Yoga Nidra For Deep Rest

If you're feeling like you need to bring your body and mind into a state of deep rest, this Yoga Nidra is for you. You can find stillness and calm, while maintaining profound focus and awareness. This is not a meditation to help you go to sleep, though you may find you are so relaxed that you will fall asleep. Try to remain awake and enter into the deep hypnogogic state of deeply relaxed open awareness.

Transcript

Welcome to your sunrise well meditation.

It is time for yoga nidra.

You should be lying on your back with your knees slightly bent and supported.

Make sure that you are warm enough and that your position is one that will be comfortable for the duration of the practice.

It is best that you remain still during yoga nidra so that both your body and brain have a chance to fully relax.

However,

If you become uncomfortable,

Please feel free to change position.

Allow your eyes to close and keep them closed until the practice has ended.

The practice of yoga nidra is a practice of yogic sleep that will guide you to a state of deep relaxation,

A state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleeping.

Try to remain awake by listening to the sound of my voice.

You will be asked to move your awareness to various bodily sensations,

Emotions and images.

Try not to concentrate too intensely as this may prevent you from relaxing.

During this meditation,

Please use and absorb what you need in the moment and just leave the rest behind.

Become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.

Only what you can hear without strain.

Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear.

Let your sense of hearing radiate outwards,

Searching out these distant sounds and following them for a few moments.

Move your attention from sound to sound without labelling the source.

Gradually bring your attention to closer sounds,

To sounds outside the building,

Sounds inside the building,

To sounds inside the room.

Without opening your eyes,

Visualize the four walls of the room,

The ceiling,

The floor,

Your body lying on the floor or on the bed.

Visualize your body laying down the position of your body,

Your clothes,

Your hair,

Your face.

Become acutely aware of the existence of your physical body lying on the floor.

Become aware of your natural breath,

Your natural and spontaneous breath that moves in and out of your body without any effort.

The natural breath flows in through both nostrils.

Notice the feeling of the breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils.

As you inhale your breath,

There is a sense of coolness.

Follow this feeling into your nose,

Your sinuses,

The back of your throat,

Into your lungs.

There is a sense of warmth as you exhale the breath.

Feel this warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.

The natural breath flows through both nostrils,

Through the inhale and the exhale.

Allow your breath to become longer and slower.

Take a long,

Slow inhalation followed by a longer,

Slower exhalation.

Make your exhale even slower.

Notice the slight pause after the exhale.

Feel the urge to breathe bubble up inside of you.

When you need to inhale,

Inhale.

Long,

Slow inhale.

Long,

Slow exhale.

The slight pause where the body is neither breathing in or out.

Continue.

Let's go back now to just a natural,

Easy breath.

Try to release any control over the inhale or the exhale.

Your practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

The Sankalpa.

At this moment,

It is time to make your Sankalpa,

Your intention.

The Sankalpa can be a short,

Positive statement in simple language.

Take a moment and try to discover one naturally.

Something that becomes clear in your mind.

Something that you feel you need,

You want right now within yourself.

The Sankalpa you make during Yoga Nidra plants a seed in the fertile soil of your mind.

And it brings about the opportunity for healing.

Please state your Sankalpa clearly and with awareness three times in your mind.

You might say,

I am feeling completely relaxed.

I am calm.

I am full of positive energy.

I am confident in my day.

Repeat your Sankalpa clearly and with full awareness three times in your mind.

We will now begin moving with sensory awareness through the body.

You will move your awareness to different parts of your body as soon as you hear them.

Repeat the name of the part to yourself and feel that part of your body,

But do not move at all.

We begin the practice on the right side.

Right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Arm pit.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

Calf.

Ankle.

Heel.

Soul of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Left hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Right hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Arm pit.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

Calf.

Ankle.

Heel.

Soul of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Now go to the back of the body.

Right heel.

Left heel.

Right calf.

Left calf.

Right thigh.

Left thigh.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Lower back.

Middle back.

Upper back.

The entire spine.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Back of the neck.

Back of the head.

Top of the head.

Forehead.

Right temple.

Left temple.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Middle of the eyebrows.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Upper lip.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Both lips together.

