Yoga Nidra For Deep Rest

A nourishing, restorative practice to guide you into deep rest and stillness. You may use this as a tool for softening into sleep, or as a balm for soothing your nervous system throughout the day. You will be guided safely with care and gentleness.

Transcript

Hello and welcome,

This is a restorative practice of yoga nidra designed to gently guide your system into a state of rest and relaxation.

You may wish to use it for guiding you into sleep or as a tool for deepening into a state of quietude,

Of calm.

The invitation now is to create a space for yourself within which you feel fully able to surrender safely into stillness and rest,

Reducing any sources of distraction such as light or sound,

And padding your physical body with the comfort of a blanket,

Maybe an eye pillow,

Anything that supports your deepening relaxation.

There is nowhere else to be right now,

Nothing else to do.

Inviting all of you,

Body,

Mind,

Spirit,

To unite here in this gentle space of nourishment.

Yoga nidra is traditionally practiced lying on your back in shavasana,

Arms out by your side with palms facing up,

Legs shoulder-width apart,

With feet falling out to the side.

If this is available to you now,

I invite you into this position of surrender,

And if it's possible,

To maintain as much stillness as you can while we journey through the practice.

If you haven't already done so,

Closing over the eyelids,

Shedding and releasing any judgments or expectations about your experience,

Knowing that you will move in and out of focus,

Trusting and knowing that there is no getting it wrong,

Whatever way you are right now is okay.

So,

As not to disturb your state of rest,

I will not call you back to wakefulness at the end of the recording,

But will gently bring the meditation to silence.

The practice of yoga nidra begins now.

Becoming aware of all the sounds in your space without forcing,

Simply allowing your ears to receive,

Beginning with sounds that are at a distance,

Maybe barely detectable,

Calling awareness onto sounds within your immediate field,

The sound of my voice,

The sound of your own breath,

Guiding your focus from one sound to the next,

No judgment,

No mental activity needed,

Simply receiving the sounds.

Now visualizing yourself within this room,

Without being able to see,

Getting a sense of your being within these four walls,

The ceiling,

The floor,

Your body lying on the surface beneath,

The touch of clothing,

The blanket,

And beginning to draw awareness onto your breath now,

This natural movement arising without any effort on your part.

Feel how you are being breathed,

The cool air moving through the nostrils,

That subtle movement of the chest and belly,

All your focus on your breath now.

I invite you now to set your sankalpa,

A sankalpa is a kind of intention or affirmation,

A statement of resolve,

And is used to connect you with your highest heart's desire and plant those seeds that will call this desire into being.

Your sankalpa may be,

I am at peace,

Or I am worthy of love and belonging,

Or I am healing,

Allowing your sankalpa to arise from the depth of your being and repeating it three times in the present tense.

We will now begin a rotation of consciousness throughout the physical body,

Maintaining stillness.

All you need to do is focus your consciousness onto each part of the body,

As I name it,

Visualizing and feeling into it with deep awareness,

Beginning on the right side with the right hand and into the right thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

All five fingers together,

Palm of the hand,

The back of the hand,

Right wrist,

Forearm,

The right elbow,

Right upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

The right side of the chest,

The right side body,

Waist,

Hip,

Buttock,

Thigh,

The right hamstring,

Knee,

Calf muscle,

Right ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the right foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

And all five toes together,

Bringing your awareness onto the left side now,

Down to the left hand and the left thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

All five fingers together,

Palm of the left hand,

The back of the hand,

Left wrist,

Left forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

The left side of the chest,

The left side body,

Waist,

Hip,

Buttock,

Thigh,

The left hamstring,

Knee,

Calf muscle,

Left ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

And all five toes together,

Visualizing and feeling the right foot,

The left foot,

Both feet together,

Right heel,

Left heel,

Both heels together,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Both ankles together,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Both calf muscles together,

Right knee,

Left knee,

Both knees together,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Both thighs together,

