Yoga Nidra For Beginners

So just take a moment,

Have the feet planted.

We'll just let the breathing go now.

There's no need to breathe in any particular way.

We'll just pause here before we prepare for the yoga nidra part of the class.

So a few pointers when we get ourselves set up.

We want to make sure that we're as comfortable as we can be and that we can rest in stillness as best as we can.

So traditionally our yoga nidra is taken lying on the back in shavasana,

Which is this position here.

So the arms are slightly away from the body.

The legs are about hip distance apart and the feet are relaxed to the sides.

Now for any reason,

If you're unable to lie on your back,

You can find an alternative position so you can lie on your side somehow,

Or you may even want to prop yourself up against a wall with cushions and pillows around you so that the body is supported and stable.

If you have any jewelry or glasses on that you feel might be a distraction to you,

Then you can remove them and get rid of them.

And if you experience any lower back discomfort,

If you're lying onto your back,

It can be quite useful to place something underneath the knees.

Now this is a yoga bolster,

Which is quite large,

But you can roll a towel up or just a normal standard pillow from a bed works quite well.

And this can just be quite relaxing.

The body is quite supported here and it just relieves the pressure off the lower back.

If you're placing anything underneath your head for support,

I would suggest something which is relatively thin.

We don't want to have the chin coming too far down into the chest as this will stress the nervous system.

So we want to make sure that we've got nice space in the neck and the shoulders.

So I'm going to give you a minute or two to set yourselves up,

Getting yourselves ready and comfortable.

So if you need to put any extra layers on,

Go ahead.

And also if you have something maybe to cover your eyes,

Like an eye pillow,

Or maybe just a scarf or something,

This can also be quite nice.

It allows us to go a little bit deeper into the practice.

Okay.

So I'm just going to give you a couple more minutes to settle,

Cover yourself with a blanket.

And again,

I'll just go through the positioning of the body if you're lying on your back.

So the feet are about hip distance apart and the feet are just softly releasing to the side.

Your arms are comfortable distance from the body with the palms turned upwards.

And again,

Just making sure that there is a bit of space in the neck so we're not bringing the chin too far down to the chest.

Good.

So just tuning into the physical body now and noticing if there is anything that you can do at all to make the body just even 1% more comfortable.

That might be adjusting the clothing or maybe a piece of hair or anything else at all.

And then once you have done that,

Just begin to invite this sense of stillness into the physical body.

So within the practice of Yoga Nidra,

We aim to keep the body as still and relaxed as possible,

Yet the mind conscious and alert.

If you feel at some point during the practice,

You do need to move the body,

Just begin by noticing that first of all,

It might be that it just dissolves away.

But if you become very uncomfortable and feel that you do need to move,

Just please do so very slowly and very mindfully and then come back to stillness as soon as you can,

No sudden movements.

Just remember that this is your practice and Yoga Nidra cannot be practiced incorrectly.

Everything that we do here is an exploration.

We're just here to experience,

We're here to feel and to just be in the present moment.

So there's nothing else for you to do now apart from listen to the guidance of my voice.

So we'll just allow ourselves to settle in.

And now we'll start to become aware of the sensation of the physical body lying on the surface beneath you.

Just noticing the contact points between the body and the earth.

And just inviting this sense of heaviness into the physical body.

The sensation that the body is sinking down into the surface below,

That the body is starting to let go and surrender to this present moment.

So to prepare for Yoga Nidra,

We are going to repeat this phrase in our mind silently.

I am aware.

I am aware that I am about to begin the practice of Yoga Nidra.

I am aware.

I am aware that I'm about to begin the practice of Yoga Nidra.

And now we will drop from thinking and doing to feeling and being.

I'm now going to guide you through a body scan.

As I name various parts of the body,

Just rest your awareness there.

There is no need to move.

No need to pass comment or judgment.

But just become aware of the sensation in each body part as I name it.

We'll begin by becoming aware of the right hand.

The right hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And the little finger.

The palm of the hand.

The back of the hand.

The right wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

The right shoulder.

Armpit.

The right side of the ribs.

Right side of the waist.

The right hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

Shin.

Ankle.

And the whole of the right foot.

The top of the foot.

Sole of the foot.

All five toes.

The right big toe.

Second toe.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

The whole of the right foot.

The ankle.

Knee.

Hip.

Pubic bone.

Navel.

And the center of the chest.

Moving your awareness now to the left hand.

The left hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And the little finger.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

The left wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Left shoulder.

Armpit.

Left side of the ribs.

