Relax Deeply With Yoga Nidra

This is one of the first-ever digital recordings of Yoga Nidra. Based primarily on the teachings and research of the Bihar School in India, it remains one of the finest recorded examples of this powerful technique, and it is still being used to train teachers in the Yoga Nidra method.
Relax Deeply is also used to relax patients in pre-op for cancer surgery at the Johns Hopkins, Weinberg Cancer Center in Baltimore, MD, and was included in the recovery program for wounded vets at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC.

Background music by Cleveland Wehle. Used with permission.

Transcript

To prepare for this extended yoga nidra practice settle into a relaxed position lying on your back Make any adjustments you need to find a place of easy stillness A place where your body can remain motionless until the end of the practice Feel free to cover yourself with a blanket or place something under the back of the knees or the neck for support Palms should be turned up with nothing touching the fingertips Before we move into the practice you will need to choose a sankalpa This is an affirmation or a resolve for the practice today It should be something positive you would like to see happen in your life Turn this affirmation into a phrase such as I am in radiant health or I am achieving my potential and picture it clearly in your mind This image will be powerfully imprinted in your subconscious as you move deeply into the practice You will have the opportunity to reflect on your sankalpa at the beginning and at the end of this yoga nidra practice Now let's begin by closing the eyes and taking a deep breath in and let it go,

Releasing any stress or tension in the body Again,

Fill the whole body with the breath and let it go Now keep your awareness with the breath as it finds its own natural rhythm Breathing in,

Breathing out The chest expanding and contracting Belly rising and falling Make no effort to control the breath Simply relax and let it flow in and out of the body Letting go,

Nothing but the sensation of the breath Taking you deeper and deeper into relaxation All tension leaving the body And say to yourself,

I am now practicing yoga nidra And as my body relaxes,

I will remain awake Now picture the sankalpa or affirmation you chose for today's practice Your affirmation will have more power if you picture it from a place of gratitude And continue this feeling of gratitude as you now repeat the words of the affirmation three times Again,

Feel a deep sense of gratitude knowing that it is already accomplished Let's prepare the body and mind for the rotation of consciousness Become aware of your current level of relaxation Notice any remaining tension in your arms In the neck and shoulders Your face In the chest In the belly In the legs And notice the quality of the breath Feel the level of relaxation in your body right now Take a deep breath in And on the next exhalation Double your level of relaxation Let's go deeper Breathe in And again,

