Yoga Nidra For Deep Somatic Restoration

This guided Yoga Nidra practice uses the breath as an anchor to support deep somatic restoration. You will be led through a gentle awareness of the body, helping release tension and settle the nervous system. The practice invites a state of restful alertness where the body can recover while the mind remains calm and present. Suitable for any time you need to reset, slow down, and reconnect with your body.

Transcript

Welcome to this somatic meditation, Where we work purely on a level of embodied awareness. We're going to be using the breath in a very specific way in this practice. Inhale, Be with felt sensation, So whatever part of the body I'm focusing on that you're going to bring your awareness there as if you're breathing in, Not just through the nose and the respiration system, But as if you're taking in the breath through that part of the body as well. And then on the exhale, We're just releasing and letting go. So lying down comfortably, Preferably with a thin pillow to make sure your head and neck are in alignment and comfortable. The legs can be up on a cushion or up on a chair, Maybe feet flat and knees up. Or if you feel fine through the lower back and you tend not to have any back issues whatsoever, Let the legs go out in savasana, Shape of a V with the feet splayed out to the sides. We're just looking for the most aligned, Comfortable, Relaxing position possible for this practice. For some of you, That might mean even lying on your sides with the knees up. So we're going to be working with both sides of the body at the same time, Starting with the feet and bringing your awareness to the soles of the feet. And feel on the inhale as if the pores have opened up through the bottoms of the feet and you're taking in oxygen. This life force energy comes up in through the soles of the feet. And as you exhale, It's a feeling of softening and letting go. Just relax and release. And again, Feeling into the arches of the feet, Just from just behind the big toe, As if you're just slowly tracing your awareness, The inside of the feet coming up and then down all the way back by the inside part of the heel. Just on the inhale, Be with any tightness, Tension, And on the exhale, Release and let go. Feeling the tops of the feet. Feeling those bones as they run. You just soften through the bones with every exhalation. Bring your awareness now to the toes. We're going to start with the big toes. Feel the tips, The front of the big toes, The top and the bottom, The nail and underneath the nail. And bring your attention also to the bone that attaches the toe to the foot. Breathing in, Feeling everything you can around the big toes. Exhale, Release and relax. We'll do the same pattern with the rest of the toes. Once again, The tip and front, The top and bottom, The nail underneath the nail and the bone that attaches the toe to the feet. And do that for the rest of the toes. Now bring your attention to the back of the feet, The heels, The ankles, Achilles tendon. Repeating the same pattern, Inhale, Be with felt sensation, We're not trying to ignore and move away from any bit of tension or tightness in the body, We're feeling it. And on the exhale, We're using that exhale to trigger that relaxation response throughout the body and the mind and the nervous system. Just working on completely letting go, Releasing, Softening the body with every exhale. Coming into the lower legs, We're going to start with the back of the lower legs, Feeling the calf muscles, All the way from just above the ankles, Slowly running your awareness up to just below the knees. Letting your awareness go deeper than the skin, Goes deep inside the muscles, Feeling the breath enter, And as you exhale, Just the muscles and tendons and tissues just soften. Coming into the front of the lower legs, Feeling that shin bone rising from the base of the feet all the way to just below the knees, Softening the bones. Coming into the knees themselves, The front and the back, And the inside and outside. Maybe bring your awareness to anywhere that you tend to have a little bit of pain or ache or discomfort in the knees. Breathe in and feel. Exhale, Dissolve, Completely letting go, Soften. Coming up to the upper legs, Once again, We'll start in the back here, The hamstrings up to the psoas muscles. Breathe in, Let that awareness feel deep into the legs, Deep into the muscles. As you exhale, It's like the body becomes cotton-like, Softening through the hamstrings, Releasing any bit of tightness or tension you're holding onto with every exhalation. Inhale, Feel. Exhale, Let go. Coming into the front of the upper legs, The thighs. Next moving into the pelvic region, Feeling the hip bones, The groin, The buttocks, Remember both sides, Feeling all through