Yoga Nidra | Deep Relaxation

Welcome to this yoga nidra practice.

Come to lie on your back with the knees slightly bent and supported.

Make sure that you are warm enough and that you find yourself in a position that will be comfortable for the duration of the practice.

Make yourself as comfortable as you can be here.

Allow your feet to fall outwards with relaxation.

Let your hand palms face up so that the fingers can curl up naturally.

In yoga nidra we keep the body still.

Try not to respond to any impulses that arise.

Keep your body still until the very end of the practice so that your body and brain have a chance to fully relax.

Allow your eyes to close and keep them closed until the very end of the practice.

Now become aware of any sounds that you can hear in this moment.

Nothing else but what you can hear without strain.

Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear.

Let your sense of hearing radiate outwards,

Searching out these distant sounds and following them for a few moments.

Move your attention from sound to sound without needing to label the source.

Gradually bringing your attention to sounds closer by,

Sounds in this room.

Observe the sounds around you.

Without opening your eyes,

Visualize the four walls around you,

The ceiling above you and the floor underneath you on which your body is resting.

Visualize your body.

Fill it with light.

Spread a bright light all throughout and around your body.

Maybe you'd even like to add a color to that light.

Feel the whole body here.

Now move your awareness to my voice.

This voice will be the red thread throughout this practice.

Follow my voice.

If a thought or something distracts your attention,

Gently come back to my voice.

If you fall asleep during the practice,

Which is fine,

It can happen.

Just gently come back to my voice and back to the practice.

Become aware of your breath.

Awareness of your natural and spontaneous breath that is moving in and out of your body without any effort.

The 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.

Follow this feeling into the nose,

To the back of the throat,

Into your lungs.

There is a sense of warmth as you exhale.

Feel this warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.

Allow the natural breath to flow through both nostrils.

Allow your breath to become longer and slower.

Take a slow inhalation followed by a longer slower exhalation.

Make every next exhale even slower.

Notice the slight pulse after the exhale.

Slow inhale,

Even slower exhale and pause.

Long slow inhalation,

Longer slower exhale and then pause.

Where the body is neither breathing in or out.

Complete stillness.

Please continue breathing in this way.

Long slow inhalations,

Even slower exhales and pause.

Now let go of the focus of your breath and allow the breath to move through your body naturally.

Releasing any control over the inhale or exhale.

Feel the sensations in your body.

How your muscles relax.

How you become the witness of your body.

Becoming more and more grounded.

And how you feel more connected with your body,

With your breath.

With each breath out reminding yourself to be home in your body.

And all that you experience is you witnessing the present moment just as it is offered.

Now let's bring a positive direction to your practice and your awareness.

Let's set our sankalpa or our intention.

The sankalpa is a short positive statement in simple language.

See if something comes up to you naturally.

Repeat your sankalpa three times here to bring it into a deeper layer and into the practice.

Become aware of your body,

Of your whole body.

Notice if there is any tension or contraction.

Awareness of your whole body.

We're now going to circle our awareness around the different parts of our body.

When I name an individual body part,

Take your awareness there and try to visualize that body part before you move on to the next.

The practice begins on the right hand side with the right hand and the right thumb.

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Fingers and thumb together,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

To the left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Fingers and thumb together,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

The left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

It goes to the back of the body,

The right heel,

Left heel,

Right calf,

Left calf,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

The entire spine,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Crown of your head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The center of your eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

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,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

The pelvic floor,

The whole right leg,

Whole left leg,

Both legs together,

Whole right arm,

Whole left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole face,

The whole head,

The whole torso,

The whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Feel the body as a whole.

Experience heaviness in your whole body.

Feel the heaviness penetrating in all your limbs.

Imagine your body is becoming heavy.

Feel that heaviness in all parts of your body.

Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy,

Your limbs are heavy,

The torso is heavy,

The whole body so heavy that you're sinking down into the floor.

Feel the heaviness in all parts of your body.

Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy,

Your limbs are so heavy,

The torso is heavy,

The whole body heavy,

So heavy that you are sinking down into the floor.

Now imagine the whole body becoming light,

As though your body could float away from the floor towards the ceiling.

