Yoga Nidra Body Scan

This yoga nidra-style body scan helps with awareness and relaxation in the body and mind. It is helpful for anytime of the day, but in particular, at bedtime. It is best enjoyed in lying down, in a well-supported and comfortable position.

Transcript

So as you settle into a comfortably supported position,

Letting the eyes close and having a sense of arriving,

Being aware of the position you're in and feel free to make any slight adjustments to that position if you could make yourself slightly more comfortable.

And then once you are in a comfortably supported position,

Just having an intention to remain still and awake during the practice.

And by doing that in the body,

Then you're also encouraging your mind to do the same.

To be still of thoughts,

But awake and alert to senses and to the information coming to you through the senses that I'll be guiding us through.

So just noticing your breathing.

Noticing the breath in and the breath out.

And encouraging a slow deep breathing pattern,

Once again if placing a hand on the abdomen facilitates you with a slow deep breathing pattern involving expansion on the breath in and relaxation on the breath out.

Exhale in the breath in and then the letting go and drawing in at the abdomen,

Rib cage and chest on the exhale.

So just noticing,

Breathing deeply and slowly.

And let that exhale in particular,

Let that exhale be a long slow breath out.

Notice breathing at the nostrils.

Breathe that air in deeply and exhale it fully as you're aware of sensations at the nostrils.

And then lifting the awareness from the nostrils to the centre point of the forehead,

The spot between the eyebrows,

Which in a meditation we can think of as the screen of the mind in front of closed eyes.

You might be aware of a blank black screen and onto that screen of the mind,

Bring into awareness your intention for practicing meditation and silently repeat that a couple of times.

Letting the intention dissolve out of awareness and bringing into awareness now your heartfelt desire that you've reflected on a quality that you would like to cultivate in your life at this present time.

And perhaps making that into a short statement of positive intent as well.

And if you could,

Can that heartfelt desire be stated in the present tense?

So if the quality that you're wishing to cultivate is calm,

For example,

The statement might be I am cultivating calm in my life.

So just being in tune with what really matters to you in your life right now,

As you develop and mentally repeat a heartfelt desire for your life.

And then letting go of this heartfelt desire,

We will return to it later in the practice.

We're going to notice what we're experiencing in the body and as we do this,

We are also allowing our body to move into a place of more relaxation.

And we do that simply by taking awareness to different parts of the body that are guidance through.

And as I name an area,

Take the awareness there.

If you notice tension,

Invite letting go,

You can time that with an out breath so that as you exhale,

You also have that sense of letting go of the tension.

Or just being aware of sensations also helps us to cultivate a sense of ease and connection with our body.

So we are at the forehead to begin.

So let's notice sensations in the forehead and temples.

The eyes and the area around the eyes.

Cheekbones,

Jaw joint.

From the right ear to the left ear.

Just noticing the jaw joint.

The chin,

Mouth,

Tongue.

The nose as you bring awareness to the breathing,

Noticing how you're breathing as you draw the air in through the nostrils and exhale out.

And aware now of all the muscles of the face and just inviting a release of any facial expression at this time,

Which will also allow a softening of the muscles of the face.

Aware of the scalp at the top and back of the head,

The back of the neck,

The sides of the neck and the front of the neck.

The tops of the shoulders,

Noticing sensations,

Inviting a release,

Relaxation.

Focusing on the left shoulder at the front,

Side and back.

And down along the left arm,

The upper arm,

The elbow,

The lower arm,

Wrist,

Thumb,

Fingers,

The back of the left hand,

The palm of the hand.

Aware of the whole left arm and left hand.

And the left shoulder.

Across to the right shoulder at the front,

Sides and back.

And along the right arm,

The upper arm,

Elbow,

Lower arm,

Wrist,

Thumb,

Fingers,

The back of the right hand,

The palm of the right hand,

The whole right arm and hand.

And the right shoulder.

Then coming to the front of the chest in awareness.

So noticing the left side chest,

Right side chest,

Centre of the chest,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

The pelvis and hips.

Seeing the left hip and left leg,

The upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

The top of the left foot and up along the left leg to the left hip,

Across to the right hip,

Down along the right leg,

The upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

The top of the right foot and up along the right leg.

Aware of both legs,

Sensations in both legs together.

Bringing awareness to the base of the spine,

The tailbone.

Just noticing the sacrum,

The lowest part of the back.

And then taking the awareness up along your spine.

So noticing the lower back,

Particularly following the curve,

The spine,

The lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

The top of the spine,

And the head in alignment with the spine.

So aware of the head and the spine.

Taking the awareness back down the spine and then out along to the muscles of the back,

The lower back,

Left and right side,

Middle back,

Left and right side,

Upper back,

Left and right side.

So noticing the shoulder blades and the area between the shoulder blades.

The back of the neck,

The top of the head,

The forehead.

Just again checking in what are you aware of in the forehead and sensations here.

Seeing the breathing coming and going at the nostrils and bring your full attention to the sensation of breathing here at the nostrils.

And then take awareness of breathing to the abdomen and torso.

And just noticing this natural rise and fall here at the abdomen,

Chest and rib cage.

So as you breathe in,

Expansion,

Breathing out,

Release.

And imagine taking the breathing into the sides of the body.

So take your awareness as you breathe in,

Allowing the sides of the body,

The rib cage to expand and then release on the exhale drawing back in.

So as you breathe in deeply,

Take the awareness to the sides of the waist,

The rib cage at the sides of the waist.

On the inhale and the exhale.

And for the next several breaths,

Choose one of these points of focus for the physical sensation of breathing,

Either the nostrils,

The abdomen or the rib cage at the sides of the waist.

And just aim to keep your attention focused at this area that you choose as you follow your breath for the next several breaths.

Once you're done,

Overtook everyone.

So just instead of having a polka top and really rover this.

So just noticing where your awareness is.

Noticing what your experience in the body is.

And we're going to bring our awareness back to the eyebrow centre.

And mentally repeat your intention for practising meditation.

Then letting that go and bringing into awareness your heartfelt desire for your life.

And as you repeat the words of your heartfelt desire,

Imagine this desire as a present moment reality.

So allowing yourself to bring as many senses as you can.

If this heartfelt desire were actually happening in your life at the present time,

What would it feel like?

What would it look like for you in your life?

And then releasing this focus on the heartfelt desire,

Be aware of your whole body,

Noticing what you're experiencing in the body and taking in how you're breathing.

Noticing that.

And noticing your whole inner experience,

Your subjective experience at this moment in time.

Just noticing.

As we bring this practice to a close.

Reviews

Very nice!

Beautiful. Look forward to doing again. Thank you 🙏🏻💕