Yoga Nidra ~ Guided Relaxation

Yoga Nidra encourages gradual, conscious relaxation for the body & mind. You will be encouraged to internalise awareness so that you reach the threshold state between dream and wakefulness. Gently the senses withdraw, allowing you to access higher states of clarity, awareness, and insight. Please find a place to lay down, preferably on your back. If laying down is not possible, this practice can be done seated as well. Yoga Nidra is often a good practice for beginners to start with.

Background Music credit: Chris Collins

Transcript

Welcome to your guided relaxation yoga ninja practice.

I am so pleased that you have carved out the time in your day to replenish,

To ease tension in body,

Mind and spirit.

Yoga nidra is a guided systematic relaxation practice.

It is a time-tested ancient wisdom practice that encourages a gradual conscious relaxation.

Here you will be encouraged to turn your attention inwards away from external experiences so that you reach the threshold state between dream and wakefulness.

Gently the senses withdraw allowing you to access higher states of potential,

Receptivity,

Clarity,

Awareness and insight.

It is encouraged that you stay in a semi-wakeful state in yoga nidra and therefore do not fall asleep.

It is not necessary that you concentrate or force a sense of peacefulness over you.

Rather allow the natural flow of awareness to be there in the practice.

If you do fall asleep or drift in and out of what feels like sleep,

That is okay.

Just keep following my instructions and keep listening to my voice.

Please find a place to now lay down,

Preferably on your back,

Maybe with some minimal support for your head and a cushion at the back of your knees to support your lower back to release.

Minimal lighting in the room if possible.

Have the arms by your side,

Palms turning to face up,

Fingers relaxed,

Feet out a little wider than hip distance,

Feet and toes relaxed.

Let's begin.

Please get ready for the practice of yoga nidra.

Feel the body soften to the floor.

Make any adjustments so that you feel more comfortable.

Let your body settle deeper into the ground,

Feeling it becoming heavy to the floor.

Gently close the eyes.

Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out,

Feel the cares and worries of the day flow out of you.

Be comforted at this time knowing that everything is okay.

At this point you have nowhere else you need to be and nothing else you need to be doing.

You are here to simply feel the body and to listen.

As you develop the feeling of deep relaxation,

Sometimes sleep may come.

Try to keep yourself awake and aware.

Make a resolution to yourself now.

I will not sleep.

I shall only listen to the voice.

Repeat to yourself now.

I will not sleep.

Do not worry or become agitated if you do not hear everything I say.

It is normal to flow in and out of conscious hearing.

The deepest part of you,

The true self is always listening.

Simply listen without trying too hard.

Begin to hear the sounds outside of the room you are in.

Simply listen for a sound without judging or analyzing it.

Then move the attention to another sound outside of the room.

Keep scanning for sounds,

Different sounds,

Even hearing the most distant sounds.

Sounds that are both high in pitch and low in pitch.

As you do this know that the world outside will continue and that is okay.

You are here to be still,

To turn your attention inwards.

Take the attention to the sounds you hear inside the room and the sounds around your own body.

The sound of my voice,

The sound of the breath,

The heartbeat.

Now bring your awareness to the parts of the body touching the floor.

Feel the thin line of connection between the floor and the back of the legs,

The torso,

The arms,

The head.

Now bring your attention to the thin line of contact between the upper lip and lower lip.

Now take the awareness to the thin line of connection between the eyelids,

The upper eyelids and lower eyelids.

And again taking your awareness to the back and the floor.

Now the meeting point between the lips and the meeting point between the eyelids.

Gently bring your body towards exploring stillness and rest.

If at any time you need to change position to support the body you may.

You are here for deep rest,

Deep nourishment,

Deep relaxation.

Bring the awareness to the heels now.

As you inhale bring the breath smoothly all the way up to the crown of the head and on the exhale release the breath back down to the heels.

Inhaling up to the crown of the head slowly and exhaling down to the heels.

