Yoga Nidra Long Body Scan
This is a recording of a live Yoga Nidra session on Insight Timer on the 29th of June 2025. This body-based practice includes a long body scan moving around the outside of the body and through the internal organs and the skeleton, breathing through alternate nostrils and alternate sides of the body, and exploration of the opposites hot/cold. Where this practice guides you through the internal organs and some inner anatomy, don't worry if a body part is named that you're unfamiliar with - just allow the awareness to go to wherever it takes you! Before the practice, participants were invited to contribute words and themes they wished to be included in the nidra, and asked for 'cold water.' Photo by PNW Production
Transcript
Once you've made yourself really comfortable,
You just feel into the feeling of your body resting into the surface that you're lying on.
Notice all of the places where your body's making a connection into that surface.
And as you breathe,
Notice how every exhalation carries your body a little more deeply into relaxation.
With every exhalation,
The body becomes heavier at all of the meeting points with the surface beneath you.
With every exhalation,
The muscles begin to relax and tension starts to release out.
As you breathe now,
See the breath flowing over your body like a wave.
As you breathe in,
The wave washes from your feet up to the top of your head.
As you breathe out,
It washes from the top of your head back to your feet.
With every exhalation,
See that wave washing away anything that you don't need to bring with you into the practice.
Anything from your day that just isn't important right now.
Any worries.
Anything you have to do later.
Feel the wave washing any remaining tension out of your body.
With every exhalation,
That wave carries away anything that you don't need to bring with you into this practice.
And now bring the awareness into the nose,
To the insides of the nostrils.
Watch the air flowing in and out of the nostrils.
Just feel into this sensation of the air as the breath flows in and out.
Move to the ears and feel into the insides of the ears.
And perhaps you can feel into the sensation of the air on the insides of the ears.
And with the awareness inside the ears,
Just acknowledge any sounds that are happening in your environment right now.
And just witness those sounds without getting too involved in what they are or where they're coming from.
Just acknowledge that those sounds are there.
And know that their sounds aren't going to disturb you as you practice today.
They can only encourage you to relax even more deeply.
If you have an intention for your practice today,
Just bring that intention into your awareness now.
Whatever has inspired you to show up and practice yoga nidra.
Perhaps for a deep rest.
For healing or rejuvenation.
Perhaps for meditation.
For inner exploration.
Whatever it is that called you to this practice today,
Just bring that into your awareness and take a moment to acknowledge it.
We're going to begin our journey around the body.
As each part of the body is named,
Bring the awareness to rest at that point.
We'll start with the thumb of the right hand.
Bring the awareness to rest at the right hand thumb.
And move to the right index finger.
The right middle finger.
The ring finger.
The little finger.
The palm of the right hand.
The back of the hand.
The right wrist.
The right forearm.
The right elbow.
The upper arm.
The right shoulder.
The right side of the chest.
The right side of the abdomen.
The right waist.
The right hip.
The right thigh.
The right knee.
The lower leg.
The right ankle.
The right heel.
The sole of the right foot.
The top of the right foot.
The right big toe.
The second toe.
The third toe.
The fourth toe.
The fifth toe.
Moving to the left side,
Bring the awareness to the left hand thumb.
The left index finger.
The left middle finger.
The ring finger.
And the little finger.
The palm of the left hand.
The back of the hand.
The left wrist.
The left forearm.
The left elbow.
The upper arm.
The left shoulder.
The left side of the chest.
The left side of the abdomen.
The left waist.
The left hip.
The left thigh.
The 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.
And moving the awareness up the back of the body,
Bring the awareness to the right heel.
And the left heel.
The back of the right knee.
The back of the left knee.
The right buttock.
The left buttock.
The whole of the spine.
Moving up every vertebrae of the spine.
From the base of the spine.
To the base of the skull.
Bring the awareness to the right shoulder blade.
The left shoulder blade.
The back of the head.
The top of the head.
Moving down the front of the body,
Bring the awareness to the forehead.
The right eyebrow.
The left eyebrow.
The eyebrow centre.
The right eye.
The left eye.
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 nose.
The tip of the nose.
The whole of the nose.
The upper lip.
The lower lip.
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 thigh.
The left thigh.
The right knee.
The left knee.
The right shin.
The left shin.
The right ankle.
The left ankle.
The right toes.
The left toes.
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.
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 nose.
Move to the insides of the nostrils.
Send the awareness up the insides of the nostrils to the brain.
Rest at the brain.
From the brain move down into the jaw.
To the lower row of teeth.
The upper row of teeth.
The gums.
The roof of the mouth.
The bottom of the mouth.
The tongue.
The back of the throat.
Send the awareness down into the lungs.
To the right lung.
To the left lung.
In the heart.
Rest the awareness at the heart.
Bring the awareness to the stomach.
To the pancreas and the spleen on the left side.
To the liver and the gallbladder on the right side.
The small intestine.
The large intestine.
Move to the kidneys.
The right kidney.
The left kidney.
