Free 35 Minute Yoga Nidra Script for Anxiety [PDF]

Preparation and Settling In

Set yourself up so that the body can be comfortable for the duration of the practice. Placing a support, like a thin pillow, under the head invites the nervous system to relax. Placing a cushion under the knees helps to release tension in the low back. Feel free to use an eye pillow. Maybe even covering yourself up with a blanket as the body begins to cool. (Pause.)

During this practice of Yoga Nidra, we welcome everything— every sensation, every breath, feeling, emotion, thought, belief, even distractions—as pathways to a deeper experience of our wholeness. So, allow distractions and the wandering of the mind to be reminders to return to the practice and the present moment.

Feel the whole body lying on the floor … The whole body, breathing itself. Feel your body supported by the ground … Notice the ways in which your body softens into the support of the ground … Notice the ways in which your body does not soften … Take a moment here to adjust yourself so that you are ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty percent more comfortable so that you don’t need to move, knowing that if you do need to move you have total permission to do so.

During this practice we will cultivate a sense of calm and stillness. Take a moment here to identify what the experience of being calm and still is for you … Perhaps it’s a feeling in the body, maybe a memory, or perhaps an image arises. Welcome and breathe with your experience of calm and still.

Invite the body and the mind to connect with calm and still … During the practice, as you hear the words, “calm and still,” allow yourself to experience moments of calm and still. With practice, you will be able to recall calmness and stillness with ease. (Pause.)

Heartfelt Prayer

Begin to connect with your heart … As you breathe with your heart, invite a heartfelt prayer to arise. Your heartfelt prayer is that seed that your heart is planting for your personal growth, your spiritual well-being. It’s what your heart is longing for more than anything else in this world for you.

The heartfelt prayer is something that you are growing in your life. If it seems as though nothing is arising, the heart is offering up the prayer of stillness and receptivity. Take three deep breaths affirming this heartfelt prayer as though it is true and already happening … On your third exhale, let your heartfelt prayer go and remain open to the ways in which this prayer arises during the practice and your day. (Pause.)

Inner Sanctuary

Let’s welcome and establish your inner sanctuary. The inner sanctuary is that place, real or imagined, that when you go there in your mind or in real life you feel peaceful, or serene, or at ease. Imagine yourself there now. It could be a place in nature, a special room, or a feeling in the body … There might even be beings present that support you on your journey. Imagine yourself in your inner sanctuary right now. Feel yourself becoming more peaceful, more serene, and more at ease … This inner sanctuary is available to you at any point during the practice or during your day when you feel that need for more peace, serenity, or ease.

Rotation of Consciousness

Bring the awareness back to the body … The whole body lying on the floor … The whole body breathing itself, in and out. The whole body, calm and still … There may be moments when the mind wanders during the practice.

When that happens, anchor your mind on the sound of my voice and the present moment. As we move awareness through the body, sense and feel each part of the body from the inside. If it supports the practice and supports holding the attention, you might even wish to visualize that part of the body.

Sense the mouth. Roof of the mouth, floor of the mouth, sidewalls, left and right. Sense the tongue, the lips, and the lower jaw. Experience the entire mouth and lower jaw as calm and still … Sense the left ear. The hills and valleys of the outer left ear. The density of sensation in the inner left ear canal. Sense the right ear. Hills and valleys of the outer right ear. The density of sensation in the inner right ear canal. And now make the mind big. Big enough to experience both ears at the same time. Both ears, an experience of calm and stillness. (Pause.)

Completely focused, sense the tip of the nose. The breath moving in the left nostril … The breath moving in the right nostril … The breath moving in both nostrils at the same time … Sense the eyes. The left eye, eyebrow, temple, and cheekbone. The right eye, eyebrow, temple, and cheekbone.

Again, make the mind big enough, expand the awareness to experience both eyes at the same time. Both eyes and an experience of calm and stillness … Sense the forehead, the scalp, back of the neck. The sides of the neck—left and right—and the throat. Experience the whole face, head, neck, and throat as calm and still … Sensing the whole left side of the body lying on the floor. Whole left side of the body, calm and still … Sense the left shoulder, elbow, wrist, the left palm, and all the left fingers. Even becoming aware of the space between the left fingers. The calm and still energy between the left fingers … Back of the left hand, forearm, upper arm, and armpit. Experience the whole left arm as calm and still. Even becoming aware of the energy that surrounds the left arm. The calm and still energy around the left arm.

