Yoga Nidra for Personal Restoration (Guided Meditation)

Yoga Nidra for Personal Restoration

As you are shifting into a process of restoration, for this moment keep your eyes open. Slowly look around at your surroundings.

Notice what is behind you. Notice what is above you.

Notice everything in your environment. And notice your capacity to attend to what is necessary, and put aside everything that can wait.

Adjust your body for maximum ease, either lying down or sitting comfortably.

Now shift further into restoration by allowing your eyes to come to rest. If you like, close your eyes. Without opening your eyes, bring to your mind an image of the room you are in. Notice what you remember. Remember the amount of light, and any other details that are imprinted on your mind. Now bring to mind an image of your body in the room. Notice details about your body at rest. Bring a smile to your face. And now allow your facial muscles to rest.

Become externally still and internally quiet

The internal quiet is a quieting of thoughts, ideas, and memory. You are maintaining just enough awareness to track sensations and listen. Your inner self is awake while your external body rests.

Your inner self should be awake while your five senses rest.

If you feel that you have fallen asleep, you will still benefit from this technique since the subconscious mind pays attention when we are too tired to stay awake.

and now take three long deep breaths. Each time you breathe in feel yourself sinking into more relaxation, and each time you breathe out feel yourself letting go.

Take a moment here to acknowledge your intention to rest and nourish yourself through a restorative Yoga Nidra.

Your inner self is aware that you need nourishment to carry on and achieve success. You need rest. You need rest in order to be happy… healthy. Only if you are rested can you bring your qualities to other people so they can be happy… healthy. Your intention is to rest and nourish yourself.

You now deepen your awareness by noticing consciousness through areas of the body. I will name parts of the body in a specific sequence, and I will repeat parts at times. As I name each part, bring your awareness to that area of your body and feel it become alive with consciousness. This takes no active effort from you. You are passively observing what is already there. When you hear a body part called out, simply be aware of the sensations present.

Begin by gently swallowing. Feel those sensations. Bring your awareness to the structures of the mouth. Roof of the mouth. One side of the mouth. The other side of the mouth. Be aware of the tongue. Upper teeth. Lower teeth. Lower lips. Upper lips.

Now you will spend a good amount of time with awareness throughout your extremities. Begin with your R hand…feel the consciousness alive in your R thumb, move over to the right index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, now the palm of the R hand, the back of the hand, wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit, the R side of the chest, torso, waist, hip, R thigh, kneecap, shin, ankle, heel, sole of R foot, top of the foot, R toes, big toe, 2nd toe, 3rd, 4th, and little toe.

Now moving your awareness to the L side of the body. feel the consciousness alive in your L hand … be aware of your L thumb, move over to the L index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, now the palm of the L hand, the back of the hand, wrist, lower arm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder, armpit, the L side of the chest, torso, waist, hip, L thigh, kneecap, shin, ankle, heel, sole of L foot, top of the foot, L toes, big toe, 2nd toe, 3rd, 4th, and little toe.

Now awareness from the head to toes. Begin at the top of the head. Feel the consciousness alive there at your crown, then in your forehead, R eyebrow, L eyebrow, between your Eyebrows, R eyelid, L eyelid, R eye, L eye, R ear, L ear, R nostril, L nostril, R cheek, L cheek

Returning to the upper lip, lower lip, chin, jaw, throat, consciousness for the R collar bone, L collar bone, R side of the chest, L side of the chest, the middle of the chest, navel, upper abdomen, lower abdomen, R groin, L groin, R thigh, L thigh, R knee, L knee, R calf muscle, L calf muscle, R ankle, L ankle, R toes, L toes

Now noticing the backside of the body: feel the consciousness alive in the bottom of the R foot, bottom of the L foot, R heel, L heel, R calf muscle, L calf muscle, back of the R knee, back of the L knee, back of the R thigh, back of the L thigh, R gluteal muscle, L gluteal muscle, R hip, L hip, the whole spine, R shoulder blade, L shoulder blade, back of the neck, back of the head, top of the head

