Yoga Nidra

Yoga nidra (also known as yogic sleep) is a powerful technique for controlling your body’s relaxation response. Yoga nidra can be as restorative as sleep, while you remain fully conscious. Giving your mind and body an extra window of deep relaxation offers powerful benefits! You may like to lay down on the floor, bed or your mat. Please feel free to rest your head on a pillow and take a blanket over your body. The invitation is to close your eyes if it feels right.

Transcript

I would like to invite you to take your right hand to your belly and your left hand to your chest. Just give yourself a moment to tune in and notice your breath and if you are exhausted or anxious I want you to let go of those labels and those words like I am so tired or I am so worried. Let go of those words and what those words mean and instead just really tune in to how your body feels with no labels. Does your right hip feel heavier on the floor than your left? Do your shoulders feel achy? Does your jaw feel tired? What's physically happening without judgement or labeling? Just really be in your body. I sometimes visualize like a shadow ghost silhouette of myself lying down on top of me like me reentering myself fully and feeling everything fully. And now I want you to make your breath a little bit bigger. I want you to inhale, Feel your belly rise and then the hand on your chest rise and pause and exhale. Just let gravity take more of you. Inhale belly, Ribs, Chest, Fill up, Breathe in big, Exhale think surrender. Inhale big, Exhale just think release. You can be breathing out of the nose or the mouth your choice, A few more inhale. Just challenge yourself to inhale a little bigger than you normally would and exhale let it go. Inhale breathe in big, Exhale all the way maybe think let go. Inhale breathe in big, Invite sensation into the body, Just feel whatever you need to feel. Big and exhale give yourself permission to release as you breathe out. Let your breath just do what it will now and give yourself permission to let go and be taken over by something greater than you right now. So just set yourself up to be pliable, To be overcome, To just turn off, To be taken over. Imagine your heels on the ground, Where your heels make contact with the mat, On your floor, On your bed. I want you to feel your right heel, So send your awareness into your right heel without moving it. Just imagine like even the neurons in your brain just swooping or swishing down to the right heel. Feel the right heel, Just feel the right heel in your awareness. Feel the sole of the right foot, Holding your awareness to the top of the right foot. Send your awareness into your big toe of your right foot, Feel your big toe on your right foot and send your awareness into your second toe on your right foot, Third toe, Fourth toe and pinky toe. Send your awareness to your right foot as a whole. Let gravity have more of it, Think, Let go. Send your awareness to your right calf, Heel to the front of the lower leg or shin and send your awareness to the back of the lower leg. Notice where the calf is in contact with the floor, The bed or a mat and think, Let go. Bring your awareness to your right knee. I want you to imagine your knee just softening and unwinding as if you could screw your kneecap off your body and all the tissue around it just instantly relaxed and feel your awareness in your right knee. Bring your awareness to your right thigh bone, Feel the front of the right thigh, Feel the back of the right thigh, Where it's in contact with the floor, The bed or your mat. Bring your awareness to the whole right thigh, Just think, Let go. And send your awareness into your right seat where it's in contact with the floor, The mat or your bed. Think of gravity having more of your seat, Sit in the right seat, Let go. Bring your attention now to your left seat, Feel the left side bone heavy, Left side of the body heavy, Sit in the left seat, Let go. And bring your awareness into your left thigh, Feel the top of the left thigh and the bottom of the right thigh, Feel them apart and then together. Tell the left thigh to get heavier, Let gravity have you, Say to the left thigh, Let go. And then bring your awareness to your left knee, Imagine the whole knee softening, Tissues receive more slack, More space, Maybe visualize the kneecap just gently coming off the body, Say to the left knee, Just say, Let go. And bring your awareness to your left shin, Top of the lower leg, Bring your awareness to your left calf, Feel the top and bottom of the leg separately and then bring your awareness to them together. Say to the lower left leg, Let go, Feel the left heel on the ground, Let it be heavy, Feel the sole of the left foot, Top of the left foot, Say to the left foot, Let go. Send your awareness into your left big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Feel your awareness in your fourth toe, Feel your awareness in your pinky toe, Say to the whole left foot, Let go. Feel both legs completely relaxed, Bring