Free 20 Minute Seated Chair Yoga Nidra Script for Relaxation [PDF]

Preparation and Settling In

Sit down in a chair. Place your feet firmly on the floor to relieve low back strain. It’s best for your head, chin, and chest to be aligned. Do not cross your legs, feet, or arms for better circulation. Close your eyes or have them slightly open.

Resolve

Let’s begin. Take a big breath in and sigh it out … Go ahead and do this a few more times on your own. 

(Pause.)

Rest your left hand  on your right thigh with your palm facing up. Softly, cup your right palm crossed over the left one with a little room between your palms and creating a space for your heartfelt pledge to naturally incubate, take root, and grow. This hand gesture (mudra) will energize and empower your intention. 

Allow your breathing to flow for a few rounds, being mindful of your experience.

You’re welcome to start by remembering your sankalpa. If you have one, repeat it three or so times, remembering to be consistent, positive, brief, and in the present tense, like it’s happening right now.

Or, perhaps, let something arise from within you, a quality that supports your highest good and life direction … It’s okay if nothing seems to be happening. Trust that it will when the time is right. Or, for now, you can silently say something like, “I am getting healthier, more and more” or “My true nature is peace.” If this doesn’t appeal to you, just skip it.

Take a big breath in and sigh it out while un-cupping your hands. Rest them on your lap.

Stretching and Tension Release

It’s time to relax by moving or tensing each part of your body and then drain the tightness away by letting go. Skip anything that’s inappropriate for you. During relaxation, it’s typical for your muscles to soften and feel warmer, heavier, quieter, and comfortable, so let that happen. Your breath is likely to even out.

It’s time to lean into the chair back, sensing the contact points between you and the chair, noticing how it’s supporting you … and feeling your legs being supported by the chair seat. Your arms can rest on your lap and have both feet on the floor. Let’s work from the ground up.

To relax your feet, lift them up and start circling your ankles for three or four times … and circle them in the other direction three or four times … Put your feet back on the floor.

To relax your lower legs, hold your legs straight out … gently but firmly, point your toes away from you to stretch them, feeling the tension in your legs, especially in your ankles and shins … let your feet fall back to the floor … Notice if you’re feeling the sensation of quieting into relaxation yet.

To relax your lower legs more, hold both legs straight out again and point your toes back toward your head, focusing on your calves … Let your feet fall back to the floor … Let go and relax.

To relax your upper legs, press your knees and thighs together and hold … Notice the tension in your upper legs … Let go and relax, letting your legs rest a comfortable distance apart.

Notice how you’re feeling more and more at ease. Perhaps your legs are feeling heavy, warm, and relaxed … Resolve to keep them still and relaxed for now. Sinking into the chair, more and more.

To relax your abdomen, pull in your abdominal muscles as much as you want and hold … Notice the compressed feeling … Let go, soften, and relax, feeling and allowing all the knots inside loosening. 

(Pause.)

Now push your abdomen outward as much as you like, feeling your abdominal wall expand, making room for all your internal organs and giving them space … Let go, soften, and relax … allowing this area to soften further.

Still focusing on your belly, take a deep breath into the bottom of your lungs and hold … and let it rush out.

To relax your chest, take a deep breath into your upper lungs and hold … Let the air rush out.

Take another full, deep breath in, filling your lungs up completely and hold it … Let all the air rush out, feeling more and more at ease.

Notice feeling a full, gentle inflation when inhaling and a gentle deflation when exhaling. Go ahead and notice this movement for a couple rounds of breathing. Each time your focus wanders, bring it back to breathing … It’s okay to feel yourself relaxing even more each time you breathe out.

(Pause.)

To relax your shoulders, breathe in while pressing your shoulders up toward your ears and hold … Now, drop your shoulders while releasing your breath … Let’s repeat. Breathe in lots of fresh air while pressing your shoulders up toward your ears and hold … Now, drop your shoulders, releasing your breath.

To relax your upper arms and biceps, bring your hands up to your shoulders and tense your biceps and hold … noticing the tension in your upper arms … let your arms fall to your lap and relax … Notice how your arms are feeling warm, heavy, and comfortable, more and more.

To relax your lower arms, hold your arms straight out in front of you with your palms facing down. Bend your wrists so your fingers point toward the ceiling and hold, feeling the tension in your forearms … drop your hands to your lap and relax … Notice the feeling of comfort in your arms, perhaps warm and cozy.

To relax your hands, make a fist and hold tightly … now spread your fingers apart and hold … Let go and relax, allowing your fingers to uncurl and soften into stillness, more and more … Let your hands and arms relax completely, resting on your lap.

