Wisdom Within ~ An 8 Stage Yoga Nidra & Vibrational Healing
by Tal Derhy
Welcome to your natural stress reliever. Experience the profound state between wakefulness and dreaming as you transcended into an 8-stage Yoga Nidra also known as 'Yogic Sleep'. An ancient meditation ritual that brings you into a state where your inner truth and wisdom are found. This therapeutic energy healing technique has been used for hundreds of years by masters and gurus alike. Research has shown that 1 hour of “Yoga Nidra” meditation is the equivalent of 4 hours of deep rest.
Transcript
Wisdom Within Your Guided Yoga Nidra Ritual Yoga Nidra or Yogic Sleep is a meditative practice that brings you into a state of deep relaxation,
Allowing you to become increasingly aware of your body and inner world.
This particular 8-stage modern protocol of Yoga Nidra I would like to share with you today was originally designed by Swami Satchananda Saraswati,
The founder of Satchananda Yoga and the Bihar School of Yoga.
He adapted practices including traditional Nyasa Kriya from Tantra to formulate a system that is today used by practitioners or yoga practitioners across the world.
The order in which these 8 stages practice is very important.
You are likely to experience yourself in a level of consciousness somewhere between wakefulness and sleeping.
You may also drift in and out of sleep which is normal and perfectly fine.
Your deepest level of consciousness will still be actively listening.
Some of what you hear may deeply resonate with you and some may not.
For this reason I invite you to just take what you need and leave the rest behind.
Begin by making yourself as comfortable as possible lying on your back.
Add any support you'd like,
Maybe use a pillow,
Cushion or a bolster under the back of the knees or your lower back,
Perhaps one under your neck or head.
Now your body will cool down throughout this ritual so please make sure you are warm by using a blanket,
A duvet or a throw.
I invite you to position your body for a long period of rejuvenating rest,
Lying on your back in Shavasana or Corpse Pose.
Hips and shoulders in alignment,
Arms turned so shoulder blades are slightly under and the palms are turned upwards towards the sky.
Legs extended with the heels turned in and the feet relaxed outwards.
Head centered and in line with your straight spine.
If you have any physical issues that make any of these adjustments feel unnatural or uncomfortable for you,
Please adjust now so your body can rest fully.
Let your body sink deep into your mat,
Mattress or floor to the best of your ability.
Get comfortable as you take a moment to shift and move just a little to allow the body to settle deeper.
Be comforted that at this time you are okay and everything is perfect.
Nothing else matters right now.
Everything is absolutely as it should be.
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do or plan.
Here to simply feel and listen to your body.
I invite you to welcome anything and everything that comes into your awareness.
From this moment on and throughout the duration of our time together,
Let go of all opinions and simply surrender completely to the now.
Try to embody stillness throughout this process unless of course your body begins to distract you.
Then move as mindfully as possible all the while keeping your attention on my verbal instructions.
This is your opportunity to release any obvious sensations of tension as you begin to open yourself up to this deep and ancient relaxation practice.
Simply listen without trying too hard.
Remember you're in a safe environment,
In a protected space,
In a held space.
Allow your bones to become heavy.
Feel your bones heavy and sinking into the earth.
Release bones heavy and sinking.
Come into stillness now and remain still for deep rest,
Deep nourishment.
Bring your attention now to the world around you as you become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.
Don't force or manipulate the sounds that you hear in any way,
Instead just let the sounds to wash over you and through you.
Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear.
Allow your sense of hearing to radiate outwards,
Searching out these distant sounds and following them for a few moments.
Move your attention from sound to sound without labelling or judging the source.
Gradually bring your attention to closer sounds,
From the sounds outside of your building,
To the sounds inside your building,
To the sounds inside of your room.
Visualise the structure of your room,
The ceiling,
The walls,
The floor.
Your body lying on the mat,
Bed or floor.
Visualise your own body resting,
The position of your body,
Your clothes,
Your hair,
Your face.
Become aware of your own physical presence.
Yoga Nidra begins now.
At this moment I invite you to make your Sankalpa.
Kalpa translates to vow and San to connection,
Connection to the highest truth born from your heart.
The act of Sankalpa is to make a vow that helps you move towards your deepest desires.