Continue in this way with the breath.

Now as you exhale feel a wave of relaxation flow downwards to the heels.

This wave of relaxation releases tension and calms the body and the mind.

This now allows you to feel yourself being cocooned in a safe,

Comforting bubble which nourishes and protects you from negative energy.

Continue in this way with the breath.

At this time the mind is open to positive suggestion by you.

This is when we repeat a resolve,

A sankalpa.

The sankalpa you make during yoga nidra plants a seed in the fertile soil of the mind to bring about transformation and healing.

Choose a simple resolve from a place of feeling and awareness of I will or in the present tense as if it was already happening.

For example I will be content and at ease or I flow through life with grace and ease.

Choose something that is positive and appropriate for you.

If you have a sankalpa you are already working with please use it.

Repeat your sankalpa three times mentally to yourself now planting it deep into the mind.

We now begin rotation of consciousness,

Rotation of awareness by taking a trip through the different body parts.

I will mention a part of the body.

Take your awareness to that part of the body.

Repeat the part in your mind.

Feel it with your awareness but no movement is needed here.

Become aware of the right hand thumb,

Right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Right palm,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the chest,

Right waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The whole right side of the body.

Become aware of the left,

Become aware of the left hand thumb,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Left palm,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of the chest,

Left waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The whole left side of the body.

Now to the top of the head,

Crown of the head,

Back of the head,

Back of the neck,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Upper back,

Middle back,

Lower back,

The spinal cord,

The whole back,

Back of the right thigh,

Back of the left thigh,

Right calf,

Left calf,

Right heel,

Left heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Sole of the left foot.

Now to the front of the head,

The forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The center of the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Bridge of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Inside of the mouth,

Upper jaw,

Lower jaw,

Both lips together,

Chin,

Front of the neck,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

The collarbone center,

Right chest,

Left chest,

Center of the chest,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

The whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together,

Abdomen,

Chest,

Back,

The whole torso,

The neck,

Head,

Skull,

Brain,

The whole body,

The whole body,

Have an experience of the whole physical body.

Become aware of the breath.

You are breathing in and breathing out,

Breathing in and breathing out.

Feel the breath flow in and out of your lungs.

Don't try to change the rhythm.

The breathing is natural.

Now start counting your breaths backwards from 27 to 1 like this.

27 inhaling,

27 exhaling,

26 inhaling,

26 exhaling and so on.

Carefully say the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths.

If you make a mistake just begin again at 27.

Continue.

Stay focused on your counting backwards,

Focused on the numbers and the breaths.

Now imagine you are breathing in and out through the pores of your skin as you inhale,

The whole body expands.

As you exhale,

The body contracts.

Inhale,

Body expands.

Exhale,

Body contracts.

Continue in this way with the breath.

Check that you are awake.

Say to yourself,

I am awake.

Continue with the breath practice.

Now feel the natural rhythm of your breath as it flows through you.

As you inhale,

A fresh wave of golden light flows upward through your whole body,

Bringing calmness to every cell.

As you exhale,

A wave of smoky impurities passes downwards through the body,

Carrying away tensions,

Pain,

Discomfort.

Inhale a fresh wave of light upwards.

Exhale,

A wave flowing downwards,

Carrying away fears,

Discomfort.

Continue in this way with the breath.

Check that you are awake.

Say to yourself,

I am awake.

Now awaken the feeling of heaviness.

Heaviness in the legs,

The arms,

The torso,

The head.

Feel the whole body sinking,

Becoming heavier to the floor,

The body merging with the surface it is laying on.

Heavier and heavier.

Now awaken the feeling of lightness in the body.

So light you feel as if you were floating above the floor.

Weightlessness in all parts of the body.

The arms,

The legs,

So light.

The torso,

The head,

The whole body light and floating.

Lighter and lighter.

Now the experience of cold.

Feel the body cold as if you were as cold as snow.

Imagine walking on a cold floor.

