Yoga Nidra For Deep Relaxation

Hello,

Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.

This effortless guided meditation is designed to quieten your mind and allow your body to release any tension and stress and take you into a state of deep relaxation.

Before we begin,

Find a quiet place to practice and take your time to settle in to your Yoga Nidra nest.

You may wish to reach out for any props that you might need,

Pillows or bolsters to support your lower back,

Head or forearms,

A blanket for warmth as in stillness your body temperature is likely to drop and an eye covering to block out the light.

Now take your time to settle in,

There is no rush.

Let your arms rest gently by your sides,

Palms facing up,

Legs relaxed and feet slightly apart.

Close down the eyes,

Let your body drop into the support beneath you.

See if there are any further adjustments that you could make to make yourself even more comfortable.

Imagine gently releasing every single muscle in your body.

Feel the weight of your head,

Your torso,

Your legs,

Your arms as you surrender to the sweet gravitational pull of the earth.

Relax your jaw,

Let your tongue soften.

Now let's take a deep breath in,

Hold briefly and a long exhale,

Sinking deeper into the support beneath you.

Again an inhale,

Pause,

Exhale,

Feeling the body get heavier.

Inhale and a deep exhale.

One more like this,

Inhale,

Pause,

Exhale as you draw in your attention even more.

Now bring your attention to the touch of air on your face,

The sensations on your skin as your clothes make contact with your body.

Now bring your attention to sound as it travels in and out through your ears.

Notice the sounds outside of your room.

Now notice the sounds closest to you.

Notice your breath.

Draw your attention to the silence in between my words,

The silence that invites you into presence.

Come to soften deeply as if your mind can be swallowed up by your heart.

Know that here there is nowhere to go,

Nothing else to do but rest.

Nothing is required of you but to listen,

Sense and feel.

Feel yourself held by the earth,

Your body being supported and received with every exhale as you lay to rest all that you've been carrying.

Allow the body to drift deeply into relaxation and surrender to deep medicinal rest.

Now imagine breathing into the centre of your heart as it softens and opens.

From this place invite your sankalpa,

Your intention for this practice.

This is a simple positive statement that supports your wellbeing and is stated in the present tense.

If nothing arises for you today,

You may use it is safe for me to relax and receive or I rest in my wholeness.

It is safe for me to relax and receive or I rest in my wholeness.

Once you've chosen your sankalpa,

Repeat it mentally three times.

Now invite the focus of your attention to rotate through each body part following the guidance of my voice and let the point of your awareness create a stream of light as it flows throughout your body.

Now bring your attention to the roof of the mouth,

Tip of the tongue,

Inside right cheek,

Inside left cheek,

Tip of the nose,

Inside right nostril,

Sensing the flow of air inside the nostril,

Inside left nostril,

Sensing the flow of air inside the left nostril,

Ears listening,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eye,

Eyebrow,

Temple,

Between the eyebrows,

Left eye,

Eyebrow,

Temple,

Cheekbone,

Centre between the brows,

Centre of the throat,

Centre of the heart,

Right shoulder,

Elbow,

Wrist,

Palm,

Tip of the thumb,

Tip of the second finger,

Tip of the third finger,

Tip of the fourth,

Tip of the fifth,

All five fingers,

Palm,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Whole right side of the chest,

Wrist,

Waist,

Right hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Foot,

Tip of the big toe,

Tip of the second toe,

Tip of the third toe,

Tip of the fourth,

Tip of the fifth,

All five toes,

Foot,

Ankle,

Knee,

Waist,

Whole right side of the body,

The whole right side of the body,

Back to the centre of the heart,

Left shoulder,

Elbow,

Wrist,

Palm,

Tip of the thumb,

Tip of the second finger,

Tip of the third,

Tip of the fourth,

Tip of the fifth,

All five fingers,

Palm,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Whole left side of the chest,

Waist,

Left hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Foot,

Tip of the big toe,

Tip of the second toe,

Tip of the third toe,

Tip of the fourth,

Tip of the fifth,

All five toes,

Foot,

Ankle,

Knee,

Waist,

Whole left leg,

Whole left side of the body,

Whole left side of the body,

The whole body,

The whole body breathing in and out,

The whole body vibrating with the flow of life force.

Now become aware of the breath in the body,

The natural,

Unaltered rhythm of the breath as it flows in and out.