It’s time to relax your neck. Tip your head over to the right side, moving your ear toward your right shoulder. Be careful not to strain … Come back to the middle … Now tip your head toward your left shoulder and feel the sensations … Bring your head back up to center. Let it wobble until it comes to a comfortable resting position.

To relax the front of your neck, bring your chin toward your chest and hold … Lift your head up and relax. Let your head wobble until comfortable and balanced.

To release jaw tension, open your mouth and move your jaw up and down and sideways, working out all tension … Relax and let your teeth part slightly.

To relax your mouth even more, press your lips together tightly … Let go and relax, softening your lips … Now press your tongue against the roof of your mouth or into the teeth … Let go and relax … Moisten your lips if you like and let your teeth part slightly. Relaxing the tongue can calm down restless thoughts, so let your tongue soften, like it’s jelly.

To relax your nose and cheeks, wrinkle up your nose and hold … Relax.

To relax your eyes, squeeze them tightly together and hold … Relax.

To relax your forehead, push your eyebrows down and frown … Relax, letting go … Now lift your eyebrows upward … Let go and relax.

It’s time to mentally scan your entire body. If you notice any remaining tension, give those areas permission to relax and let go. 

(Pause.)

You’re now getting very, very relaxed … Let yourself enjoy this feeling … Allow this feeling to sink in all over.

Breathing

To help settle down restless thoughts and improve concentration, focus on your breathing. Breathing well relaxes your nervous system, specifically when your exhalation is longer than your inhalation.

First, notice the airflow at your nostrils by feeling the air coming in and going out. Keep your attention on your nostrils … noticing the sensations at your nostrils as air comes and goes for several rounds of breathing. 

(Pause.)

Now, begin feeling the air going into your nostrils, down the windpipe, into your lungs, and back out again. Continue breathing gently while following the airflow for three or four breaths. As soon as you notice your focus drifting off, return to gently focusing on flowing air. 

(Pause.)

Mindfulness

Let your focus go, just for now … allowing your breathing to naturally come and go. There’s no need to change it at all, simply letting it flow all by itself … feeling it come and go, all by itself. 

(Pause about 10 seconds.)

It’s okay to let your attention float for a while … allowing any thoughts, feelings, and sensations to come and go … simply let your attention float on its own. There’s no need to get caught up at all, that just gets in your way … Impartially noticing whatever is floating in and out of your awareness. 

(Pause.) 

Floating with awareness … aware of a part of you that’s curious, an awareness that just lets things happen without having to say anything or do anything about it … making room for whatever is floating, curiously aware, impartially aware. 

(Pause.)

Insights and Inner Knowing

And allowing ideas and insights to appear, perhaps answers to questions start flowing during this pause. 

(Pause about 1 minute.) 

Insights can continue coming afterward and when they’re needed.

Sensing Inner Peace

It’s fine to go into a place of peace and tranquility … If it helps, imagine a time of feeling at ease. A happy time … a time of feeling content, no matter what. 

(Pause about 2 minutes.)

True Nature Awareness

And perhaps being surrounded by spaciousness and timelessness. 

(Pause about 2 minutes.)

Resolve

Once again, place your left hand on your right thigh with your palm up.

Cup your right palm crossed over the left palm. It’s time to bring your heartfelt pledge up … If you have one, repeat it three or so times.

Or, perhaps, let something arise from within you, a quality that supports your highest good and life direction. 

(Pause.)

If nothing seems to be happening, trust that it will when the time is right.

(Pause.)

Imagine what it would look and feel like for your heartfelt pledge to be happening. 

(Pause about 1 minute.) 

Take a big breath in and let it go.

Reawakening and Closing

It’s time to start transitioning back to this time and place … Start to picture or sense the room you’re in … the walls, the ceiling, the floor … hearing the sounds as they come and go … sensing the atmosphere … becoming aware of your Presence in this time and space, right here and now … hearing the sound of your breath, just for now … following the sound of your own breath, the life force flowing … 

When you’re ready, begin stretching and moving about in ways that feel natural to you … awakening more and more … stretching and moving … bringing back with you the benefits of your practice to help yourself and for the sake of others. And when your eyes open, you’ll feel wide awake, alert, and fully aware.

Peace, peace, peace. (Om shanti, shanti, shanti.)

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This script has been crafted with love and formatted in a clear, organized layout, making it easy to read aloud for individuals or groups. It is suitable for personal and professional use, including YouTube videos and monetization, and for voiceover recordings.

Use this script to lead your own Yoga Nidra meditation, edit or alter the script to suit your needs, use it in courses you create and sell, or use it privately with your clients.

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