Yoga Nidra To Rest & Reset - 20 Min Daily Insight

Rest is not a luxury. It's essential. So if you’re feeling physically or mentally depleted and need deep rest & a quick energy reset, this 20 minute Yoga Nidra is the perfect solution. Intended for afternoon or evening practice, it offers simple, beginner-friendly guidance and includes a full body rotation, breath awareness, and an opportunity to welcome whatever is arising in the present moment. Enjoy!!

Recorded exclusively for Insight Timer’s Daily Insight series.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to The Daily Insight.

My name is Hillary Jakendoff.

In today's meditation,

We'll be practicing a short 20-minute yoga nidra together.

If you're new to yoga nidra,

This particular meditation is best experienced from a comfortable lying down position.

But if you'd prefer to remain seated,

That's fine too.

Your practice,

Your choice.

You might like to pause the recording and get yourself settled in savasana,

Lying on the floor or even lying in your bed.

Ideally,

Make sure your feet are equal distance from your midline and your arms equal distance from your sides.

Let your head be centered and allow your face to wear a natural expression.

If for any reason this isn't comfortable for your body,

Take some time now to find a position that feels right for you today.

As you continue to settle,

Consciously give yourself permission to rest,

To let go,

And to turn inwards.

Let's begin by taking three deep,

Slow breaths,

Drawing your breath in through your nose,

Retaining it at the top of the inhale for a moment,

And then exhaling with a long,

Slow sigh.

Do this twice more.

Full deep breath in through your nose.

Long sigh out through your mouth.

Let your breath be natural now.

Let's see if you can begin to soften your body,

Releasing any held tension in the face,

In the eyes,

The cheeks,

The lips,

The jaw.

Feel that your chest is fully open,

The abdomen expansive,

Allowing room for breath to flow.

Let your legs and your feet grow heavy,

Your arms and your hands too.

Slowly begin to create the feeling that the whole body is at ease.

The whole body is at rest.

The mind too.

Letting go of doing and allowing yourself to experience the purity of being.

Letting go of thinking and allowing yourself to experience the simplicity of sensing and feeling.

Draw your attention to your natural breath and notice how it effortlessly flows in and out through your nostrils.

Feeling the breath here,

Sensing it,

Feeling it.

See if you can create the felt experience that your breath is moving throughout your whole body,

Spreading a feeling of calmness and comfort to every cell of your being.

Your whole body resonating with the peaceful vibration of your breath.

Now gently guide your attention to sounds,

Listening carefully,

Completely attuned to the sense of hearing.

Become fully present to one sound at a time,

Sensing its presence as it enters your awareness and then allowing it to drift away.

Come in each sound as you hear it without analysis or judgment,

Letting it be just as it is.

Keep listening,

Noticing if the mind has wandered to thoughts or sensations.

Finally guide it back to sounds.

Let go of the sounds now and prepare to move attention through the body,

A journey of awareness through the physical form.

As each body part is named,

Simply feel it and mentally repeat the name of each part.

Beginning on the right side of the body,

All of the awareness flows to the right hand thumb,

Moving into the right hand thumb,

Mentally repeat right hand thumb.

Continue like this,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Sole,

Top of the right foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Whole right side of the body,

Whole right side of the body.

Guide attention to the left side,

Becoming fully aware of the left hand thumb,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Sole,

Top of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Whole left side of the body,

Whole left side.

Adding awareness now to the back of the body and simply feeling each part as it's named.

Becoming aware of the right heel,

Left heel,

Right calf,

Left calf,

Back of right thigh,

Back of left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Crown of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The eyebrow center,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Bridge of nose,

Nose tip,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The whole nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Right side of jaw,

Left side of jaw,

Chin,

The whole face,

Front of the neck,

Throat bit,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Heart center,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

Navel center,

Right side of the pelvis,

Left side of the pelvis,

The pelvic floor,

The whole pelvis,

Whole of the right leg and foot,

Whole of the left leg and foot,

Both legs and feet together,

Whole right arm and hand,

Whole left arm and hand,

Both arms,

Both hands together,

Whole torso,

Whole torso,

Neck and head,

Awareness of the whole right side of the body,

The whole left side of the body,

The whole back,

The whole front,

The whole body,

Whole body awareness,

Having a felt sense of the entire body.

In the stillness of the body,

Begin to notice the movement of breath.

Notice the natural ebb and flow,

The spontaneous breath as it moves in and out of the body.

Continue to notice the natural ebb and flow,

The spontaneous breath as it moves in and out of the body.

Breathing out,

18,

Breathing in,

17,

Breathing out,

17.

Continue like this.

If the count is lost,

Simply begin again at 18.

Let go of the count.

Let go of the breath.

And begin to feel into whatever experience is arising in the body,

In the heart,

Or in the mind.

Aware of any sensations,

Thoughts,

Or feelings.

Breathing in whatever is present in this moment for you.

Begin to recall the space in which you are lying,

The room around you.

Begin to listen to the sounds in the room.

Begin to feel back into your body,

Aware of your body lying on the floor and sensing the space you occupy,

The way you've positioned yourself.

Feeling your breath within your body and consciously beginning to deepen your breath now,

Expanding your inhalation and extending your exhalation.

As you add depth to the breath,

Notice how it guides you back into your body,

Into the room.

Be aware that you've been practicing yoga nidra and the practice is now complete.

Gradually,

Mindfully,

Introduce movement,

Wiggling your toes,

Your fingers,

And then moving your body intuitively,

Stretching in whatever way feels right for you.

As you move back into your day,

Carry with you this quality of presence,

This feeling of peace and rest.

Thank you so much for practicing with me today.

Reviews

Thank you. I’m a Yoga Nidra fan and this was new to me- really enjoyed the different compartments and combining. Thank you again.

Great , drifting away into this sensations and coming back. Fully relaxed.
Great, drifting away with all these sensations and coming back fully relaxed.

Very peaceful and pleasant. I love Hilary’s voice and energy.

It was nice & relaxing reset for a quick afternoon nap. Thank you for sharing 🙂

Beautiful Yoga Nidra practice thank you.

I love your nidra practices. Thankbyou for your great work. I come back to it on a regular basis. 🌸🙏🏻✨

I am really enjoying some of your shorter Nidra practices. Thank you.

No waffling...just got straight to relaxing and quietening the mind! Perfect!!! I need more practices like this.

🙏🕊💗

Amazing. Thank you.

Hilary, your yoga nidras always center me. I feel peaceful and calm, much needed as I prepare for surgery. Thank you so much! 🙏❤

Thanks for the guidance Hilary. Always helps calm my head!

I wish I discovered this recording earlier. For me with long covid this is perfect during the day without the music but with your soothing voice. I wish you would record a yoga nidra with extra attention for the head and face, that helpt me process al the information overflow I get during the day (and make the headache a little bit better). Thank you for all your recordwinst, they are my favourite.

Awesome. Thank you!😎

I like the way this meditation covered the body. It moved quickly but that kept my mind focussed and subsequently I felt revived at the end. A very nice pick-me-up for during the day 😊

Unique and pretty voice. Relaxing meditation

She’s the best!!

No one guides yoga nidra like Hillary. This one really brought me home. The simplicity of it was perfect. Thank you!

A great quick Nidra fix to rest and reset during the day.

Loved