Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra is designed to bring you to a place of deep relaxation and into the hypnagocic state. Here you are very receptive to healing and any intention you set for yourself. There are many benefits of this practice including better sleep, improved cognitive performance, reduced stress and anxiety.

Transcript

Yoga Nidra.

Yoga Nidra,

Which translates to yogic sleep,

Is a very deep relaxation technique that brings you to a place between sleeping and being fully awake.

They say one hour of yoga nidra is as restful as four hours of regular sleep.

The entire time I will be guiding you,

Your only job is to listen.

You'll bring awareness to whatever I say,

But try not to concentrate on the details or think too much about anything.

If you do notice you've wandered off,

Just come back to the sound of my voice.

So before we start,

Make sure you're lying down and very comfortable.

Eyes closed and palms face up beside you.

Feel free to put a little pillow or rolled towel under your neck,

Or even a bolster under your knees for support.

Also make sure you'll be warm enough since your body temperature may get cooler as the relaxation gets deeper.

Try to get all your fidgets out.

Do that now so you can remain perfectly still during the meditation.

Of course,

If you do get uncomfortable,

By all means go ahead and move into a better position.

Now that you're comfortable and still,

Begin to feel relaxation spreading over your entire body,

Head to toe.

On your next breath in,

Feel calmness washing over you.

On the breath out,

Feel any tension draining out of you.

You're calm,

Comfortable and safe.

Be aware of your body from head to toe,

Lying in the room.

Be aware of the room around you,

The walls,

Ceiling and floor.

Become aware you are practicing yoga nidra and say silently to yourself,

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I am awake and relaxed.

Now in yoga nidra,

We create something called a sankalpa,

Which is a short positive statement,

Kind of like an affirmation.

So this resolve will plant a seed in your mind,

Bringing that transformation to you.

So try to let your sankalpa come naturally,

Letting your heart guide you to what you might need at this moment or time in your life.

I'll give you a few moments to discover your sankalpa.

Now that you've decided on your statement,

Please say it in your mind three times with feeling and awareness.

We're now just going to move our awareness from one body part to another.

You'll bring your awareness to that part of the body when I say it.

You could choose to repeat the name in your mind,

But don't concentrate hard on it.

Just notice it.

We'll start on the right side of the body.

Become aware of the right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Palm of the right hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

The right rib cage.

The waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

The shin.

The right calf muscle.

Ankle.

Heel.

The sole of the foot.

The top of the foot.

The right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The spaces between all the toes.

Bring your awareness to your left hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

The palm of the left hand.

The back of the left hand.

The wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

The left rib cage.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

The shin.

Calf muscle.

The left ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

The left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The spaces between all the toes.

Now shift your awareness to the back of the body.

Notice your right heel.

Your left heel.

Your right ankle.

Left ankle.

Right calf.

Left calf.

The back of the right knee.

The back of the left knee.

Right hamstring.

Left hamstring.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

The lower back.

The middle back.

The upper back.

The entire spine.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Back of the neck.

Back of the head.

Top of the head.

Become aware of the front of the body.

The forehead.

The right temple.

The left temple.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The middle of the eyebrows.

The right eye and eyelid.

The left eye and eyelid.

The bridge of your nose.

The tip of your nose.

Your right nostril.

Left nostril.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Both lips together.

Chin.

Jaw.

Throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right side of the chest.

Left side of the chest.

The upper abdomen.

Belly button.

Lower abdomen.

Right groin.

Left groin.

The pelvic floor.

The right quadricep.

The left quadricep.

Right kneecap.

Left kneecap.

Right shin.

Right shin.

Right ankle.

Top of the foot and toes.

Left ankle and top of the foot and toes.

The whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Both legs.

The whole right arm.

The whole left arm.

Both arms together.

The whole face.

The whole head.

The whole torso.

The whole body.

The whole body.

The whole body.

Now become aware of your natural breath.

Notice the path this breath takes as it moves in and out of your body.

Without any effort,

It knows to flow in through your nostrils,

Down your throat and into your lungs.

You're aware as it also flows out of the lungs,

Back up your throat and out of the nose.

Notice any sensation the breath has on the inside of your nostrils.

Notice if there's a moment or two when your breath is at a pause after the exhale.

Without changing anything about your breath,

Just observe the fact that you are breathing effortlessly and naturally.

Now imagine the whole body is becoming weightless.

Feel as though your body is so light it could float off the floor.

Your head is light and weightless.

Arms and legs are light and weightless.

The torso is light and weightless.

The whole body is light and weightless.

You feel so light you could float.

Now imagine the opposite,

That your body is becoming very heavy.

The whole body feels heavier and heavier,

Like you could sink into the ground beneath you.

The head is heavy.

The arms and legs are heavy.

The torso is heavy.

The whole body is heavy.

Now feel as though the whole body is freezing cold.

Imagine cold in the body.

Imagine being outside in snowy winter without enough warm clothes or shoes.

Feel the chill in your whole body.

Now feel a sense of warmth begin to spread all over you.

You feel heat throughout the entire body.

Imagine you're outside in summer with no shade or breeze.

You feel hot.

Your whole body hot.

Remember don't sleep.

Say to yourself,

I'm practicing yoga nidra.

I'm relaxed and awake.

Now we're going to visualize some images.

As I see each one,

Just let it appear on your mental screen as we jump from one to the next and then the next.

So in your mind's eye,

Start to visualize.

Visualize a candle burning,

A tall palm tree,

Dusty desert,

A white feather,

A rainbow,

An afternoon nap,

A full moon,

A rainy morning,

A bouquet of wildflowers,

Snow capped mountains,

Sunny day,

Receiving help from others,

Crystal clear blue water,

A comforting hug,

A lazy afternoon,

Laughing at a joke,

Night full of stars,

A path in the woods,

A vibrant sunset,

Taking a deep breath,

A cat curled up and napping,

A beautiful garden path,

A happy song,

A pink lotus flower,

A sandy beach,

A soft breeze.

Now bring your awareness to your third eye point in the center of your forehead.

It's time to repeat your sankalpa again.

Please repeat that same statement you made at the beginning of the practice three times with intention now.

Bring your awareness to your breath.

Feel the natural breath flowing in and out of your nose,

Throat and lungs.

Feel your body lying on the floor and imagine the room around you.

Feel the clothes on your skin and begin to hear any sounds in the room or outside the room.

Begin to deepen your breath just a little to invite a small amount of movement back in the body and then without actually moving,

Just think about moving.

Swallow to awaken the throat and now very slowly begin to move your fingers and your toes.

Start to add more body parts nice and slow to reawaken.

Keep the eyes closed and when you feel ready enough,

Bend the knees and softly roll onto your side.

Take at least three deep breaths here on your side.

When you're ready,

Use your top hand to help you come up to seated and sitting comfortably will finish our yoga ninja practice by taking our palms together in front of our heart and bowing to the divine light inside.

Thank you for joining me in this practice.

Namaste.

Reviews

A really beautiful practice ✨🙏🏻✨
Thank you ✨🫧🌻🦋🌻🫧✨

Somewhat fast paced but effective, relaxing nidra guided by your kind voice. Thank you. I hope you do more yoga nidras so I can practice along. 😊✨🕊️✨💖

A beautiful practice, thank you 🙏 I’ll have a look at others by you

What a wonderful meditation! I loved this and it’s going on my Yoga Nidra playlist. Thank you, Katie. 🙏🏻💚

Beautiful voice and lovely succinct Nidra, thank you 💞🙏