The head is light and weightless,

The limbs are light,

The torso so light,

The whole body is light and weightless.

You are rising higher and higher,

Away from the floor.

Imagine your body becoming heavy.

Feel the heaviness in all parts of your body.

Each part is becoming heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy,

The limbs are heavy,

The torso is heavy,

The whole body so heavy that you are sinking deeper and deeper into the earth underneath you.

Now leave this experience of heaviness and feel your whole body.

Begin to concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids.

Look into the length of your eyes for as far as you can.

Imagine you are standing in a dark night and you look up into the dark night sky for as far as your eyes can see.

Concentrate on this sky and become aware of any phenomena that manifests in it.

Colours,

Patterns,

Light,

Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.

Continue your awareness of this space,

But do not become involved.

Practice detached awareness.

If any subtle images make themselves known,

Simply notice them.

If thoughts occur,

Let them come and go,

But continue watching the dark night sky.

Now leave this space and feel your whole body.

Feel your body and feel the sensations moving through your body.

Begin to welcome the breath to move from the soles of the feet to the crown of your head.

Breathing in and out through the entire body from feet to crown and breathing back down from the crown of your head out through the soles of the feet.

Continue breathing like this.

Breathing up through the body to the top of your head and breathing out,

Releasing through the whole body and out through the soles of the feet.

Feel your body breathing.

Breath flowing in through the soles of the feet,

Through the legs,

Waist,

Chest,

Head and breath flowing back out through the head,

Shoulders,

Arms.

Chest,

Legs,

Feet.

Experiencing your whole body breathing.

Now release the effort of following the breath and feel your whole body.

Bring your awareness to the center of your eyebrows,

The point of infinite space.

You revel in your inner peace.

Because of this inner stillness,

You are feeling clear.

I invite you to imagine yourself walking through a forest.

You are surrounded by trees,

In a sense of tranquility.

The air is cool and crisp.

It's early morning and the atmosphere is quiet and still.

There is a light mist between the trees.

You feel the ground beneath your feet.

You see the moss-covered boulders around you.

You take in the sounds,

The soft sounds of the forest,

Of the life around you.

Taking in the colors,

The textures.

Drawing in the aromas of the woods.

Feel the warmth and glow of the sunlight as it falls through the leaves above you.

You feel yourself free and safe to explore this space.

Notice what you see.

Feel the sensation of your feet touching the ground.

Feel the texture of the earth beneath your feet.

Notice the way your body moves as you walk with ease.

As you continue walking,

Imagine that you are surrounded by a warm golden light,

Filling you with a sense of deep relaxation.

You are walking along a path that winds through the woods.

You notice the way the light filters through the trees and it creates patterns.

With each step that you take,

You are releasing any tension or stress that you are carrying in your body.

Any tension or discomfort is released down the body,

Out through the soles of your feet.

You walk relaxed,

Feeling at ease in your body.

You see a big tree in front of you.

Its strong branches are carrying a lush green leafy blanket.

You walk up to the tree and you take a seat at its strong roots.

Feel the trunk of the tree supporting your back and it fits perfectly.

You sit there secluded.

Take a few deep breaths and allow yourself to fully relax into that space.

Feeling grounded.

The sensation of being embraced by a parent,

Safe and encouraging.

Breathing in the fresh air and with every exhalation you feel the support of being carried.

You feel a sense of connection with the natural world around you.

Take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the environment and those natural wonders that surround you and of which you are part of.

Feel the heartbeat of the earth beneath your body.

When you are ready,

You get back to your feet,

Feeling calm and renewed.

And you walk along the path back again.

Focus on the sensation of the feet touching the ground.

The sounds of the forest.

Or the feeling of relaxation in your body.

Feeling clear and grounded,

You return to the here and now.

Remind yourself of the sankalpa that you set at the beginning of the practice.

Repeat it here and allow it to sink in.

Become aware of the shape of your body.

Awareness of the space your body takes up.

And of the space surrounding your body.

The air touching the skin that is uncovered.

Awareness of the movement of your belly as you invite a deeper breath back into your body.

Softly externalizing your awareness and waking up the body again in whichever way feels good to you.

Tune in to the effect of the practice.

Thank you for sharing this practice together.