Right hip,

Left hip,

Both hips together,

Lower abdomen,

Upper abdomen,

The whole of the abdomen,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

The whole of the chest,

Right shoulder,

Left shoulder,

Right arm,

Left arm,

Right elbow,

Left elbow,

Right hand,

Left hand,

Right fingers,

Left fingers,

Palm of the right hand,

Palm of the left hand,

Shoulders,

Upper back,

Mid back,

Lower back,

Right side of the back,

Left side of the back,

The whole of the spine,

The whole of the spine,

The throat,

Neck,

Chin,

Jaw,

Lower lip,

Upper lip,

Mouth,

Teeth,

Tongue,

Right cheekbone,

Left cheekbone,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The whole of the nose,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Forehead,

The back of the head,

Crown of the head,

The whole face,

The whole head,

The whole right side of the body,

The whole left side of the body,

The whole of the body,

The whole body together.

Now calling your awareness onto your breath,

Feeling this spontaneous movement of air through you,

Naturally arising,

Being breathed into the body,

Belly expanding,

Then collapsing downward again,

Each cycle moving through with ease,

Comfort,

No effort needed.

As you stay with the breath,

Begin counting backwards from 10 on each inhale and exhale,

So breathing in 10,

Breathing out 10,

Breathing in 9,

Breathing out 9,

Continuing at your own pace,

Moving away from the breath now and sensing and feeling the whole of the body resting on the bed,

Now sensing the experience of heat throughout the body,

If it helps recalling the feeling of being under a hot sun or in front of a blazing fire,

Allowing the sensation of heat to pour into every part of your body,

The whole body feeling hot and now calling into awareness the feeling of cold,

Icy cold,

As though a cold wind was blowing through,

The whole body feeling cold,

Letting go of heat and cold now and sensing into heaviness in the body,

As you focus your awareness the body gets heavier and heavier,

Like a weight,

So heavy that moving is no longer available to you,

Even eyelids feeling too heavy to move,

And now moving to lightness,

The whole of your being so,

So light,

As though you are floating,

Like a cloud,

Light as a feather,

Letting go of sensations of heaviness and lightness now,

As I name each of the following,

Seeing if you can focus every level of your awareness upon them,

A vivid sunset,

Newborn kittens,

A tall oak tree,

The sound of cathedral bells,

A bouquet of roses,

A cool breeze on a hot day,

A lightning fork lighting up a dark sky,

Snow-capped mountains,

The smell of pine,

Salt water,

The color blue,

Rustling leaves,

A burning candle,

Your body lying on the bed,

Your body lying on the bed,

Sensing back into breath and body now,

Feeling into the quietening and settling that has unfolded,

Knowing and trusting that there is no more need for thought now,

Instead surrendering fully into effortless rest,

The whole of your being,

Calm,

Relaxed,

And at peace.

Reviews

I really enjoy your voice, pacing and tone and rarely get to the end of this awake!

Very nice. 🙏🏻

A wonderful yoga new drum for the middle of the night. It didn't quite put me to sleep but call me down to the point where I could get back to sleep easily. Thank you so much for this

This was an amazing yoga nidra and the most complete one I have ever listened to. I will be using it often.

You have the most incredibly relaxing voice for a sleep meditation. I look forward to returning to this and any others that you put together.

Lovely restful yoga nidra, just had some Christmas Day quiet time listening to this!Thank you, and Merry Christmas 😊🎄

Great voice and pacing. I really liked all the sections… body scan, opposites, images. Helped me to let go and rest.

Love your style and guidance. Voice so relaxing.

Wonderful! Thank you 🙏

Gentle and so calming 🙏🏻 thank you!

Fell instantly asleep at nap time. Remember nothing. 7/16/24

I love 💕 your style and your voice. Thank you 🙏 for giving this gift to us. Blessings

Thank you - it made me nice and relaxed as I headed to sleep!

I have truly truly enjoyed it! Deeply settling and soothing. I didn't feel the time passing by.

Thank you! 💫

Infinitely comforting… I fall asleep to this a couple times a week and also listen when I wake in the middle of the night. Mar’s voice, cadence, and timing is just perfect. Many thanks 🙏🏼 ♥️

Love Mar’s gentle, kind voice. Will be one of my favorite yoga nidra tracks. 🙏