The Sankalpa should be a short,
Precise,
Clear and positive statement in simple language,
Otherwise it will not penetrate your subconscious mind.
I invite you to try to discover one naturally.
It could be just to simply rest or relax or perhaps to come to some resolution or truth about yourself or your world.
Please say this to yourself in the present tense.
And please take your time and choose only one Sankalpa according to your needs and inclinations.
Remember to allow one to come up naturally and when it does please do not change it for another.
And don't expect immediate results.
Time is required depending on the nature of the resolve and the degree to which it is planted in the mind.
The result depends on your sincerity and deep felt need to attain the goal of your Sankalpa.
Please take your Sankalpa clearly and with awareness,
Three times to yourself.
Hear your inner message and move with love in that direction.
It is this Sankalpa you make during your Yoga Nidra which plants a seed in the fertile soil of your mind to bring about that transformation and healing.
Also I invite you to say to yourself,
I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
I am awake and I am relaxed.
We will now begin a systematic journey of sensory awareness throughout the body.
Allow your awareness to travel through the body on a journey of sensation.
You will move your awareness quite quickly to different parts of the body as soon as you hear them named.
Please say the name of the part to yourself and feel that part of your body but do not move any part.
Remain completely still throughout this sacred journey.
Welcome all sensations just as they are.
Remember,
Moving your consciousness not your body.
Notice your right palm,
Thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger on your right hand,
Back of the hand.
Feel your whole right hand alive with energy.
I am guiding you along the right side now and I will let you know when to change to the left side.
Feel your right wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Right shoulder,
Right side of the chest,
Waist.
Feel your right hip,
Sit bone,
Thigh,
Right knee,
Lower leg,
Calf,
Ankle,
Foot,
Toes,
Sole of the foot,
The whole right foot.
Pour your awareness like liquid into the right side of the body.
Feel the right side.
Staying awake and aware just as we were visualizing the parts of the right side,
Now notice your left side.
Start with the left palm,
Thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger on your left hand,
Back of the hand.
Feel your whole left hand alive and filled with sensation.
Feel your left wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Left shoulder,
Left side of the chest,
Waist.
Feel your left hip,
Thigh,
Left knee,
Lower leg,
Calf,
Ankle,
Foot,
Toes,
Sole.
The entire left foot.
Pour your awareness like flowing senses into the left side.
Feel your left side.
Now we'll guide you from your toes all the way up to the crown of your head.
Prepare your consciousness to move from your toes up to the head.
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
All five right toes simultaneously.
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
All five left toes together.
Visualize all the left toes.
Now move your consciousness right and left as I say the parts alternatively.
Right sole,
Left sole,
Both soles at the same time.
Right heel,
Left heel,
Both heels at once.
Right ankle,
Left ankle,
Both ankles jointly.
Right calf,
Left calf muscle,
Both calf muscles simultaneously.
Right knee,
Left knee,
Both knees together.
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Both thighs.
Right hamstring,
Left hamstring,
Both hamstrings at the same time.
Right sit bone,
Left sit bone,
Your sit bones.
Right hip,
Left hip,
Both hips.
Waist,
Lower abdomen,
Upper abdomen.
The entire abdomen combined.
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest.
The whole chest.
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone.
Center of the collarbone.
Throat.
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder.
Right arm,
Left arm.
Right elbow,
Left elbow.
Right hand,
Left hand.
Right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger.
All five fingers of the right hand.
Right palm,
Back of the hand.
Left hand,
Thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger.
All five fingers together.
Left palm,
Back of the hand.
Shoulders,
Upper back,
Middle back,
Lower back.
Right side of the back,
Left side of the back.
Whole of the spine,
Back of the neck,
Front of the neck.
The whole neck.
Chin,
Lower lip,
Upper lip.
Both lips together.
Teeth,
Tongue.
Right cheek,
Left cheek.
Both cheeks.
Right nostril,
Left nostril.
Both nostrils.
Tip of the nose,
The entire nose.
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid.
Right eyeball,
Left eyeball.
Both eyeballs together.
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow.
Eyebrow center.
Right temple,
Left temple.
Forehead,
Back of the head.
Crown of the head.
Whole face.
Feel the entire head.
Now we will take the body in parts.
Whole right arm,
Whole left.
Whole right leg,
Whole left leg.
