Yoga Nidra To Calm The Nervous System | Non Sleep Deep Rest

Yoga nidra is a form of guided meditation designed to carry one into deep rest while simultaneously moving through the different layers of the Self or the Koshas. Relaxing into the deepest sleep states but instead of drifting off to sleep, you remain with a sense of awareness still present. This allows one to let go of the thinking mind and release all of that energy back into the body to facilitate deep healing. To calm and reset the nervous system and leave you feeling rested and rejuvenated.

Transcript

Namaste.

My name is Kristen and this is your yoga nidhara or non-sleep deep rest practice to help calm and soothe the nervous system,

To activate the parasympathetic division of rest and digest so that you can get the much needed rest that you need,

The deep rest that you deserve.

You can think of it like your most nourishing power nap or like a soothing balm for the whole central nervous system,

A practice to restore that nagging sleep deficit and to help you feel rested and rejuvenated.

This practice is designed to bring you into that dreamy,

Almost asleep,

Super relaxed state but with an acute sense of awareness still present,

A light altered state of consciousness where you can let go of conscious awareness of time and space,

Relieve the mind from thinking,

Relax back and allow prana or life force energy to flow back into the body to facilitate deep healing and regeneration.

The practice of yoga nidhara carries you through the layers of the self,

Fading from one into the next as we simultaneously move into the deeper brainwave states,

Leaving you in a deep state of rest,

A form of wakeful regenerative sleep.

Take a few moments here to get the body completely comfortable,

To build your little yoga nidhara nest,

To adjust your environment to create a peaceful setting.

Dim the lights.

You might reach for a blanket,

Pillows,

Cozy socks,

An eye pillow.

It's important to minimize distractions before you begin by ensuring the body is supported,

Comfortable,

Warm,

And your surroundings are cozy and quiet.

You can think of this like practicing good sleep hygiene,

Knowing that you are settling in for the practice of yoga nidhara or non-sleep deep rest.

For now,

It is time to rest.

It is time to practice self-care because you deserve it,

Because you are worthy of it.

Taking any final adjustments to the body so that you could become even just a little bit more comfortable.

What would you do?

Softening all of the muscles and the space around and behind the eyes.

Allow the eyes to become heavy.

Take a deep breath in.

As you exhale,

Allow tension to dissolve and melt away from the body.

Like a raindrop into the vast ocean,

Each breath bringing you deeper and deeper and deeper.

Allow the whole body to become heavy,

Relaxing down into the support of the earth and the landscape of props beneath your body.

Relaxing down into the warm cocoon of blankets,

Pillows,

As if you were being held,

Nourished.

Notice the room around you and the sounds that fill the room.

The ears becoming open,

Not only hearing,

But intimately listening.

Notice the spaces in between the sounds.

Sensing the ocean of air all around you,

Vast and spacious.

Welcome in all of your surroundings just as they are.

Sensing what's present here all around you.

Slowly begin to redirect all of your awareness to focus on sensing and feeling.

All senses wide open.

Notice the flow of breath within the nostrils,

The darkness beyond the eyelids,

Heavy the eyelids,

Any lingering tastes on the taste buds.

Release the weight of the head and neck.

Relax the jaw and surrender the bottom lip.

Open your senses as you quiet the mind.

Allow the body to rest in stillness as you continue to deepen into relaxation,

Slowing down the brain waves.

Each breath letting go,

Letting go.

Now begin to welcome in your sankalpa an intention,

A heartfelt desire for you and your life or a direction in which you wish your life to go.

A concise and positive statement in the present tense.

Affirm it as if it existed here and now.

Feel it in yourselves.

You may wish to use the following.

I give myself permission to rest deeply,

To allow my body,

Mind and spirit to be restored.

Calling in your intention into your mind like a mantra,

A mental whisper.

Three times alongside three breaths.

Continue to welcome in deep rest.

As you dissolve into stillness,

We'll begin a rotation of consciousness throughout the physical body.

Imagine awareness tiptoeing from point to point as each region of the body is called,

Allowing your awareness to saturate each region before moving on to the next.

There's no rush.

We just focus on listening,

Feeling,

Sensing.