Feel the cold move through the body.

Cold legs,

Cold legs,

Cold arms,

Torso and head.

The whole body feeling colder and colder.

Now awaken the sensation of heat.

Awaken the experience of heat.

Recollect the feeling of heat in summer when you are out in the sun.

Feel the heat spread through the body.

The legs,

Arms,

Torso,

Head.

Awareness of heat.

Release the heat and feel the body return to its natural state.

Reconnect to the breath.

Bring it again from the heels up to the crown of the head on the inhale and exhale from the crown back down to the heels.

Continue in this way with the breath.

Withdraw your mind and shift the focus now to the space in front of your closed eyes.

The space we call Chitrakash.

Imagine as though you were sitting back on a chair now and allowing the images that I say to appear on the screen of the mind.

Try to develop a vision of them on all levels.

Feeling awareness,

Emotion,

Imagination as best as you can.

Keep moving your awareness from one image to the next,

One image to the next.

The full moon.

The full moon.

Stars in the sky.

Stars in the sky.

The ocean at night.

The ocean at night.

The rising sun.

The rising sun.

Snow-capped mountains.

Snow-capped mountains.

Tall trees.

Tall trees.

A forest.

A forest.

Galloping horses.

Galloping horses.

Pink rose.

Pink rose.

A blue sky with white drifting clouds.

Blue sky with white drifting clouds.

A field of flowers.

A field of flowers.

Dolphins in the ocean.

Dolphins in the ocean.

Children playing together.

Children playing together.

A doctor's office.

A doctor's office.

A long dusty road.

A long dusty road.

Vibrant sunset.

Vibrant sunset.

A candle flame.

A candle flame.

Golden spider web.

Golden spider web.

Temple bell ringing.

A temple bell ringing.

A spiral staircase.

A spiral staircase.

Red desert.

Red desert.

A cross above a church.

A cross above a church.

The restless sea.

The restless sea.

A big golden door.

A big golden door.

The sound of wind chimes.

The sound of wind chimes.

A smiling Buddha.

A smiling Buddha.

A bright light.

A bright light.

A purple lotus flower.

A purple lotus flower.

A white lotus flower.

A white lotus flower.

And now begin to watch the space of the mind.

Step back.

Be a passive observer to the thoughts.

Allow whatever comes onto the screen to be.

Without any sense of expectation or judgment,

Whatever needs to be,

Will be.

Simply be the observer now.

If thoughts come,

Let them come and go.

Simply keep watching this space.

Allow the mind to be free.

It does not matter if the thoughts appear positive or negative.

Just witness them.

Allow them to come and go.

Now remember your sankalpa.

Remember your resolve.

The one you set at the start of the practice.

Mentally repeated three times using the same words with maximum feeling and awareness.

Gently become aware again of the breath.

Become aware of the body heavy to the floor.

Feel the backs of the legs.

Feel the arms,

Torso,

The head.

Be aware of the whole body.

Become aware of the space around you.

Mentally visualize the room you are in.

The walls,

Floor and ceiling.

Begin to hear the sounds around you.

Bring the awareness back to the body.

Bring the awareness back to the here and the now.

Start to gently move the fingers and toes.

Swallow.

Turn the head slowly from side to side,

Stretching.

When you feel ready,

Keeping the eyes closed,

Roll over to one side,

Pausing there for a moment.

Take your time,

There is no hurry.

When you are sure that you are awake,

Sit up slowly and then gently open your eyes.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

The practice of yoga is now complete.

The practice of yoga is now complete.

The practice of yoga is now complete.

The practice of yoga is now complete.

The practice of yoga is now complete.

Reviews

Nice voice and music
Very relaxing and refreshing 🪴🌈🌀

Lovely💐

A beautiful way to start my day. I loved your voice, the pacing and background music with lots of time for the Sankalpa and all other elements of the practice . Thank you 🙏

Wonderful! You have such a beautiful voice, so soothing.