Move your awareness to your mouth, become aware of your tongue, lower row of teeth, upper row of teeth, both lips, space between your lips, tip of the nose, whole nose, both cheeks, right ear, left ear, right eyelid, L eyelid, R eye, L eye, R eyebrow, L eyebrow, notice the space between the eyebrows, your whole forehead, both sides of the head, top of the head, back of the head

Now taking larger regions of your body together. Notice your whole R leg and the consciousness flowing there, notice the same consciousness in your whole L leg, now both legs together, notice your whole R arm, whole L arm, both arms together, your whole face and head together, the whole backside body together, the whole frontside body together, your whole body together, feel your whole body as one, feel the consciousness alive. Feel the flow of consciousness in your body.

Now please bring awareness to the space directly in front of your forehead and eyes. Imagine the empty or blank space in front of your forehead. Remain completely effortless, and quietly imagine that space in front of your forehead. Don’t worry if you don’t see anything. Trying will only get in your way. The key is to relax into consciousness. Just watch. Remain completely non-judgmental.

With this feeling of consciousness, You are aware that you are not sleeping. You are maintaining awareness. Your inner self is awake while your external body is resting.

(Visualization)

Now we move to image visualization for restoration

You will hear the names of different items

You do not need to do anything with the images

Allow them to fill your consciousness and then allow them to fall out of consciousness

Hold these images lightly and then rinse them away

First imagine

A pond of clear water

A pond of clear water

A Golden Circle

A Golden Circle

Birds flying across a sunset

Birds flying across a sunset

Rose bud in the process of opening

Rose bud in the process of opening

Trees moving in a gentle breeze

Trees moving in a gentle breeze

Glass of water

Glass of water

Morning dew on a leaf

Morning dew on a leaf

A river running down a mountain side

A river running down a mountain side

Snow capped mountains

Snow capped mountains

A white lotus flower

A white lotus flower

Stars in the night

Stars in the night

Wind from the sea

Wind from the sea

A sunrise

A sunrise

Now we notice our body’s physiological state of rest

By relaxing this way, you are growing your nervous system’s natural abilities to restore itself. When you take effective steps to restore yourself, you can signal a vagus nerve parasympathetic response. This gives permission to the activating part of the nervous system to rest.

Your vagus nerve emerges from the base of your brain and its branches spread to your heart, lungs, and internal organs. Feeling the vagus nerve parasympathetic effects in your body will include calmer digestion, less muscular tension, slower breathing, and even a relaxed heartbeat.

You strive for a balance in which you serve the people around you and find time to take care of yourself.

Your true nature is like a lotus. Picture this brilliant white flower on a stem emerging from dark water and remaining clean. The lotus symbolizes our ability to emerge from difficulties and thrive. It symbolizes rebirth. It also symbolizes our ability to make beautiful contributions to the people and environment around us.

Whenever you intend to rest and restore, you find that you can experience better rest than ever before. The time you spend resting will be highly effective. Even short amounts of rest allow you to return to activity with renewed focus, strength and peace.

Recall the image of the lotus in your mind. A brilliant white flower on a stem emerging from the serene surface of a small lake. It symbolizes whatever is important to you.

(Pause 10 seconds)

Now gradually return your awareness to your breathing. Notice your belly rising and falling.

Feel the air moving through your body

And as you inhale, feel the power of life permeate your being.

As you exhale, you may bring a smile to your face.

Now start to be more aware of your surroundings

…be aware of any sounds in your environment.

Allow the comfortable sensations in your body to return.

Be aware of how your body feels in your current position.

Slowly start making small movements in preparation for getting up.

Let your transition from rest to activity be gradual and natural.

Gently open your eyes and adjust to the room.

The transition from sitting to standing can be as slow as you judge best.

When you’re ready, rise up slowly.

Yoga nidra is now complete.

You can get on with your day

with a clear mind and strong body.