Oregon, USA

Cotswolds, UK

Practice Yoga Nidra to release tension, scan your body, and find profound rest through effortless awareness.

English

This is a gentle Yoga Nidra practice designed to guide you into profound relaxation while nurturing a soft, steady sense of inner awareness. In this rest-based meditation, you will be guided through breath, body sensing, and a calming rotation of consciousness (body scan) to help you release tension and settle into deep restoration.
Yoga Nidra supports nervous system regulation, emotional balance, and a shift away from overthinking into embodied presence. As you move through this guided experience, you’ll be invited to let go, soften, and rest deeply into the spaciousness within.
Music by Charlie Gates.

Deep Rest Yoga Nidra: Resting Into Awareness

Hello, my name is Gemma and welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice for deep rest and rejuvenation. Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice of effortless meditation, a sleep-based meditation. It uses the body's natural ability to deeply rest and restore like we do in deep sleep, whilst also maintaining a sense of awareness. It can help us move away from the thinking mind and move into sensing the body, allowing us to lean into letting go, into relaxation and profound rest. And at the same time develop awareness of our thought patterns and limiting beliefs that in time we too can learn to let go of. So as we begin, take some time to settle, making yourself as comfortable as possible. You might like to use a pillow behind the head and under the knees to release the lower back. You may want to have a blanket to keep you warm and something to cover the eyes to help you go inward. Make any final adjustments before settling into stillness. Time to slow down now and relax. Take a few deep breaths here, in through the nose and out through the mouth. Allow the inhale to be deep and gentle without effort, and the exhale to be long and slow. Breathe in a deep gentle breath, and as you exhale can you let go just a little more of any tension you might be holding on to. Sense into the jaw. Let the lower jaw relax, allowing for a space between the upper and lower teeth. Relax the muscles of the face, the forehead. Relax the back of the neck and the shoulders, the chest, the tummy. And as you relax and let go, can you invite in a sense of peace, welcome in a sense of safety and serenity. Invite in here a sankalpa, an intention for your practice. You may have your own sankalpa, or you may want to use I am resting. Once you have your chosen intention, you can say it to yourself gently three times now. Moving now into the rotation of consciousness, a body scan. Moving your awareness around points of the body with ease. If at any time you drift off into thought, you can use my voice to help guide you back to the body. Starting at the crown of the head, move awareness from the crown of the head to the space between the eyebrows, the base of the throat, the right shoulder, wrist. Palm of the hand, first finger, second finger, third finger, little finger, wrist. Palm of the hand. Elbow. Shoulder. Base of the throat. Sense the left shoulder. Left elbow. Wrist. Palm of the hand. First finger. Second finger. Third finger. Little finger. Shoulder. Base of the throat. Center of the chest. Navel. The whole of the pelvic bowl. Right hip. Soul of the foot. Big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Little toe. The pelvic bowl. Left knee. Soul of the foot. Big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Little toe. The pelvic bowl. Center of the chest. Base of the throat. Center of the forehead. Crown of the head. Awareness at the crown of the head. On the inhale, imagine the breath passing over the top of the head, all the way down through the back to the feet. On the exhale, imagine the breath returning up along the front plane of the body, all the way up to the top of the head. The breath orbits the body, all the way down the back and rising back up the front side of the body. Using the natural breath. Breathing to your own rhythm. Inhale, the breath floats all the way down through the back body to the feet. On the out-breath, the cycle continues, drifting up from the feet to the crown of the head. And now release your awareness from the breath and turn your attention towards the front of the body. Bring awareness to the whole front side of the body. Attention spreads along the entire front side, all the way from the crown to the tips of the toes. And now notice the whole back side of the body. Bring awareness to the back of the body now. Attention spreads along the entire back side. Sense the whole front side of the body again now. The aliveness of the whole front side of the body. Sense into the whole back side of the body once again. The whole back side of the body, humming with sensation. Can you bring awareness now to both the front and back side of the body simultaneously? Sensing both the front and back of the body in unison. The whole body brimming with awareness. The whole body together. The whole body. Now witness the natural breath in the whole body. The whole body breathing in harmony. Notice the rise and fall of the belly. The sensation of air at the nostrils. The sound of the breath in your ears. You might like to stay here a little longer if you have more time to rest. Or you might start to bring awareness back to the space around you. The contact between the body and the surface below you. Perhaps bringing gentle movement to the fingers and toes. You might like to take one more full deep breath. Breathing in all that this practice has given you. And letting it all go with the exhale to ground yourself back into the day. And softly open the eyes and take a moment to see how the body feels. The mind feels. The breath feels. Just sensing into the effects of this nidra practice. I hope that you feel rested and restored. And thank you for practicing with me today. Again, my name is Gemma and I wish you well for the rest of your day or evening ahead.