Yoga Nidra For Deep Rest And Stress Relief

Ease into deep relaxation or sleep with this healing Yoga Nidra meditation from Meghan Smith. This is inspired by iRest Yoga Nidra, a healing meditative practice that soothes the nervous system, calms the mind, and returns us to our true nature. I hope you enjoy this practice and are lulled into deep rest.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to yoga nidra for sleep and relaxation Let us prepare for yoga nidra come into a resting position Lying on your back With your legs a comfortable distance apart Your palms facing up and your chin slightly tucked You may wish to use a cushion or blanket under your knees an eye pillow or sleeping mask To cover your eyes and a cover for your body as your body temperature will lower as You relax you may place a pillow or folded blanket underneath your head To tilt your chin forward slightly Allowing your mind to relax during the practice of yoga nidra Your body may subside for moments Into sleep or into a spacious awareness without thought Allowing my voice to be your anchor Drawing you back into the present while also knowing it is okay And often necessary to fall asleep There is a part of you that is always listening allow my words to become your word There is no way to do this practice right or wrong allow whatever happens to be exactly Right now begin to notice Your own natural rhythm of breath perhaps you begin to deepen your breath Breathing down into the bottom of your lungs so that your belly Expands and ride the waves of your breath home to your true nature to who you are inside Beneath your current mood or any of the masks that you wear throughout your day come home to the ground of your being where you are intimately and Eternally connected the place that knows no separation and from this place We create a son culpa a son culpa is a heart felt prayer or wish or Desire that reveals itself in your heart's mind What is it you most long for in your life know that the seeds are already present and once you've identified this desire The seed of longing plant that seed in your heart and say to yourself in the present tense this wish this prayer or this desire and Say it as though it were already happening. So for example rather than wishing To be at peace You would say peace breathes through me now or I am at peace And this is your deepest intention your son culpa. So take two more slow deep breath breathing your son culpa through every cell in the beginning and the end of your yoga nidra practice are the most Fertile times for nourishing the seed of your son culpa if you plant your son culpa every day during your yoga nidra practice That seed will blossom more fully in your life now imagine a place where you can be totally Relaxed and at ease find a soothing image maybe from nature Maybe in a warm room maybe in the arms of someone you love. This is your inner sanctuary A place where you can return to at any time throughout this practice and this image Can remain in your mind's eye? So that you can draw upon it any time you want a moment of respite Either during this practice or during your daily life now take one more breath with the image of your inner Sanctuary in your heart now become aware of your whole body as it's lying down Become aware of your whole body lying down a global awareness of sensation Radiating through and around your whole body Lying down and sense each body part as we move systematically almost mechanically through your body Beginning with your mouth sense deeply into your mouth notice sensation at the roof of your mouth The floor of your mouth notice your tongue and let your tongue fall away from the roof of your mouth Notice your inner left cheek your inner right cheek sense your lip and sensation behind your lip Your whole mouth is hollow and empty you feel the hollow spaciousness of your mouth is radiant expansive sensation all the structures of your mouth hollow and Empty now trace the line of sensation flowing from inside your mouth through the hollow tubes of your inner ear Canal all of the way out to the wrinkles and folds of your outer ear left ear right ear Hollow and empty sense your nose Experience the hollow spaciousness inside each nostril left nostril right nostril Hollow and empty and sense your eyes these orbs of radiant sensation Sensation in your eyes flowing all the way back into the structures around your eye cheekbones left and right temples left and right eyebrows left and right Bridge of your nose sensation between your eyelid upper lower sensation between the eyelashes left eye right eye still Behind their lid and sense your skull your whole skull trace a line from the middle of your brows Over your forehead to the crown of your head and all the way back to the back of your head Notice your neck and the hollow space behind your neck sense into your throat hollow and Empty sense the hollow notch at the base of your throat becoming aware of your breath again Breathe into the left side of your body the whole left side of your body lying down And follow the sensation in your left shoulder All the way down your arm to the empty spaciousness at the palm of your hand And all the little bones in your fingers left thumb first finger second finger third finger Third-finger fourth finger all of your fingers together left wrist elbow hollow space of the armpit the whole left arm Lying down feel your whole left arm Lying down and notice the hollow notch at the base of your throat notice your left ribcage torso hip thigh kneecap hollow space behind the kneecap shin Ankle all the way down to the hollow space at the sole of the foot When all the little bones in your toes big toe second toe third toe fourth toe fifth toe all of the toes together Sensation flowing through the whole left side of your body whole left side of your body is radiant Spacious hollow and empty feel the whole left side of your body Lying down sensing into the energy field is radiant and shimmering around the left side of your body Lying down and sense the hollow notch at the base of your throat Returning to your breath once again imagine that you could inhale through the sole of your left foot all