Deep Yoga Nidra: Relax, Reset & Revitalize

Please,

Get ready for yoga nidra.

Lie down on your back and adopt the relaxation pose called shavasana.

Your body is in a nice straight line from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

Your legs are slightly apart and the arms a little away from the body with the palms of the hands turning upwards.

Your fingers are curled in.

Adjust everything,

Your body,

Position,

Clothes,

Until you are completely comfortable.

Keep your body perfectly still for the duration of the practice.

Remain aware and awake.

The practice which follows will naturally guide your body and mind into deep levels of relaxation.

This relaxation will give your body and mind the deep rest it needs and you will awaken at the end of the practice feeling energized,

Refreshed and rejuvenated,

Ready to take on any tasks in your life with positivity and enthusiasm when you awake at the end of the practice.

Gently close your eyes and feel the softness of the closed eyes.

Allow your eyes to remain closed to the end of the practice.

Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out just feel all the cares and worries of the day flow out of your body.

Breathe in positive energy flows into your body and as you breathe out letting go.

It is not necessary to make any movements or to consciously relax your muscles during yoga nidra.

Just simply develop the feelings of relaxation.

It is like the feeling you have just before you sleep where the relaxation becomes deep but we are aware and awake.

We are relaxed but we are aware and awake.

Make a resolve to yourself that I will not sleep,

I will remain aware and awake throughout this practice of yoga nidra.

During yoga nidra you are functioning on levels of hearing and awareness.

The only important thing is to follow the voice of the instructor.

No need to intellectualize or analyze the instructions.

Simply follow the voice with your total attention and feeling.

And if thoughts do come into your awareness from time to time,

It does not matter.

It is perfectly natural for this to happen.

Simply let the thoughts come and go,

Observe them as a spectator and then return to the practice and continue to listen to the instructions.

Now allow yourself to become calm and steady.

Bring about feelings of inner relaxation in your whole body.

Concentrate on your body and become aware of the complete stillness in your body.

Become aware of the complete stillness from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

Complete awareness of your whole body,

The whole body.

Become aware of the fact that you are practicing yoga nidra.

Say to yourself,

I am aware,

I am awake and I am going to practice yoga nidra.

Repeat this to yourself.

The practice of yoga nidra now begins.

At this moment,

We bring into our awareness our resolve,

Our sankalpa,

A positive affirmation that we use to guide our mind and to increase our willpower to achieve our goals,

Dreams and aspirations in our life.

Our resolve is a short statement repeated with awareness and a strong feeling that you will achieve your goal no matter what.

The resolve you make during yoga nidra is bound to come true in your life.

Please repeat your positive affirmation now three to five times with positivity and enthusiasm.

Now we will begin the rotation of our consciousness around our bodies.

We take a journey throughout the different body parts.

As I call the body parts out,

Become aware of the body part and simply move from body part to body part.

Keep yourself alert and awake,

But no need to concentrate intensely.

Become aware of your right hand,

The right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

The little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the right hand,

The wrist,

Lower arm,

Right elbow,

Right upper arm,

Right shoulder,

The armpit,

The right waist,

The right hip,

Thigh,

The right kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

The top of the right foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Become aware of the left hand and the left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

The little finger,

Palm of the left hand,

The back of the left hand,

The wrist,

Left lower arm,

Upper arm,

The elbow,

The left shoulder,

Left armpit,

The left waist,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The left kneecap,

The left calf muscle,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the left foot,

The top of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now to the back,

Become aware of the right shoulder blade,

The left shoulder blade,

The right buttocks,

The left buttock,

The spine,

The whole back together.

Now to the front,

The top of the head,

The forehead,

Both sides of the head,

The right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the two eyebrows,

The right eyelid,

The left eyelid,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The nose,

The tip of the nose,

Upper lip,

The lower lip,

The chin,

The throat,

The right chest,

Left chest,

The middle of the chest,

The navel,

The abdomen,

The whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole back,

Buttocks,

Spine,

Shoulder blades,

The whole of the front of the body,

The abdomen,

Chest,

The whole of the back and the front together,

The whole head,

The whole body together,

The whole body together,

No sleep,

Just total awareness,

And the body,

The whole body on the floor,

Become aware of your body lying on the floor,

Your body is lying on the floor,

See your body lying perfectly still on the floor,

Visualize this image in your mind,

Now become aware of your breath,

Feel the flow of your breath flowing in and out of your lungs,

No need to change the rhythm,

Just become aware of your natural breathing process,

It's automatic,

You are not doing it,

It is natural,

Automatic and effortless,

Maintain awareness of your natural breath,

Now concentrate your awareness on the movement of your navel area,

Now concentrate on your navel movements,

Your navel is rising and falling slightly with each and every breath,

With each and every breath it expands and contracts,

Concentrate on this movement in synchronization with your breath,

Continue practicing,

Being aware of your navel movements and remain aware and awake,

Now start counting your breaths backwards from 27 to 1,

Count to yourself internally like this,

27 my navel is rising,

27 my navel is falling,

26 my navel is rising,

26 my navel is falling,

25 my navel is rising and so forth,

Say the words and numbers internally to yourself as you count the breaths,

Be sure not to make any mistakes,

But if you do,

Just simply come back to the start and practice once again,

With total awareness now that you are counting,

Go on counting the breaths down from 27 to 1,

Let go of the counting now,

We now come to the visualization stage of the practice,

A number of things will be named,

You should try and develop a vision of them on all levels of feeling,

Awareness and emotion,

Imagine as best you can,

Visualize a beautiful rainforest,

A beautiful rainforest,

Snow-capped mountains,

Snow-capped mountains,

Temple at sunrise,

Temple at sunrise,

Birds flying across the sunset,

Birds flying across the sunset,

Fluffy white clouds in a blue sky,

Fluffy white clouds in a blue sky,

Stars at night,

Bright stars at night,

Full moon,

Full moon,

Smiling Buddha,

Smiling Buddha,

Smiling Buddha,

Beautiful beach,

Beautiful beach,

Beautiful beach on a tropical island,

Waves are breaking on a tropical island,

Now it's time to repeat our resolve again,

It's the same resolve that you repeated at the beginning of the practice,

Repeat your resolve 3 to 5 times with awareness,

Feeling and enthusiasm that you will achieve your goal no matter what,

So repeat your positive affirmation now 3 to 5 times,

Relax all of your efforts and become aware of your breathing once again,

Awareness of your natural breath,

Then awareness of your whole body,

Your whole body relaxed on the floor,

Observing your body breathing quietly on the floor,

Starting to externalize your awareness,

Developing awareness once again of your body from the top of the head to the tip of your toes,

Becoming aware of the position of the body on the floor and the relationship of your body in the room and then visualize the room around you,

Visualize the surroundings,

Just keeping the eyes closed for now,

Start moving your body now,

Stretching yourself,

Just taking your time and then when you are sure that you are wide awake,

Return back into the room,

Refreshed,

Revitalized,

Ready to take on your day with enthusiasm and positivity,

Open your eyes and slowly sit up,

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.