Power Nap

This practice allows the whole body and mind to have complete rest and includes the 4 essential stages of yoga nidra being; settling, body scan, breath awareness and opposites. 30min of this practice is equivalent to 3 hours of sleep.

Transcript

Please prepare for the power nap practice.

This is a guided relaxation which allows the whole body and mind to have complete rest.

It will help you to feel relaxed,

Refreshed and 30 minutes of this practice is equivalent to three hours of sleep.

It is advisable that this is not done in your bed as this is associated with sleep and the aim in this practice is to remain awake and aware.

Prepare by finding a quiet location to do the relaxation,

Preferably a room where you can close the door and will not be disturbed for the next 20 or so minutes.

Lying down on your back ensure you have sufficient comfort beneath you using a thin cushion under the head.

If you have a sensitive back you may wish to bend your legs and have your feet resting on the floor.

If you have a watch,

Glasses or shoes on then remove them and loosen any tight clothing.

If the temperature is cool then cover your body so that you remain warm.

Position your body symmetrically on the floor by separating your feet about hip width apart and let the feet and the legs roll outwards and downwards.

Allow the arms to rest down on the floor beside you.

Have a little bit of space between the arms and the body and rotating the arms a little so the palms turn away from the floor and allow your fingers to curl naturally.

Check the position of your head that is centrally placed,

Not falling to either side.

Draw the chin in a little so there's a slight lengthening through the back of the neck.

Make any adjustments to your position so you are completely comfortable and allowing for the body to become still.

Gently close your eyes,

Soften around the face,

Around the eyes and the cheeks.

Relax the jaw.

Have your lips lightly pressed together.

Allow your breath to flow in and out through your nostrils.

Next time you breathe in,

Take a long deep breath in through your nose and as you exhale let go of any cares or worries.

Let go of your day and do this breath three more times.

Each time you breathe in and out let your whole body surrender completely to the floor.

Let your breath return to a natural easy flow.

Become aware of the sensations of touch on the body.

Feel into the points of contact of the body and the floor.

Scan down through the back of your body feeling into each part of the body that comes in contact with the floor.

Notice the different sensations from your clothing on the skin.

Notice any areas of exposed skin.

Now turn the focus to the sounds around you.

Begin to listen to the different sounds in your environment.

Take your awareness outside the room as far out as a distance as you can,

Seeking out the different sounds that are around you.

As you find a sound,

Listen to it,

Then drop it and move to another sound.

Try not to enter into any dialogue or analysis of the sound,

Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant.

Just listening.

Become aware of the sounds closer to you,

Just outside the room and then within the room,

Noticing any sounds within the room and tune into the sound of your own breath.

Become aware of the sound of your body breathing.

Let go of the sounds.

Prepare for your awareness to be guided around the body.

As each part of the body is named,

Feel into that part of the body and have an experience of that part of the body.

There is no physical movement,

Just your awareness is allowed to lightly touch each part of the body.

Become aware of the right thumb.

Feel into your right thumb,

Have an experience of the right thumb.

Move to the first finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger.

Feel all the fingers and thumb on the right hand,

The palm,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Right armpit,

Side of the waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Right heel,

Sole of the right foot.

Feel into the right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth and fifth toe.

Now take the awareness up and down the right side of the body.

Feel into the right side of the body and feel into the left thumb,

First finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger.

Feel into all the fingers and thumb on the left hand,

The palm,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Armpit,

Side of the waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot.

Become aware of the left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth and fifth toe and feel into all the parts along the left side of the body.

Have an awareness of the left side of the body and come to the back of the body.

Feel into the area of the buttocks and the right side of the buttocks,

Left side of the buttocks,

The tailbone,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Both shoulder blades,

Back of the neck and tracing out the spinal column from the tailbone all the way up to the head.

Feel into the back of the head and the crown of the head and check that you're awake,

That you're following the instructions.

Bring the awareness onto the forehead,

The right temple,

Left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Eyebrow centre,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The tip of the nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip and the line of contact between the lips.

Feel the chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest and the sternum.

Feel the upper abdomen,

Navel centre,

Lower abdomen and the pelvis.

Become aware of the right hand and right arm,

The right foot and right leg.

Feel into the left hand,

Left arm and the left foot,

Left leg.

Aware of the area of the buttocks,

The back,

The abdomen,

The chest,

The neck and the head.

Become aware of the main parts of the body.

Feel into both arms,

Both arms together,

Both legs,

Feel both legs,

The trunk of the body,

The trunk of the body and the neck and the head,

The neck and the head.