Chin.

Jaw.

Throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right side of the chest.

Left side of the chest.

Upper abdomen.

Navel.

Lower abdomen.

Right groin.

Left groin.

The pelvic floor.

The whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

The whole right arm.

The whole right arm.

The whole left arm.

The whole face.

The whole head.

The whole torso.

The whole torso.

The whole body.

The whole body.

The whole body.

Now imagine the whole body becoming light,

As though your body could float away from the floor and towards the ceiling.

The head is light and weightless.

The limbs are light and weightless.

The torso is light and weightless.

The whole body is light and weightless.

You can feel yourself lifting higher and higher away from the ground.

Now imagine your whole body becoming heavy.

Feel that heaviness all over the body.

Every part of the body is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

Your head is heavy.

Your limbs are heavy.

Your torso is heavy.

Your whole body is heavy.

Sinking down,

Down,

And down into the floor.

Now,

Awaken yourself to the feeling of cold in the body.

Experience in your body the feeling of being freezing cold.

Being outside in the winter with not enough clothes.

Feel that chill deep inside your body.

Feel that chill deep inside your body.

Now allow the feeling of warmth to spread slowly and warmly throughout the body.

As though you're out in the middle of summer,

Out in the sun with no shade.

You can feel the warmth,

The heat from the sun spreading all over your skin,

All through your body.

And now I'm going to name a number of different things.

Try to envision these different things on the level of emotion,

Imagination and memory.

As best as you can.

Don't hold on to the images.

Just jump from image to image as soon as you hear it.

The desert.

A doctor's office.

A good night's sleep.

A feather.

The full moon.

A foggy morning.

A tall tree.

Your reflection.

Getting a medical test.

Giving to another person.

Cool running water.

A relaxing day.

A candle.

A meeting.

The beach.

Laughing with friends.

The sun shining overhead.

A path in the woods.

A warm hug.

A huge mountain.

A garden path.

Being in nature.

Holding hands.

Taking a deep breath.

The sound of my voice.

Your body lying on the floor.

Now it is time to return to your sankalpa,

The intention you set at the beginning of this practice.

Bring it to your mind's eye now.

And please repeat that statement three times in your mind now.

And now come back to the feeling of your breath.

Feel your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.

In and out.

Gently.

Now spread your awareness from your breath to a full awareness of your physical body lying relaxed on the floor or on the bed.

Notice what you are touching,

What you are resting against.

Maybe feel the heaviness of your body,

All the points of your body that are touching the floor.

Melting down.

You can keep your eyes closed.

But just start to visualize in your mind the room or your surroundings around you.

Try to visualize where you are in the room.

What objects or people there are around you.

Stay still until you feel that you are ready to move.

Take a really deep inhale into your belly.

And a very long,

Slow,

Open mouthed exhale.

You can start to move your hands and feet.

Just gentle,

Rolling,

Flexing,

Stretching.

Try to bring yourself back into full awareness.

Fully awake,

Fully present.

When you are ready you can gently open your eyes and roll over to your side.

You can stay there on your side for a few moments.

Just resting,

Bringing your presence back into your body.

Then when you are ready,

Very,

Very slowly,

Use your hands to press yourself up from the floor.

Letting your head come up last.

You can stay seated for a few minutes before you move on with your day.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Thank you for joining this Sunrise Well meditation.

Have a wonderful day.

Reviews

Great but I couldn’t be still! Will try again another time.

Really easy listening thank you

Very enjoyable. Thankyou kindly 🙏🦋🌻

An easy to follow, classically structured session with the perfect length for me to maintain awareness. The tone and accent of the voice are soothing, and the pace of the body scan is just the right speed. Opposite sensations were thorough and not rushed, and one of the visualizations almost made me chuckle. The reverberating bell was a bit extra, but overall I really enjoyed it and will have this on replay for sure 😊

Excellent - the rotation of body awareness, and related sensations was perfect. Thank you!

Really lovely yoga nidra, nice gentle and kind voice. Thank you x

Thank you🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻One suggestion: leave the word "try" out of your guidance, direct verb works better, thank you🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