A Simple 30-Minute Yoga Nidra
This yoga nidra will help you to relax and reconnect with yourself. The practice employs sankalpa (heart's desire), body scan, breath awareness and self-discovery. Use it whenever you need to feel rejuvenated. Music by Liborio Conti.
Transcript
Find that comfortable position for yourself so that the body can relax and that you can rest and simply listen.
Make any adjustments you need now.
Get any fidgets out and then give yourself this time to relax.
Feel yourself just melting into the supports beneath you.
No more effort is necessary,
No more to-do list,
It can all be put aside for a few minutes of your day.
Just letting yourself come into the space that's just for you.
Feeling the natural rhythm of your breath.
The rise and fall of the inhale and the exhale in the body.
The expansion and the contraction with the inhale and the exhale.
Breathing naturally and feeling the rhythm of your breath here and now.
And then begin to listen for sounds.
Notice all the types of sounds that are around you.
Pitches that are high and those that might be very low and deep.
Phonetic sounds and random arhythmic sounds.
And listen for the sounds that are farther away,
If there are any sounds that are outside your space,
Outside the room.
Letting your awareness drift from sound to sound.
Focusing on one sound for a little while and then moving on to another.
And then drawing closer,
Noticing what sounds are in your space,
Inside the room.
Noticing the individual sounds and their qualities,
Drifting from sound to sound.
And then hearing the sounds like an orchestra,
All the sounds together as one.
This symphony of sounds around you.
Now listen very closely and see if you can hear the sound of your own breath,
The sound of your breathing.
Notice if you can hear the sound of the heartbeat.
And within the sound of the heartbeat,
Hear the whisper of your heart's desire,
Your sankalpa.
The sankalpa is resolve or affirmation you make in the yoga nidra practice,
Planting this intention in your subconscious mind for it to grow and manifest in your life.
So feel your heart's desire.
Feel it as if it's already happening for you and see it clearly in your mind.
And then mentally repeat your sankalpa three times with complete awareness,
Knowing that it will manifest somehow in your life.
We now move on to the rotation of consciousness through the body.
Keeping the body still,
We let our awareness travel through it,
Venturing around the body as each body part is named,
Bringing our awareness to it and noticing what sensations may or may not occur there.
We begin as always with the right hand thumb.
So bring your total awareness to the right hand thumb.
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger.
Thumb of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrists,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Hamstring,
Knee,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Arch of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now bring awareness to the left hand thumb.
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Thigh,
Hamstring,
Knee,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Arch of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Stay awake and aware and bring awareness to the back of the head,
Neck,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The spinal column,
Right upper back,
Left upper back,
Right middle back,
Left middle back,
Right lower back,
Left lower back,
The whole back,
Buttocks,
Hamstrings,
Back of the knees,
Calf muscles,
Heels.
Now bring awareness to the top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
Right eyelashes,
Left eyelashes,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
The whole right eye,
The whole left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
The whole nose,
The space between the nose and the lips,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Both lips together,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Gums,
The whole mouth,
Chin,
Jawbone,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
The hollow between the collarbones,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Heart center,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
The whole right leg,
Whole left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole right arm,
Whole left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole head,
Whole right side of the body,
Whole left side of the body,
The whole back side of the body,
Whole front side of the body,
The head,
Arms,
Legs,
Right,
Left,
Front,
Together,
Awareness of the whole body together,
The whole body together,
The whole body together.
Now become aware of the elements in the body,
The elements of earth,
Water,
Fire,
Air and space.
First becoming aware of the earth element,
Feeling the solid parts of the body,
The bones,
The muscles,
The skin.
Become aware of the element earth in the body and then become aware of water,
The water element in the body,
The fluids within the body.
Become aware of this element flowing within you and then aware of the fire in the body,
The element of fire as heat,
As the transformative power of digestion.
Awareness of fire in the body and then becoming aware of air,
The element of air within the body,
The air of the breath and respiration.
The element of air is breathing in prana,
Energy.
Awareness of air in the body and then the element of space.
Become aware of the space in the body,
The large spaces like those in the ears and the mouth and the smaller spaces like those between the cells and even the spaces of the atoms in the body.
Become aware of space in the body and then feel the whole body again.
