Yoga Nidra

This is a healing and restorative Yoga Nidra practice. This meditative practice is one where your body goes to sleep, but your mind remains awake and aware. Yoga Nidra will offer you boundless relaxation, help to stimulate your mind and release chronic stress. Yoga Nidra delivers you to a state where you can experience deep emotional and physical healing, rewiring of your brain, and self-exploration.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to your yoga nidra practice.

For this practice,

I recommend you lay down on your back,

Bring lots of space between your heels and your legs,

And allow your toes to flop toward the outside.

Take your arms away from the sides of your body so that your armpits have some room to breathe,

And allow your palms to flip up toward the sky in that more anatomical position for your body.

I also recommend that you practice in a dark room or cover your eyes with an eye mask to signal to your brain to produce melatonin.

During yoga nidra,

We slow down our brain waves from beta to alpha to theta,

Falling into a deep state of relaxation without falling asleep.

The body scan in this practice is very specific and it will help stimulate nerves that lie deep within your brain to help you soothe your nervous system.

At the very least,

Yoga nidra will offer you profound relaxation and possibly a nap,

But the practice runs a lot deeper than that.

Yoga nidra is a tried,

Tested and true method that can help you release chronic stress,

Improve your sleep cycle,

Help you heal from any physical,

Mental or emotional pain,

And ultimately guide you back home to yourself and to a place where you experience unconditional love.

It's a healing and restorative practice where your body goes to sleep,

But your mind remains awake and aware,

And all you have to do is surrender and listen.

Allow my voice to be your guide.

If you notice your mind starting to wander throughout the practice,

Just come back to the sound of my voice every time.

Now it's time to invite your analytical mind to go to sleep as we begin the practice of yoga nidra.

To begin,

We will affirm the following resolve.

I will remain awake and I will remain aware.

Feel and affirm this resolve on your own through my words.

I will remain awake and I will remain aware.

Now take three diaphragmatic breaths.

So inhale,

Belly rises,

Chest rises,

Pelvic floor softens.

Exhale,

Belly falls,

Chest falls,

Pelvic floor lifts.

Take two more breaths just like that.

Deep conscious breaths that will help you shift from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system where spontaneous healing can occur.

Bring your awareness to your heart center.

Take a deep breath in and allow a soft light to expand from your heart past the outer edges of your body creating this spacious bubble of healing light for you to stay in throughout the practice.

A place where you can feel safe and at ease.

Breaths on your heart space and imagine that there is a small light in the center of your heart.

On your inhale,

Allow the light to expand and fill you as it travels to the outer edges of your body.

And on your exhale,

Allow the light to come back to the center of your heart.

Two more breaths like that.

Inhale light expands within you,

Filling you to your outer edges.

And then exhale,

Guide that light back to the center of your heart.

Inhale and exhale.

Keep your awareness on your heart space.

Here you'll set your sun kalpa for the practice in the form of an intention.

If you're already working with a sun kalpa,

Please continue to work with the same one.

If you're not sure what a sun kalpa is,

It's like an intention,

But you frame it as a positive I am statement.

You want to frame your sun kalpa in the present tense as if it is already your reality.

But remember,

You truly are already perfect and whole just as you are.

Intentions are just there to help you stay on your path and keep you heading in the right direction.

An example of a sun kalpa could be I am happy.

I am loved.

I am valid.

I am capable.

I am supported.

Take a moment to think of your sun kalpa now.

And keep focusing your awareness on your heart space.

And say your sun kalpa.

Say it three times.

And say it the exact same way each time.

Now you'll rotate your awareness through your physical body.

Every time I say a body part,

I want you to bring all of your awareness there.

Relax that body part and then leave it alone.

Imagine that your awareness is like a flashlight.

And every time I suggest an area of the body,

You shine that healing light on that specific area of your body.

Start by bringing your awareness to your right thumb.

Focus all of your sensory awareness on your right thumb.

