Yoga Nidra For Renewal (Daring To Rest)

Take time with this yoga nidra practice; invite yourself to rest and restore. A regular yoga nidra practice can bring a sense of renewal into your life, allowing states of healing. Based on the Daring to Rest method (Karen Brody), this practice takes you on a restorative journey, opening you to new possibilities of creativity and possibility.

Transcript

Yoga Nidra for renewal.

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra for renewal.

Rest is love.

Rest is presence and rest is renewal.

In Yoga Nidra we can reboot our system and tell a new story.

It's time to know rest in your body.

It's time to just be.

So take this opportunity to build a rested life and to go within.

It's time to take care of yourself.

Lying on your back,

Making yourself comfortable.

Make any adjustments you need to so that you can settle fully into this time of rest and self-care.

Allowing the eyes to close now.

We're going to take some time to restore and to journey inside.

If you have a touchstone,

Holding it now in your left hand and taking a few breaths just to feel your connection to it.

And now feel your body and check if you would like to place it on or off the body.

Place it where you need to.

Let your body decide.

If you don't have a touchstone,

You can also just imagine the touchstone.

During Yoga Nidra,

The touchstone can absorb any energy you want it to hold.

If you do not want to follow any instructions during Yoga Nidra,

You can bring your awareness to your touchstone as a calm focal point.

And if you fall asleep during this practice,

That's okay.

You will still benefit.

This time is an invitation to yourself to come home to your body.

Noticing how your body is meeting the surface below you.

Sensing where you connect.

And sensing the quality of that connection.

Feeling the earth gently cradling you.

And the air wrapping you like a soft blanket.

And now taking a deep breath in.

And releasing with a sigh.

Exhaling any tension or stress.

Anything that you're holding on to or thinking about.

And if you need a few more deep breaths,

Taking your time to do so.

Feeling the release on the out-breath.

You're emptying all worry and stress.

Releasing what you no longer need.

Letting go.

During Yoga Nidra,

Following the guidance of my voice.

It's natural to go in and out of conscious hearing.

And know that the deepest part of you is always listening.

It's time to open the garden gate to rest.

Say gently to yourself,

I give myself permission to rest.

There's nothing to do.

Nowhere to be.

Setting now a heartfelt intention for this meditation practice.

Let your intention emerge from your heart.

Sense that intention and even feel it in your whole body.

Repeating it.

In your whole body.

Repeating your intention to yourself three times in the present tense.

And if no intention is present,

Simply allow that.

And if it feels right,

Repeating the intention.

I am well rested and renewed.

We'll now begin to take a journey through the landscape of the body.

When you hear a body part name,

Say the body part to yourself.

Sensing that area of the body.

Becoming aware of a softness and a stillness in that area.

Beginning now with the awareness of the belly.

I'm moving from the belly to the tip of the right thumb.

Right index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

Palm of the right hand.

Back of the hand.

Right wrist.

Elbow.

Right shoulder.

Right armpit.

Right side of the torso.

Right hip.

Upper right leg.

Right knee.

Right calf.

Right ankle.

Right heel.

Bottom of the right foot.

Top of the right foot.

Right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Feel the whole of the right foot.

And now aware of the left hand.

Left hand thumb.

Left index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Little finger.

Palm of the left hand.

Palm of the left hand.

Back of the left hand.

Left wrist.

Elbow.

Left shoulder.

Left armpit.

Left side of the torso.

Left hip.

Left upper leg.

Left knee.

Left calf muscle.

Left ankle.

Left heel.

Left sole.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Whole of the left foot.

Aware now of the back of the body.

Lower back.

Mid back.

Upper back.

Back of the neck.

Back of the head.

Top of the head.

Center of the forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Right eyeball.

Left eyeball.

Right eye socket.

Left eye socket.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

Both eyes together.

And rest.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Nose.

Tip of the nose.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Line between the lips.

Corner of the lips.

Jaw.

Interior of the mouth.

Teeth.

Gums.

Tongue.

Tongue.

Saliva.

