Deep Rest And Safety: A Yoga Nidra Journey To The Garden

This Yoga Nidra was recorded live during a restorative class and begins once you're already in Savasana. You’ll be guided into deeper rest, then taken on a symbolic journey through an ancient garden — a place of quiet safety and deep replenishment. Designed to soothe the nervous system and support the inner shifts that come with seasons of change, this practice offers a soft landing when you need it most. Settle in, get comfortable, and let the story hold you.

Transcript

Make sure you're warm,

So blankey is a good idea,

And eye pillow if you're using one,

Or a scarf or something,

Handy.

Have it near you so you don't have to get up again.

And so what we want to do is get ready by putting your legs over the bolster,

So the bolster the support is under your knees.

Then you're going to take your hands behind you,

And really lift and tuck your pelvis,

Really scoop that towards your heels as you slowly lower your body down,

Laying your body down like a precious baby.

Keep your knees bent at this stage.

Scoop again,

So lift your pelvis,

Scoop the flesh of your buttocks towards your bolster.

So you're really flattening your lower back,

So what you can do is kind of rock from side to side and pull your buttocks out and down.

Really feel like you've nestled that lower back in.

Then very mindfully and slowly straighten one neck at a time over your bolster.

So your lower back feels really nice and flattened,

So hopefully you've already got your blanket on before you go down so you don't have to disturb that part of your body,

Or you can just throw it on from here.

Now the upper body,

So you're going to lift one arm,

Let's go with the left arm,

So keep your lower back flattened and hold your left arm with your right hand and really lift and pull that arm across your body,

So that side of your back is stretching up.

You're kind of walking up the mat a bit,

And then do the other side.

So lift that arm,

Pull the back up and just do that a couple of times,

So you're walking and stretching your spine up your mat.

Oh that feels so good.

I'll get out of this position soon guys so I don't fall asleep.

And then your head,

Okay so you've got your small pillow,

You've got it nestled right into your neck,

You're going to lift your head with your hands,

Pull your head back and really lengthen that back of your neck,

And then lay your head down slowly,

And you've got all that space in the back of your neck now.

Your arms are still free so you're going to grab your eye pillow now,

Put that on,

And then slowly you're going to lay one arm out at a time with the palms up,

And they're off the body about 45 degrees,

And your shoulders relax.

Oh beautiful.

So check in first as you start to sigh in this position,

Check in,

Am I comfortable,

How did that process work for me,

Or remember it next time,

Or do I need to do that again,

Do I need to shift,

Do I need something more under my knees and my core,

Really check in and take a lot of care for your physical body.

This is going to benefit your practice and it's a really good practice of self-care.

It's not just about bubble baths and massages,

Self-care is really treating your body with so much respect,

So much time and nourishment.

Taking your big sighs as we settle in here,

Big breaths through the nostrils,

And long breath out through the mouth.

This is what I've been waiting for,

Jen,

This is why I've come to class.

Beautiful deep rest,

No one to be in this next 20 minutes or so,

Nothing to do except listen in.

Taking another few sighs,

And then closing your mouth,

Feel that sensation of your lips joining and following the direction of your breath now,

Flowing in and out of your nostrils.

Keep a light effort going,

So you're feeling into expansion as you bring the breath in and it blows up like a balloon in your whole body,

And you let the breath go as it softens and releases from the whole body.

I was counting about another five of these,

And I'm now slowly starting to let go of that breath control,

Call it pranayama in yoga,

Releasing the pranayama,

And allowing your natural rhythm to take over.

Saying to yourself,

Breath I give you full permission to flow freely,

And whatever that flow is,

It's perfect,

No judgments,

No shoulds or shouldn'ts.

Stay glued to that sensation of breath flowing in and out.

As you start to tune in now on the sensation of your body laying down,

What the floor's like against different parts of your body,

Is it soft,

Is it hard,

Is it comfy,

Is it neutral,

And you notice where your body's touching and where there might be gaps.

Maybe just a little note for next time to fill in those gaps with more cushioning.

The higher your knees are,

The more flat your back can be on the floor.

Maybe you want cushions under your heels next time,

Just feeling into all these different sensations of your body laying down.

As we move into our guided relaxation of yoga nidra,

Where all you have to do is listen and now body stays still,

Mind stays alert as best you can.

Very natural to drift off,

Maybe even sleep,

That's totally fine.

Just join back in when you notice and follow along.

Each breath out you're feeling your body sink a bit deeper,

Soften a bit further,

Down into the earth.

Bring your sensory awareness now around to the top of your body,

Noticing how the different clothes,

Blankets,

Textures you have on your skin,

Noticing how they feel.

