of the hand,
Of the right hand,
The back of the right hand,
The wrist,
The forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
Awareness is on the shoulder.
Now,
Shifting the awareness to the left hand,
Noticing the left hand,
Feeling into the left hand thumb,
Left hand index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
The palm of the left hand,
The palm of the left hand,
The back of the left hand,
The wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
Awareness is on the left shoulder.
Once again,
Full attention on the right hand thumb.
Noticing the right hand thumb.
Moving on to the right hand forefinger,
The middle finger,
The ring finger,
The little finger,
The palm of the right hand,
The back of the right hand,
The wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm.
Awareness is on the shoulder.
Awareness is on the right shoulder.
The armpit,
Right side of the chest.
Resting the awareness on the right side of the chest,
The waist,
The right hip,
The thigh,
The knee,
The shin.
Awareness is on the right ankle,
The sole of the right foot,
The top of the right foot,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe.
Awareness is on the right little toe.
Becoming aware of the whole right side of the body now.
Resting the awareness on the whole right side of the body.
Shifting full awareness now to the left hand thumb.
Awareness is on the left hand thumb.
Awareness moves to the left hand index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger.
Awareness is on the left hand little finger.
Attention is on the palm of the left hand,
The back of the left hand,
The wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm.
Attention is on the shoulder.
Attention is on the left shoulder.
The armpit,
Left side of the chest.
Attention is on the left side of the chest,
The waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin.
Awareness is on the left ankle.
Awareness is on the left ankle,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the left foot.
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe.
Awareness is on the left little toe.
The left little toe.
Resting the awareness of the whole left side of the body now.
The whole left side of the body.
Expanding awareness to notice the whole body now.
Experiencing the whole body.
The whole body.
Noticing the front side of the body.
The front side of the body.
Awareness moves to the back side of the body.
The whole back side of the body.
Awareness moves to the left side of the body.
Left side of the body.
Awareness moves to the right side of the body.
The right side of the body.
Expanding awareness to experience the whole body.
Awareness envelops the whole body.
The whole body.
Awareness shifts to your toes.
Awareness shifts to the toes.
The ankles,
The legs.
Inviting them to relax deeply.
Awareness notices the pelvis,
The lower back,
The abdomen.
The chest,
The shoulders,
Neck,
And head.
Awareness notices the whole head.
Breathing into the space of the whole head.
Letting all tension release.
All tension release.
Now gently shift your focus to your breath once again.
Releasing any other effort.
As you breathe in,
Imagine in your mind's eye that you are inhaling pure golden light.
This light is nourishing,
Restorative,
And deeply healing.
Pure golden light.
As you exhale,
Feel your body releasing any remaining tension,
Stress,
Or heaviness.
On the inhalation,
Feel this gold,
Pure light fill the lungs,
The chest,
Spreading throughout the whole body,
The entire body.
Like a warm wave of relaxation.
Warm wave of permission.
With each inhale,
Sinking deeper into the earth.
Letting go even more.
Now,
Imagine that you are lying in a beautiful,
Peaceful meadow.
The sun is shining gently above,
And you feel a warm breeze on your skin.
The grass beneath you is soft,
And the earth feels cool,
Supporting you completely.
Take a moment to connect with how it is to be in this meadow.
In sensation.
In awareness.
In feeling.
The coolness on your feet.
The warmth of the shining sun.
The warm breeze on your skin.
In this space,
Feel your body absorbing the energy of the earth beneath you.
With every breath,
You are receiving nourishment and strength from the ground.
As if you are being recharged,
Just like a battery.
The more you let go and relax,
The more energy flows into you.
Feel your body becoming lighter,
Your mind clear,
As the energy of the earth rejuvenates you from the inside out.
As you rest here in this space,
Repeat silently to yourself,
Either your sankalpa,
Or one of the following affirmations.
I am allowed to rest.
I deserve deep restoration.
I let go of all that no longer serves me.
I am open to the flow of life.
Let these words sink deeply into your mind and body,
Knowing that you are worthy of this moment of stillness and healing.
Taking a few moments more to repeat either your sankalpa,
Or one of these affirmations in your mind.
As you breathe in and out,
In and out.
As we prepare to close this practice,
I invite you to release any effort that you may have made or any focus or concentration,
And noticing how it is to be in this moment right here,
Right now,
And mind,
Body,
And soul.
Taking a few deep breaths in,
And gently bringing your awareness back to your physical body.
Noticing the physical body,
The weight of the body on the surface beneath you.
Wiggling your fingers and toes,
Inviting more movement into the body.
Rolling your head from side to side,
And slowly,
Gently opening your eyes when you are ready.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Carry this deep sense of rest and renewal with you,
Knowing that you can always return to this place of peace whenever you need it.
