Yoga Nidra: Quieting The Overwhelm (Live)

When thoughts feel loud, fast, or scattered, this Yoga Nidra offers a place to land. Through slow, weighted body awareness and grounding imagery, the nervous system is gently guided out of overload and into steadiness.

There’s nothing to fix or figure out here... just space to soften, settle, and rest. Return to this practice anytime the mind feels overwhelmed, and the body needs reassurance.

Music 'Memaloric' by Ambient Aprils from Uppbeat
License code: LJ5T1FBERDMT9OVY

Transcript

So,

Taking a moment now to notice your body supported by the surface beneath you,

Feeling the weight of your body being held,

Feeling steady and safe,

And to ground some more perhaps noticing objects or colours or sounds around you,

Maybe reaching for headphones to keep your practice private,

Adjusting the lighting in your space,

Any small comfort that supports your experience.

And we'll move on to the setting of an intention,

If you wish to partake.

If not,

You can just spend more time settling in.

The setting of an intention is a sankalpa,

And if you wish that is a simple supportive intention,

It could be something like,

I am safe,

Or I choose calm,

Or a phrase of your own,

And repeating it three times inwardly,

Imagining that your intention is like a seed planted in nourishing soil that will bear fruit.

And we'll move on to the rotation of consciousness,

Which is a body scan,

And it is a body scan today.

