Yoga Nidra is a practice which helps you to deeply relax. This practice will activate the rest and digest part of the nervous system. This practice will invoke a deep consciousness state between sleeping and waking. Swami Satyananda Saraswati said that any intention set during Yoga Nidra is bound to come true.
Meet your Teacher
United Kingdom
Transcript
Hello beautiful soul. Thank you for joining me for this practice of yoga nidra. I hope that you find some deep rest, Some restoration and healing, Whatever you need to take. Please get ready for yoga nidra by lying down on your back, Getting comfortable in shavasana. Ideally your body is straight from head to toe with the palms facing upwards. If you need to place something under your knees to ease your lower back then you can do this. But if lying down is not comfortable for you then you can always sit. Making any adjustments that you need to take I would suggest that you maybe place a blanket over your body and maybe even cover the eyes. If possible try to minimize any distractions and I invite you to find stillness for the whole entirety of the practice. If you do need to adjust or you feel a sensation during the practice I invite you to notice it with your awareness. Try to resist adjusting. Notice whether the sensation part is and if it doesn't then you can adjust until you are comfortable. And once you finally found your comfort taking a deep breath and as you breathe out feeling the cares and worries of the day flow out of you. During the practice of yoga nidra you will develop a deep relaxation and in the body. I invite you to make an intention to yourself now repeating to yourself I will not sleep I will remain awake throughout the practice of yoga nidra. During the practice please only worry about the sound of my voice. Try not to analyze any of the instructions that I give as this may disrupt your relaxation. Simply following my voice with total awareness and feeling. Now bringing about a feeling of inner relaxation in the whole body. Concentrating on the whole body and becoming aware of the importance of complete stillness. Noticing any sounds outside of the building that you're in in the surrounding environment. Noticing any sounds in the room and noticing any sounds in your body. Developing your awareness of the body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes and mentally repeating the mantra. Complete stillness and awareness of the whole body. The whole body. The whole body. Repeating to yourself I am aware I am going to practice yoga nidra. At this moment you should make your affirmation or sankalpa. This is the intention that you wish to achieve through this practice. It should be a short and simple statement. Something that is in simple language and positive. Try to discover your affirmation naturally. The intention that is set during yoga nidra is bound to come true in your life. Stating it three times now to yourself with awareness, Feeling and emphasis. We will now begin rotating our awareness through the body. Taking a body scan I invite you to repeat the part in your mind and simultaneously become aware of that part of the body. Become aware of the right hand, The right hand thumb, Second finger, Third finger, Fourth finger, Fifth finger. Become aware of the right hand palm, The back of the hand, The wrist, The lower arm, The elbow, The upper arm, The shoulder, The right side of the chest, The right ribcage, The right hip, The right thigh, The kneecap, The lower leg, The ankle, Heel, Sole of the foot, The right big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe and the fifth toe. Become aware of the top of the foot. Become aware of the whole right side of the body, The whole right side of the body. Bring your awareness to the left hand thumb, The left hand thumb, The second finger, Third finger, Fourth finger and the fifth finger, The palm of the left hand. Become aware of the left hand palm, Back of the hand, The wrist, The lower arm, The elbow, The upper arm, The shoulder, The left side of the chest, The left ribcage, The left hip, The thigh, Kneecap, Lower leg, The ankle, Heel, Sole of the foot, Your left big toe, Second toe, Third toe, Fourth toe, Fifth toe. Become aware of the top of the left foot, The whole left side of the body. Now bring your awareness to the back of the head, The back of the neck, The tops of the shoulders, The right shoulder blade, The left shoulder blade, The space between the shoulder blades, The lower back, The right sit bones, The left sit bones, The back of the legs, The whole back of the body, The whole back. Bring your awareness to the top of your head, The top of your head, The forehead, Both sides of the head, The right eyebrow, The left eyebrow, The right eye, The left eye, The right ear, The left ear, The right cheek, The left cheek, The tip of the