Whole front,
Whole back.
Whole right side,
Whole left side of the body.
Feel your midline now.
Feel your body as a whole,
A complete entity.
Feel sensations throughout your entire body.
Become aware of your natural breath.
Feel the natural breath.
Breath flowing through.
Become aware of your natural and spontaneous breath that moves in and out of your body without any effort.
The natural breath flows in through both nostrils.
Notice the feeling of the breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils.
There is a sense of coolness as you inhale the breath.
Follow this feeling into your nose,
Your sinuses,
The back of your throat,
Into your lungs.
There is a sense of warmth as you exhale the breath.
Feel this warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.
The natural breath flows through both nostrils during the inhale and the exhale.
Allow your breath to become longer and slower.
As you inhale,
Count one.
As you exhale,
Count two.
As you breathe in,
Imagine that you are pulling in air through the navel.
As you breathe out,
Imagine that you are pushing air out from the navel.
Allow yourself the opportunity to dive deep into this slow rhythmical breath.
Pay close attention to the rising and softening of the breath and the counting in your mind's eye.
And count up to 20.
Cover your entire chest with your awareness as you do.
Imagine that your breath is being drawn down towards the center of your chest with each sacred inhalation.
Count one.
Each exhalation,
Imagine that your breath is being released upwards and outwards from your chest center.
Count two.
Be aware both of the flow of breath and the mental counting.
If you lose count,
Just start again from one.
And continue until you reach a count of 20.
Then,
Become aware of your breathing process at the nose for another 20 counts.
As you breathe in,
Feel the breath being drawn in through the nostrils.
Count one.
As you breathe out,
Feel the breath moving out of the nostrils.
Count two.
Become aware of the counting and the breath simultaneously.
Count up to 20.
Now,
Please return to your natural easy breath,
Releasing control over the inhale or exhale to find your regular rhythm.
Continue to maintain awareness of your breath without attempting to force or change it in any way.
As you lay here awake and aware,
Imagine the entire body becoming light.
As though your body could float away from the floor or bed towards the ceiling.
The head is light and weightless.
The limbs are light and weightless.
The torso is light and weightless.
The body as a whole is rising higher and higher away from the floor.
The body as a whole is rising higher and higher away from the floor.
Now,
Please return to your natural easy breath.
Now,
As you float in the space,
Imagine your body slowly becoming heavy.
Feel the heaviness in all parts of the body.
Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.
The head is heavy.
The limbs are heavy.
The torso is heavy.
The entire body is heavy.
So heavy that it is now slowly sinking back down into the mattress or mat or floor.
The body is light and weightless.
The body is light and weightless.
The body is light and weightless.
Please do not sleep.
Turtle awareness.
No sleeping.
No movement.
Effortless awareness.
Awaken now the experience of cold in the body.
The experience of freezing cold.
Imagine being outside in winter with only a very thin layer of clothing on.
Feel this chill penetrating your entire body.
Feel the goosebumps run along your skin and the deep shivers resonating through your muscles.
The cold rolls deep inside you with each breath freezing you in place.
The body is light and weightless.
The body is light and weightless.
Now slowly allow the sensation of warmth to spread from your center and throughout your body.
As you begin to thaw out remember the feeling of heat in summer.
The slow burn of standing in the bright sun.
You feel heat radiating onto your skin.
Heat all around the body.
The body is light and weightless.
Awareness of breathing.
You are breathing and fully aware here in Nitra.
Remember now an experience you had which challenged you in some way.
Feel this challenge in your mind,
Body and emotions to the best of your ability.
Feel the sensation of stress or sadness.
Do not concentrate on its source or become tangled in thoughts and ideas.
Simply dip into the feelings of that moment and how they sit within your body.
Relive those feelings as clearly as possible.
You are breathing and fully aware.
Now release those emotions and emotions.
Release those emotions and allow a feeling of complete calm to envelop you.
You are in a kind,
Safe place where no negativity can hold you.
You are released from all negative emotions of the past.
Infest the experience of calm in your entire mind,
Body and emotions.
You are relaxed.
You are aware.
You are completely calm.
You are in a kind,
Safe place where no negativity can hold you.
You are in a kind,
Safe place where no negativity can hold you.
Notice your breath.
Feel its rhythm and pace.
