Brattleboro, VT, USA

Joanne Spaven

Bristol, United Kingdom

Restore your physical body and reset your nervous system through this guided Yoga Nidra sleep practice.

English

In this beginner-friendly Yoga Nidra, we tend to our physical exhaustion and help our bodies truly rest and relax. It’s nearly impossible for our minds to operate from a calm state when our bodies are burnt out and/or in fight or flight, so this is an important first step. This Nidra is the first in a three-part series; Rest - Release - Rise, with Yoga Nidra and short meditation practices to support your rest & mindfulness journey as we rest and restore our physical, mental, and spiritual bodies.

Rest - Yoga Nidra To Help Rest The Physical Body

Hello and welcome. I'm so honoured to be here with you today. Welcome to your Yoga Nidra practice, your rest practice. Today we'll be practicing Yoga Nidra or yogic sleep, an ancient practice popularized here in the West by Swami Satchinanda and the Himalayan Institute and even made a bit more mainstream recently by Dr. Richard Miller, a psychologist who specializes in using Nidra to help treat and manage PTSD and anxiety. This rest practice specifically is intended to help you rest and restore your physical body, to invite in rest, to help reset and restore your nervous system and to leave you feeling relaxed and restored. Now traditionally, Yoga Nidra is practiced lying down comfortably in a supported Shavasana-like pose for the entirety of the practice. However, if lying down is not an option for you today, that's perfectly okay. Please find a comfortable seated position, preferably with support for your head to lean on and place your feet flat on the floor. Either way, all you have to do is simply listen to the sound of my voice as I guide you into a relaxed state. So that being said, I'm inviting you now to take some time to get nice and comfy cozy, seated or lying down. Feel free to use props and blankets to make yourself as nice and comfortable as possible here in this moment and know that if you become uncomfortable to the point of distraction through the practice, please know it's okay to shift or move. I'd simply recommend keeping your eyes closed and trying to stay as turned inward as possible. Some people may experience big emotional shifts during their Nidra practice. Some will experience deep relaxation and some will experience both. Please know again, there's no way to do this wrong and whatever comes up for you today, whatever you experience today, that's what's right for you right here and right now. So I'd invite you to let go of any expectations around your practice and simply be open and allowing to whatever comes up for you today. Once you're nice and cozy, you're welcome to close down your eyes if that feels good or if you prefer to keep your eyes open, simply soften your gaze towards the ground in front of you or maybe down towards your lap and begin to invite relaxation into the body. Feel the support of the earth beneath you and settle into that support knowing that you are held, you are safe, you are supported. Begin to deepen and slow down the breath. In our practice today, you'll be setting something the yogis called a sankalpa, an I am statement of your choosing. A sankalpa is an intention formed by your heart and your mind, positive present tense affirmation of how you want to be, how you want to show up in this life of yours. It can be whatever feels right to you to bring about positive change or a more positive direction in your life. You could use something like I am peaceful or I am rested or perhaps I am worthy of rest. Whatever feels right to you to bring about positive change or a more positive direction in your life. Take a nice deep breath in through the nose and then a nice big sigh out through the mouth. Again, let's inhale deeply in through the nose and as you exhale let out a nice big sigh. Listen now deeply to the whispers of your heart and set your intention, your sankalpa. Know that there's no way to do this wrong. Just choose an intention that feels right for you. I am. And then deepen the breath, deepen the breath in the body. The practice of yoga nidra begins now. Allow your body to surrender into this pose and into the support that's beneath your body. Feel supported by the props and the mat or the seat beneath you and begin to allow all of your muscles to let go of any tension of any holding and begin to settle more earthward. Beginning with the tips of the toes, relaxing through the arches of the feet and the ankles and the knees. Breathing spaciousness into the hips, softening across the collarbones and the shoulders and letting your hands fall heavy. Relax the space between your eyebrows and soften the space between your lips. Allow the whole body, your whole body to be completely and totally relaxed. Deepen the breath, deepen the breath in the body. Travel your awareness to your breath and notice the quiet gentle rhythm of the natural flow of your breath. Notice where your breath lands in your body. Notice the pace of the breath. Notice its rhythm. Notice how the breath feels cool as it enters your nose and warm as it leaves. Allow the breath now to expand through your entire body. Breathing from the soles of your feet all the way up to the crown of your head and then back down from the crown of your head down to the soles of your feet. Your whole body expanding and condensing with the breath. Make a commitment now and say to yourself, I will not fall asleep. Stay relaxed in your body but alert in your mind, anchored to the sound of my voice for the entirety of the practice. If you find yourself drifting, use your breath as your anchor. You'll hear me through the practice reminding you to deepen your breath to help you stay alert and focused yet remain relaxed and calm. Body is relaxed, breath is breathing. Deepen the breath, deepen the breath in the body. And now listen, just listen. Expand your listening to the farthest point you can and notice what you hear. Try not to attach anything, attach yourself to any one sound but rather simply float from one sound to the next, releasing the need to label or search for the source. Begin to draw your sense of sound closer to where you are, hearing the sounds in this room, hearing the sounds of your breath and see if you can even hear the sound of your heart beating. Body is resting, breath is breathing, mind is calm. Bring to your mind your sankalpa, your heart-centered affirmation which you make to reshape the direction of your life to a more positive line. As you make this positive statement, create more than just the words in your mind. Allow yourself to feel how it would be to have this already in your life. Visualize your life and see yourself already living in the light of your sankalpa. Repeat