A 40 minute Yoga Nidra script for deep relaxation – a mix of Swami Satyananda, Richard Miller’s iRest, and Nischala Joy Devi’s Deep relaxation
Here’s a 40 minute free yoga nidra script I’m quite proud of. I wrote this yoga nidra script with the intent of using it during my kundalini tantra workshops but ended up using it in many different settings – workshops, classes, private sessions – and always received great feedbacks.
It uses a mixes of techniques from the three major yoga nidra styles:
- the classic style of Swami Satyananda
- the iRest techniques of Richard Miller
- The Deep Relaxation script of Nischala Joy Devi
You’re welcome to use it for your classes, just please don’t publish recordings of it. Try it yourself using the youtube video below.
Yoga Nidra Free Script For Healing and Deep Relaxation
Welcome to yoga nidra. Please find your most comfortable position for today, either laying down in savasana, or seated comfortably, place your body in a space where it can relax. You might want to try a pillow, and a blanket is a good friend, to keep you warm and cuddled throughout this practice.
Settle yourself in and adjust yourself to get just 10% more comfort. Close your eyes, if you wish, or soften them, withdrawing from the sense of sight.
During this meditation practice, you should not move your body – if an itch or a discomfort arises just observe it calmly, without reacting, and feel the true sensation. You’re always of course welcome to move if you must, and get out of the practice if you feel activated or not at ease – just please do so as silently as possible, to keep the fellows around you safe.
Relax your head and face, arms and hands, legs and feet, your torso inside and outside.
Bring your attention to the breath, take an inhale through both nostrils and send is to your lower abdomen, hold it at there for one instant, exhale completely, with a sound, through your mouth or nose, gently pull your navel in, deflate the belly, all the air out til the last drop.
Inhale from both nostrils and repeat the cycle, release all the air, release all the tension, pulling from the navel, up into the heart, all that no longer serves you, washing away.
Inhale from both nostrils, into your whole abdomen, fill the lungs, to the rim. Hold in and focus on the brow point, exhale slowly, with a sound, gently engage your pelvic floor and pull your navel in, deflate the belly, all the air out til the last drop. If you wish, hold the air out for just 1 second, being aware of how it feels.
Get back to a normal gentle belly breath, and relax your face again, your whole body. Say to yourself, I’m going to practice yoga nidra, I’m going to stay aware, I will acknowledge the thoughts, feelings and sensations without attachment, and let them go. I will stay focused, I will not sleep.
SANKALPA
The practice of yoga nidra begins now. Ask your heart, “what is your true desire?” Let the answer come, do not think. If no answer comes, that is just as good as any answer. There’s no right or wrong. Feel into your heart’s desire and repeat it to yourself.
Now, we’ll set an intention for this practice, nothing fancy. A simple intention, your intention. It could be just to stay aware, to relax, to enjoy the practice, or whatever you want your simple intention to be today, for your practice.
Find your intention and repeat it to yourself three times, feel in your intention with your body, mind, and consciousness.
ROTATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Bring your attention to the sounds around you… the close sounds … the more distant sounds … the inner sounds, such as your slow breath … all the vibrations that touch your eardrums. Resist the urge to judge them, or identify them … just listen
Optional Part
(Feel your right leg, now squeeze and contract all the muscles of your right leg, from tight to toes. Squeeze them hard, maybe lift your leg a few centimeters. … Exhale and relax all the muscles of the right leg.
Feel your left leg, now squeeze and contract all the muscles of your left leg, from tight to toes. Squeeze them hard, maybe lift your leg a few centimeters. … Exhale and relax all the muscles of the left leg.
Find your glutes, squeeze and contract them both equally, feel your pelvic floor contracting – and release, and relax, exhale long and calm.
Feel your right arm, please squeeze and contract all the muscles of your right arm, from shoulder to fingertips. Squeeze them hard, maybe lift your arm a few centimeters. Exhale and relax all the muscles of your right arm.
Feel your left arm, squeeze and contract all the muscles of your left arm, from shoulder to fingertips. Squeeze them hard, maybe lift your arm a few centimeters. Exhale and relax all the muscles of your left arm.
Inhale, squeeze and contract the whole of your back … release and relax, let your back open up and spread wide … Squeeze your chest … and relax. Squeeze your abdominal wall … and relax. Relax your abdomen from the inside.
