Yoga Nidra: Ease Into Relaxation

Allow your body to come home to a place of stillness, peace, and deep relaxation. Ease into Relaxation is a soothing track incorporating breath awareness and simple guided imagery, in addition to the rotating of awareness around the body.

Yoga Nidra is a state of consciousness between waking and sleeping and is one of the deepest possible states of relaxation while maintaining full awareness, resulting in deep rest and rejuvenation for body and mind.

Transcript

Welcome to this yoga nidra to ease into relaxation.

This is a time and space for you to rest your body and relax completely where you can nourish yourself and reset.

This is a simple practice and all that is required is listening and sensing.

As your body eases into a state of deep rest your mind stays focused on my voice and on my guidance.

So begin by lying down on your back,

Nestle down into your most comfortable position,

Make yourself warm and cozy and offer your body support from cushions or pillows where needed.

Spend a few moments to make yourself as comfortable as you can possibly be so that you can remain still.

Close your eyes,

Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out surrender your body to the surface beneath you.

Know that you are safe and fully supported and every part of your body is held for you.

Take another deep breath and feel yourself slowly settling into this position of rest and there's no hurry.

We're easing into relaxation slowly and gently,

Breath by breath.

Now take a long slow deep breath in through the nose and let it go with a big sigh.

Another deep breath in and let it go and one more big breath in and sigh it all out.

Feel a sense of letting go of tension in your body with these breaths and your body becomes more relaxed with each breath.

As your body starts to let go you feel yourself becoming heavy,

So heavy it feels like your body is melting into the surface beneath you.

Now feel the muscles in your face begin to soften,

The eyes,

Cheeks,

Mouth and lips.

Consciously relax your tongue and part your teeth slightly allowing your jaw to release.

Your whole face feels soothed and soft,

Your shoulders let go and drop down,

Arms and hands become heavy.

You sense the heaviness in your legs,

Your feet are relaxed and gently flop out to the sides.

Your belly is soft and free of tension,

Your chest is open and expansive,

Your whole body is softening,

Relaxing and becoming still.

And contained within this stillness is the gentle movement of your breath,

The natural air and flow.

Your body breathing in and your body breathing out.

We accept the breath just as it is,

Not trying to alter it in any way.

We're just sensing how the breath moves in the body,

Feeling the cool air enter the nostrils with the in-breath,

As the lungs,

Chest and stomach expand.

Then as the warmer air leaves the nostrils with the out-breath,

The body softens,

Releases and sinks deeper.

Body breathes in and body breathes out.

Leaving the breath,

Journey with me now as we rotate our awareness through parts of the body,

Feeling and sensing the parts as they're named and moving to the next part.

Your body relaxes completely while your mind stays alert and focused on my guidance and have the intention to remain awake,

But know that if sleep does come,

You will still benefit from this practice.

So we start on the right side of the body with the right hand thumb.

Picture your thumb in your mind and feel the thumb.

Moving to the index finger of the right hand,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and little finger.

Palm of your right hand,

Top of the hand,

Right wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

The whole right arm.

Whole right arm is relaxed.

Right side of your chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of your right foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Fourth and fifth toe.

Feel the whole right side of your body,

Whole right side of your body is relaxed.

Move your awareness to your left side,

The left hand thumb.

Place all of your attention on the left hand thumb.

Index finger of the left hand,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and little finger.

Palm of your left hand,

Top of the hand,

Left wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

The whole left arm.

Whole left arm is relaxed.

Left side of your chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of your left foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Fourth and fifth toe.

Feel the whole left side of your body,

Whole left side of your body is relaxed.

Take your awareness to the back of your heels,

Back of the legs,

Glute muscles,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Back of your neck,

Back of your head and feel your whole spinal column from your tailbone right up to the crown of your head.

Move your awareness to your forehead,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows.

Feel into the eyebrow center,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Your whole jaw,

Chin,

Lower lip,

Upper lip,

The tip of your nose,

Bridge of your nose,

Whole of your nose,

Whole of your face,

Your whole face is relaxed,

Soft and free of tension.

Moving down to your neck,

Chest,

Heart center,

Abdomen,

Navel,

Pelvis,

Thighs,

Knees,

Shins,

Tops of the feet.

Feel both legs,

Both arms,

Your whole torso and your whole head.

Feel the whole front of your body,

Whole back of your body,

Whole body,

Whole body,

Whole body awareness,

Whole body is relaxed.

Repeat mentally,

My whole body is relaxed,

My whole body is relaxed.

And picture in your mind your entire beautiful body,

Lying still,

Peaceful and deeply relaxed.

And feel the stillness you have created.

Return to the familiar and safe space of your breath,

Noticing how subtle your breath has become and follow its gentle movement in your body.

The breath is effortless,

Spontaneous and flowing.

Breathing naturally and watching the breath.

Now move your attention to the dark space behind the closed eyes.

Watching this space like viewing a screen and allow the following images to appear.

Imagine a candle flame,

Steady and still.

A vast blue sky,

A vast blue sky with white drifting clouds.

A snow-capped mountain,

An Egyptian pyramid,

Sun shining on the pyramid,

A field of tall sunflowers,

A muddy puddle of water,

Torrential rain,

A single red rose,

A bright crescent moon,

The milky way in the night sky,

A long meandering river,

A white lotus flower,

A bonfire on a beach,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach,

A peacock feather,

A red sandy desert,

A candle flame and your body lying here,

Relaxed.

Peaceful and completely still.

And now slide your awareness back to the breath once again.

Becoming aware of each and every breath.

Noticing the expansion that comes with the in-breath and the gentle release as the breath leaves your body.

Body breathes in and body breathes out.

All of your awareness is on the breath.

Gently watching the natural dance of the breath in your body.

And we watch with softness and complete acceptance.

And start to deepen your breath ever so slightly now.

Feel the contact between your body and the surface beneath you.

Notice the cool air on your skin,

The touch of your clothing and the weight of any coverings.

Start to externalise your awareness.

Remembering where you are and the time of day.

Visualise the room you are lying in,

The walls,

The floor,

The colours in the room.

And very slowly begin to gently move your body in any way that feels good for you.

Taking a few moments to bring yourself back or staying still to rest some more if you wish.

Thank you for easing into relaxation with me today.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Reviews

A very lovely, short relaxing practice. Thank you 🙏

Beautiful music, soothing voice, awesome audio quality, and amazing Nidra! Thank you so much for sharing your gift with us!!! I know it's a good Nidra when I don't want to move once the practice is over... and that's what just happened! Thank you!!!🙏💚

This was a wonderful Nidra 😍I loved the voice, pace and content 😇I’ve listened to so many Nidra’s over the years and this is now one of my favourites 🧚‍♀️💫🤗💕Thank you 🙏

Simply lovely Sue! Your voice is soothing, and the pace of the guidance is absolutely spot on. Was exactly what I needed for a relaxing nap 💤 . 😴
Thank you so much💗💗💗

This was so relaxing! I hadn’t been able to sleep for a few nights, and this settled me which resulted in me having a deep sleep. Thanks Sue, for another fabulous meditation.

An absolutely beautiful Yoga Nidra. Thankyou Sue 🙏🏼