your affirmation in your mind three times and allow it to be absorbed into all layers of yourself. I am. Deepen the breath. We'll now move your awareness through the body using a rotation of consciousness. When I name a body part, you'll take all of your awareness, that part of your body, but your body itself will remain still. Allow your awareness to fill into that body part, feel it, mentally repeat it and deeply relax it. The only movement will be the movement of your awareness. Bring all of your attention into your right hand, palm of the hand, right hand thumb, forefinger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, back of the hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit, right side ribs, side waist, outer hip on the right side, thigh, shin, ankle, pop of the right foot, big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe, fifth toe, all five toes together. Bring your attention to the palm of your left hand, thumb, forefinger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, back of the left hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, forearm, shoulder, armpit, side ribs, side waist, outer hip on the left side, thigh, knee, shin, ankle, pop of the left foot, big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe, fifth toe, all five toes together. Bring your awareness to the soles of your feet. Feel the right sole, feel the left sole, feel both soles together. Achilles tendon on the right side, Achilles tendon on the left side, right calf, left calf, back of the right knee, back of the left knee, back of the right thigh, back of the left thigh, right buttock, left buttock, lower back, middle back, whole length of the spine from the tailbone all the way up to the back of the neck, right shoulder blade, left shoulder blade, both shoulder blades together, back of the skull, crown of the head, forehead, right eyebrow, left eyebrow, the space between your eyebrows, right eye, left eye, bridge of the nose, tip of the nose, right nostril, left nostril, right cheek, left cheek, upper lip, lower lip, upper teeth, lower teeth, tongue, right lower jaw, left lower jaw, the whole jaw and mouth together, right ear, left ear, chin, front of the throat, right side chest, left side chest, whole chest, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, whole torso together, whole right arm, whole left arm, whole right leg, whole left leg, whole body, whole body, your whole body together. Hold your awareness here and feel your whole body from the tips of your toes to the top of your head, whole body together, the whole body is resting. Shift your awareness now to your breath and deepen the breath. Deepen your breath in your body. Develop the ability to become an intent observer of your breath. See as your natural breath flows through your body so easily and so effortlessly. And now begin to count your breath backwards from 54 to 1. Both sides of your breath will receive the same count and you will be fully aware and connected to this breath and this count the entire time. I'll do the first few with you. Inhale 54, exhale 54. Inhale 53, exhale 53. And continue on with this counting of the breath. If at any point you get lost in your count, just simply go back to 54. And if you make it down to 1, start again back at 54. On your next exhale, release the count. Allow your mind to create the vision of yourself seated peacefully, eyes closed in a wide open field. Feel the warmth of the sun above radiating against your skin, cooled slightly by the soft gentle breeze. The scent of wildflowers fills the air and you hear them brushing softly against each other and the tall grass as they sway bently in the wind. And as the sun above starts to move behind a cloud, allow the sensation of cold to seep into your body. The experience of chilly cold. Imagine being outside in winter without enough clothing. You feel this chill permeating through your entire body, so cold, extreme coldness. Notice how cold feels in the body. Notice how cold feels in your mind. And now allow the sensation of warmth, of heat to spread through your entire body. Feel the heat of the sun as it emerges from behind the cloud on a hot summer day. Imagine you are outside in the sun with no shade. You feel heat radiating onto your skin, heat all through the body. Warmth, warmth, warmth. Notice how warmth feels in the body. Notice how warmth feels in your mind. Deepen the breath. Deepen the breath in the body and release the image of the field. Let your awareness now settle into the space of your heart center. Sink your attention into the center point of your heart. See a tiny white light in that center point and with full awareness, begin to see that white light grow as it begins to fill your entire and atomical heart. Connect to the feeling of this expansion through your heart. Allow the light now to begin to move beyond the physical boundaries of the heart and see it shifting and expanding out into the surrounding energy of your heart space. Bring your attention here and rest in the peaceful silence of your heart. Your body is resting. Your breath is breathing. Your mind is calm. Bring your sankalpa, your intention, back into your mind and hold it here for a moment. Remember, re-feel, re-visualize the words and the feeling, the experience of your sankalpa. Repeat your sankalpa now three times with feeling, with faith and awareness and allow the energy of your sankalpa to wash over your entire being. I am. Deepen the breath. Deepen the breath in the body. On your next inhale, slowly start to bring your awareness back to your body. Become aware of your physical existence and of relaxation. Feel the air moving past the tip of your nose as you draw it into your lungs and observe the subtle movements of your body as the breath moves through you. Feel your body in the space. Feel your seat or your mat beneath you. Feel your clothing on your skin. Feel the temperature of the air. Stay motionless here for a few more moments as you become more aware of the external world around you. Notice any sounds you hear close or far away. And then slowly begin to awaken your body by inviting in small movements into your hands and feet, maybe circling the wrists and the ankles. Just taking a moment to listen to your body and ask what it needs to wake itself up. Maybe a stretch overhead, maybe turning the head side to side, maybe both. Simply listening to what your body needs. And then taking a moment here to connect one last time to your breath and notice how you feel both in your body and in your mind. And finally, taking a moment to acknowledge yourself and thank yourself for taking time for you today, for your rest practice that you are so very worthy of. The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete. Wishing you peace and rest.