Yoga Nidra: Enlightened Sleep

Yoga Nidra, or Yogic Sleep, is also known as Enlightened Sleep. During Yoga Nidra, the body sleeps but the consciousness remains aware. This liminal state that is not sleeping, nor dreaming, nor waking; is known by the Yogis as Turiya: the fourth state of consciousness. During Yoga Nidra, we experience a way of being beyond our everyday duality, and move beyond the limitations of our ordinary state of consciousness.

Transcript

Welcome to Yoga Nidra.

Yoga Nidra,

Or yogic sleep,

Is also known as enlightened sleep.

During Yoga Nidra,

The body sleeps,

But the consciousness remains aware.

This liminal state that's not sleeping,

Nor dreaming,

Nor waking,

Is known by the yogis as Turiya,

The fourth state of consciousness.

During Yoga Nidra,

We experience a way of being beyond our everyday duality,

And we move beyond the limitations of our ordinary state of consciousness.

During Yoga Nidra,

We do not sleep.

The body is asleep,

But the consciousness is awake and aware.

However,

Sometimes sleep does come,

And if you do fall asleep whilst you practice,

It just means that your body's in need of sleep and is taking advantage of this time of deep rest.

But before we start,

Just make the intention now that you will not sleep,

That you'll remain awake and aware during the practice.

And now,

Let's begin.

Make sure that you're lying comfortably.

Yoga Nidra is traditionally done in the posture of Shavasana,

Lying on your back with the legs a little wider than hip distance apart,

And with the feet relaxing out to the side.

Bring your arms to the sides of your body with the palms facing upwards,

And draw the shoulder blades together to open the top of the chest.

Tuck the chin in towards the chest,

Lengthening the back of the neck,

And close your eyes.

Feel your body beginning to settle.

If you don't feel like you'll be able to rest comfortably and without distraction lying like this,

Find a position that works for you.

You might like to place a blanket under your knees for support,

Or place a pillow or a block under your head.

Or you might like to bring your feet to the sides of the mat and let the knees fall in together.

Take as much support as you need to make yourself comfortable.

And you can also do this practice sitting if that feels better for you.

And just take a moment now to make any adjustments that you need to make to feel as comfortable as possible.

See if you can make yourself so comfortable that you might even forget that your body's there at all as you practice.

Feel your body beginning to settle and relax.

Feel into all of the places where your body connects to the surface beneath you,

And feel your body becoming heavier in each of those places.

With every exhalation,

Feel your body becoming more relaxed and sinking into the surface beneath.

Feel your head becoming heavy,

The back of your head relaxing into the surface beneath you.

Feel the shoulders relaxing,

The elbows and the hands all becoming heavy,

Relaxing more deeply with every breath.

Feel your spine relaxing,

Tension releasing from every vertebrae of the spine.

Feel the hips relaxing,

The knees,

The ankles,

And the feet all releasing and relaxing,

Sinking into the surface beneath you.

With every breath,

Feel the whole of your body surrendering more deeply into relaxation.

Now bring your awareness to the space behind your closed eyes and observe the space behind your closed eyes.

Just notice what's there.

Notice any shapes,

Patterns,

Colors,

Or darkness behind the eyes.

Just observe and bring your awareness to your nose,

To the insides of your nostrils.

Feel the sensation of the air on the insides of your nostrils.

Now move to the insides of your ears.

Feel the sensation of the air on the insides of your ears.

And with the awareness inside the ears,

Become aware of any sounds that you can hear.

Just notice that the sounds are there.

There's no need to get involved in where they're coming from.

Acknowledge the sounds that you can hear and know that they're not going to disturb you,

But will only help you to relax even more deeply.

And now invite to arise a feeling of being completely safe and well.

You might like to remember a time when you felt safe,

Well,

And secure.

Or you might like to imagine a situation where you would feel safe and well.

Welcome this feeling as it arises vividly inside your body.

Safety,

Security,

Well-being.

This is your inner resource,

And you can always return to this feeling at any time that you need it.

Safety,

Wellness,

Security.

A deep sense of being completely at ease.

Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.

If you have a personal sankalpa,

Recall it now.

The sankalpa is a vow or prayer from the heart for something you wish to attain in your life.

You can state your sankalpa as a short,

Positive statement,

Or if you're more visual,

It may come as an image,

Or it may come as a feeling,

Or a deep sense of knowing.

There's no need to force your sankalpa.

Allow it to arise naturally,

However it comes.

