Morning Yoga Nidra: A Calmer Wake Up

A short morning Yoga Nidra to help you begin the day slowly, with a little more space before you step into everything that needs your attention.
This practice invites you to notice the breath, settle into the body and create a sense of calm and space around you. A gentle practice for mornings when you wake feeling stressed, anxious, overwhelmed or already thinking about the day ahead.
Take a few moments for yourself before you get up, and begin the day, one moment at a time.

Transcript

Good morning. And welcome. My name is Gemma. This short yoga nidra is an opportunity to begin your day slowly. And with a steady sense of calm. Before you get up. Before you think about everything that needs doing. Before you start responding to the world around you. Just take these next few moments for yourself. Make yourself comfortable. You can practice this lying down. Perhaps you're still in your bed. Or find somewhere to sit comfortably. If you're already up. Allow your eyes to close. And make any adjustments that you might need. To allow yourself to feel supported. And comfortable. Begin by noticing the support beneath you. The weight of your body. The surface holding you. You might tune into the sense of the space around you. And notice any presence or absence of sound. And notice your natural breath. Simply feeling the body breathing. Notice how your breath is this morning. Whether short or long. Or shallow. There's no need to change it. Nothing you need to solve. You might take a few deeper breaths here if it feels okay in the body this morning. In through the nose. Out through the mouth with a sigh if that feels good. And notice if the breath feels soft or tight. And if it feels difficult this morning. That's OK. No need to force anything. Instead just notice the breath. As it is. Return to the natural rhythm of the breath. If it feels supported. You might invite in a sankalpa for your day. All just for now. An intention to guide you. And that comes from the heart. This might sound like. I can take the day. One moment at a time. I have space to pause and breathe. And if you are using a sandcalper today. Repeating that to yourself. Three times now. Bring attention to the centre of the forehead. Easing any tension here. The point between the eyebrows. Softening. The eyes. Temples. Cheeks. Mouth. The jaw. Releasing. And slackening. Through. The shoulders. Releasing down. Towards the earth. Both arms now. The elbows. Riff. Hands. Fingers and thumbs. Noticing the whole of the arms together. Centre of the chest. The ribs. Moving with the breath. The belly. Gently rising and falling. Notice the hips and sit bones. Both legs now. The knees. Ankles feet. And the toes. Noticing both legs together. Expand awareness to the whole body now. The whole body together. Resting. Where you are. Notice now the movement of the breath. At the nostrils. Have the chest and shoulders. The ribcage front. And back. And the breath at the belly. Just noticing the whole body. Expanding. And releasing. With each breath. And perhaps notice any sensations. Already here this morning. Maybe some tiredness. Maybe some tension. Maybe a sense of anticipation. About the day ahead. And can you simply notice those sensations? Perhaps allowing them a little more space with each breath. And now imagine that you have a little space around you. A gentle space between you and me. And everything else. You might imagine this as a soft, Hair bubble. Surrounding your body. Or simply a sense of space around you. Not something that shuts the world out. Just a little space that belongs to you. Inside this space. There's nothing you need to respond to right now. You can simply rest here. Noticing the breath. And the sensations. Within the body. Inside this space. You can simply be. For now. There is only this moment. This breath. This space. And perhaps imagine that this space all this bubble. Remains with you. As you begin your day. You can still respond. What needs your attention. You can still meet. Whatever the day brings. And there is no need to absorb everything. There can be this little space. A moment to pause. To breathe. To be. You might silently remind yourself here of your sankalpa. I can take the day. One moment at a time. I have space to pause and breathe. Gently bring awareness back to the breath. The air. Against your skin. The surface beneath your body. Begin to notice the room around you. And perhaps take a slightly deeper breath. Just noticing how this feels in your body now. Allowing yourself. To begin waking into the day. There's no need to rush. Just gently moving fingers and toes. And maybe taking a stretch. That feels good. And when you're ready. Slowly opening your eyes And just pausing where you are. You don't need to meet the whole day at once. Just this moment. And then the next. And then the next. One small step. At a time. Thank you for practicing with me this morning. And I wish you a calm start. To your day ahead.