Daily Yoga Nidra For Better Rest

Yoga Nidra is best practiced every day. Just 15 minutes in your nightly routine can help to improve your overall sleep quality, as well as reduce your stress.

This practice can be done by first-time meditators or those with years of experience. Come as you are and enjoy your rest!

Transcript

Please get ready for yoga nidra.

Lie down on your back on the floor and adopt the pose called shavasana.

In this position the body should be straight from head to toe,

The legs slightly apart and the arms a little away from the body with the palms of the hands turned upwards.

Adjust everything,

Your body position and clothes until you are completely comfortable.

You can use a pillow underneath the knees or at the back of the neck to help you retain this posture.

During yoga nidra there should be no physical movement so please take time to adjust and become comfortable.

Close your eyes and keep them closed until the end of the practice.

Take a deep breath and as you breathe out feel the cares and worries of the day flow out of you.

In the practice of yoga nidra do not fall asleep.

You will be relaxing the body completely and with relaxation sleep does come but you should try to keep yourself completely awake.

Make a resolution to yourself now.

Repeat to yourself mentally silently,

I will not sleep.

I will remain awake during the practice of yoga nidra.

During the practice you must simply be aware of hearing and your physical awareness,

Listening to my voice and feeling totally with all of your attention,

Your body and your sense of consciousness.

Now we are going to bring about a feeling of inner relaxation in the whole body.

Concentrate on the body and become aware of the importance of complete stillness.

Visualize your whole body lying on the ground.

See yourself relaxed as if you were standing over yourself looking down.

Witness your body in complete stillness,

Eyes closed and allow yourself to feel relaxed.

Repeat to yourself once more,

I am aware.

I am going to practice yoga nidra.

I will not fall asleep.

At this moment you should make your resolve.

The resolve will be very simple.

Try to discover one naturally if you haven't thought of one ahead of time.

It should be a short positive statement in simple language,

Stated three times with awareness,

Feeling and emphasis.

Repeat your resolve to yourself three times now.

We will now relieve the physical tensions through a practice called the rotation of consciousness.

Your awareness will take a trip through the different parts of the body.

As quickly as possible your awareness is to go from part to part.

Repeat in your mind the part of the body that I state and simultaneously become aware of that part of the body.

Keep yourself alert but do not concentrate too intensely.

Become aware of the right hand,

The right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand.

Become aware of your palm,

Back of the hand,

The wrist,

Lower arm,

Right elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

The armpit,

The right waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The right kneecap,

The calf muscle,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the right foot,

Top of the right foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Become aware of the left hand thumb,

The left second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Back of the left hand,

The left wrist,

Lower arm,

The left elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left waist,

Left hip,

Left thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the left foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now move your awareness to the back body.

Become aware of the back of the neck,

The right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

The mid-back,

The right buttock,

The left buttock,

The spine from tailbone to top of the neck.

Become aware of the whole back together all at once.

Now go to the top of the head.

From the top of the head,

Become aware of the forehead,

Both sides of the head,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The nose,

The tip of the nose,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The chin,

The throat,

The right chest,

The left chest,

The middle of the chest,

The navel,

The abdomen.

Aware of and relaxing the whole front of the body.

Now become aware of the entire right leg,

The whole left leg,

Both legs together.

Relax completely both of your legs.

Become aware of the whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together.

Become aware of the whole back from tailbone to top of the head.

Relax the whole back body.

Aware of the whole front body,

The abdomen,

Chest,

And face.

Become aware of the whole front and back of the body,

The torso and the back together.

Relaxing the entire torso.

Become aware of the face,

The back of the head,

The whole of the head.

From head to toe become aware of the whole body together.

Relax entirely all at once the whole body together.

Please do not sleep.

Maintain total awareness of the body.

No sleeping,

No movement.

Your whole body lying on the floor,

Eyes closed.

Become aware of your whole body lying on the floor.

Repeat to yourself,

I am aware of my whole body lying in perfect stillness.

Visualize this image in your mind.

Become aware of your breath.

Feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs.

Don't try to change the rhythm.

Your breathing is natural and automatic.

You are not breathing,

You are aware of breath.

There's no effort.

Maintain awareness of your breath.

Become aware of all of the parts of the body that are moving with your breath and concentrate your awareness on these movements.

Your belly is rising and falling slightly with every breath.

With each breath it expands and contracts.

Concentrate on this movement.

Synchronizing the movement of your belly with your breath.

Continue to be aware and start counting your breaths backwards from 27 to 1 like this.

27 breathing in,

27 breathing out.

26 breathing in,

26 breathing out.

25 breathing in,

25 breathing out and so on.

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

If you make a mistake,

Restart back at 27 after losing count.

With total awareness that you are counting,

Your only practice is to maintain a continuous thread of awareness starting at 27 and going down to 1.

Wherever you've made it to,

Stop your counting and leave your breathing where it is.

Allowing for it to fade into the background of your mind.

Knowing that you are still breathing safely.

You are lying on the floor.

Your body is still and your eyes are closed.

You are practicing yoga nidra.

We will now come into the phase of visualization.

A number of different things will be named.

Try to hold those things in your mind's eye,

Developing a vision of them on all levels.

How does it feel?

What are your emotions?

Use your imagination as best you can to fill in all of the senses on these visualizations.

One by one,

Visualize each of these objects.

A burning candle,

An endless desert,

The pyramids of Giza,

Torrential rain in a jungle,

Snow-capped mountains,

A temple at sunrise,

Birds flying across a sunset,

Red clouds drifting through the sky,

Stars at night,

A full moon,

A smiling face,

A breeze carried from the sea,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach,

The restless sea,

Waves breaking on a beach.

Now,

Repeat to yourself three times the same resolve that you made at the beginning of the practice without changes.

Repeat it three times mentally to yourself with full awareness and feeling.

Relax all your efforts.

Draw your mind outside and become aware of your breathing.

Become aware of the natural breath breathing in the space.

Become aware of the whole body,

The feeling of the whole body breathing.

Become aware once again of your body lying on the floor,

The room around you in which you are lying,

Aware of the walls,

The floor and the ceiling.

Visualize this awareness and your body in the room around you.

Lie quietly and listen to the sounds you can hear in the room around you,

Keeping your eyes closed.

Notice what noises you can hear in the room around you.

Notice what you can hear beyond the walls of the room.

With the eyes still closed,

Take your time to gently begin moving the body,

Starting with the fingertips and toes.

Gradually adding more movement,

Turning your wrists,

Ankles,

Knees and shoulders,

Stretching the arms up and overhead.

Take a deep breath in and sigh it out.

Open your eyes gently and softly.

From here,

You may continue to slowly wake yourself back up.

If you are continuing to your day or if you are moving to sleep,

Carry this gentleness with you as you lie down in bed for a restful night's sleep.

Continue to carry the awareness of the changing mental states as you slowly drift from consciousness into the wake of a dream.

Reviews

I was awake and focused but relaxed and calm all the way to the end

One of the best yoga nidra meditations I’ve done. Love the fast pace body scan. And I was asleep 3 minutes after it finished. I’ll be back!