Relax your body, calm your mind (and fall asleep)

I have a special treat for you today which I know you’re going to love. In this episode, I’m guiding you through a Yoga Nidra meditation to bring your mind and body into a beautiful state of relaxation and calm.

Yoga Nidra is often referred to as yoga sleep. It’s a deep relaxation exercise where you’re guided to rotate your consciousness through different parts of your body.  This rotation of consciousness is an old yoga technique designed to slow down our brainwave frequency, which is the speed at which our brain cells communicate with one another. Doing this brings both your mind and body into a deep state of relaxation. 

There are so many benefits to Yoga Nidra. It helps reduce stress, anxiety, and tension by bringing you into a state of deep restfulness, and regular practice can also enhance the quality of your sleep, helping you feel more rejuvenated.

Through a body scan technique, this guided Yoga Nidra meditation will also help you cultivate more self-awareness and mindfulness, allowing you to observe your thoughts and emotions without judgment, leading to greater self-love and compassion. 

Do your best to follow along, and if you drift off to sleep, that’s more than okay. The only thing that really matters here is that you are honouring your need for rest. 

So find a place to lie down where you won’t be disturbed. Once you’re as comfortable as you can be with pillows, blankets and the lights down low, let’s begin. 

LINKS:

Curious about Yoga Alchemy? Join the waitlist here to save $500 off the next round 

Website:https://cultivatecalmyoga.com.au/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/cultivatecalmyogabrisbane/

Transcript

[00:00:00] Monica: Welcome friend. Today I have a special treat for you. It's yoga nidra, or yoga sleep, and it's a relaxation exercise where you're guided to rotate your consciousness through different parts of your body. And this rotation of consciousness is an old yoga technique designed to slow down our brainwave frequency.

[00:01:27] And that's the speed at which our brain cells communicate to one another. And doing this brings both mind and body into a deep state of relaxation. This is best done lying down somewhere where you can feel really comfortable. And it's okay if you drift off to sleep. It's more than okay. Before we begin, let's take a long, slow exhale together.

[00:01:54] Now I'm going to call out different parts of your body, and as I do, just bring your awareness to that part of your body. Do your best to follow along, but if you drift off, that's perfectly okay. The only thing that really matters here is you're honouring your need for rest.

[00:02:20] Now bring your awareness to your breath.

[00:02:23] Feel your breath flow in and out of your nostrils.

[00:02:36] Feel your ribcage expand and contract with your breath.

[00:02:53] And feel your belly rise and fall with your breath.

[00:03:13] Now start making your exhales twice as long as your inhales. So you can inhale for a count of two, and exhale for a count of four.

[00:03:47] Inhale for two,

[00:03:52] and exhale for four.

[00:03:59] And continue to make your exhales twice as long as your inhales.

[00:04:07] And your breath could be longer, if that feels right, or shorter. What matters is that the exhale is twice the length of the inhale. That's what has a calming effect on our nervous system, helps our body and brain relax.

[00:04:26] And now we'll begin.

[00:04:45] Become aware of your body,

[00:04:51] feel the back of your body on the mat,

[00:04:58] feel your clothes on your skin,

[00:05:00] feel the rise and fall of your breath.

[00:05:10] Now bring your awareness to the left side of your body, just letting the right side fade into the background.

[00:05:36] Now bring your awareness to the left big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe, and little toe on the left foot. Feel your left heel, feel the sole of your left foot, feel the top of your left foot,

[00:06:05] feel your whole left foot.

[00:06:11] Now bring your awareness to your left ankle, your left shin. Left calf, and left knee, feel the whole left lower leg,

[00:06:32] feel the left thigh, the top of the thigh, the outside, the back of the thigh, and the inside, feel your whole left leg and foot,

[00:06:54] feel the left cheek of your bottom, left hip, left side of the waist,

[00:07:06] feel the left ribcage, left side of the chest, feel the left side of your back,

[00:07:19] feel your left shoulder, left armpit, left upper arm, left elbow, left forearm,

[00:07:37] left wrist, left hand, left palm, left thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, And the little finger on the left hand, feel the whole left arm and hand,

[00:08:07] feel the left side of your neck, left throat, left jaw, and the teeth on the left side,

[00:08:20] feel your left cheek, left ear, left side of the forehead, left eye, and your left nostril.

[00:08:45] Now imagine you can breathe only through the left nostril. and only into the left side of the lung.

[00:08:52] Inhaling and exhaling out the left nostril,

[00:09:05] inhale through the left nostril, and imagine breathing into the whole left side of your body.

[00:09:27] Now imagine that you can inhale from your left big toe. Draw the breath up your leg, up your torso, into your head, and exhale out the top of your head.

[00:09:49] Feel like the whole left side of the body is breathing.

[00:09:56] Now bring your awareness to the right side of the body, and let the left side fade out of your awareness.

[00:10:22] Bring your awareness to your right big toe, second toe, third toe, fourth toe. And the little toe on the right foot,

[00:10:42] feel your right heel, sole of the right foot, top of the right foot, feel your whole right foot.

[00:11:00] Now bring your awareness to your right ankle, right shin, right calf, and right knee. Feel the right

[00:11:17] thigh, top of the thigh, outside of the thigh, the

[00:11:34] back of the thigh, and the inside of the right thigh.

[00:11:38] Feel your whole right leg and foot.

[00:11:44] Feel the right cheek of your bottom,

[00:11:51] right hip, right side of the waist,

[00:11:59] feel the right ribcage, the right side of the chest,

[00:12:12] feel the right side of your back,

[00:12:14] feel your right shoulder. right armpit, right upper arm, right elbow, right forearm, right wrist, the right hand, right palm, right thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and the little finger on the right hand. Feel the whole right arm and hand,

[00:13:03] feel the right side of your neck,

[00:13:13] the right throat, right jaw, and the teeth on the right side.

[00:13:21] Feel your right cheek, right ear, the right side of the forehead, right eye, and the right nostril.

[00:13:46] Now imagine you can breathe only through the right nostril, into the right side of the lungs.

[00:13:54] Inhaling and exhaling into the right side of the body.

[00:14:04] Now imagine you can inhale from your right big toe, draw the breath up your leg, up your torso, into your head, and exhale out the top of your head.

[00:14:27] The whole right side of the body is breathing.

[00:14:35] Now inhale through the right side of the body, and exhale out the left side of the body. Inhale through the left side of the body. And exhale out the right side,

[00:15:06] inhale through both sides of the body, and exhale through both sides. Bringing the two halves together with your breath.

[00:15:22] Breathing as one,

[00:15:28] your body as one, whole, complete, balanced, and in harmony.

[00:15:48] Breathing as one,

[00:15:56] all is well.

[00:16:09] All is one,

[00:16:11] and if you're still awake, repeat these mantras silently to yourself.

[00:16:35] I am safe,

[00:16:36] I am calm,

[00:16:45] I am whole and complete,

[00:16:57] I am healthy,

[00:17:07] I am worthy,

[00:17:17] I am confident,

[00:17:31] I am loved.

[00:17:40] Now let yourself rest here my friend, until next time.