Yoga Nidra - Deep Relaxation • Body Scan

Practice stillness in the body. Yoga Nidra is referred to as “the sleep of the yogis". Get cozy with props like blankets, lavender scented eye pillows, and bolsters. Experience deep relaxation through a guided meditation, which releases muscles throughout the entire body. Let go of mental and emotional stress. Yoga Nidra is said to be more refreshing than a long night’s sleep.

Transcript

Welcome to yoga nidra.

Yoga nidra is known as the sleep of the yogis.

And we won't be sleeping the same way we do at night because that's unconscious.

And maybe we have no control over the dreams and we have no awareness while we're dreaming that we are asleep.

But in yoga nidra,

You are the master of the mind.

You get to stay conscious and watch the mind and control the mind.

The idea with yoga nidra is to allow the body to fall asleep and the mind to stay awake.

So take the next minute or two to make any other adjustments to the body to make sure you are completely comfortable.

If anything is slightly uncomfortable,

It only gets more uncomfortable as time goes on and as the body relaxes.

So shift and move at all,

Anything that you need to,

To feel complete comfort.

Please get ready for yoga nidra by lying down in shavasana,

Corpse pose on the back.

Lie down with the body stretched out,

The feet apart and the palms of the hands turned upwards and the eyes closed.

Make all the necessary adjustments so that you are as comfortable as possible.

There must be no movement,

Neither conscious nor unconscious.

Remember that you are about to practice yoga nidra.

Yoga nidra is the psychic sleep.

And you only have to maintain awareness of hearing and feeling.

Hearing and feeling.

The body sleeps,

But the mind remains awake.

You must remain alert so that you will not sleep.

Say to yourself mentally,

I will not sleep.

I will remain awake.

Take a deep breath in and as you breathe in,

Feel coolness and calmness spreading throughout the body.

As you breathe out,

Feel your cares and worries flowing out of you,

Dropping away.

Again,

Take a slow powerful deep breath in and as you breathe in,

Feel the coolness and calmness spreading throughout the body.

As you breathe out,

Feel your cares and worries flowing out of you,

Dropping away.

Again,

Take a slow powerful deep breath in and as you breathe in,

Feel the coolness and calmness spreading throughout the body.

And as you breathe out,

Feel your cares and worries flowing out of you,

Dropping away.

Become aware of your body and relax yourself completely.

Make yourself physically calm and steady.

Feel that the legs are relaxed,

The trunk,

The head,

The arms,

And hands.

Develop awareness of your physical body.

Your physical body right from the top of your head to the tips of your toes and say in your mind,

Complete awareness of the physical body.

Say to yourself again,

Say to yourself again,

Relax your whole body mentally.

Relax yourself mentally.

Relax yourself by breathing normally and become aware of the breath as it moves between the navel and the throat.

Awareness of your natural breath,

No forcing.

Navel to throat,

Breathing.

Please go on with this awareness and slowly feel yourself becoming more relaxed.

Now leave your breathing and become aware that you are going to practice yoga nidra.

Yoga nidra begins now.

Now is the time to make your resolve sankalpa.

There's an affirmation intention in the present tense as though it's already happening.

For example,

I flow through life with ease and peace.

I am relaxed.

I flow through life with ease and peace.

I am relaxed.

You may use this intention or sankalpa or come up with your own.

Think of a precise exact phrase or sentence and be consistent.

Plant that resolve at one place and do not change it.

Certainly the resolve will come true if the soil is perfect.

Now repeat your resolve with feeling and awareness three times.

Awareness of the parts of the body.

The consciousness should move around the body and keep on moving.

As it moves,

It changes into prana,

The vital energy in the form of a current of energy.

Do not concentrate on any one part,

But let your mind jump freely from one part to the next.

Begin with the right hand thumb,

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth,

Palm,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Hip,

Right thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole,

Top of the foot,

Right toes,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Hip,

Left thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole,

Top of the foot,

Left toes,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Go to the right toes and start from the bottom,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth,

Top of the foot,

Sole,

Heel,

Ankle,

Calf muscle,

Kneecap,

Thigh,

Hip,

Waist,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Upper arm,

Elbow,

Lower arm,

Wrist,

Back of the hand,

Palm of the hand,

Right thumb,

Second finger,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth.

Go to the left toes,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth,

Top of the foot,

Sole,

Heel,

Ankle,

Calf muscle,

Kneecap,

Thigh,

Hip,

Waist,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Upper arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Lower arm,

Wrist,

Back of the hand,

Palm of the hand,

Left thumb,

Second finger,

Third,

Fourth,

Fifth.