the way up to the right hemisphere of your brain and exhale down through the right side breath is flowing a Circle of breath breathing up through the left down through the right do this twice more on your own Now breathe your way over to the right side of your body and sense the right side of your body Lying down waves of breath Lapping against the right shore of your body whole right side of your body Sensation in your right shoulder All the way down your arm to the hollow spaciousness At the palm and all the little bones in your fingers right thumb first finger second finger third finger fourth finger all of your fingers together the back of your hand right wrist elbow and the hollow space of your armpit your whole right arm Lying down feel your whole right arm whole right arm Radiant with sensation and notice the hollow notch at the base of your throat notice sensation in your right ribcage torso hip thigh Kneecap the hollow space behind your knee shin ankle All the way down to the hollow space of the sole of your foot And all the little bones and your toes big toe second toe third toe fourth toe fifth toe all the toes together Sensation flowing through the whole right side of your body the whole right side of your body radiant spacious Hollow and empty feel the whole right side of your body Lying down the energy field is radiant Shimmering Around the whole right side of your body lying Down notice the hollow notch at the base of your throat now breathe into both sides of your body Simultaneously become aware of both sides of your body Awareness of your whole body lying down your whole body is lying down Notice the back of your body is heavy Sinking into the earth like a stone in the sand Legs are heavy and sinking spine the back of your head arms heavy and sinking from this earthbound density a lightness begins to arrive body light and floating the front of your body is light and Shining breath flowing through the front of your body face chest abdomen Pelvis tops of your leg the front of your body is light and Floating your whole body light floating above the floor Body light and floating like a cloud now feel the heaviness in your body and the lightness in your body simultaneously Body both heavy and light notice the hollow notch at the base of your throat Your whole body lying on the floor your whole body lying down and the energy field Radiating around your whole body now notice an area of discomfort in your body Perhaps there's an unpleasant tightness or numbness and allow your breath to join in with that area of discomfort without trying to change anything aware of discomfort in your body and is there an emotion Associated with this discomfort. Let's notice that there's an emotion perhaps unpleasant Associated with this area of discomfort in your body no effort No need to search for words simply a felt sense of an emotion Woven into the uncomfortable area in your body staying present Sensing back into the discomfort in your body and breathe into that area of discomfort Now is there an area of comfort in your body? Perhaps a pleasant sensation of tingling or wakefulness And let the breath join in with the comfort in the body without trying to change anything Simply notice comfort in your body and is there an emotion associated with this area of comfort no strain No strain a word might be there. It might not notice that there's a felt sense of emotion associated with comfort In your body stay present and aware of the area of comfort in your body and breathe into that area of comfort Now go back and forth between the area of discomfort in your body And the area of comfort in your body now take two long breaths into the area of discomfort And feel the emotion if there is one Associated with that discomfort now take two long breaths into the area of comfort And feel the emotion if there is one Associated with that pleasant feeling in your body sensing back now into a greater timeless awareness expanded and spacious Aware of both discomfort in your body and comfort In your body embracing both the discomfort and the unpleasant emotion And also the comfort in your body and the pleasant emotion Can you sense back into a spacious awareness or discomfort and comfort? Pleasant and unpleasant heaviness and lightness can live in the body mind awareness expanding Formless and timeless awareness aware of itself Awareness of the energy around your body as bliss bliss expanding and spacious Like a great cosmic smile and invite that smile to enter your heart Maybe a memory comes a moment of joy And inhale and breathe that moment around your heart your heart is smiling your eyes Your eyes are smiling your cheeks Cheeks are smiling the memory dissolves your whole body is smiling blissful smile Extending beyond the limits of your physical body Lying down bliss expanding beyond the limits of your room bliss spacious and expanding Beyond the limits of this country bliss spacious radiant Expanding beyond the limits of this planet bliss shimmering eternally Intimately no separation between the ocean of healing energy that surrounds you And the rivers of healing energy flowing through you now from this expanded place of awareness Everything we need Is flowing through you now whole? Here now no separation Begin to notice your body lying down notice any sounds in the room Allow your breath to deepen breathing into your wholeness Remembering your son kalpa your deep Heartfelt prayer and breathe that through you now knowing that that truth is already present You'll nourish the seeds of this longing With your breath and your attention and as you're breathing Your heartfelt intention through you as we come to the end of this yoga nidra practice You are fertilizing the seed of intention that can manifest fully Blooming in every facet of your life and as you end your yoga nidra practice Perhaps you drift off to sleep or return to your daily life Know that in your wakefulness You can stop throughout your day Pause for a moment in the middle of whatever it is. You're doing simply pause and sense back into this greater Timeless awareness that is you Not separate whole thank you for practicing yoga nidra. Have a peaceful rest