Yoga Nidra For Mental Clarity

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra that is designed for mental clarity.

Maybe you notice that it can be hard to turn off your thoughts because you have a long to-do list,

You're thinking about the past or the future,

Or you're still processing this day.

Sometimes we don't know how to switch off and are constantly in an active state of being.

But did you know that deep rest is essential for being able to be productive?

This Nidra helps you to slowly move from the mind into the body and into a state of rest.

It will show you how to shift from doing into being so you can find mental clarity and a sense of peace.

Start by finding a comfortable position for yourself.

Traditionally,

Yoga Nidra is done in Shavasana position,

Which means laying down on your back.

But if you prefer to sit or lay on your side,

Feel free to do so.

Also make sure that you are warm enough by maybe placing a blanket around you or on top of you.

If you lay down,

A gentle pillow under your head or maybe a bolster under your knees and an eye pillow on your eyes.

When you have found your comfortable position,

Maybe you want to make some final movements,

Some fidgeting,

Maybe opening and closing the mouth to eventually find your body in stillness.

Whenever you feel like you really need to move during this practice,

You are free to do so as you are always in control of your practice.

But my invitation is to stay physically still.

This is because I will guide you into a state of deep rest where the brain waves change from an active state into a rest state.

And when you move your body,

You bring yourself back into the active state.

So physical stillness helps your brain to dive into a deeper state of relaxation.

Now let's begin this Nidra by taking a few deep breaths into the nose and out to the mouth with a sigh.

A sigh out through the mouth can really help you to let go of any mental clutter.

You can join me here.

Breathe in deeply through the nose and all the way out through the mouth.

Deep breath in and sigh it out.

Last time,

Deep breath in.

Now allow your breath to slowly return to its natural pace.

Slowly you can let go of the control of the breath and notice how the breath is always here to actually breathe you.

There is nothing you have to do to breathe.

Breathe.

Now notice how the physical body is laying down on the floor and take a moment to really feel the connection between the parts of your body that touch the ground.

And see if you can give yourself and your body permission to rest into the earth.

Allow all muscles to soften.

When we are stuck in our minds,

We tend to tense the muscles in our face.

So let's focus on relaxing those muscles first.

Focus on your eyes and feel all those micro muscles around them.

See if you can really relax those little muscles so your eyes can become heavier and heavier and rest into your eye sockets.

Then move your awareness to your jaw.

Open your mouth slightly so you really relax your jaw.

Now relax the rest of your body as well.

Check in if you can relax the shoulders down,

The arms,

Relax the buttocks,

The hips,

And the legs and feet.

Fully surrendering down into the floor.

Now shift your awareness to the mental body for a moment.

Notice what thoughts are going on in your mind without judging them or trying to push them away.

When we push things away,

They will come back even more intensely.

See if you can observe the thoughts as they are.

They are something separate from you,

Like clouds in the sky.

As you are able to be aware of your thoughts,

You can realize that you are not your thoughts.

This means that you as the awareness are always in control.

Now practice on noticing the thoughts in your mind as clouds in the sky.

They come.

You notice and acknowledge them.

You allow them to be there without any criticism.

And then slowly let them flow by again.

After this,

You bring your awareness back to your body.

Now we will use our breath as our anchor of being in this present moment.

Each time you find yourself distracted by your thoughts,

Remember to notice them as clouds.

Let them come and go in your own time and bring yourself back to the natural rhythm of your breath.

Trust that while you practice this,

Again and again,

You will find mental clarity and calmness.

It doesn't matter how many times you get distracted.

There is no wrong or right here.

The fact that you are practicing is more than enough.

Now we will gently make a little journey of awareness through our body to help yourself move from the mind a little more into the body.

Bring your awareness to the crown of your head.

Visualize that from the crown of your head,

A veil of calming warmth starts to gently flow down towards your forehead,

Sinking towards your eyebrows,

Your eyes,

Your nose.

Feel this veil of warmth covering your whole face and allow this veil to bring you a sense of warming calmness.

Remind yourself with a loving awareness that you are here to be in this moment.

Nothing else you have to do.

Now allow this veil of warmth to move down to the shoulders.

Allow the veil to flow towards the right shoulder,

The right upper arm,

Calming warmth resting over the whole right side.

Notice that this veil is starting to become heavier and heavier,

Allowing the whole right side of the body to move from the left shoulder,

Second toe.

Now feel this veil of calming warmth through the whole left side of your body as the left side of your body is melting down.

Now feel this calming warm veil from the crown of your head.

This veil of calming warmth is covering your whole body with this warming calmness surrendering into the earth,

Your awareness to the space in between the eyes.

This is your third eye space,

The space of intuition.

Visualize a little warm sun starting to appear in between your eyes.

With each in-breath the sun becomes a little bigger.

Without,

The sun rays start to slowly cover the rest of your body.

First these sun rays move all the way down towards your heart.

Feel how the warmth of the sun rays are giving your heart this warm and loving hug,

Allowing the whole face and heart space to soften a little more.

Now feel the sun rays flowing this softness through your arms and hands from the heart down to your belly,

Your hips,

Being covered by these beautiful softening sun rays from the sun that is shining from in between your eyes.

Feel how,

And this is your space of rest.

Just resting and doing absolutely nothing here.

Know that this is a space where you can always do,

As this space is always inside of you.

Now knowing that you carry this space within you always.

Start to feel the back of the body resting onto the ground.

Start to become aware of the breath as it's slowly flowing in and out of your belly.

You can start to gently move the toes.

Maybe making some small circles with the wrists and the ankles.

Maybe at some point it feels comfortable to stretch yourself all the way out and give yourself a big big hug.

And you can keep your eyes closed as you slowly roll towards your favorite side as you're laying down.

If you are already on your side or in a seated position,

You can very very gently start to open your eyes.

Take a moment here to thank yourself for practicing.

Practicing deep rest.

Practicing mental clarity and slowing down.

I thank you for trusting me in this practice as your guide.

Wishing you all a lovely rest of your day.

Thank you.