On the next breath,

Might you imagine a clear channel running down the centre of your spine.

Now bring your attention to the base of your spine and as you breathe in,

Imagine white,

Bright light travelling from the base of the spine to the crown of your head.

And as you exhale,

Imagine white light descending from the crown to the base of the spine.

As you feel white light travel up to the crown,

Feel as though you're breathing in a sense of deep relaxation.

Where you rest so deeply.

And as the light travels down your spine,

Imagine all troubles,

Worries and tension being released from your body.

Inhaling,

Imagining breath and healing energy flowing up towards the crown of your head,

Then exhaling down the spine and releasing out through the tailbone.

Healing energy flowing all the way up,

Exhaling all the way down the spine,

Releasing through the tailbone.

Continue to witness breath ascending and descending,

Following the energy rising and falling,

Flowing up through the spine to the crown of the head.

And then exhaling and ascending,

Cascading all the way down the spine.

As you welcome in further relaxation and with every breath,

Imagining a sense of peace and well-being spread into every single cell of your body.

Now coming back to the natural rhythm of your breath.

And on your next inhale,

Drawing your attention to the centre of your heart space and breathing in and out from the heart.

Notice how it feels to be breathing in and out from the heart.

Now imagine finding yourself in a beautiful forest on a sunny day.

You gently take in your surroundings,

The light filtering through the trees,

The subtle sounds,

The quiet presence of life all around you.

You notice the birdsong,

The soft,

Earthy scent of the forest and the feeling of the ground beneath your feet.

There is a sense of life moving through and around you,

A quiet vitality shared by everything here.

As you continue walking you feel connected to the land,

To the trees,

To the wildlife and to the whole of life itself.

The path unfolds naturally with each step,

Guiding you deeper into the woods.

In the distance you notice a river flowing with ease,

Winding its way over pebbles and rocks.

You pause and listen to the gentle,

Steady sound of the water as it moves effortlessly along its course.

As you look more closely you notice a small heart shaped pebble resting in the water.

You bend down and pick it up and in this moment you realise that your heart's deepest desire,

Your soul's quiet longing is written there.

You turn the pebble over and read the words.

Standing by the river,

One hand resting on your heart,

You take a moment to acknowledge this desire,

Simply allowing it to be seen and felt.

A warmth begins to spread in your heart,

Slowly moving through your body,

Softening and opening you from within.

With each inhale you feel your heart gently expand and with each exhale you allow anything that stands in the way of this desire to release.

Thoughts,

Worries,

Obstacles gently dissolving.

Inhale to welcome what you desire into your heart space.

Exhale to release and create more space.

Inhale to receive.

Exhale to surrender and let go.

As you inhale let boundaries dissolve.

As you step into infinite possibility.

Inhale and soften into the essence of your being.

Exhale to let go of what no longer serves.

Inhale the true nature of your boundless being as you come to rest in spacious awareness.

Quietly alive,

Vibrating with life force energy,

One with all.

Your true nature,

Where there is nothing to do,

Nowhere to go.

As you effortlessly surrender to your being.

Now come back to the centre of your heart.

You may have chosen it is safe for me to relax and receive or I rest in my wholeness.

Now repeat this mentally three times.

Welcome a deep breath in through the nose and release.

Now two sips in through the nose and exhale.

One more like this,

Two sips in and exhale.

Allow now the breath to soften.

Begin to notice the weight of your body as it rests on the earth beneath you.

Bring your attention to the physical boundaries of your skin and blink your eyes a few times to gently let the lights come in.

Slowly notice the rise and fall of your belly,

Bringing gentle movement to the fingers and the toes.

Notice the effects of this practice on your body,

Your mind.

Notice sensations,

Thoughts that may have arrived or feelings.

Allow them to be just as they are as the practice of yoga nidra is now over.

Before rising you may wish to invite deep gratitude to yourself for taking the time to rest,

To heal,

To grow.

And an intention in your heart to carry the sense of presence into the rest of your day and your week.

You may wish to come back to this practice as yoga nidra has many wonderful benefits that are cumulative over time with repeated practice.

Please feel free to leave me a comment as I would love to know how this practice felt for you.

May you be happy,

Healthy,

Safe and at peace.

Thank you for letting me be your guide today.