Middle of the throat.

Heart.

Center.

Upper belly.

Navel center.

Lower belly.

Feeling the back of the body.

Contact with the surface.

It's on the whole back of the body.

Now the front of the body.

Contact with the air.

The whole front of the body.

Now aware of the front and the back of the body.

Awareness through the whole body.

Whole body awareness.

Coming back to the breath in the belly.

And just resting here.

Now bringing awareness to your breath.

Filling your lungs completely on the in-breath.

And exhale fully with awareness.

Noticing the feeling of release on the out-breath.

The emptying out.

Noticing now the feeling of receiving on the in-breath.

The taking in of the new.

Each breath is a new life.

And noticing the feeling of release on the out-breath.

The emptying out.

Each breath releasing the old.

And now opening your mouth as you breathe.

Creating an O shape and sipping the breath in.

Letting the breath in.

Letting the breath travel right down into the lungs.

And down into the belly.

And exhaling out through the nostrils.

And keep breathing now.

Inhaling with that O shape mouth.

Sipping in new life slowly.

Listening to the sound of the breath.

And exhaling through the nostrils.

Bringing new life through that O shape mouth.

Breathing right down into the lungs.

Filling them up.

And exhaling through the nostrils.

When you are ready to,

You can allow the mouth to close.

Allowing yourself to deepen more into rest.

Noticing the sensations in the body.

And now seeing yourself walking on a beach.

The sun is rising.

Peaking slowly over the horizon.

You're walking along the shore.

With your feet in the water.

Watching the waves come and go.

As you breathe in,

You take in the clearing fresh sea air.

And as you breathe out,

You sense the freshness around you.

You hear the waves washing against the shore.

Coming and going.

Coming and going.

You stand at the edge of the water.

Allowing each wave to receive what you no longer need.

Allowing each wave to bring you something new.

Something fresh.

Every cell of your body.

Every cell remembering what it needs to restore.

Every cell feeling new life.

Every cell revitalizing.

And in this beach sanctuary,

Experiencing now a few moments of silence.

Allowing the silence to blanket over you.

To hold you.

Everything just as it is.

You just as you are.

From this space of rest,

Bring your intention back into your awareness.

And now repeating your intention three times.

Three times.

Allowing it to seep into your whole body.

And now it's time to call upon your wise counsel.

Your wise counsel can be made of people you know or people you don't know.

They can be living or they may have passed on mentors,

Guides,

Animal guides,

Plants,

Flowers,

Trees,

Rocks,

Stones.

With each breath in and out of the belly,

Begin to invite this wise counsel to surround you.

Not thinking about this but feeling it.

Sensing the wise counsel gathering around you and receiving their love,

Wisdom,

Feeling their support of your growth and renewal.

And now begin to breathe in and out through your heart.

We rest to know ourselves.

We rest to listen on the inside.

So on your next in-breath,

Ask yourself what the heart has to say about renewal.

See if there's an image,

A word,

A phrase that's calling to you.

Listen,

Allowing that whisper from the heart to appear.

And if it doesn't appear and you get nothing,

That's okay.

Nothing is something.

Whatever you receive,

Holding it gently here now in rest.

And now rest here.

Stay in this place of silence,

Awareness and stillness.

Taking this next short while just to be in silence.

In your own time,

You can begin to emerge from your yoga nidra.

Feel your body connected to the surface beneath you,

Grounded,

Solid.

Feeling your clothing against your skin.

Feeling any props or blankets that might be touching your body.

Any points of contact.

Now you can slowly begin to move your body,

Checking on the inside.

Checking on the inside,

Where do you want to move from?

How do you want to move?

Trusting your body to move and awaken in its own way.

Noticing the sweet sensation of rest and renewal in your body.

Carrying this sweet sensation of yoga nidra into your day and into your life.

This completes yoga nidra.

Reviews

A lovely nidra for renewal. I got a nice message from my wise council and really feel renewed after this nidra. Thank you 🙏

Needed this extra rest after a poor night's sleep. Helpful. Thank you 😊