Awareness of the whole body.
Awareness if you're awake or asleep and try to stay awake and focused on the practice.
Now bring your awareness back to the breath,
Back to breathing.
The natural inhales and exhales.
Noticing that your breath is relaxed and smooth.
And as you feel the natural breath,
Not changing its rhythm or pattern,
But simply noticing the movement of the breath up and down the body.
When you inhale,
It's as if the breath moves from the feet up through the body to the top of the head.
And when you exhale,
The breath moves from the top of the head down the body,
Out through the feet.
When you inhale,
The breath comes through the feet,
Up through the legs and the body,
Up to the head.
And as you exhale,
The breath moves down through the head,
The torso,
Out through the feet.
Feel this movement of the breath up and down the body,
From head to toe,
As you inhale and exhale.
If it's difficult to feel this movement,
Just imagine the breath.
Coming in from the feet up to the head and exhaling down from the head to the feet.
And then start to count the breaths backwards as follows.
Inhaling 15.
Exhaling 15.
Inhaling 14.
Exhaling 14.
And so on,
Counting the breaths backwards from 15 to zero.
Following the movement of the breath from feet to head and head to feet,
With every inhale and every exhale.
If you lose focus in the number of the count,
Simply start again at 15.
And the same goes,
Should you reach zero.
Just start again at 15.
Anytime you lose your concentration,
Or if you reach the number zero.
Zero.
Keep the focus on counting and breathing.
Breathing and counting.
Now let go of the count.
Let go of the focused breathing.
And just relax.
Become aware of yourself.
Aware of the body.
And bring your focus to the space behind your closed eyes.
Chittikasha,
The mind space.
Chittikasha,
The mind space.
Bring all your awareness to this space and observe whatever is manifesting here.
Whatever thoughts or images may or may not appear,
Simply watch them.
Let them come into this space and make an appearance.
Hold nothing back.
Let your subconscious mind reveal itself to you here in this space.
Become aware now of your sense of self.
Of the I that you see yourself as.
The sense of your personality,
Opinions,
Hobbies.
All the things that you label as unique to you.
The person you describe when you say,
I'm tired.
I'm excited.
I'm hungry.
I'm happy.
Etc.
And now begin to sense yourself as the observer of this person you are so familiar with.
The witness.
Become the witness of the part of you that is aware of these labels and feelings about yourself.
This witness.
Who is it that is aware of you?
Who is it that is aware of this body?
Who is it that is aware of the feelings and emotions?
Who is it that is aware of the thoughts?
Who is it that's aware of your presence in the room?
Who is it that it's aware of your self?
And now remember your Sankalpa.
Your heart's desire.
The statement you made at the beginning of the Yoga Nidra practice.
Repeat your Sankalpa again.
Three times mentally.
Heartfelt.
And with full awareness of your Sankalpa.
Three times mentally.
Heartfelt.
And with full awareness that it will happen for you in your life.
Become aware of the body.
From head to toe.
From head to the tip of each finger.
Become aware of the clothing on the skin.
The temperature in the room.
And any scents or sounds you might notice.
Any taste.
Maybe even colors behind the closed eyes.
Recalling the room as best you can.
The colors and objects that are there.
Anything you share the space with.
Seeing yourself inside the space.
Perfectly relaxed and at ease.
And taking your time,
Start to bring movement back into the body.
Maybe consciously breathe a little deeper and fuller.
Perhaps wiggle the fingers and the toes.
Gently move the head side to side and do whatever feels good for you.
And you can either make your way back to seated or simply lie there and open the eyes.
Taking in all the sights around you.
And noticing how you feel.
Taking a moment to thank yourself for your practice today.
And taking this important time to take care of you and reconnect to yourself.
I thank you all so much as well.
Namaste.
4.9 (41)
Recent Reviews
Zu
October 31, 2025
Great. Nice touch watching the elements in the body
Abby
February 4, 2025
Love everything about this practice - simple yet thorough. Flows beautifully and I so appreciate that there is not a long intro. This will be a favorite of mine for sure. Thank you!
teresa
October 29, 2024
Love the different yoga nidras to start my day,,while I wait for the pain tablets to work and then able to face the day thankyou