Squeeze and contract all the tiny muscles of your face, your eyes, and lips, and forehead and nose – squeeze it hard, smile at this, big wide smile. And release and relax.)
Feel your body, lying on the floor or seated, feel the points where the body touches the floor, feel them one by one… now feel them all at once, your connection to the floor, to mother earth. Your body and the earth, connecting, feel your body melting with the earth.
We’ll now let our awareness flow through the different parts of our body like a fluid vibrating light. A gentle energy caressing our body from the inside and the outside. Everywhere it goes, it soothes, it brushes off tension with a silky caress. Let this vibrating energy flow freely and swiftly from a body part to another, don’t stop it, follow along with the sound of my voice.
Feel this light relaxing the inside of your mouth, your teeth, your gums, your tongue, your jaw, the inside of your cheeks, let it flow from the inside to the outside of your right ear, and left ear, let both ears glow with soothing energy.
Let it smooth your forehead, gently brush your right eyebrow, and left eyebrow, and the space between them. Relax your left eyelid, and right eyelid, feel the place where your eyelids close. Relax your right eye, and left eye, relax both eyes, from the inside. Your cheekbones and your temples, the top of your head, the back of your head, the back and front of your neck, the inside of your throat.
Let this light flow through your right collarbone, down the right shoulder, and shoulder blade, to your upper arm, and elbow, and forearm, and wrist, and back of the hand, and palm of the hand, warm with light, feel it in your thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger. Feel your whole right arm, radiant, soothed, relaxed.
Let this prana flow through your left collarbone, down the left shoulder, and shoulder blade, to your upper arm, and elbow, and forearm, and wrist, and back of the hand, and palm of the hand, warm with light, feel your thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger. Feel your whole left arm, radiant, soothed, relaxed.
Feel both arms, radiant, soothed, completely relaxed.
Concentrate this attention in the right big toe, second toe, third, fourth, fifth, mound of the toes, sole, top of the foot, ankle, shin and calf, right knee, thigh and back of the thigh, right hip, right groin, right glute.
Travel to your left side, gently brush your left big toe, second toe, third, fourth, fifth, mound of the toes, sole, top of the foot, ankle, shin and calf, left knee, thigh and back of the thigh, left hip, left groin, left glute.
Feel both legs and pelvis, radiant, soothed, completely relaxed.
Be this awareness inside your abdomen, gently caressing your organs, the abdominal walls, the sides, the back, the front. Your abdomen, relaxed from the inside… and the outside.
Relax your chest, the back of your chest, your heart, lungs, your diaphragm. Your whole torso, brushed by gentle and radiant awareness.
Your torso together with your pelvis and legs, and arms, neck, and head, and face. Your whole left side, your whole right side.
Your whole body… radiant, soothed, completely relaxed. Your whole body, at ease, inside and outside. Your whole body… pure awareness of your whole body.
BREATH AWARENESS
Now let this awareness become breath, let your breath become awareness. Notice the rhythm of your natural breath, a calm slow breath. A gentle inhale of pure awareness, lifting your abdomen, and your chest. A long and calming exhale, completely relaxed, your abdomen and chest lowering down towards your spine.
Your breath, aware of itself, your self, aware of being, the one who’s breathing. Breath, energy, prana, traveling up and down your spine. From your tailbone, to the crown of your head. Inhale, from your tailbone, to your sacrum, up your solar plexus, to the back of your heart, the back of your throat, the inside of your head, the crown of your head.
Be aware of your inhales, and exhales, traveling up and down the whole length of your spine. Do not sleep, you’re practicing yoga nidra. You’re now in your pranic body.
Awareness of the energy, awareness of the breath, up and down your spine. Soothing, radiant, warm.
Breath from both nostrils, equally. Feel the sensation of air inside your nostrils, connecting at your brow point on the inhale, traveling their separate ways on the exhale. The left breath cool, the right breath warm.
Now, imagine as if you’re breathing from alternate nostrils. Moving your breath with your will. Inhale left nostril, 27, exhale right nostril, 27, inhale right 26, exhale left, 26, inhale left 25, exhale right, 25.
Continue counting, down to one. Feeling your breath flowing in a triangle, from nostril to third eye, to nostril. Totally present, breathing and counting.
If you reach one, begin again from 27.
Drop your counting, be sure you’re not sleeping.
Gently draw your inhale from your tailbone to your navel, and stop for an instant, continue your inhale from your navel to the middle of your chest and pause. Continue your inhale from the middle of your chest, to your throat. And release and relax in your exhale.