On the next out breath Double your level of relaxation Your body completely releasing its weight to gravity Now be in this place of deep relaxation As we practice the rotation of consciousness through the body Notice the rotation of consciousness through the body Simply bring your awareness to each part of the body as you hear it described Notice any sensations as you go If you become distracted or notice the mind wandering Simply return to the practice We will begin with the right hand thumb Bring your complete awareness to the right hand thumb Index finger Middle finger Ring finger Pinky finger Palm of the right hand Back of the hand The wrist The right forearm Elbow Upper arm The right shoulder The armpit The right chest The right waist The hip And the thigh of your right leg The knee The calf The ankle The heel Sole of the right foot Top of the foot Big toe Second toe Third toe Fourth toe Little toe Move your awareness to the left side of the body The left hand thumb Index finger Middle finger Ring finger Pinky finger The palm of the hand Back of the hand The wrist The left forearm Elbow Upper arm The left shoulder The armpit The left chest The left waist The hip The thigh of the left leg The knee The calf The ankle The heel Sole of the foot Top of the foot The left big toe Second toe Third toe Fourth toe Little toe Now all of the toes on both feet Both feet together Both ankles Both shins and calves The knees The thighs and hamstrings The buttocks Hips Both sides of the waist The ribcage The shoulders The upper arms The elbows The forearms The front and back of the hands The fingers on both hands Now the throat and the back of the neck The jaw The ears and temples Both lips The cheeks The bridge of the nose Eyebrow center Both eyebrows And the whole of the forehead The whole scalp And the crown of the head Now just the back of the body The back of the head The back of the neck Right shoulder blade Left shoulder blade Right side of the back Left side of the back The whole length of the spine Right hip Left hip Right buttock Left buttock Back of the right leg Back of the left leg Left leg Back of the left leg Heel of the right foot Heel of the left foot Say to yourself I am awake I am practicing yoga nidra And bring your awareness to the front of the body Begin with the crown of the head The forehead The right temple Left temple Right ear Left ear Eyebrow center Right eyebrow Left eyebrow Both eyebrows together Right eyelid Left eyelid Right eye Left eye Right nostril Left nostril The bridge of the nose The right cheek The left cheek And both cheeks together The upper lip Lower lip Both lips together The chin The whole jaw The throat Right shoulder Left shoulder Right collarbone Left collarbone Right arm Left arm Both arms together Right chest Left chest The breastbone at the center of the chest The whole of the chest together The upper abdomen The lower abdomen The whole of the abdomen together The right groin Left groin The right leg The left leg Now both legs together The whole front body together The whole front body together The whole body together The whole back body together The whole back body together Now the whole body together Feel your whole body lying on the floor Now feel all the places where your body touches the floor Your mat or the bed Feel the heels against the floor The calves of both legs The backs of the thighs against the floor The backs of both legs The back of the hips and buttocks The lower back Feel the upper back against the floor The backs of the hands and wrists The forearms The upper arms And the shoulders Feel the back of the head and the floor meet Feel the whole back of the body against the floor The whole body on the floor From the crown of your head Move your awareness inside to the area of the brain Notice any sensations there Notice the inside of your sinuses The area behind the eyebrows And the bridge of the nose Deep inside your inner ears The soft palate on the roof of your mouth The root of the tongue The inside of the throat Bring your awareness to the inside of your chest To the heart and lungs Imagine that you can feel the bones inside of your fingers In the hands The wrists The forearms The elbows The upper arms And the shoulder sockets Sense the inside of your upper abdomen And imagine that you can feel the organs there And the lower abdomen Bring your awareness to the hips And the bones inside the hips The bones of your thighs The knees And the kneecaps The lower legs And the inside of your feet Feel the inside of your toes Now bring your awareness to the inside of the whole body Be aware of the whole body inside Remain awake Say to yourself I am practicing Yoga Nidra Come back to the breath The breath more open now Moving freely in and out of the body Just you and the breath Be aware of the sensation of the breath Moving through the nostrils and in the sinuses Now we will count the breaths backwards Starting with the number 57 As you count Allow yourself to relax into the natural rhythm of the breath If the mind wanders,

Simply start again counting down from 57 Stay focused on the breathing and on the counting Let's begin Breathing in 57 Breathing out 57 Breathing in 56 And out 56 In 55 Out 55 In 54 Out 54 Continue counting Keep full awareness on the counting and the breath Stay focused on the breathing Now stop the counting and return your awareness to the normal breathing It's not important if you finish counting down to zero Just return to the natural breath Enjoy the sensation of the breath entering and leaving the body And take a moment to fully experience the stillness between each breath cycle Come back to an awareness of your body lying in this room Begin to experience the sensation of gravity Like a thick warm blanket covering the whole body And imagine now that the body is becoming heavy Feel the weight of the body as it sinks toward the floor Now feel the weight of your head sinking back The weight of the right hand The left hand The weight of both arms and shoulders And be aware of the whole back heavy against the floor The hips and buttocks are heavy The right leg is heavy The left leg heavy Feel the weight of the right foot And the left foot The muscles of the face The lips The cheeks And the eyes sinking back into their sockets Now feel the weight of the whole body The whole body is heavy Every cell is heavy Now relax that feeling The whole body is becoming light Almost weightless You are so light that you're barely touching the floor Like a feather ready to float away The head is light The right hand is light The left hand is light The right hand is light Now both arms and shoulders are light Feel the whole of your back lightly touching the floor,

Almost floating The groin and buttocks are light The right thigh,

Knee and calf are light And now feel lightness in the left thigh,

Knee and calf The right foot and the left foot are light Now we will alternate between heaviness and lightness Return to a feeling of heaviness The body heavy against the floor Like a stone sinking into the earth Change to lightness Your body is like a feather floating just above the earth Again,

