Short Break Yoga Nidra

A short Yoga Nidra practice to take a break and pause throughout the day. This session is an invitation to check in and rejuvenate body and mind. It can be done laying down or sitting, ideally in a quiet environment. Give yourself permission to rest and let this meditation be a friend!

Transcript

Welcome to the practice of yoga nidra.

This is a rather short yoga nidra practice whenever you need a break,

Whenever you need some time to rejuvenate and whenever you just need to pause throughout your day.

So traditionally yoga nidra is practiced in shavasana,

Lying on your back.

However if that is not accessible for you wherever you are you can also practice yoga nidra sitting.

And if you find yourself lying down,

See that your legs are slightly apart,

Your arms resting on your sides and the palms facing up.

If you are sitting make sure that you are just fully comfortable.

So as you settle into your shape and posture,

Bring your awareness to the sounds around you.

Notice any sound in the far distance,

Maybe you can become aware of sounds outside the walls of the room you are in.

And see if you can just notice,

There is no need to analyze or intellectualize the sounds,

Just become aware of them.

And then notice the sounds within the walls of the room you are in.

Can you notice even tiny sounds?

And then get a little closer to yourself,

What are the sounds you can perceive in your immediate environment?

And from here look inside yourself,

What are the sounds you can notice here?

Perhaps you can hear your heartbeat or you can perceive the pulse of the blood flowing through your veins.

Just be with that for a moment.

Very gentle.

And now start to notice the meeting points between your body and the floor.

Notice all the points where your body touches the floor.

If you are lying on a mat or on a couch,

Notice those contact points.

And if you are sitting,

Also notice those contact points maybe in your feet,

Your pelvis.

See if you can let those contact points melt a little bit more into the surface underneath you.

Just let gravity do its work,

Offer your body to the holding support of Mother Earth.

And we will now guide your awareness through your physical body.

And we will begin by bringing the awareness to the right hand thumb.

Notice how your entire awareness can rest in the right hand thumb.

And then from here it moves to the second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Pinky finger,

To the palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the chest,

Right waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Arch of the right foot,

Top of the right foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and pinky toe.

And now feel the whole right side of the body at once.

The whole right side.

And then shift your attention to the left hand thumb.

Notice how your entire awareness can rest in the left hand thumb.

And then let it travel to the second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Pinky finger,

To the palm of the left hand,

Back of the left hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Arch of the left foot,

Top of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and pinky toe.

And now feel the whole left side of the body at once.

The whole left side.

And now bring your awareness to the top of your head.

And then from here to the whole face,

The whole face,

The eyes,

Ears,

The space between the ears,

Left nostril,

Right nostril,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

The entire mouth,

Chin,

Throat,

The entire chest,

The entire abdomen.

And now bring your awareness to both legs at the same time.

Both legs.

And then include the awareness of your arms,

Your legs and your arms.

And now include the whole upper body and then the whole head.

And now be aware of the entire body at once.

Awareness of the whole body.

The whole body.

And now bring your awareness to your breath.

Become aware of your natural breath.

Focus your attention on the breath as it moves in and out of your nostrils.

Remain with your awareness here.

And now we will start to count the breath backwards from 11 to 1.

You can silently say to yourself,

Inhale,

Air flowing in,

11.

Exhale,

Air flowing out,

11.

Inhale,

Air flowing in,

10.

Exhale,

Air flowing out,

10.

And so on.

Continue until you reach 1.

Should you lose count on your way,

Simply notice it and gently return and start at 11 hora.

And now stop counting and take a long deep breath.

Just notice your experience right now.

Notice your body.

Notice your mind.

Notice your entire being.

Just notice.

Then again become aware of the entire body.

Start to feel more engaged in your body.

And start to become more engaged with the environment you are in.

Noticing any sounds,

Maybe there is a smell,

Noticing the temperature.

And then as we come to the end of this session,

Whenever you are ready start to move the fingers and toes.

Simply stretch your arms overhead.

If you are lying down bring your knees into your chest and roll over to one side.

And then with the eyes closed come back up to seated.

With this the practice of Yoga Nidra is complete.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

Reviews

Slowly falling into the Space between sleep an conscious awareness… ultimate rest for siesta time, namaste!
for me it could be also without music…

This practice was perfect for when you have a short period to rest. I did the meditation while traveling for work, in between engagements and it was exactly what I needed. I felt deeply relaxed after completing the yoga nidra. The session stretched my sense of time and felt longer than it actually was... in a good way! 🙂 My mind felt much calmer and quieter at the end, and I felt rejuvenated and refreshed to return to my day, fully present. Thank you! 🙏🏾

Absolutely beautiful. Perfect for a quick reset! Thank you 💫

This is a great short yoga nidra, thank you so much 🙏

A beautifully paced short meditation. Thank you for the relaxation.

Thank you this as a wonderful and much needed practice

I generally prefer yoga Nidra without music, however I really liked this one. Thank you Katharina.

Thank you for this quiet interlude in a busy day. Namaste

Wonderful for an afternoon refresh! Thank you🕊🪷💜

Wow,this was a great short yoga nidra. Felt so relaxed loved the background music. Will definitely come back to it often. Namaste 🙏 ❤️

A wonderful Yoga Nidra practice I return to often. Thank you

Perfect midday break / recharge batteries, thank you 🙏

Very effective, especially for a short practice. Thank you!

Lovely - so relaxing, even for the amount of time. Thank you!

This is so lovely. The voice, words and pace and also the sublime background music.

I was surprised how relaxed and refreshed I became in only this short time.
Thank you 🙂

Very relaxing, thank you.🙏

Fabulous! What a wonderful rest break this was—definitely bookmarked and I will check out your other Nidras for sure. Thank you so much, Katharina 🙏🏻💚

Lovely short nidra session.

Very nice and relaxing meditation for a break in the work day.

Wonderful. Thank you.