Can you keep the eyes still?

Slowly bring all of your awareness to the tip of the tongue.

Understanding the tip of the tongue,

The root of the tongue,

The roof of the mouth and the floor of the mouth.

Inside the walls of the cheeks and the space between the lips,

The flow of air within the nostrils,

The right nostril and the left nostril,

The bridge of the nose,

The right eyebrow,

Temple,

Cheekbone,

The right eye and the eyelid,

The left eyebrow,

Temple,

Cheekbone,

Sensing the left eye and the eyelid,

Both eyes heavy,

Resting,

Radiant,

Warm,

The center of the forehead,

The crown of the head and the scalp and hair,

Alive with sensation,

The back of the head,

Awareness resting in between the forehead and the back of the head,

The right ear and the outer ear,

Earlobe,

Deep within the right ear,

The right ear listening,

The left ear and the outer ear,

Earlobe,

Deep within the left ear,

The left ear listening,

Both ears open,

Receptive to sounds as vibrations,

Drawing awareness to the back of the throat and the pit of the throat,

Right side of the chest,

The right shoulder,

Elbow,

Wrist,

Palm of the hand and back of the hand,

The right thumb,

First finger,

Second,

Third,

Little finger,

Sensing all of the fingers on the right hand and the spaces between the fingers,

Sensing the right hand and the right arm,

The volume within and the energy without,

Feeling the whole right arm inside and out,

The right side of the chest,

The waist,

Hip,

Knee and back of the knee,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot and top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Fourth,

Baby toe,

Sensing all of the toes on the right foot and the spaces between the toes,

Sensing the volume of the right foot and the right leg together,

Sensations that fill the whole right leg inside and on the surface of the skin.

Become your awareness now to fill the whole right side of the body,

The right leg,

Right side of the torso,

The right arm,

Awareness of vital energies and trillions of cells buzzing,

Aliveness in the whole right side,

The whole right side of the body,

Warm,

Radiant,

Buzzing with vital energies of aliveness in the whole right side.

Draw your attention to the center of the chest,

The heart center,

The left side of the chest,

The left shoulder,

Elbow,

Wrist,

Palm of the left hand and back of the hand,

Thumb,

First finger,

Second,

Third,

Little finger,

Sensing all of the fingers on the left hand and the spaces between the fingers,

Feel the left hand and the left arm together,

The volume of the arm and the sensations outside on the surface of the arm,

Left side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Knee,

Back of the knee,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot and top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Fourth,

Baby toe,

Sensing all of the toes on the left foot and the spaces between the toes,

The whole left foot and the left leg simultaneously,

Feeling,

Sensing the volume of the left leg inside and out,

Awareness filling the whole left side of the body now,

The left leg,

Left side of the torso,

The left arm,

The whole left hemisphere of the body,

Warm,

Cozy,

Radiant,

Buzzing with trillions of cells and vital energies,

Involuntary sensations of aliveness on the whole left side,

Welcome in a sense of both hemispheres of the body simultaneously,

Right and left,

Equally dividing your attention into both sides,

Now welcoming in a sense of both hemispheres of the brain,

Right side,

Left side,

Sensing both hemispheres simultaneously,

The whole body resting deeply in stillness,

Yet awake and aware,

The whole body radiant and alive with sensations,

Sensing the volume of the physical body,

Anamaya Kosha,

The multidimensional vibration,

The frequency of energies within the body,

Sensing the boundary of the body and the skin,

Sensations on the surface,

Sensing and feeling the whole body inside and out,

The whole body resting deeply,

Begin to notice the natural flow of breath in the body,

Sensing the breath in the lungs,

What does it feel like for the body to be breathed,

For the breath to breathe the body,

Welcome in the company of the natural breath,

Waves of breath rolling in,

Waves of breath rolling out,

Begin to count down from five,

Breathing in,

Five,

Breathing out,

Five,

Breathing in,

Four,

Breathing out,

Four,

Counting down from five,

Each breath letting go and deepening into presence,

And release,

Once you reach the last breath,

Let go completely into spacious,

Peaceful relaxation,

As if the boundary of the physical body could dissolve,

And as you rest here,

Welcome in a sense of spacious awareness,

The doors to the subconscious mind wide open like the vast sky,

And you are the sky.