Now I invite you to fix your attention to your third eye,
The area between your eyebrows.
Feel your oxygenated blood pulse through this point,
Your intuitive center.
Notice rhythmic or beat matching that of your sacred heart as you continue without any effort to simply become aware of it.
If you do,
Repeat the sacred mantra AUM in your mind's eye with every pulse you feel.
The pulse and AUM vibrate like a droplet gently landing in a pond.
Become aware of this at the eyebrow center.
Relax into this slow,
Thoughtful visualization for a few moments now.
Now imagine that the AUM and pulse beat are rippling out in all directions.
Your forehead is the center from which droplets of AUM is emanating outwards in all directions.
Feel your entire being enveloped in AUM.
Every cell in your body is immersed in AUM.
Feel that your being is also expanding with the scattering of AUM.
Imagine that the whole universe is now enclosed within your own being.
Gently cover each moment with your full awareness.
As you do,
I invite you now to ask yourself with pure sincerity,
Who am I?
What is my authentic nature?
Reflect on this question for a few moments.
Be open to receive whatever comes up for you as you surrender to your heart and not your mind.
It is now time to repeat your sankalpa or intention or purpose.
Center yourself by thinking of the intention you set at the beginning of this ritual,
Allowing it to rise to your consciousness in three rolling waves.
As you slowly return to the present,
Become aware of both you and I together.
You are aware that I am guiding you through this ancient ritual.
You are here in Nidra.
Come back to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of the nostrils.
Maintaining your awareness of breath at the same time develop your awareness of your physical body.
Your body is relaxed and lying down.
Feel the container of your skin,
Clothes and blanket that are touching you.
Notice the heaviness of your body as it rests and drift your awareness into all the points that are grounding you.
The back of your heels,
Calves,
Back of the knees,
Hamstrings,
Sit bones,
Lower back,
Shoulder blades,
Your arms,
Hands and the back of the head.
As you continue to keep your eyes softly closed,
Visualize the surrounding room.
Imagine where you are in the room and the other objects around you.
Before moving,
Sense your fingers and just imagine them moving.
Now,
Begin to wiggle your fingers,
Feeling every subtle sensation as you do.
Notice your toes.
Begin to wiggle your toes.
Start by slowly moving your fingers and toes before moving your hands and feet.
Now please take your time,
There is absolutely no hurry.
Now,
Begin to wiggle your fingers.
Gently begin to rock your head side to side,
A slow awakening.
Draw a deep breath into your belly,
Into your chest.
The ritual of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Ever so slowly at your own time,
In your own pace,
Allow the eyes to slowly open to a soft gaze.
Thank you for joining within your ritual house,
I hope this experience together continues to serve you well and truly beyond this moment.
Helping you to impact all beings you come into contact with in a positive,
Loving and nurturing way.
Your journey within begins now.
Now,
Begin to wiggle your fingers.
4.9 (233)
Recent Reviews
Kelly
February 2, 2026
Thank you 🙏
Janina
January 30, 2026
Thank you for this beautiful practice. I really enjoyed it. 🙏
Helena
January 12, 2026
Absolutely perfect Nidra session. Thank you.
Jayme
December 22, 2025
… pulled me into stillness and a mystical glimmering receptive sort of sanctuary space … beautifully spoken and paced … thank you 🙏
Lydia
December 18, 2025
🙏
Pamela
December 14, 2025
Beautiful ❤️
Shanti
December 11, 2025
Excellent!
Angela
October 3, 2025
This was a magnificently structured meditation. Thank you for the peace. 🙏
Monica
August 8, 2025
I’ve yet to make it to the end of this yoga nidra- sound asleep before I know it!
Christine
May 2, 2025
Lovely and helpful for resting
Rhonda
April 7, 2025
🙏
Denise
January 23, 2025
With so much thanks Tal for such a beautiful nidra practice. Absolutely amazing but I’ll need to revisit this again ( and again) as I fell into a deep sleep about 1/2 way through. With so much thanks.
Maenoiz
October 29, 2024
🙏👌this is a truly great approached way to nidra Even with a strong mind and a heavily snoring husband I could find stillness and vastness Will come back when conditions are better.🪷
Heidi
July 15, 2024
Slept well and had vivid dreams. Thank you. 🕊