And now become aware of the whole body lying on the floor as if all the parts of the body come together now as one body part.

Feel the whole body lying on the floor.

Feel the whole body lying on the floor from head down to toes.

Have an awareness of the whole body from toes up to the head.

Feel into the whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Shift the focus to the body breathing.

Begin to observe the natural breath without changing or altering it.

Simply watching the breath come in and out.

Continuing to observe the natural breath,

Become aware of the space of the abdomen and the presence of the natural breath in this space.

Feel the subtle movement that occurs in the abdomen as the natural breath comes in and out.

Begin to count the natural breath in the space of the abdomen,

Starting from a count of 11,

Mentally counting down to one.

As the count is lost or the mind wanders off,

Come back to the counting the breath in the abdomen,

Recommence the counting from 11 down to one.

Discontinue the counting of the breath in the abdomen.

Move the awareness up to the area of the chest and the ribcage.

Become aware of the presence of the natural breath in the space of the chest and begin to mentally count the breath in the chest from 11 down to one.

Check that the awareness is on counting the breath.

As the count is lost,

Recommence the counting from 11 down to one.

Discontinue the counting of the breath,

Whatever count was reached leaving that.

A number of feelings will be stated and the idea is to recreate the sensation or feeling in the body.

Start with a feeling of heaviness.

Feel the body lying on the floor and feel the body becoming heavier and heavier as if the weight of the body is increasing.

Feel the whole body becoming heavy as if it's weighted down onto the floor.

The body is so heavy even if you tried to move it would not be possible as the whole body is heavy and changing that to a feeling of lightness.

Feel the body becoming lighter and lighter as if the weight of the body is decreasing as if there is no effects of gravity.

Feel the body becoming light like a feather and now come back to a neutral weight,

Neither heavy nor light.

Come back to your body lying on the floor.

Have an awareness of your body lying on the floor.

Once again feel the presence of the breath as it comes in and out.

Feel the flow of air as it enters your body and as it leaves your body.

The next time you breathe in,

Taking a slightly deeper breath in,

Allow the lungs to inflate a little bit more,

Allow the chest to expand and do that another one or two more times.

Slightly deeper breathing.

Feel into the parts of your body,

Feel into your arms,

Your legs.

Feel that your body has a shape,

It has an outline and recall your position in the room,

Which way you're facing,

Where the door is,

Where the windows are and extend your awareness outside the room out into the distance.

Engaging with the sounds around you,

Inviting the sounds in,

Recognizing the sounds of the day,

Recalling the time of day and which day in the week it is.

Feeling back into your body lying on the floor and when you're ready to,

You can slowly begin to introduce movement into your body.

You can start with small movements in the fingers and the toes.

Slowly begin to move your body.

The relaxation practice is coming to an end.

Begin to move your body in whatever way feels nice.

You might like to stretch or yawn,

Give yourself a massage or a hug,

Whatever feels like a nice thing to do.

The relaxation practice is complete.

When you're ready to,

You can roll onto one side,

Take a moment there and slowly making your way up off the floor,

Opening your eyes when you're ready.

The relaxation practice is complete.

Reviews

Excellent. Thank you so much! Very effective indeed.

This was very effective. I needed something for my mid afternoon and this did the trick

I felt like I was present the whole time, but when called to come back into my body I felt a surge of energy.
Powerful, thank you 🙏

Thank you for this beautiful mid afternoon relaxation on a busy day. Namaste

That was wonderful. Thank u for this deep Power Nap meditation ✨🙏🏻

Loveky rest!

What a relaxation journey!

I feel renewed after a short night sleep, and ready to have the day.

Namasté 🙏

Nice power nap 🙏

I fell asleep so I do not really remember:)
His voice was nice.

Just what I needed after lunch, a quick nap and this was perfect.

Wowww....absolutely amazing!!!!!!

Practical, direct and effective. Following Matt’s kind, calm, plain speaking voice took me from “too exhausted to work but too tired to rest” to feeling restored: ready, willing, and able to focus. Thanks so much. Highly recommended.

Wanted a quick power nap after a long morning and before a busy afternoon, this helped me so much. Thank you.

Every time I put this on I sleep deeply but I don’t remember hearing much of it. If it works, it works

✨💗🙏💗✨ I really enjoyed this practice. Very soothing…

Nice. He said it was equivalent to 3 hrs worth of sleep 💤. I do feel alert, rejuvenated .

Thankyou

I appreciate the explanation about the difference between the practice and sleep. And also for the care in preparing for the rest. Thank you.

excellent.

Thank you for this much needed interval in a very taxing day. Namaste