Go to the back of the body,

Go to the back of the head where it touches the floor,

Back of the head,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Whole spine,

Right hip,

Left hip,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Back of the right thigh,

Back of the left thigh,

Back of the right knee,

Back of the left knee,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right heel,

Left heel,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Right calf muscle,

Back of the right knee,

Back of the left knee,

Back of the right thigh,

Back of the left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right hip,

Left hip,

Whole spine,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the head.

Go to the front of the body,

Go to the top of the head,

Top of the head,

Forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right chest,

Left chest,

Middle of the chest,

Navel,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Right toes,

Left toes,

Right toes,

Left toes,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right groin,

Left groin,

Lower abdomen,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Right chest,

Left chest,

Middle of the chest,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Throat,

Jaw,

Chin,

Lower lip,

Upper lip,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Eyebrow center,

Forehead,

Top of the head.

Now the major parts of the body,

The whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

Both legs together,

Whole of the right arm,

Whole of the left arm,

Both arms together,

Whole of the back together,

Whole of the front together,

Whole of the head together,

The whole body together,

The whole body together,

The whole body together.

Notice the whole body.

The whole body,

The whole body.

Become aware of the meeting points between your body and the floor.

Feel the meeting points between the body and the floor.

Sharp meeting points,

Body and floor.

Feel the floor holding you like a baby in the arms.

And now concentrate on your body as if you are seeing it from the outside.

Look on your body as an object.

See your head,

Your clothes,

Your whole body from top to bottom,

Lying on the back on the floor.

See your body as an object,

A reflection in an imaginary mirror.

You are looking at your own reflection in the mirror and you see yourself lying on the floor,

Your feet,

Your legs,

Abdomen,

Chest,

Arms,

Hands,

Clothing,

Nose,

Closed eyes,

Forehead,

Hair,

Everything reflected in that mirror.

Awareness of your body as an object.

Make sure you are not sleeping.

No sleeping please.

Bring your attention to the natural quiet breath.

Become aware of the breath through the nostrils.

The natural breath flows through both nostrils and meets at the point of the top of the nose to form a triangle.

The spontaneous breath enters through the nostril openings,

Moves upwards and draws together to form a triangle with its apex in the eyebrow center.

Be aware of the breath passing through both nostrils.

Become aware of both nostrils separately and simultaneously.

Think of the breaths as starting separately from a distance,

Drawing near and uniting in the eyebrow center.

Now concentrate on each breath and try to determine its temperature.

Move back and forth and compare the temperatures.

In yoga we say that the left nostril breath is ida,

The moon,

And the right is pingala,

Sun.

Ida,

The left breath is cooler.

Pingala,

The right breath is warmer.

Continue your awareness of the breathing.

Continue your awareness of the breathing,

But imagine that you are now breathing through alternate nostrils.

In through one nostril and out through the other.

Up and down the sides of a triangle and back again.

Begin your awareness of breathing and start counting each breath with full attention.

Inhale left nostril 54.

Exhale right nostril 54.

Inhale right nostril 53.

And exhale left nostril 53 and so on.

Continue counting and breathing to zero.

Total awareness of counting and breathing.

If you make a mistake or reach zero,

Start again from 54.

Stop your counting and remain aware of the breath only.

Remain aware of the breath only,

The natural breathing pattern.

Inhale evenly through both nostrils.

Total awareness,

No sleeping,

No sleeping please.

Heaviness,

Awaken the experience of heaviness in the whole body.

Become aware of heaviness in each part of the body as it is need.

Heels,

Ankles,

Calves,

Knees,

Thighs,

Buttocks,

Back,

Abdomen,

Chest,

Shoulders,

Arms,

Palms,

Head,

Eyelids,

The whole body heavy.

The whole body heavy.

The whole body heavy.

Manifests this feeling of heaviness in the whole body.

Manifests the experience of lightness in the body.

Manifests the feeling of lightness from the top,

From the top of the head,

The whole head,

Lights,

Shoulders,

Palms,

Back,

Chest,

Light,

Abdomen,

Thighs,

Knees,

Calves,

Heels,

Soles,

Toes,

Light.

Manifests the experience of lightness in the whole body from top to toe.

The lightness of the body can be developed by feeling the meeting points between the body and the floor,

Point by point,

Or as a whole,

A whole surface of body floor meeting,

Lights,

Feet,

Feet,

Knees,

Calves,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Knees,

Calves,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs,

Legs.

Concentrate on this area of meeting points between the body and the floor and gradually experience lightness.

Feel yourself floating up from the floor.

You are so light that you are floating to the ceiling,

Drifting back and forth.