Feel your right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

Feel your right palm.

Relax your right palm and your right fingers.

Feel your right wrist,

Right forearm,

Right elbow,

Right upper arm,

And right shoulder.

And feel your right armpit,

Right ribs,

The right side of your waist,

And your right hip.

Bring your flashlight of awareness onto your right thigh,

Right knee,

Right calf,

And right shin.

Feel your right ankle and your right foot.

Take a moment now and feel the entire right side of your body.

Imagine that the entire right side of your body is illuminated with a soft light.

Bring all of your awareness over to your left thumb.

Shine the light onto your left thumb.

Feel your left index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

Feel your left palm.

Feel your left palm and your left fingers illuminated with that soft light.

Feel your left wrist,

Left forearm,

Left elbow,

Left upper arm,

And left shoulder.

Feel your left armpit,

Left ribs,

The left side of your waist,

And your left hip.

Shine your flashlight of awareness onto your left thigh,

Left knee,

Left calf,

And left shin.

Feel your left ankle and your left foot.

Take a moment now to feel the entire left side of your body.

Imagine that the entire left side of your body is illuminated with a soft light.

Feel the sole of your right foot.

Feel the sole of your left foot.

Feel both soles of your feet together.

Right heel,

Left heel,

Both heels together.

Right calf,

Left calf,

Both calves together.

The back of your right knee and the back of your left knee.

Feel the backs of both your knees together.

Back of your right hamstrings.

Back of your left hamstrings.

All your hamstrings together.

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

And both buttocks together.

Feel your lower back.

Relax.

Mid back.

Relax.

Upper back.

Relax.

Feel your entire right arm.

Pure sensation.

And then feel your entire left arm.

Pure sensation.

Now feel both your arms together,

Simultaneously.

Feel the back of your head and neck.

Feel the inside of your head.

And sense your brain.

And soften and relax all the muscles in your face.

Feel your right eye sinking deeper into your skull.

And then feel the left eye sinking deeper into your skull.

Feel your right eye and your left eye both sinking deeper into your skull as you relax.

Feel your nostrils inside the nostrils and your whole nose together.

And now bring your awareness to the inside of your mouth and all the way to the back of your throat.

Travel from the back of your throat out your right ear canal to the right outer ear.

And then feel the outer architecture of your right ear.

And follow that same pathway and move back through the ear canal to the back of your throat.

Now travel out your left ear canal to the left outer ear.

Feel the outer architecture of your left ear.

And then follow that same pathway and move back through the ear canal to the back of your throat.

All of your awareness at the back of your throat.

Feel your mouth,

Lower gums,

Lower row of teeth,

Upper gums and upper row of teeth.

Feel your lips,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together.

Take a moment now and feel your entire physical body,

Right side,

Left side,

Front plane and back plane of the body all at once.

Feeling your whole body illuminated with that soft light.

Allow yourself to feel spacious.

Become more aware of the space within you and around you.

Without changing your breath,

Start to observe your breath just as it is.

Really observe your effortless breath.

Embrace the nourishing sensation of your breath as it helps spread healing light within and around you.

Now without changing or manipulating your breath,

Start to count your breaths from 13 all the way down to zero using your exhale as a marker.

If you lose count,

Just go back to 13 and then start again.

Once you're finished,

Just stay with your breath and relax into your spacious awareness.

And if you don't quite finish,

That's okay too.

Has anybody noticed,

If you are still counting,

Whatever number you're at,

Just let it go.

Relax back into your spacious awareness.

Now allow yourself to start to feel heavy.

What does it feel like to experience heaviness?

The weight of your body sinking into the earth,

Heavy like an anchor.

What does heavy feel like in your body and your mind?

Let go of that feeling of heaviness and come back to a neutral state.

Now I invite you to experience lightness.

Feel the touch of the air on your skin.

Allow your physical body to feel light like a feather.

What does the sensation of lightness feel like?

Lightness.