nose, The bridge of the nose, The upper lip, The lower lip, The chin, Both sides of the jaw, The front of the neck, The middle of the chest, The whole front of your body, The whole body lying on the floor. Becoming aware of your body on the floor. Become aware of your breath and feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs. Your breathing is rhythmic. There is no effort. Maintaining awareness of your breath. Complete awareness of the breath. Feel the coolness of the air as you inhale through your nostrils and notice the slight warmth as you exhale. Concentrate your awareness on the coolness of the breath as you inhale and the warmth as you exhale. And now focusing your awareness on the movement of your stomach. Watching as you inhale how your stomach rises and when you exhale it falls. With each breath allowing yourself to become more and more relaxed. Letting go of any tension or stress with each exhale. Concentrating on the rise and fall, The expansion and contraction of each breath. And start to count your breaths backwards from 27 to 1 like this. 27 navel rising, 27 navel falling, 26 navel rising, 26 navel falling and so on. Say the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths. If you make a mistake or if your mind wanders, Return your awareness to the breath and start from 27. Keep on with the practice. Gently guiding your awareness back if it wanders. Complete awareness. Total awareness that you are counting. I'm releasing this counting now. Become aware of the feeling of light. Become aware of the feeling of lightness in your body. Become aware of the feeling of lightness in the left side of your body. Your whole left arm, Your left shoulder, Whole left leg is so light. Become aware of the feeling of lightness in your right side of your body. Your whole right arm, Your right shoulder and your whole right leg is so light. Now feeling that lightness in the back of the body, The back of your feet, The back of your legs, The head. Your entire body is so light. Your head is light and weightless. Your limbs are light and weightless. Your whole body is so light and weightless. Your body is so light. It is lifting up. Now imagine your body is becoming heavy. Awakening the feeling of heaviness in the body. Become aware of the feeling of heaviness in the left side of your body. Your whole left arm, Your left shoulder and your left leg. Awakening the feeling of heaviness in your whole body. Become aware of the heaviness in the right side of your body. Your whole right arm, Your right shoulder and your right leg. Whole right side of your body is heavy. Now feeling that heaviness in the entire body. Each part becoming heavier and heavier. Your head is heavy. Your limbs are heavy. Your whole body is so heavy that your body is sinking into the earth. Imagining yourself standing on a beautiful beach. The ocean stretching out on a landscape in front of you. The warm midday sun is warming your skin and there is a cool breeze grazing your face and arms. The air is filled with the scent of the ocean. You are alone. You hear the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. Going out and coming back. You feel the warmth of the midday sun on your skin. Your feet are in the sand. Noticing the coolness of the wet sand beneath your toes. The ocean is a beautiful shade of blue and the horizon seamlessly merges with the bright blue sky. There is a distant hum of nature behind you and you notice the trees swaying in the ocean breeze. You walk closer to the ocean and the waves reach your toes. You feel grounded and free. Connected to the vastness of this beautiful ocean. You see small fishes swimming. Your senses feel alive with the smell of the ocean. The sun warming your skin. The crashing of the waves and the distant birds behind you. You are completely free. Feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed with each passing moment. The beauty of this place fills you with a sense of awe and peace. You are completely present in this moment. Free from any concerns or worries. And now is the time to repeat your sankalpa. Repeating the same affirmation that you made at the beginning of this practice. Have full faith and sincerity whilst repeating your affirmation. Relaxing all of your efforts. Draw your mind outside and become aware of your breathing. Start to become aware of your natural breath. Develop an awareness of your body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes and say mentally in your mind Aum. Repeating this mentally to yourself twice more. Lying quietly for some time. And if you can hear the sound of my voice you may wish to slowly begin to take some gentle movements. Taking your time. There is no rush. The practice of yoga nidra is now complete. I thank you again for practicing with me and I wish you a beautiful rest of your day. Namaste.