your awareness to your belly, I want you to imagine your stomach just unraveling. So often we talk about anxiety in the stomach being in knots, Just imagine your stomach getting larger, Relaxing more, Again slack coming into all the tissues and the muscles and the organs. Feel this happen under your left or right hand, If you still have the hand on your belly, Visualize stomach uncoiling, Tissues uncoiling, Getting more slack, Visualize the stomach to say, Let go. Bring your attention to the back of your neck, I want you to gently, Gently think of lengthening the back of your head, So the back of your skull lengthens away from your heart, Just so gently, So slightly, So maybe your chin dips slightly. From here take the palms to the left and right of the body, Let the palms drop down to the floor or the bed or your mat, Turn them face up and bring your energy and your awareness into your right shoulder. Let it get heavier with gravity, So relax, Bring your awareness to your right bicep, Let gravity have your upper arm, Think, Relax. Right upper arm where it's in contact with the floor or bed or mat, Relax, Bring your awareness to your right elbow, Relax, Right forearm, Relax, Bring your awareness to your right wrist, Think, Relax, Bring your awareness into the palm of the right hand, Bring your awareness into the back of your right hand and feel and hold your whole hand in your awareness. Bring your awareness to your right thumb, Second finger, Little finger, Ring finger, Pinky finger, Feel your whole palm, Think, Relax, Feel the whole right side of your body, Let it unwind and coil, Get heavier, Relax. Bring your awareness to your left shoulder, Feel it heavy on the floor or the mat or your bed, Take your awareness to your left bicep, Feel the top of the arm and the bottom of the upper arm, So your whole upper left arm is relaxed. Bring your awareness to your left elbow, Relax, Left forearm, Relax, Bring your energy to your left wrist and relax and bring your awareness to the left palm and relax, Bring your energy to the back of the left palm and let the whole left hand now relax, Bring your awareness into your left thumb in the left, Fourth finger, Little finger, Ring finger, Pinky finger, Feel the whole left hand in your awareness and relax, Left arm, Relax, Left side of the body, Let it get heavier, Unravel and relax. Visualize more space now appearing between all your organs, So everything is floating a little bit farther apart. Let gravity continue to sink you down, Get heavier and heavier, Without manipulating the breath too much, Just as you breathe out, See if you can find the space where you don't really need to breathe in, Again for a couple of minutes. Feel the whole body weighted down, Bring your attention to your right eye and relax the space behind your eye, Give your energy to the left eye, Relax the eye and also the space behind the left eye, Feel your left cheek bone, Relax, Feel your lips and jaw slacken and relax, Feel the back of your head on the floor or your bed or your mat and think relax, Feel the space between your eyebrows, Third eye center, Say relax. Now visualize on the screen of your mind, Just following things for a few seconds each, Color blue, Looking out the window seeing snowfall, A snowy day, A baby laughing, The sun shining, You smiling and the color purple. Just feel yourself and let yourself be held in the most nourishing ocean that's just vast intelligence where everything is uncoiled, Loose, Slack, Supportive, At ease and tell your whole body relax. Allow yourself to feel heavy like lead, Feel like you're being breath, I want you to cultivate the subtle sense that your body is recharging, Refueling. Just have in this healing space whether it's ocean or light, Whatever you want to visualize, You're supported, Suspended, Recharging, Refueling. Take the next 15 or 20 breaths just to refuel as much as possible. Imagine every body part recovered, Refueled, Every breath recovered, All the way to the top of the heart recovered, Refueled, Every cell refueling and renewing, Every thought you've ever thought renewing and turning into something more gentle. Let it slowly come out, Rub your thumbs on your fingers and the pads of your fingers, Slowly wiggle your toes. Move very slowly to draw one knee and then the other knee into the chest. Give yourself a squeeze and roll to your right side. You can use your right forearm as a pillow, Left hand to your belly and just rest. And as you're ready, Slowly press yourself up into a comfortable seat. Just bring your hands to prayer right away. Find a tall spine, Breathe in, Exhale just dip the chin and let the back soften, Just melting into a gesture of gratitude, Relief and receptivity. Just absorbing the benefits of this deep deep practice. Namaste.

Reviews

Honestly the most lovely practice. I really value it and am using it regularly now to help my mind and body with recovery

Thank you that well done. Nice wording and pace. Very helpful

Very relaxing 😌 🙏
Wonderful experience.