Yoga Nidra for Deep Rest
Yoga Nidra is a deeply healing, ancient Tantric meditation practice designed to help you systematically release physical, mental and emotional tensions. This particular Yoga Nidra meditation is a gentle, beginner-friendly practice, designed to be used during the day. This is not a sleep meditation. In order to get the most out of your practice, make sure you are completely comfortable, warm and able to remain in stillness during the practice. Thank you for practicing with me.
Transcript
Preparing for the practice of yoga nidra,
Yogic sleep.
Taking as much time as you need to get settled and comfortable on the floor,
Lying in shavasana,
Or in your bed with a thin cushion underneath the head.
Make sure that you'll be warm enough,
As during the practice of yoga nidra,
The body temperature does drop.
Make sure that you have socks on,
That you have blankets.
And now begin to fine tune your body posture.
Make sure that your feet are about hip width apart,
Falling out naturally to the sides,
Equal distance from the midline of your body.
The arms are alongside you,
But not touching,
With the palms facing up,
Down,
Or inward.
Make sure that your head is balanced in the center,
Leaning neither to the left nor the right,
And the chin slightly tucked to lengthen the back of the neck.
And once you've found your appropriate position,
Take a few settling breaths.
Breathe in deeply through your nose.
Retain the breath inside for about three to five seconds.
And then exhale through the mouth,
Letting it all go.
Do this four more times,
Inhaling deeply,
Retaining the breath inside,
Opening the mouth,
Exhaling completely.
And when these breaths are complete,
Become still and become steady.
Recognize that now it is time to relax,
To release,
To let go of the day,
And practice yoga nidra.
Begin to feel the body in contact with the floor beneath.
Begin to feel each and every point of contact between body and floor,
From heels to the back of the head,
And everything in between.
Every part where floor meets body,
Where body meets floor.
Begin to feel the body letting go,
Releasing more and more,
Increasing its plane of contact with the surface beneath.
And now shift the attention.
Shift the attention to outside sounds.
And begin to sharpen the sense of hearing,
Focusing fully,
Moving swiftly from sound to sound.
As soon as a sound is heard,
Let it go and find a new one.
Gradually start to hear the closer sounds,
The sounds inside of the room,
The sounds inside of your body.
Listen to the internal sounds.
Listen to your heart beating.
Listen to your body breathing.
And now take several conscious breaths in,
But allow the exhalation to be spontaneous.
Breathe in deeply and fully,
Filling the lungs with air.
And then softly open the mouth and allow the exhalation to occur naturally without any effort.
And let go of this.
At this time in the practice,
An intention is set.
Bring into your mind a short positive statement.
A short positive statement that resonates deeply with your highest goals.
And say it to yourself three times.
Let go of this.
The awareness will now move through the body.
As each body part is named,
Feel into it.
Feel as though a butterfly is softly landing on each body part as it is named.
Visualize this if you are able.
And mentally say the name of the part as you feel it.
Beginning on the right side with the right hand thumb.
Feel the thumb.
Feel as though a butterfly has softly landed upon the thumb.
Visualize this.
Mentally say right hand thumb.
Keep going.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Right side of the chest.
Right side of the waist.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Ankle.
Soul.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And the fifth toe.
The whole right side of the body.
And over to the left side now.
Left hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Left side of the chest.
Side of the waist.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Ankle.
Soul.
Top of the left foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And the fifth toe.
The whole left side of the body.
The whole left side.
Prepare now for a second rotation through the body parts in the same way.
Right hand thumb.
Index.
Middle.
Ring.
Little.
Palm.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Side of the chest.
Side of the waist.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Ankle.
Soul.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And the fifth toe.
The whole right side of the body.
The whole right side of the body.
Taking the attention over to the left side.
Left hand thumb.
Index.
Middle.
Ring.
Little.
Palm.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Side of the chest.
Side of the waist.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Shin.
Ankle.
Soul.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And the fifth toe.
The whole left side of the body.
The whole left side of the body.
And shift the awareness now.
From the body parts to the natural breath.
Within the stillness of the body begin to sense the gentle movement of the breath.
Observe the feeling of the breath in the nostrils.
The coolness of the air entering in.
And the warmth of the breath flowing out.
Changing the breath in any way.
Allowing it to flow naturally.
Spontaneously.
Begin to observe the gentle rise and fall of the abdomen.
Notice as the body inhales the abdomen rises slightly.
And as the body exhales the abdomen falls slightly.
Remaining present to this gentle movement in the abdomen begin to count the natural breath backwards from 54.
Inhaling 54.
Exhaling 54.
Inhaling 53.
Exhaling 53.
Staying focused on the gentle rise and fall of the abdomen with each breath.
If the count is lost,
Begin again at 54.
Keep counting down from 54.
The natural breath.
Awareness at the abdomen.
And now shift the attention from the abdomen to the nostrils.
And become very attuned to the breath in the nostrils.
Feel the exact moment the body begins to inhale.
And the exact moment it begins to exhale.
Feel as the breath enters in through the nostrils and rises to the eyebrow center.
Exhaling from the eyebrow center down and out through the nostrils.
Become aware of this pattern of the breath.
