Yoga Nidra For Beginners
Yoga Nidra for Beginners will walk you through this deep rest practice from start to finish. Get comfortable and give yourself the gift of tuning in to your deeper self. This practice draws on my training with Patty Townsend and Suzanne Manafort of Mindful Yoga Therapy, as well as my training with Karen Brody of Daring to Rest.
Transcript
Welcome to Yoga Nidra for Beginners.
Find a comfortable position.
You can be lying down or seated.
Wherever you are,
Take time to give yourself and your body full support.
Use as many pillows,
Bolsters,
Blankets as you need.
Tuck yourself in as gently and lovingly as you would tuck a baby in for a nap.
As you settle yourself in,
Notice your body in contact with the earth.
All the places that are in contact with the earth,
Spine,
Legs,
Arms,
Head,
Wherever you are in contact with the floor or bed or couch or chair,
Notice that you are supported by the earth.
Notice the feeling of being supported.
You can close your eyes if it feels comfortable and safe or you can allow your eyes to take on a relaxed gaze.
Begin to tune in to your breath.
No need to control it.
Simply notice it.
Notice the flow into your body through your nose into your lungs and the flow out of your body from your lungs all the way to the outside world.
Notice any and all movements created by your breath in your body.
Just allow them.
No need to name them.
Just notice.
As you settle into your feeling of relaxation,
I'll walk you through the steps of Yoga Nidra.
Yoga Nidra is a deep rest practice.
There is nothing that you need to do during the practice.
Simply relax and follow along.
If you fall asleep during the practice,
That is perfectly fine.
If your mind wanders or if you choose not to follow my voice during this practice,
That is also fine.
Trust that your mind and your body will receive rest during this practice just by relaxing and doing nothing for a while.
The practice will move through several stages.
You will have an option to set an intention for the practice.
Then I will lead you through a body awareness practice.
You do not need to move your body at all during this practice.
Just listen to my voice and follow along.
Next,
There will be a short breathing practice.
Again,
Simply relax and follow my voice.
After that,
I will instruct you to imagine and notice some simple sensations in your body followed by a series of images from nature.
Finally,
I will guide you back out of the practice and into the waking world.
At each stage,
All you need to do is relax and follow along.
If your mind wanders or if you fall asleep or if you choose to focus on something besides my voice,
That is fine.
You will still receive the benefits of relaxing.
We will now begin the practice of Yoga Nidra.
Allow yourself to notice the sensation of relaxation.
Notice the support of the earth and the feeling of your body supported by the earth.
Let yourself notice sound around you.
Start by noticing any sounds outside the room where you are.
No need to name or explain the sounds.
Simply notice them.
Now,
Draw your attention to any sounds occurring in the room where you are.
Again,
No need to name or explain them.
Simply notice.
Now,
Bring your attention further in,
Noticing any sounds occurring near your body.
Now,
Draw your attention to any sounds happening within your body.
No need to name or categorize them.
Simply notice them.
Allow them.
If you like,
You can name an intention for this practice.
This can be something simple and tangible,
Such as,
I drink enough water every day,
Or something deeper and broader,
Such as,
I show love for myself every day.
You decide.
It's also fine not to name an intention.
If you have chosen an intention,
Repeat it to yourself three times.
We will now begin the body awareness practice.
As I name different parts of the body,
Let your attention come to those parts.
No need to move the part,
Or to try to relax it,
Or to visualize it.
Simply allow your mind to rest there for a moment.
Bring your awareness to the point between your eyebrows.
Bring your awareness to your mouth,
To your throat,
Heart center,
Right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Right wrist,
Right thumb,
Right first finger,
Right second finger,
Right third finger,
Right small finger,
Right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
Heart center,
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Left wrist,
Left thumb,
Left first finger,
Left second finger,
Left third finger,
Left small finger,
Left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Heart center,
Navel center,
Right hip,
Right knee,
Right ankle,
Right great toe,
Right second toe,
Right third toe,
Right fourth toe,
Right small toe,
Right ankle,
Right knee,
Right hip,
Navel center,
Left hip,
Left knee,
Left ankle,
Left great toe,
Left second toe,
Left third toe,
Left fourth toe,
Left small toe,
Left ankle,
Left knee,
Left hip,
Navel center,
Heart center,
Throat,
Mouth,
Point between the eyebrows.