Continue this progression, from your tailbone to your navel, and pause, from your navel to the middle of your chest and pause. From the middle of your chest, to your throat. Pause. And exhale. Continue like this and when you pause, be present.
From your tailbone to your navel, pause be present, from your navel to the middle of your chest pause. From the middle of your chest, to your throat. Be. And exhale.
Continue at your own pace, total presence, in your breath.
(Pause for 30 seconds)
Gently draw your inhale from your tailbone to your navel, and be for an instant, continue your inhale from your navel this time all the way through your chest to your throat. And pause. Continue your inhale from your throat to the crown of your head. And release and relax in your exhale.
From your tailbone to your navel, from your navel to your throat. Be. From throat to crown of the head. And release and relax in your exhale.
From tailbone to navel, from navel to throat. Be. From throat to the crown of your head. Pause for an instant here at the very middle of the head.
Exhale and expand into this infinite space behind your eyes.
CHIDA KASHA
Focus on the wide, black space behinf your eyes. Let this infinite void be the multi-dimensional screen where you witness all the thoughts, memories, and sensations. (Experience them as curious manifestations, letting them come and go, without attachment).
Let go of the thinking mind.
Acknowledge the you who’s witnessing this.
Let go of the thinking mind. You’re in the chidakasha, the place where your mind creates the world. You’re awake, experiencing into your mental body.
Invite into this space the manifestation of coldness. A sound, a feeling, an image, a memory. The archetype of Cold. Cold. Feel cold.
Hot. Invite into your inner space the manifestation of hotness. A sound, a feeling, an image, a memory. The archetype of Hot. Hot. Feel hot.
Feel hot and cold. Together. Let go of the thinking mind.
Now invite into this space the manifestation of loudness. A sound, a feeling, an image, a memory. As loud as it can get. The archetype of loudness. You are loudness.
Silence. Invite into your inner space the manifestation of silence. A feeling, an image, a memory… of silence. Silence. Feel silent into universal silence.
Feel loudness and silence. Together. Let go of wanting.
Now visualize the scenes I will suggest you, come and go from one image to another, without attachment.
A dead tree, the ocean from a window, a volcano erupting red lava, birds flying at sunset over a wetland, the skull of an animal in the bush, a tornado swiping the plains, a green tree thriving with fruit, a white baby mouse, a snake with seven heads, the milky way on a starry night, bees drinking morning dew from a colorful flower.
The vast, calm ocean, the immense ocean, it’s your consciousness. Let the ocean of your consciousness slowly contract into a single drop of morning dew, into a single drop of water. Let your consciousness be, contracted, into a single, pointed, drop of water.
Now let this drop expand, to the infinite, become an ocean again, the infinite ocean of all consciousness, of your consciousness, of universal consciousness.
You and I, and everything, are the same thing.
Smile internally, a calm soothing smile of joy that permeates all the subtle layers of the universe.
Rest this unseparate awareness into the universal smile.
CLOSING
Now, come back to your heart desire. Repeat it to yourself three times.
Now, come back to your intention for the practice, repeat it to yourself three times.
Come back to your breath, feel in your natural breath, moving your belly and chest… up and down.
Come back to your body, invite some movement to your toes and fingers, to your legs and arms, to your neck.
Softly blink your eyes a couple of time, slowly inviting back the sense of sight, and the outside world.
When you’re ready, fully open your eyes. The practice is now complete.
A dead tree, the ocean from a window, a volcano erupting red lava, birds flying at sunset over a wetland, the skull of an animal in the bush, a tornado swiping the plains, a green tree thriving with fruit, a white baby mouse, a snake with seven heads, the milky way on a starry night, bees drinking morning dew from a colorful flower.
sun shining in the sky, he is the breeze blowing in space, he is the fire burning on the altar, he is the guest dwelling in the house; he is in all men, he is in the gods, he is in the ether, he is wherever there is truth; he is the fish that is born in waters, he is the plant that grows in the soil, he is the river that gushes from the mountain, – he is the changeless reality, the illimitable. ” – (Katha Upanishad II.ii.2)
He is told about Brahman shining brightly in the sky ( akasha ) in subtle ether, in the sky of the Chidākāsha the infinite all –pervading subtle space of Consciousness ; the Self which produces all movement in the universe, shines in the Chidākāsha lighting up all worlds gross and subtle because of the emanation of Om.