Rising and falling.
Nostrils to eyebrow center.
Begin to count down here.
Inhaling 54.
Exhaling 54.
Inhaling 53.
Exhaling 53.
And now let go of the count.
And begin with the breath.
On the next exhalation,
Begin to feel the body growing heavier.
Use the power of the imagination,
The power of the will,
To create this experience.
Every exhalation deepen the experience of heaviness.
Feeling as though the body is as heavy as lead.
As heavy as a stone.
A boulder.
The body is growing heavier and heavier with every exhalation.
Feel as though the body is creating an imprint,
An indent,
On the surface beneath.
And feel a great sense of release.
A great sense of letting go.
And begin to feel this experience of heaviness.
Feel the body becoming light.
As light as a piece of cotton.
As light as a cloud.
The whole body is growing lighter and lighter.
Feel a sense of internal buoyancy.
A sense of lightlessness.
Lightness in the body.
Lightness in the mind.
Feel this lightness to bring about a great sense of letting go,
Of freedom.
Freedom from gravity.
Have a sense that the body could easily lift from the floor or the surface beneath.
And let this go too.
With exhalation,
Feel the body returning to its natural weight.
And now take the awareness into the space in front of the closed eyes.
Become aware of the space and begin to visualize or remember the following colors.
Black.
Black.
Black as a piece of coal.
Pink.
Pink.
Pink as a beautiful rose.
White.
White.
White as the snow.
Green.
Green.
Green as the fresh grass.
Blue.
Blue.
Deep blue.
As blue as the cloudless sky.
Silver.
Silver.
Silver as the full moon.
Golden color.
Shining golden color.
The color of the sunset.
Red.
Red.
Red as a ripe cherry.
Again,
Black.
Again,
Pink.
White.
Green.
Blue.
Silver.
Golden color.
Red.
Let these colors,
These images fade.
And remember again your intention.
Repeat your positive intention three times now.
Let it go and come back to your breath.
Begin to deepen your breath.
And come back to your body.
Feeling your body lying on the floor.
The surface beneath you.
The room around you.
Remember your surroundings clearly.
And visualize yourself within them.
Become fully present to your body,
To the room around you.
Know that you have been practicing Yoga Nidra,
Yogic sleep,
And the practice is now complete.
Begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes.
Begin to move your arms and your legs.
Gently move your head from side to side.
Fully return to your body,
Making whatever intuitive movements you feel to.
And in your own time,
Roll over onto your right side.
Give yourself a little squeeze.
And come up to sit.
And feel the effects,
The relaxation created by the practice of Yoga Nidra.
Feel the effects in the body and the mind.
And when you feel ready,
Softly open your eyes.
4.8 (1 578)
Recent Reviews
Dara
August 21, 2025
Amazing! Not only do I feel rested and recharged after a sleepless night, I look rested and awake. As one who could never nap, I am most grateful!
Jen
June 26, 2025
Beautiful yoga nidra practice thank you 🌞🍄🌈🌞🍄🌈🌞🍄🌈🌞🍄🌈🌞🍄🌈🌞🍄🌈🌞🍄🌈
Marika
February 15, 2025
Very relaxing. Missed the middle part because of falling asleep. Will come back to it again soon the enjoy it fully.
Michael
November 23, 2024
This is awesome especially when I'm anxious and can't settle down
Cynthia
November 10, 2023
Very nice indeed and just what I needed, thank you! 🙏
Lucy
August 10, 2023
Beautifully paced and soothing. Feel so rested, thank you Hilary!
Kirsten
May 28, 2023
Thank you for another wonderful yoga nidra session. You are a magical guide 🙏
Jo-Ann
April 3, 2023
Wonderful...this allowed me to fall back to sleep 😴 🙏 🧘♀️ 🦋
Sow
December 21, 2022
Really enjoyed this practice! Feeling relaxed and renewed.
Michella
November 8, 2022
Excellent experience. I highly recommend. Several unique visualizations that really worked for me. Thank you 😊
Anneke
July 5, 2022
I did this in the morning after a night of bad sleep. Feeling refreshed & ready for my day now. Thanks 🙏
Christina
December 6, 2021
Thank you. Soothing voice guided me to a deep sleep. 🙏🏼❤️
D
October 20, 2021
Fantastic, thank you for a lovely practice. Namaste 💚🙏
Adele
August 6, 2021
This has helped me a great deal!! Love it!! Thank you 😊
Stacey
June 27, 2021
Thank you 🙏🏻 Another lovely session to get me deeply relaxed… I did fall asleep 😴 😁 Highly recommended
Ciara
May 21, 2021
Thank you Hilary for this healing session. You soft and nurturing voice guides me effortlessly into deep relaxation 🙏💜
Margaret
April 5, 2021
A very detailed body scan that worked like hypnosis for me. This is an excellent yoga nidra session. 🤗
Rachel
March 30, 2021
Thank you, I loved the double body scan I could feel my body complexity give in.
Jackie
March 16, 2021
Beautiful. What a soothing voics
Maria
February 15, 2021
I love Hilary’s voice - so easy to follow along to not at all intrusive. Thank you 🙏🏽