So letting your attention drift to the crown of your head,

Noticing the gentle buzz of the scalp,

The weight of your hair,

The quiet meeting between skin and air,

And maybe letting the forehead loosen and the eyebrows soften,

Letting the tiny muscles around the eyes release,

Allowing the eyelids to settle,

And noticing the cheeks,

The bridge of the nose,

The ears,

Let everything soften into the space around you,

And bringing your awareness to the jaw and the mouth,

Let the tongue rest where it naturally falls,

Easing any gripping in the jaw,

Letting it just unhook,

Untighten,

And feeling the slight warmth of the lips,

The natural softness here,

And sensing next into the neck and throat,

Feel the effortless support beneath the head,

Imagine the neck widening,

The throat spacious,

Let the shoulders fall away from the ears,

Picture them unraveling downward like sand sinking with gravity,

And sliding on down to the arms,

From the upper arms to the elbows,

The forearms and the wrists,

The palms of the hands and the backs of the hands,

And each finger,

Noticing the weight,

The warmth,

Maybe a faint pulsing,

Moving through the fingers one by one,

Starting with the thumb,

The index,

The middle finger,

The ring finger,

And the little finger,

Each one allowed to rest without doing anything at all,

And moving on to the chest and the heart space,

Noticing movement or stillness,

Let this area feel roomy,

Spacious,

And gently held from within,

Whatever is here is allowed to be here,

And bring your attention to the upper and lower back,

Trace the shape of the spine without needing to change it,

Feel the support beneath you,

Steady,

Grounding,

And reliable,

Let the whole back soften into that support,

And shifting into the pelvis and the hips,

Noticing any heaviness or heat for any ease,

Letting the large busy joints settle a little deeper into the surface,

As if the ground is rising up to meet them,

And traveling down the legs,

From the thighs to the knees,

To the calves,

The ankles and the feet,

And each toe one by one,

Feeling the density of the legs,

The grounded quality,

Sensing the warmth,

The coolness,

The simple presence,

And widening your awareness to include your whole body,

Notice where you feel heavier,

And where you feel lighter,

Notice warmth and coolness,

Stillness and movement,

Letting the entire body feel like one connected landscape,

A body that doesn't have to do anything,

A mind that can rest in the spaces between thoughts,

A whole self settling into ease,

And we'll move on to the awareness of an anchor,

We'll focus on an anchor instead of breath today,

So bringing your attention to one steady point,

A place in or around your body that feels calm,

Simple,

And dependable,

This anchor might be a gentle sensation of warmth in your chest,

In your hands or in your feet,

It could be the pressure of the surface beneath you,

It could be a subtle inner rhythm like your heartbeat,

It could be also a sound in your environment,

Something that is steady,

Familiar,

And unhurried,

Or it could be an anchor of your choice,

So once you've settled on this anchor,

Letting yourself rest with it,

Thoughts may wander in,

Feelings may rise and fall,

But let them move the way weather moves through the sky,

Nothing to chase,

Nothing to fight,

Just noticing,

And if your mind drifts,

Guide it back to your anchor the way you'd guide a small boat towards a shore,

Gently,

Patiently,

Without needing perfection,

Each return is its own calming exhale,

A reminder of steadiness beneath the swirl,

Feel the weight of your body supported,

The warmth,

The tingling,

The subtle aliveness that tells you you're here,

Let your awareness widen around your anchor,

Creating more breathing room inside you,

More space to settle,

And if distractions rise again,

Simply notice and return,

Each return rewires the body toward safety,

Toward grounded presence,

Toward a quieter mind,

And let this anchor remind you that calm doesn't need to be forced,

It's already within you,

You're supported,

And you can rest here,

Exactly as you are,

And shortly we'll move on to the visualization or sensation of contrasts,

Again,

Your option to participate,

Simply just stay with what you have experienced so far,

So imagining yourself in a place that feels deeply safe,

It could be a quiet forest path,

A soft meadow,

A still shoreline,

A glow worm of light surrounding you,

And let the scene form slowly,

Notice colors,

Textures,

Soft sounds,

Or simply the feeling of being somewhere that doesn't need anything from you,

A place that holds you without expectation,

Feel the support under your body,

Warm and dependable,

Let it meet your weight completely,

And instead of feeling heavy,

Imagine that the weight becomes steadier,

More grounded,

As if the surface beneath you is absorbing the excess,

The strain,

The effort that you've been carrying,

You have nothing to do,

You're just being held,

And bring gentle attention to your exhale,

Not changing it,

Just noticing,

Picture each out breath like a small wave moving through you,

From head to heart,

From heart to belly,

From the belly all the way down to your legs and feet,

With each wave,

Imagine some of the noise,

The pressure,

The mental clutter softening,

Loosening,

Drifting down into the ground that supports you,

And now imagine a quiet light in the center of your chest,

It doesn't push or shine brightly,

It simply glows,

A warm presence that asks nothing of you,

Let it soften outward through your body,

Making space,

Offering warmth,

Reminding you that you're still here,

Still anchored,

Still settling,

And if thoughts rush in or the mind starts to swirl,

Come back to this glow,

To the steady ground beneath you,

Let them be your reference points,

Simple places to return to when things feel loud inside,

And staying here for a while,

Perhaps noticing how each exhale releases a little weight,

How moments of stillness nourish you,

Even if only a little at first,

How perspective gently widens the body when the body begins to settle,

And how overwhelm quiets when you return to the light in your chest and the support beneath you,

And these may become your two steady anchors,

The ground that holds you and the gentle light within you,

Working together,

Feel the balance between them,

Let yourself rest in that balance,

Safe,

Grounded,

Here,

And soon we'll begin to bring our awareness back,

Sensing how the floor,

The chair,

The bed,

The couch continues to hold you,

Absorbing tension,

Providing stability,

Reminding you that steadiness is always available,

Reconnect with your anchor,

The warmth,

The gentle vibration,

The inner light,

Or the steady support beneath you,

Notice how this anchor continues to hold you,

Even as your attention slowly returns to the room,

Whenever thoughts arise you can return to this anchor,

Your companion in moments of mental noise or overwhelm,

And perhaps reflecting for a moment on the flow of release you've experienced,

Hopefully tension,

Worry,

Or heaviness leaving the body,

A gentle sense of spaciousness,

Calm,

And ease spreading within you,

And beginning to invite subtle movement back into your body,

Wiggle your fingers and toes,

Roll your shoulders,

Stretching your arms and legs,

Noticing how the steady energy you cultivated moves with you,

And let the inner light you nurtured coexist with gentle activity,

Notice how your presence has shifted,

Calmer,

Grounded,

Steady,

Able to witness life with a little more spaciousness,

And carry with you the reminder that even in moments of overwhelm you can return to your inner anchor,

Your steady support,

That soft,

Steady light,

And perhaps taking time to take a few long intentional breaths,

Letting each exhale carry calm,

Clarity,

And groundedness throughout your body,

And if you wish you can recall to mind your intention,

Your sankalpa,

And silently repeat it to yourself three times inwardly,

Alternately you could silently affirm these supportive phrases,

I am safe,

I am steady,

I am present,

And perhaps sitting in this awareness for a few more breaths,

Letting the integration settle throughout your body and mind,

And when you feel ready,

Gently come back to the space around you,

And carry this sense of calm and perspective into the rest of your day,

And this concludes our practice,

And I'd like to thank you for taking the time to take care of yourself today,

Namaste.

Namaste.