15-Minute Yoga Nidra

In this 15-minute yoga nidra (yogic sleep), you will experience rotation of consciousness, a journey through the body, for complete relaxation followed by a simple image visualization. This short nidra is ideal if you are new to the practice or are short on time.

Transcript

Welcome to Yoga Nidra.

In preparation,

Please lie down on the floor on the yoga mat or on your bed,

Wherever is comfortable,

And adopt the pose called Shavasana.

In this position,

The body should be straight from head to toes,

The legs slightly apart and the arms a little way away from the body,

With the palms of the hands turned upward.

Feel free in these early few moments to adjust yourself,

Your body,

Your position,

Your pose,

Until you are completely comfortable.

As during the Yoga Nidra,

There should be no physical movement.

When you're ready,

Close your eyes and keep them closed until the end of the practice.

Take a deep breath now,

And as you exhale,

Let all your cares and worries and problems leave your body with the exhale.

Allow yourself to sink down onto the surface that's supporting you.

In this practice,

We are going to develop a feeling of relaxation in the body.

It's not necessary to move or to deliberately relax your muscles.

We're simply developing an overall feeling of relaxation,

Like the feeling just before you fall asleep.

Please do try to keep yourself awake throughout our Yoga Nidra.

During Yoga Nidra,

You're functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness,

And the only thing you need to do is to follow my voice.

Try not to intellectualise or analyse the instructions,

As this could disturb your mental relaxation.

Just follow my voice with total attention and feeling.

If the mind wanders,

Bring yourself back to the practice as soon as you notice.

Focus now on the sensation of lying,

Of complete stillness,

Awareness of the body from the top of the head to the tip of the toes,

Complete stillness and complete awareness.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

As is traditional,

We begin by setting our sankalpa,

Our intent and our resolve.

Try to keep this a simple statement,

Short,

Positive,

In a simple language,

Stated three times in your mind with awareness,

Feeling and emphasis.

We now begin rotation of consciousness.

Rotation of awareness by taking a trip through the different parts of the body.

As quickly as possible,

Bring your awareness from body part to body part.

Repeat that part in your mind and simultaneously become aware of that part of the body.

Keep yourself alert and awake,

But do not concentrate too intensely.

Become aware of the right hand,

Right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpits,

Right waist,

Right hip,

Right thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Left hand,

Left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpits,

Left waist,

Left hip,

Left thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Right glute,

Left glute,

The spine,

The whole back together,

The top of the head,

The forehead,

Both sides of the head,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The nose,

The tip of the nose,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The chin,

The throat,

The right chest,

The left chest,

The middle of the chest,

The navel,

The abdomen,

The whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole of the back,

The spine,

The shoulder blades,

The whole of the front,

Abdomen,

Chest,

The whole of the back and front together,

The whole of the head,

The whole body together,

Whole body together,

Whole body together,

Total awareness,

No movement,

No sleeping,

The whole body on the floor,

Becoming aware of your body lying on the floor,

Visualize the room that you're in,

Visualize yourself in your mind,

Becoming aware of your breath,

Feel the flow of your breath in and out your lungs,

Feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs,

Do not try to change the rhythm,

Breath is natural,

Automatic,

No effort,

Maintain awareness of the breath,

Now concentrate your awareness on the movement of your navel area,

Your navel is rising and falling with every breath,

With each and every breath it expands and contracts,

Concentrate on this movement in synchronization with your breath,

Shift attention to the chest,

The chest is rising and falling with every breath,

Concentrate on the movement of the chest rising and falling,

Move your awareness to the throat,

Become aware of your breath moving in and out of the throat,

Feeling the breath ebb and flow,

Bring your awareness now to the nostrils,

Becoming aware of the breath moving in and out of the nostrils,

Concentrating only on the movement of the breath in and out of the nostrils,

Now bring your attention,

Your focus from your breath to your mind's eye,

As we come to our visualization,

A number of different images will be named and you should try to imagine them or picture them in your mind,

With awareness,

With emotion,

With imagination as best you can,

Burning candle,

Endless desert,

Egyptian pyramid,

Torrential rain,

Snow-capped mountain,

Temple at sunrise,

Birds flying across the sky,

Red clouds drifting,

A cross above a church,

Stars at night,

Full moon,

Smiling Buddha,

Wind from the sea,

Waves breaking on the beach,

Restless sea,

Eternal restless sea,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach,

In your mind now repeat your sankalpa,

Same one that you made at the beginning of the practice,

Repeat it three times in your mind with full awareness and feeling,

Relaxing all efforts,

Become aware of your breathing,

Become aware of your natural breath,

Awareness of the whole body,

Awareness of breath,

Awareness of whole body,

Awareness of breath,

Awareness of whole body,

Awareness of breath,

Your body lying totally relaxed,

Breathing quietly and slowly,

Develop awareness of your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes,

Become aware of the surface that's supporting you and the position of your body,

Visualize the room around you,

Become aware of your surroundings without opening your eyes,

Lie quietly for a few moments with the eyes closed,

Bring a little bit of movement to the body,

The head and the hands and the feet and gradually start to take bigger movements and stretches,

Taking your time,

No hurry,

When you're sure that you are wide awake,

Roll onto one side and then sit up slowly and open your eyes,

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete,

Namaste.