And completely let go of that feeling of lightness and come back to a neutral state.

Shift your awareness back to heaviness.

Heavy like an anchor.

And let go and come back to that neutral state.

And shift your awareness to lightness,

Light like a feather.

Under all effort now and come back to a neutral state.

Just notice how shifting your awareness can produce different sensations in your body and your mind.

Bring your awareness to your forehead,

The space right between your eyebrows,

The space of consciousness.

Imagine that you are looking at a blank black movie screen.

And on that screen,

A tree starts to appear.

Maybe it's a familiar tree or it can be one that you've never seen before.

Just start to observe the tree.

Notice the height and the width of the trunk.

Notice the texture of the bark and the texture of the leaves.

Now imagine that you are laying down underneath the tree,

Gazing up at the leaves and the sunshine.

And just notice anything that arises.

And bring your awareness back into your heart.

Come back to that spacious and expansive breath as you expand that light from the center of your heart to the outer edges of your body.

And then exhale,

Bring the breath and the light back to your heart center.

Become more aware of the space within you and around you.

And take a moment now to bring to mind a person,

A place,

Or an experience that you are truly grateful for.

And feel into that sensation of love and gratitude.

And feel into that elevated emotion as you bring to mind your sankalpa,

Your intention that you set at the beginning of the practice.

Say it again in your mind.

Say it three times and say it the exact same way each time.

And say it with confidence as if it is already your reality.

And feel the weight of your body on the earth below you.

Start to deepen your breath.

Strong and full conscious inhale.

Strong and full conscious exhale.

Mentally repeat after me.

I am 100% present and grounded in my being.

Inhale and affirm this again through my words.

I am 100% present and grounded in my being.

Feel your head,

Neck,

Back,

Torso,

Arms,

And legs.

You can gently begin to wiggle your toes and your fingertips.

Roll some circles through your wrists and your ankles,

Bringing that heightened awareness back into your body and back into the environment around you as the practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Take your time getting up.

During this practice,

We withdraw from our senses so things will feel different and refreshing as you enter back into the external world.

Thank you for taking the time to practice today.

From my heart to yours,

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for the wonderful relaxation and refreshment.

So grateful for finding this practice this morning. 🤗

Lovely practice! Perfect way to start a self care Sunday. Thank you!

I really like this version of yoga nidra, and you have a lovely gentle voice - please add more meditations to insight timer!

Hari Om 🙏🏼Thanks for sharing this authentic practice with us. Feeling refreshed and balanced in this moment. Lack of sleep and and a few of life’s situations had me mentally and emotionally drained…. This has helped greatly. And your voice is incredibly gentle and soothing! ☮️💗🌿🕉️ 🧘🏻‍♀️

Thank you for this beautiful practice. It was very beneficial to me and I am grateful to you!

I’ve Done this so many time but this was the first time I didn’t fell asleep and actually was in the whole process. Such a lovely guided meditation ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you, the explanations were also great at the beginning 😊🙏

Couldn't have spoken a bit slower, but worked well. Definitely recommend

Awesome! Really helped me get back to sleep after waking too early. Thank you and Blessings 🕊💗

Lovely very calming will return to this one thank you 🙏

Excellent!! This was well done and very effective. Good rhythm with the voice and direction, Namaste!

Thank you so very much.

Deeply centering especially when I am feeling stress and anxiety. Thank you for this 30 minute version!

Wonderful, deeply relaxing session. Thank you ❤🙏❤️.

Loved your description of yoga nidra - down to the way you describe the recommended posture. Fell asleep last night to this but will listen again today to get the full message. Thank you.

One of the very best Yoga Nidras out there. Lovely voice, helpful explanations, great pacing. Truly beautiful! 💖

I really enjoy this yoga nidra. It is beautifully guided. Thank you ❤

A beautiful example of Yoga Nidra - my personal favourite.

Thank you.

Beautiful. All the powerful elements of YN, offered with gentle strength.