Left side of the waist.

Left hip.

Thigh.

Knee.

Shin.

Ankle.

And the whole of the left foot.

Top of the foot.

Sole of the foot.

All five toes.

Left big toe.

Second toe.

Third.

Fourth.

And fifth toe.

The whole of the left foot.

The ankle.

Knee.

Hip.

Pubic bone.

Navel.

And the center of the chest.

Bring your awareness now to the crown of the head.

The forehead.

The right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The center of the eyebrows.

Awareness to the right eye.

Left eye.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

The nose.

Tip of the nose.

The upper lip.

Lower lip.

Teeth.

Tongue.

Tip of the tongue.

The jaw.

Chin.

And the throat.

Awareness to the back of the head.

The back of the neck.

The right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

The upper back.

Middle back.

Lower back.

And the entire length of the spine.

Awareness to the right buttock.

Back of the right thigh.

Back of the knee.

Calf muscle.

And the heel.

Awareness to the left buttock.

Back of the left thigh.

Back of the knee.

Calf muscle.

And the heel.

Now allowing your awareness to be in the whole right arm.

Awareness in the whole left arm.

Both arms together.

Awareness in the whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Both legs together.

Awareness of the whole right side of the body.

The whole left side of the body.

The whole front side of the body.

And the back side of the body.

And now becoming aware of the whole body.

The whole body.

The whole body resting on the earth.

Now allowing your awareness to move to the spontaneous natural rhythm of the breath.

There is no need for you to change anything.

Just watch as the breath comes and goes,

Comes and goes.

Notice how little effort is required.

The body just breathes itself.

And now staying focused with that breath.

Begin counting down the exhalations from the number 33.

33 as you exhale.

32 as you exhale.

31 as you exhale.

And continue counting down.

If you lose count or reach zero,

Begin again at 33.

Continue counting down the breaths from the number 33.

If you lose count or reach zero,

Begin again at 33.

33 as you exhale.

33 as you exhale.

The breath.

Now allow your awareness to move to the space behind the eyelids.

Begin to observe this space.

Maybe you just see darkness,

Maybe colors,

Lights,

Patterns or images begin to emerge.

Just allow whatever arises to come and go.

Do not attach yourself to anything.

Do not reject anything.

Just continue to watch the space.

You will now have a few minutes of silence and I will bring you back.

You you you you you you So we're now just gently let go of watching the space behind the eyelids.

Allow your awareness to come back into the physical body.

Allow your awareness to move back into the sensation of the contact points touching the floor below you.

So we're going to start the slow process of bringing ourselves out of the yoga nidra state.

We'll begin by becoming aware of our hearing.

Just starting to notice the sounds that you hear furthest away in the distance.

And then start to notice the sounds that you hear inside your building.

The sounds inside your room.

And then the sounds closest to you,

Maybe the breath or the heartbeat.

And as you start to move more into the physical body,

Begin to visualize the room which you're laying in.

Visualize the walls,

The floor,

The ceiling,

And any objects,

Furniture or people that may be present.

And then just gently allow a slower and deeper breath to come in.

And very slowly,

Just allowing that breath to bring some energy back into the body.

And remembering to just take your time here,

There is no rush.

Starting to just think about the idea of moving.

And then just wiggling one finger.

And then another finger.

And another.

And then just allowing that movement to move into the rest of the hand,

Maybe into the wrist.

And then just gradually moving the toes and the ankles.

And then when you feel ready to just starting to stretch and move the bodies if you're waking up from a deep sleep.

And please don't sit up too quickly.

We'll still take this nice and slow as we transition out.

We've still got a couple of minutes for this process.

So just rolling over onto your right side when you're ready and just pausing in that position for a moment.

And as you lay on your right side,

Just connect again to how the body is now feeling.

Connect to how the breath moves.

And also the state of the mind.

And if your eyes are still closed just gently blink them open,

Let them readjust to the light.

Then using your hands to support yourself,

Pressing back up nice and slowly into a seated position.

And then when we arrive in this space we'll just lengthen our spine a little bit more.

We'll just do three more breaths together with some arm movements to conclude the practice.

So sitting tall,

Take an inhale to raise the arms up,

Bring the palms together above the head and then exhale them down to the heart center.

Two more times,

Inhale,

Arms come up.

Exhale coming down.

Final time,

Big breath in,

Inhaling.

And exhale as the hands come to the heart,

We'll keep them there for a moment.

We'll soften the shoulders,

Bow the head and close the eyes.

Thank you very much for your practice everyone.