The bladder.
The reproductive organ.
Move the awareness to the bones.
Send the awareness to the skeleton.
Bring the awareness to the bones within the right foot.
The right toes.
Move to the right shin.
The right knee and the right thigh.
Move to the left side.
The bones inside the left foot.
The left toes.
The left shin.
The left knee.
The left thigh.
The pelvic.
Send the awareness up the spine.
Up each of the vertebrae in the spine.
The right ribcage.
The left ribcage.
The right shoulder blade.
The right collarbone.
The right shoulder.
Send your awareness to the bones of the right arm.
The upper arm.
The lower arm.
The right hand and fingers.
The left shoulder blade.
The left collarbone.
The left shoulder.
The bones of the left upper arm.
Lower arm.
Hand and finger.
The skull.
Awareness on the skull.
The teeth.
Become aware of the whole of the skeleton together.
Bring the awareness to the blood.
Become aware of the blood circulating around the whole of the body.
Awareness of the blood entering and leaving the heart.
And then move the awareness to the breath.
Watch the air flowing in and out of the nostrils.
Observe the triangular shape made by the breath as it flows in and out.
As you inhale the breath comes from outside the nose up the separate nostrils to the eyebrow centre.
And on the exhalation it flows back out again.
Making a triangular shape.
Observe this triangular shape as the breath flows in and out.
And observe the breath flowing through alternate nostrils.
On the inhalation the breath flows through the left nostril up to the eyebrow centre.
And on the exhalation it flows out through the right nostril.
Inhale through the right nostril up to the eyebrow centre.
Exhale through the left nostril.
Inhale through the left side.
Exhale through the right.
Inhale through the right.
Exhale through the left.
Continue breathing through alternate nostrils.
Changing the side after each inhalation.
Moving the breath into the arms and the hands.
Inhale from the left hand up the left arm through the left nostril to the eyebrow centre.
And exhale through the right nostril down the right arm to the right hand.
Inhale up the right arm through the right nostril to the eyebrow centre.
Exhale through the left nostril down the left arm to the left hand.
And continue breathing through alternate arms and hands.
Changing sides after every inhalation.
And moving into the legs and the feet.
Inhale from the left foot up the left leg and up the left side of the body to the eyebrow centre.
Exhale down the right side of the body and down the right leg to the right foot.
Inhale from the right foot up the right leg,
Up the right side of the body to the eyebrow centre.
Exhale down the left side of the body and down the left leg to the left foot.
Continue breathing through alternate sides of the body.
Changing sides after every inhalation.
And breathing through both sides of the body together now.
Inhale from the feet up the legs up the sides of the body to the eyebrow centre.
And exhale from the eyebrow centre back down the sides of the body down the legs to the feet.
So breathing a large triangle over the whole of the body from the feet to the eyebrow centre.
And coming back to the arms and the hands.
Inhale from the hands up the arms to the eyebrow centre.
And exhale from the eyebrow centre down the arms to the hands.
And come back to the nose and come back to the triangle of breath inside the nostrils.
Inhaling up the nostrils to the eyebrow centre.
Exhaling from the eyebrow centre back out of the nostrils.
And then moving away from the breath,
Invite your body to become very hot.
Invite the feeling of heat to arise throughout the whole of the body.
If it helps to recall the feeling you might like to imagine that you're lying under the hot summer sun with the flames of the sun illuminating every part of your body.
Intensify that feeling of heat.
Feel it vividly and welcome it into every part of your body.
The feeling of heat throughout the body.
The feeling of heat throughout the body.
And now the feeling of cold.
Invite the feeling of cold to arise within the body.
You might like to imagine that you're bathing in a pool of cold water.
Welcome that coldness into every part of the body.
Feel it vividly.
The feeling of cold.
The feeling of cold throughout the whole of the body.
And are you able to feel both of those feelings at the same time?
Can you feel the body hot as if under the hot summer sun?
And cold as if bathing in a pool of cold water?
The experience of hot and cold inside the body together.
Welcome the feelings of hot and cold inside the body together.
Bring the awareness to the heart centre.
Rest the awareness at the heart centre.
Here you are free to simply be.
There's nothing that you're obliged to do.
Nowhere that you need to be.
Nothing that you need to fulfil.
Here you are free to just be.
To rest exactly as you are.
And now very gently begin to turn the awareness back outwards.
Become aware of any sounds that are present in your environment.
And just let the awareness jump from sound to sound.
Without getting too involved in any one sound,
Just acknowledge that those sounds are there.
Feel into the feeling of your body resting against the surface beneath you.
Watch the air flowing in and out.
The chest gently expanding as you breathe in.
And relaxing as you breathe out.
And start to make some small movements to reawaken the body.
Moving the fingers and the toes.
The hands and the feet.
And give yourself a big stretch in any way that feels good for you.
And taking your time.
There is no rush to get up.
When you're feeling sure that you're wide awake again,
Slowly blink your eyes back open to complete the practice.
Peace.