Noticing your temperature,

The weight of the cloth on your skin,

The lighter bits,

The tighter bits.

And lastly,

Checking in with the air on your exposed skin.

Is it moving?

Is it heavy or light?

Is it warm or cool?

And then we drift the awareness up to your ears as you pick up on your sense of hearing.

Hearing my voice and then starting to move out like a radar and picking up on all the different sounds in your environment.

Hearing the furthest sound in the distance.

And circling your radar back in to the closest sounds.

Settling into your body where you may hear sounds coming from your own body.

And tuning into the sound of my voice as I guide you through your physical body part by part.

With each part that is named,

Repeat that part mentally,

See it in your mind's eye and allow it to release and relax.

Starting with your right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger on the right hand,

Palm of the hand,

Top of the hand,

Right wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Side of the chest,

Side of the waist,

Right hip,

Upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth and fifth,

Whole right side.

Awareness of the whole right side of the body,

Allowing softness and release,

The whole right side.

Moving over now to your left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Top of the hand,

Left wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Side of the chest,

Side of the waist,

Left hip,

Upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth and fifth,

Whole left side.

Aware of sensation in the whole left side,

Allowing softness and release,

The whole left side.

Awareness into both heels,

Backs of the legs,

Buttocks,

The spine from bottom to top,

Back of the head,

Top of the head,

Whole back of the body,

Soft and relaxed.

Coming down into your forehead,

The eyebrows,

Both eyes sinking heavily back into the eye sockets and the muscles deep behind the eyes,

Both cheeks,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Bridge of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Right jawline,

Left jawline,

The chin,

The teeth and tongue,

Whole mouth,

Whole face.

Awareness down into the throat,

The collarbones,

The chest,

Abdomen,

Navel,

Womb space,

Tops of the legs,

Tips of the toes,

Whole front,

Whole front,

Sensing into the whole body,

Whole physical body,

Whole body softening and relaxed.

Resting your awareness now on the sensation of breath flowing in and out of your nostrils,

Stay glued and connected to this as you count backwards from nine to zero,

Mentally repeating my body breathes in nine,

My body breathes out nine,

Continuing down at your pace for zero.

Dropping that awareness down now to the breath at the belly,

Tuning in to the rise and fall,

Staying connected with your count backwards from nine to zero,

And lifting your awareness up to your mind space as you follow along with the story as best you can,

As much creativity and visualization.

Imagine you're lying in a garden,

An ancient garden,

Hidden behind a stone wall,

Didn't even know that it existed,

But it's always been there quietly waiting.

The ground beneath you is warm and soft,

The earth holds you like a cradle,

Every part of you is welcome here.

You sense the tall trees surrounding you,

The ancient trees,

Their roots deep in the ground.

Watching the breeze sway the branches gently as the breeze brushes past your face,

Carrying a beautiful scent.

You exhale,

Soften and arrive.

Somewhere in the distance you hear water flowing,

Follow the sound in your mind's eye.

You see a stream winding through the sanctuary,

Every thought,

Every tension,

Every should and worry is lifted and carried away.

You are safe and whole,

Resting in the arms of this ancient garden.

Your body remembering on a cell level,

You are held,

You are grounded,

You are safe.

Now I'm returning your awareness back down to your breath and your body,

To the physical sensation of laying down in Trivasana.

As you start a very gentle pranayama,

Feeling the breath move through the belly,

The chest,

The nostrils.

Slightly deepening the breath in and out,

Gently awakening.

Hearing the outside sounds,

Feeling the sensation of laying back.

As you slowly and gently come out of your practice of Yoga Nidra,

Taking your time and you can choose if you want to come back up to seated,

Or take your time on the floor as you roll over onto one side.

And start to wriggle and stretch and move in a way that feels really nice for you.

So just making your own way to close your practice,

So you can stay on the floor or back upright and comfortable and seated.

As we have a nice Om together in our minds,

Doesn't really come over the Zoom wave so well,

So this is a mental Om.

Just reminding you of the practice,

We'll inhale the arms up if you're seated.

Palms together,

Exhale down to our heart like we did at the start and you'll be chanting Om mentally in your head.

And then I'll chant the Loka Samasta blessing if you'd like to join.

So inhaling the arms up.

Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu.

May all beings be happy and free from suffering and may I contribute to that in any way big or small.

Beautiful,

Bringing your forehead forward to your fingertips and three little thoughts of gratefulness for your day today.

Hands to the top of your head for calmness and awareness of your brilliant mind.

To your forehead for kindness of thoughts,

Especially to yourself and to your heart for peace,

Love and compassion for you and all your loved ones.

Vadi Om Tat Sat