Embodied Nidra Nap

A body-centred yoga nidra practice for presence, grounding and to regulate the nervous system. This simple practice guides you into body awareness, presence and understanding via a long body scan, wave breathing, exploration of the opposites stillness/movement and time to explore the centre of your heart.

Because the techniques used in yoga nidra encourage such a deep and complete relaxation, even a short practice like this one can be incredibly rejuvenating. After the practice, you can expect to feel clearer, calmer and more grounded and present in your body.

Image by Sofia.

Transcript

Welcome to your practice. Make sure that you are warm, Comfortable and ready to begin. Take any support that you need for yourself, Any cushions, Pillows or blankets to be sure that you're as comfortable as you can possibly be, So that you won't be distracted by any physical discomfort as you rest. And when you're ready, Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Watch the breath as it flows in and out. Feel the chest gently rising and falling as you breathe. And notice where the breath naturally moves to as it flows into your body. Does it flow into your chest? Into your belly? Or to someplace else? Follow the breath and notice how with every exhalation your body becomes more relaxed. Every exhalation encourages tension to release from your muscles. And notice how every exhalation becomes a little bit longer as the breath slows down and you naturally begin to rest. Let your awareness drift outwards to the sounds that you can hear around you. Just acknowledge the sounds. Take a moment to notice that they're there without worrying about what they are or where they're coming from. Just observe that the sounds are happening and know that they're not going to disturb you during your practice. Notice that you can coexist with them and any sound can only help to enhance your experience of relaxation. We're going to take a journey around the body. Rest your awareness at each body part as it's named, Taking the time to explore that part of your body as you gently float around it. We'll begin at the right thumb. Bring the awareness to rest inside the right hand thumb. Explore the right thumb. Take this moment to get to know it. Bring the awareness to the right index finger and the right index finger. Bring the awareness to the right index finger, The right middle finger, The ring finger and the little finger. Now move to the palm of the right hand and take a moment to explore the palm of the right hand and the back of the right hand, The right wrist, The right forearm, The right elbow, The upper arm, The right shoulder, The right armpit, The right side of the chest, The right side of the abdomen, The right waist, The right hip, The right thigh, The knee, The lower leg, The right ankle, The right heel, The right toe, The sole of the right foot, The top of the right foot and take a moment to explore the right toes. One, Two, Three, Four, Five. And now move to the left side. Bring the awareness to the left hand thumb. Take a moment to get to know your left hand thumb, Left index finger, Left middle finger, The ring finger, The little finger, The palm of the left hand, The back of the left hand, The left wrist, The left forearm, The left elbow, The upper arm, The left shoulder, The left armpit, The left side of the chest, The left side of the abdomen, The left waist, The left hip, The left thigh, The left knee, The lower leg, The left ankle, The left heel, The sole of the left foot, The top of the left foot, Each of the left toes. One, Two, Three, Four, Five. And now moving up the back of the body, Move to the right heel. Now explore the right heel and the left heel, The back of the right knee and the back of the left knee, The right buttock, The left buttock, The spine. Move your awareness up the spine, Spending a moment with each vertebrae in turn. Move to the right shoulder blade and the left shoulder blade, The back of the head, The top of the head, And now moving down the front of the body, Bring the awareness to the forehead, The right temple, The left temple, The right eyebrow, The left eyebrow, The eyebrow centre, Explore the eyebrow centre, The right ear, The left ear, The right cheek, The left cheek, The inside of the right nostril, The inside of the left nostril, The tip of the nose, The whole of the nose, The upper lip, The lower lip, The space between the lips, The chin, The jaw, The right collarbone, The left collarbone, The space between the collarbones, The right side of the chest, The left side of the chest, The centre of the chest, The navel, The lower abdomen, The right hip, The left hip, The right knee, The left knee, The right ankle, The left ankle, The right toes, The left toes, And the whole of the right foot, Rest the awareness on the whole of the right foot, The whole of the right leg, The whole of the right arm, The whole of the right side of the body, And the whole of the left foot, The whole of the left leg, The whole of the left arm, The whole of the left side of the body, And the whole of the body together, Awareness on the whole of the body together, The whole of the body together, Bring the awareness to the breath, Feel the breath flowing in and out, The chest gently expanding and contracting, And now see the breath flowing over your body like a wave, As you inhale the breath flows from the tips of the toes up to the top of your head, And as you exhale the breath flows from the top of the head back to the tips of the toes, See this wave of breath flowing over every part of the body as it flows from the toes to the head on the inhalation and the head to the toes on the exhalation, Feel into your body and notice how still the body has become, The body has become completely still, As if fast asleep, Observe the stillness within the sleeping body, The body completely still, Motionless, But although the body appears to be sleeping there is still movement happening, The breath continues to flow in and out, The chest rises and falls, The heart continues to beat, Blood continues to circulate, Become aware of all of the movements that continue to happen even when the body is sleeping, Rest the awareness on the movement that is always happening within the body, The continuous movement within the body, And now make the space to experience both of those at the same time, Observe the body completely still, Fast asleep and simultaneously alive with movement, Experience stillness and movement inside the body together, Stillness and movement inside the body together, Move the awareness to the centre of the chest, The heart centre, Rest into the heart centre, Take this moment to explore it, To become familiar with your heart, And now very slowly begin to turn your awareness back outwards, Back out to any sounds that are happening around you, Just acknowledge that those sounds are there, And feel into the feeling of the air against your skin, The feeling of your clothing or blanket against your skin, The feeling of your body resting into the surface beneath you, Watch the breath flowing in and out, And notice how the breath flows all the way down into your fingers and toes, Bringing life into the fingers and toes, Start to make some small movements with your hands and your feet, And when you feel ready, Give yourself a stretch in any way that feels comfortable for you, Take your time, There is no rush, When you're sure that you're wide awake again, Slowly blink your eyes back open, Your practice of yoga nidra is now complete, Thank you for joining me today.