the pelvic region. Just release any bit of tightness, Just softens up, Release, Relax, And let go. Now we're going to be coming up into the fingers and the hands and the arms. Bring your attention first to the fingers, The thumbs, Feeling the index fingers, Feel the middle fingers, The ring fingers, And the pinkies, Now feeling all 10 fingers. Coming into the hands, The palm of the hands and the back of the hands, Feeling the wrists. Coming into the arms, The forearms, We actually work a bit with intention here, So as you inhale, Feel as if almost the forearms are pumping up, Coming a little bit bigger, A little tighter. And then breathe out, It's almost like a balloon letting go of air, Softens, Releases. Coming up to the elbows, Inside, Outside, Front and back, Up to the upper arms, The biceps, The triceps. Same as we did with the forearms, Inhale, Feel as if you're expanding the biceps and triceps, Enhancing a bit of tightness. As you exhale, It's just like a wave releases. You relax, Release, And let go. Bring your attention to the shoulders, The top of the shoulders, The front, And the back. Looking for the opposite of uptight, Down and loose, So breathe in and feel, And as you exhale, Let the shoulders sink, Loosen up, And soften. Very common point of tension people have is this rising tightness of the shoulders, So really as you exhale, Let the shoulders drop, Let them soften and loosen. Bringing your awareness to the torso, Specifically we'll start down low, As you breathe in, Feel the belly rise, And then as you exhale, Feel the lower back as if it just dissolves into your bed or your yoga mat, As if it just melts into the mat or the bed, As if you're just descending down into the surface. So inhale, Be with the belly rise, Exhale, Let the whole lower back sink and melt. Now bringing that attention to the mid-torso, Feel the rib cage expand horizontally, Sideways, The intercostal muscles between the ribs, And as you exhale, The mid-back release, The lower back melts and dissolves. So start your breath down low, Belly rise, Ribs expand to the mid-torso, And as you exhale, Feel the sides, And as you exhale, Release the mid-back, Dissolve and sink the lower back. Like an ocean wave, The breath comes up higher. Start the breath in the lower belly, Feel that sideways expansion of the ribs, Feel that breath come up to the upper chest, And then just like an ocean wave, Time to release and let go, Upper back relax, Mid-back release, Lower back dissolves and melts. We'll do this for three more breaths, This ocean wave feeling. Lower belly, Ribs, Chest, And release from the top down, Upper back, Relax those shoulder blades, Release the mid-back, Dissolve the lower back and melt. Do that for a couple more times. Bring in your awareness now to the throat and the neck. Feel the breath moving through the throat, And then as you breathe out, Let the neck relax and soften. Finally, Coming up to the face and head. Bring your attention to the jaw and the region of the mouth, Open. Make sure you're not holding the mouth tense and tight. Let the mouth just open softly. As you breathe out, Soften in the jaw. The chin, The mouth. Bring your attention to the cheeks and the nose and the ears. As you exhale, A feeling of dissolving your self-image, Letting go, Any bit of holding on. Coming up to the eyes, The forehead, And the temples, Softening through the eyes, Softening through the temples and the forehead. Finally, Bring your awareness to the skull. As if the skull's pores have opened up, You're breathing directly into the brain. Oxygenating and exhale, Softening this place where we hold so much tightness in our lives, Worrying and ruminating. Let it all go. Soften the brain with every exhalation, Giving yourself permission to just relax, Recognizing how important relaxation is for your overall health and well-being. And now bring the attention to the whole body at once, Everything from the tips of the toes and bottom of the feet through the legs and the arms, The front of the torso and the back, Throat, Neck, And head. As you inhale, A feeling of breathing in through all the pores, Oxygenating the blood, Even down to the cells. And then as you exhale, As if the whole back of the body just descends, Melts into the bed or yoga mat. Every exhale, We just soften up and relax a little bit deeper. Inhale, Breathing in through all the pores, Whole body breathing. Exhale, Drop. Release and let go. And you can continue this practice of whole body breathing with this melting and dissolving feeling through the whole back of the body on the exhale, As long as you like. The formal practice will end right now. Feel free to continue as long as you like and take this feeling of relaxed awareness with you to the rest of your day or evening. Thanks for joining me.