Bring your awareness to your whole right side,
Whole left side,
Whole body,
Heart center.
Rest your awareness at the heart center.
Breathe.
Bring your awareness to the movement of your breath.
Notice the breath as it moves the body.
Bring your awareness to the breath moving through the right side of the body,
Flowing in and out the right side.
Take three breaths here,
Imagining the flow of breath through the entire right side of your body.
On the next exhale,
Switch your attention to the left side of the body.
Become aware of the breath moving into and out of the left side of the body.
Take three breaths here,
Imagining the flow of breath through the entire left side of your body.
On the next exhale,
Switch your awareness to the front of your body.
Imagine the flow of breath through the front side of your body.
Take three breaths here.
On the next exhale,
Bring your awareness to the back of your body.
Imagine the breath flowing into and out of the back side of your body.
Take three breaths here.
Now bring your awareness to the entire body.
Notice the flow of breath in and out.
Notice the movement of breath and all movements of your body with the breath.
Now imagine that your body is heavy.
Let the sensation of heaviness move through your entire body,
Heavy as a brick,
Heavy as stone,
Heavy as the earth itself.
Notice how this feels.
No judgment,
Just notice.
Now imagine that your body is light.
Let the sensation of lightness move through your entire body.
Light as air,
Light as a breeze,
Light as joy.
Notice how this feels.
No judgment,
Just notice.
Now imagine that your body is both heavy as the earth and light as air.
Notice how it feels to hold both sensations at the same time.
No need to judge or analyze,
Just notice.
Let those sensations go.
Notice your breathing relaxed.
Notice yourself supported by the earth.
Now I will give you several images from nature.
Allow each image to move through you.
Simply relax and feel the warm sun on your skin,
The warm sun on your skin,
The warm sun on your skin,
A soft breeze through pine trees,
A soft breeze through pine trees,
A soft breeze through pine trees,
The scent of lilacs,
The scent of lilacs,
The scent of lilacs,
Gentle waves on the shore,
Gentle waves on the shore,
Gentle waves on the shore,
Your feet in the sand,
Your feet in the sand,
Your feet in the sand,
A fresh strawberry,
A fresh strawberry,
A fresh strawberry,
Songbirds calling out to each other,
Songbirds calling out to each other,
Songbirds calling out to each other.
Allow yourself to feel the sensation of relaxation.
You are safe here.
You are supported by the earth.
Everything is okay.
Everything is okay.
Feel this.
If you have chosen an intention,
Repeat it to yourself three times.
Allow it to take root like a seed in good soil.
We will now begin to come out of our deep rest.
Allow yourself to notice the sensation of relaxation in your body.
Feel the support of the earth underneath you.
Begin to notice the room around you,
Floor or couch or chair or bed beneath you,
Walls around you,
Ceiling above you.
If your eyes have been closed,
You can allow them to open.
Breathe and notice.
Our practice of yoga nidra ends here.
If you are going to sleep,
Allow yourself to drift into sleep and carry the piece of yoga nidra into your sleep and into your dreams.
If you are ready to wake,
You can begin to move your body.
Start with very small movements,
Perhaps moving your fingers or wiggling your toes.
Let your body move in any way it would like to move.
If you are lying down,
Slowly turn so that you are lying on one side.
Rest here for a moment,
Feeling the support of the earth,
Noticing your breath.
Then press your legs into the earth,
Hands into the earth and slowly rise to sitting.
Take a moment here to center and breathe.
If you are sitting or side lying,
Notice your breath,
Notice how you feel.
Take this feeling of deep relaxation into the rest of your day or into your sleep.
Practice ends here.
4.6 (5)
Recent Reviews
Nicole
August 15, 2023
This is a fantastic way to be introduced to the yoga nidra practice. The clear instruction is seemlessly woven into the practice. Stepanie makes you feel comfortable and at ease.