Sense the left side of the ribcage, front, side, and back. The gentle flow of breath moving in the left side of the rib cage … Sense the left side of the abdomen and low back. Experience the gentle flow of breath moving in the left side of the abdomen and low back … Sense the left hip, knee, ankle, sole of the left foot, and all the left toes. Even becoming aware of the space between the left toes, the calm and still energy between the left toes … Top of the left foot, lower leg, thigh, and buttock. Experience the whole left leg as calm and still. The calm and still energy that surrounds the left leg … Sensing and experiencing the whole left side of the body as sensation. (Pause.)

Side-to-Side Breathing

And now imagine the breath traveling in through the sole of the left foot up the left side of the body all the way to the crown of the head. On the exhale, imagine the breath traveling from the crown of the head down through the right side of the body to the right foot … Inhaling through the left side of the body to the crown. Exhaling from the crown through the right side of the body to the right foot. Imagining every breath moving in through left and out through right … Inhaling left. Exhaling right.

Awareness riding the breath in through the left and out through the right. Awareness riding the breath from the left side of the body to the right side of the body. (Pause.)

Pouring the awareness into the right side of the body. Let go of the breath. Sense and feel the whole right side of the body lying on the floor. The whole right side of the body, calm and still. (Pause.)

Rotation of Consciousness Continues

Sensing right shoulder, elbow, wrist, palm, and all the right fingers. Even becoming aware of the space between the right fingers. The calm and still energy between the right fingers … Back of the right hand, forearm, upper arm, and armpit. Experiencing the whole right arm as calm and still. The calm and still energy that surrounds the right arm. (Pause.)

Sense the right side of the ribcage, front, side, and back. The breath moving in the right side of the ribcage … Sense the right side of the abdomen and low back. The subtle sensations of breath moving in the right side of the abdomen. (Pause.)

Sensing right hip, knee, ankle, sole of the right foot, and all the right toes …Even becoming aware of the space between the right toes. The calm and still energy between the right toes … Top of the right foot, lower leg, thigh, and buttock. Experience the whole right leg as calm and still. Even becoming aware of the calm and still energy surrounding the right leg and the whole right side of the body. (Pause.)

The calm and still energy that surrounds the entire body. Expand the awareness to feel and experience the entire body as sensation, calm and still sensation. (Pause.)

And now sensing into awareness. The field of awareness in which these changing sensations rise and fall; in which these changing breaths rise and fall. In which the energy rises and falls and yet awareness remains unchanged … Awareness remains constant, ever present. (Pause.)

Awareness of Opposites

Sensing back into the body, welcome an experience of grounding. Perhaps an experience where the body feels solid and connected to the earth.

Welcome that experience of grounding, of steadiness … Invite the whole body to experience grounding. The feet, the legs, grounded. The arms, the hands, grounded. The shoulders, grounded. The whole body grounded and connected to the earth … Become absorbed in the experience of grounded.

And now welcome an opposite experience. The experience of brightness; of the body as bright and illuminated. The feet and legs experiencing brightness. The hands and arms experiencing brightness. The face bright.

The whole body experiencing brightness, like a light is shining from the inside … The whole body, bright.

And now shift the awareness back to the experience of grounding. The whole body grounding … Sensing back into brightness. The whole body bright … Now expand the awareness to hold grounding and brightness at the same time. That indescribable and undefinable experience of both at the same time … Then sensing into the field of awareness itself, where these changing sensations of grounding and brightness rise and fall, and yet awareness remains constant. (Pause.)

Now welcome an area of discomfort in the physical body. Sense into a discomfort. Not necessarily the big one, but perhaps a numbness, an unpleasant sensation. Resist the urge to change anything about this discomfort, and instead, you’re invited to fully experience discomfort … Breathe with discomfort. Welcome discomfort. Allowing the full expression of discomfort. (Pause.)

Shift the awareness to an experience of comfort in the physical body. A comfort, maybe an awake-ness, a sense of ease in the physical body. Resist the urge to spread this comfort and instead simply experience comfort for comfort’s sake … Breathe with comfort in the physical body. Allow comfort. Experience comfort; the fullness of comfort in the physical body.

(Pause.)