Begin to recall your Senkopa.

I give myself permission to rest deeply,

To allow my body,

Mind,

And spirit to be restored,

Three times alongside three breaths,

Planting it like a seed in the subconscious mind.

I give myself permission to rest deeply,

To allow my body,

Mind,

And spirit to be restored,

And slowly begin to draw your awareness back into the room around you.

Now back into the body,

And back to the breath.

Take a deep breath in,

And a deeper breath out.

Begin to count up to five,

Breathing in,

One,

Breathing out,

One,

Breathing in,

And one,

Breathing in,

Two,

Breathing out,

Two,

Up to the count of five.

When you reach the last breath,

Welcome in a sense of gentle wakefulness.

You might take a few moments to rest a while longer,

To notice how you feel,

To linger and bask in the after goal of your practice,

To steep in the relaxation you may have cultivated during your time in deep rest.

Notice how you feel in the physical body,

The breath.

What is the quality of the mind?

How does the nervous system feel?

Knowing that the more you practice,

The more you can begin to experience the wonderful cumulative benefits of yoga nidhada,

Or non-sleep deep rest in your waking life.

Drink in another deep breath.

Exhale an audible sigh.

When you feel ready,

Begin to wiggle fingers and toes.

You might find a gentle stretch,

Slowly starting to awake in the body,

Coming back into the waking beta state of mind,

Taking as much time as you need.

I'd like to thank you so much for practicing with me today.

If you are one of our students in the Transformational Sleep Yoga Nidhada Teacher Training here at the School of Living Yoga,

I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

If you're interested in learning more about our online yoga nidhada training,

I will leave a link below and at the end of this video and in the comments.

We have live trainings in Canada and Costa Rica,

And online trainings with amazing people from around the world who come together,

And it's truly a beautiful experience.

Please let me know what you liked and what you would like to see more of.

I'd love to create content just for you.

You can also subscribe and hit the bell to get notified when new content is released each and every week.

I'd like to thank you all for your continued love and support.

This practice has been such a lifeline for me in my own life,

A profound stepping stone on my healing journey,

And I'm just so honored to share it with you here today.

You might even spread the love and share this practice with someone who you think may benefit deeply from a little bit more deep rest.

Give the gift of relaxation,

For it is truly the medicine the world needs more of right now.

I wish you all a beautiful rest of your day.

Namaste.

Reviews

Lovely way to get back to sleep after traveling all day and being in a different time zone. Thank you. Namaste 🌺

Amazing, really needed this to rest better and lower my nervous system and lower my pain. Thank you! 💚

Beautiful practice, helped give me energy after a broken sleep ♥️

I loved the soothing voice and music, and the lenght was perfect, long enough to fully calm down, and not too long so it fits in every busy workday, thank you!! 🙏🌟

👍👍👍Again...Alberta

💯Awesome spacious awareness😌

What a lovely and truly restful practice! Many thanks from someone in need of calm
and deep rest. Grateful to you.

So calming and so restorative. Your voice and cadence connect with my soul. Thank you for Sharing✨💫

Lovely meditation! I woke a tad early as I struggle with insomnia and also having some acid reflux/gut issues. Combination of the two has been my true struggle so after waking Ted early this morning, your practice popped up. Within a few minutes, I fell deeply back to sleep , and that is not an easy feat! so thank you kindly for giving my body the rest that needs. your voice was soothing and comforting at the same time. Namaste.

Thank you so much. This helped me to get more sleep after I woke in the early hours. Really appreciated 🙏

O

Lovely practice. Great background music too!

Another masterpiece. Thank you Teacher.

Incredible! Will be doing this one very often. Thank you so much! 🙌

Amazing – thank you for this tender loving practice

So calming and relaxing
Thank you 🙏

Lovely relaxing yoga nidra we music, thank you 😊

That was amazing …. I need that to be a daily occurance. Most relaxed I have felt in a very looooong time …. Thank you.Interested to practise and learn more.

Namaste

Totally chilled .. thanks so much 💕