And if you don't have a sankalpa,

Just bring your awareness into your heart center and observe your heart center.

Notice what arises.

We will now begin the rotation of consciousness around the body.

Rest your awareness on each part of the body as it's named.

We'll begin at the space between the eyebrows.

Rest the awareness at the space between the eyebrows and the space between the collarbone.

Bring the awareness to the space between the collarbones,

The right shoulder,

The right elbow,

The right wrist,

The right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger,

The right wrist,

The right elbow,

The right shoulder,

The space between the collarbones,

The left shoulder,

The left elbow,

The left wrist,

The left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And little finger,

The left wrist,

The left elbow,

The left shoulder,

The space between the collarbones,

The center of the chest,

The right side of the chest,

The center of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

The center of the chest,

The navel,

The lower abdomen,

The right hip,

The right knee,

The right ankle,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The right ankle,

The right knee,

The right hip,

The lower abdomen,

The left hip,

The left knee,

The left ankle,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The left ankle,

The left knee,

The left hip,

The lower abdomen,

The navel,

The center of the chest,

The space between the collarbone,

The eyebrow center,

The top of the head.

Feel your body becoming very heavy.

Feel the body becoming heavier and heavier,

So heavy that you sink into the earth and become a part of the earth.

Feel heaviness in the body,

Heaviness in the body,

Heaviness in the body.

And now feel the body becoming very light.

Feel the body becoming lighter and lighter,

So light that you float away into the sky and become a part of the sky.

Feel lightness in the body,

Lightness in the body.

And can you feel both of those at the same time?

Can you feel the body so heavy that you sink into the earth and so light that you float away into the sky at the same time?

Can you feel heaviness and lightness together?

Heaviness and lightness together.

Bring your awareness to the breath.

Observe the natural movements that happen in the body as you breathe in and out.

Observe the natural rising and falling of the chest with each inhalation and exhalation.

Now begin to count the breaths backwards from 54 to 1,

Like this.

Breathing in 54,

Breathing out 54,

Breathing in 53,

Breathing out 53,

Breathing in 52,

Breathing out 52,

And so on.

Keep watching the breath and counting.

If you finish or if you make a mistake,

Go back to 54 and start again.

Continue counting the breaths.

Complete awareness on the breath and counting.

Leave your counting and bring your awareness to the space behind the forehead.

Become aware of this space.

Observe the space behind the forehead.

Witness whatever is arising there.

We now come to the rapid visualization of images.

Allow an impression of each one to arise as its name.

There's no need to force it.

Allow each one to arise by itself.

We'll start with pebbles on the beach,

A cascading waterfall,

A feather blowing in the wind,

A bell ringing,

A dolphin,

Tibetan prayer flags,

A snow-capped mountain,

A string of malabetes,

Clouds in the sky,

Wind blowing through the desert,

A rainy morning,

An eagle,

A tiger walking through the jungle,

A rosebush,

A yogi in deep meditation.

Bring your awareness to the heart center.

Pure,

Unlimited,

You are free.

Recall your sankalpa.

If you have a sankalpa,

Recall it now.

And if you don't have one,

Keep your awareness at the heart center.

Witness what's happening at the heart and invite to arise again your feeling of complete safety and well-being.

Feel it vividly as it arises in your body.

Safety,

Security,

Well-being.

This is your inner resource and you can return to it at any time that you need it,

In your practice and in your life.

Become aware of the sounds that you can hear around you.

Send your awareness outwards and let the awareness jump from sound to sound,

Without getting too involved in any one sound.

Just notice that the sounds are there.

Become aware of the feeling of the air against your skin and of your clothing against your skin.

And can you remember the colors of the clothes that you're wearing?

Can you picture your own body,

Peaceful and relaxed?

Begin to deepen the breathing in preparation to end the practice.

Make some small movements to reawaken your body,

Moving the fingers and the toes,

Circling the wrists and the ankles,

And give yourself a big stretch in any way that feels good for you.

Take your time,

There's no rush.

When you feel ready,

Gently blink your eyes back open.

This practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.

Reviews

My new favorite! Love this thorough nidra with strong emphasis on inner resource and sankalpa. Beautiful silent background, naming fingers instead of numbering them. Uncomplicated rapid visualization. This one ticks all my boxes.
10/13/23

I have done so many yoga nidra practices, but yours are truly amazing. Can t tell why, they work wonders for me 🥰. You are really gifted, thank you 🙏