Continue this experience until lightness is manifest.

Go on.

Now,

Ask yourself,

What am I thinking?

What am I thinking?

Do not think,

But become aware of the spontaneous thought process.

Become a witness.

Do not suppress any thought.

Try to witness your thoughts and ask yourself again and again,

What am I thinking?

What am I thinking?

At the same time,

Maintain total awareness of any thought that is passing through the visible frame of your consciousness.

What am I thinking?

Ask yourself,

What am I thinking?

What am I thinking?

Notice what you are thinking with complete awareness and feeling.

Notice what am I thinking?

Become the witness to the mind.

Notice what you are thinking without controlling it.

Now,

Bring your awareness to the present and make sure that you are not sleeping.

No sleeping,

Please.

I'm going to name a few objects and you should try to visualize them on the levels of feeling,

Awareness,

Emotion,

And imagination as best you can.

You should move as fast as I go,

Jumping your mind from image to image.

Do not waste your time concentrating on any one image,

But keep moving.

Do your best with your imagination.

Notice in your mind's eye a flickering candle,

Weeping willow tree,

Tall palm tree,

Car moving on a road,

Colored clouds gathering,

Yellow clouds,

Blue clouds,

Starlit night,

Full moon,

A dog standing,

A cat sleeping,

An elephant moving,

Horse racing,

Rising sun,

Setting sun,

Ocean with waves,

A big pond with clear water,

Blue lotus,

White lotus,

Pink lotus,

Golden spider web,

Sandy bank of a wide river,

Boat sailing on the water,

See the ripples,

Chimney smoke rising from an old house,

A cold winter,

A fire burning in the house,

Dawn of a new day,

Temple bell ringing,

Yogi sitting in deep meditation,

Buddha in repose,

Iola in sun,

A Resolve.

Now is the time that you should remember your sankalpa or resolve from the beginning of class.

And remember it exactly word by word,

How you chose it at the beginning of class.

With complete awareness and feeling.

And repeat your resolve mentally to yourself three times with maximum feeling and awareness three times to yourself.

Now relax all efforts and bring your attention to the natural breath.

The natural breath flowing in and out of the nostrils.

Maintain your awareness of the breath.

And at the same time develop your awareness of physical relaxation.

Be aware that your body is physically relaxed.

Be aware of this.

Awareness of relaxation and awareness of be aware of your physical existence.

Your body is lying on the floor.

Feel your body lying on the floor.

Become aware of the physical existence of your body.

Develop awareness of your body and visualize your body lying on the floor.

Take your mind out and visualize the surrounding room.

You are practicing yoga nidra.

Become aware of this fact.

Tell yourself I am practicing yoga nidra.

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I will not sleep.

Bring the awareness to the natural flowing breath.

The natural rhythm of the breath.

Begin to deepen the inhales.

Inhale through the nose.

Puff out your belly.

Fill up your chest.

Inhale all the way up.

And open the mouth.

Let it go.

Inhale.

Puff out your belly.

Fill up your chest.

Inhale all the way up.

Open the mouth.

Let it go.

Before moving,

Gently visualize.

Visualize the toes and fingers.

Visualize them moving.

And now gently begin to wiggle fingers and toes and feel every sensation as you do.

Gently move fingers and toes,

Wrists and ankles.

Take another slow,

Full deep breath in through the nose.

Fill yourself up with a fresh new energy.

Open the mouth.

Let it go.

Keep your eyes closed for now.

Again visualize your body lying on the floor.

Visualize your body lying on the floor in this room.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Keep your peaceful feeling.

Take your time.

When your body is ready,

Roll onto the right side and support your head with your bottom arm or a nearby prop.

Take your time.

Take a slow,

Full deep breath in as you breathe out.

Imagine filling yourself with divine light.

Notice how you feel right now.

Notice the effects of yoga nidra practice.

Om peace,

Peace,

Eternal peace.

May there be peace,

Eternal peace in your heart.

Feel free to continue to lie down for as long as you need.

When your body is ready,

Take your time to gently press to seated for a closing meditation.

And if it's available to you,

I recommend sitting on a bolster to lengthen the spine.

Folded blanket.

Take your time.

Once you're seated,

Take a few slow deep breaths to invite some fresh new energy into your body to revitalize the body,

Your spirit,

Your mind with fresh prana,

Vitality,

Life force.

Bring left palm to the heart,

Right palm on top,

Bow head to heart.

May the entire universe be filled with peace,

Joy,

Love,

Light.

May the light of truth overcome all darkness.

Victory to that light.

Thank you so much for practicing.

Be sure to have a very slow transition to wherever you go next.