Your body is made of stone,

So heavy Change to lightness Your body is a feather like a wisp floating on the breeze Now experience the sensation of heat in the body Imagine that heat radiates from deep inside your body like a furnace The whole body sweltering in the heat Feel the blazing heat of the desert sun against your skin Intensify the feeling of heat Make it as vivid as possible Change that feeling to cold Feel the cold Experience the sensation of overwhelming cold Feel a cold arctic wind permeating the marrow of your bones Feel cold in your arms,

In your legs Feel the coldness down your back Intensify the experience of cold Now let it all go Come back to where you are now in this room lying on your back Move your awareness to the eyebrow center Keep your mind focused there and visualize each image as you hear it Allow the image to be as it first appears in your mind Don't judge,

Simply allow the images to unfold A calm moonlit lake A dog running A mountain range on the horizon A bouquet of flowers A warm campfire The Milky Way A red carnation A white carnation A snow-capped mountain A tall redwood The full moon A golden pyramid A spider on its web Autumn leaves A ballerina The setting sun A wide river A ship on the ocean Deer in a meadow The moon in a clear sky A deep well Storm clouds moving across the sky Waves washing in and out from the beach Keep your awareness at the eyebrow center A palm tree on a remote beach A waterfall in the forest A flock of geese in formation A cold mountain lake A summer breeze A sleeping lion An orange A dove A Greek temple Dark clouds A sand dune in the desert Heavy rain Rolling waves on the ocean A bird in flight A forest path A snowstorm The setting sun A mountain meadow The full moon Waves at the beach Blue water A cloudless sky A small temple in the woods Yellow flowers in a field A grove of trees on a hilltop A deserted beach Now see yourself walking on a deserted beach And feel the soft sand under your feet The sky is clear all the way to the horizon You find a place to lie down in the sand You feel your body relaxing back into the warm sand Letting everything go The sun warming your skin A gentle breeze blowing against your skin You hear the sounds of the ocean You are content Completely alive in this moment Completely aware of how you feel Knowing everything is as it should be Now return your awareness to the breath Be aware of the sensation of the breath moving slowly in and out of the body Moving in through the nostrils Moving in through the nostrils The nasal passages And deep into the body Imagine now that the whole body is breathing Your legs are breathing Your arms are breathing Feel the energy of the breath radiating out from the chest To permeate your entire being Feel the energy of the breath in your feet In the legs In the hands and the arms In the neck and in the face Feel that energy radiate along the whole length of the spine In the hips and the abdomen And the heart Now imagine that your legs are hollow And take a breath in through the soles of the feet On exhalation,

Breathe out through the crown of the head Breathe in through the crown of the head And out through the soles of the feet Again,

Breathe in through the soles of the feet And out through the crown of the head In through the crown of the head And out through the soles of the feet Now as you allow your breath to return to normal Once again visualize your sankalpa or affirmation Return to a feeling of deep gratitude As you repeat your affirmation three times Bring your awareness back to this room And be aware of yourself lying here on your mat or on your bed In your mind's eye,

Picture the floor underneath you The walls and the ceiling above Notice any sounds in the room And outside of the room Now allow the breath to deepen Draw the breath deep into the body Down to your toes And out to the fingertips Up to the crown of the head Begin making small movements in the fingers and toes The head gently rocking from side to side Maybe adding some gentle movements in the hips and shoulders Take as much time as you need Take another breath in and stretch the arms overhead Breathe into the stretch And when you are ready,

Roll over onto your side Gradually come up to a sitting position Slowly open your eyes The practice of yoga nidra is now complete Namaste

Reviews

Such a great meditation. I need to make a serious commitment to this practice! Thanks for this!

This was a really lovely journey. I especially appreciated the body scan portion of it.

A beautiful and relaxing classic yoga nidra practice. Thank you.

Wonderfuly relaxing! 🙏😌

As expected another top meditation, thank you Steve 🙏