Sense back into discomfort … This time sensing a little deeper into discomfort. And perhaps there’s an emotion woven into the experience of discomfort in the physical body. No need to search or dig. Simply welcome any emotion that is present, woven into the experience of discomfort in the physical body. If no emotion is present, welcome this experience … Breathe with discomfort and any emotion that is present. (Pause.)

Shifting awareness back to comfort in the physical body … Sensing deeper into comfort in the physical body, perhaps there is an emotion woven into the experience of comfort in the physical body. Again, no need to dig. Simply welcoming any emotion that is present, woven into this experience of comfort in the physical body. If no emotion is present, welcome this experience … Breathe with comfort and emotion. (Pause.)

Sense back into discomfort and emotion … Sensing deeper into discomfort. Perhaps there is a belief woven into the experience of discomfort and emotion. Without searching, welcome any belief that is present. Allow a belief to arise. No need to search. And if no belief is arising, welcome this experience … Breathing with discomfort, emotion, and belief. Allowing the fullness of the experience of discomfort, emotion, and belief … Allowing discomfort, emotion, and belief to fully unfold within the field of awareness. (Pause.)

Sensing back into comfort … Sensing deeper into comfort and perhaps there is a belief woven into the experience of comfort and emotion. Without searching, welcome any belief that is woven into the experience of comfort and emotion. Allow a belief to arise. And if no belief is arising, welcome this experience … Breathing with comfort, emotion, and belief. Welcome the fullness of the experience of comfort, emotion, and belief … Allowing comfort to fully unfold within the field of awareness. (Pause.)

Stepping back now into the field of awareness in which discomfort and comfort rise and fall; in which emotions and beliefs rise and fall … Awareness holding all of these at the same time. And yet awareness is so much more. Always present, constant … Welcoming everything just as it is.

(Pause.)

Joy of Love

Now diving into the heart space … Sense into the heart space beyond the physical heart. The heart space where love resides. The experience of love and the heart’s true nature, which is to love unconditionally … Welcome this experience of love that holds everything. Invite this experience of love to begin to expand … This experience of unconditional love spreading through the rib cage, like a smile … This experience of unconditional love  spreading into the hands, the fingertips, so that the hands and fingertips are operating in the world from a place of love and acceptance. (Pause.)

Invite this unconditional love to spread into the feet, the legs, so that the legs carry this body through the world with love and acceptance … Invite this unconditional love to expand to the lungs so that every breath is one of love and acceptance … Love and acceptance spreading into the head, the mind so that all the thoughts, the words that are spoken, can come from a place of love and acceptance. (Pause.)

This unconditional love filling the entire body. Your entire being filled with love, acceptance, and self-acceptance … If you wish, invite this unconditional love and acceptance to spread out beyond the boundaries of this physical body. Spreading out into the space that surrounds the body. Out to loved ones … out into the planet … out into every being that needs a little more love and acceptance … Let go of judgment and imagine that this unconditional love and acceptance touches the heart of every two-legged being, three-legged, four-legged, finned, and feathered creature.

Every being. Even the beings with many legs. Every being. Even the beings with flower petals. With leaves and bark. The stones. Spreading this unconditional love and acceptance into every molecule of dirt. Every drop of water. Every molecule of air. (Pause.)

Imagine this whole planet surrounded and filled with unconditional love and acceptance … Experience and know yourself as a being that lives on this planet of unconditional love and acceptance. Feel yourself loved and accepted as you are. Welcome this experience from that field of awareness. Welcome everything just as it is. (Pause.)

Heartfelt Prayer and Closing

From this experience of welcoming everything just as it is, once more invite your heartfelt prayer … breathing with your heartfelt prayer. Imagine it as true and already happening. (Pause.)

Feel your body lying on the floor, calm and still … The body breathing itself. Join in with this natural rhythm of breath. Inviting it to deepen. As the breath is deepening, begin to sense into the space around you, hearing any sounds inside the room, outside the room, seeing any light behind the eyelids … Breathing even deeper now, begin to wiggle the toes, the ankles, the fingers, and the wrists. Beginning to stretch, to reach, to yawn yourself awake. (Pause.)

And then rolling yourself over to one side. (Pause.)

Give yourself the hug that you have been longing for. You deserve it.

Offering yourself thoughts, words of love and acceptance at this moment …

Using an exhale, press yourself into a seated position. (Pause.)

Let’s seal in all the good aspects, all the freeing aspects of our practice of Yoga Nidra using the healing tone of Om.

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