Free Script:WINTER REST YOGA NIDRA
I have recorded a version of this script… and it’s also for free. ♡
FREE YOGA NIDRA SCRIPT
Hi there!
I absolutely love Yoga Nidra and my intention with sharing free Yoga Nidra scripts is to support and inspire other teachers.
Here’s another free script, this time focusing on autumn. I’ll add more seasons over time and I’ll share a link in my monthly newsletter. (If you missed the Yoga Nidra in Nature and for Sleep: I’ve added links at the bottom of this page.)♡
Before using the script…
…I recommend that you edit it a bit to sound more like “you”. It doesn’t have to be complicated: for example, replace some words/sentences with what resonates better with you – and then it will flow better when you guide the Nidra.
Please note that it’s best to have done a teacher training course in Yoga Nidra before you start guiding it. Yoga Nidra can sometimes be quite intense – which is not dangerous at all but it’s good to know how to make your classes as non-triggering as possible. In our courses we weave in techniques from trauma-informed yoga.
Welcome as you are
Create an allowing, no-performance, and caring atmosphere, where participants feel welcome just the way they are. Give them permission to lie down as they please, let them move during class if they need to and emphasize that there is no failure in Yoga Nidra (not even if you fall asleep!) etc.
If you’ve done a course with us – please check the “What to say beforehand” section in the Yoga Nidra manual for suggestions.
If you want more inspiration, me and my colleagues Melanie Cooper, Johanna Alvin and Josefin Wikström have recordings on Yogobe, Insight Timer and SoundCloud, both in Swedish and English. (Link below.)
If you want the script as a PDF instead (easier to print) just let me know and I’ll send it to you.
With Love,
Jennie
Feel free to use the script as much as you like – except for recording and/or selling it. Thank you for understanding.
YOGA NIDRA
♡ Winter Rest ♡
Jennie Wadsten Sharma
NOTES
You might want to inform your students beforehand what the Nidra session will include.
The Nidra is approx. 30 minutes long – but that depends on how slow you want to go. Try it out and “feel it” before you guide your students to get an idea of speed and if there’s anything you’d like to add/take out.
This Nidra can be used either for Sleep – or at any time of the day. To adjust it accordingly, just add any Return section of your choice. For inspiration, see the other free scripts (or contact me).
INTRO & ARRIVAL
In this Nidra we’ll tune in to the magic of winter, a time of deep and nurturing rest.
In a moment, I’ll invite you to imagine or feel a warm and safe cottage in nature, and if this resonates with you, you can stay there for as long as you want, or you can return to the room you’re in right now whenever you feel like it.
Remember that everything I say is just an invitation: if anything that I say doesn’t resonate with you – then go ahead and explore your OWN experience.
Sometimes there’ll be moments of silence – but I’ll still be right here.
So, let’s get started.
If you haven’t already: grab pillows and blankets and get comfortable.
Pause
And then tuning in to your breath.
Pause
Is it shallow? Are you in a hurry? Or maybe it’s calm?
Pause
No matter what you explore – see if you can make the BREATH even more… enjoyable. Calm and steady…
Pause
And then tuning into your body a bit more:
If you want, rub your hands together – as you might do on a cold day…
And keeping your hands together, notice any sensations in the palms of your hands.
If you can’t feel anything special – that’s also a sensation!
And imagine that you’re holding something warm. Maybe a cup of tea or hot chocolate.
Imagine your hands getting warmer.
And then placing your hands on your belly for a moment.
Maybe feeling your breath.
Pause
You’re softening…
Pause
VISUALISE
(Add pauses whenever you like.)
If you like: stay where you are, visualize or feel the room you’re in right now – or imagine a cozy cottage in the winter.
It’s a beautiful evening, peaceful and quiet – and you’re standing on the porch, just about to enter the house – but pausing a moment: in awe of the stillness.
The ground is covered by a soft and thick cotton blanket of snow, as if nature has settled down for a deep winter rest.
The snow sparkles in the moonlight.
You’ve been outside for a while, maybe skiing, maybe hiking, and you’re feeling a bit cold, so you open the door and step in. The cottage is warm and safe, and maybe you’re being greeted by a happy animal, and it makes you smile.
You change into your pyjamas and sit or lie down on a sofa by a window: wrapped up in a warm blanket, feeling relaxed and comfortably sleepy. Protected from the outside world.
What does it look like in the cottage?
Maybe there’s a fireplace…
What else?
How does it smell?
What sounds do you hear?
ROTATION AROUND THE BODY
(BODY SCAN)
And as you sit or lie there in the cottage – or in your own bed, we’ll rotate the awareness around the body: inviting rest.
As I mention a body part – let it soften – a little bit more…
Relaxing the forehead… the eyes… the nose… the mouth… the cheeks… the whole face… the ears… the top of the head… the back of the head… the whole head.
The neck… the throat…
The right shoulder… left shoulder… the right upper arm… the left upper arm… the right lower arm… the left lower arm… the right hand… the left hand…
Inviting rest into both arms and hands.
The chest. The shoulder blades. The front of the ribs. The back of the ribs.
The belly. The lower back.
Inviting rest into the whole upper body: front – and back.
The pelvic floor. The right hip – the left hip – the right thigh – the left thigh – the right lower leg – the right foot – the left foot.
Inviting rest into both hips, legs and feet.
Inviting rest into the whole body.
You’re softening…
Pause
OPPOSITES
(Add pauses whenever you like.)
Imagine you’re sitting or lying there in the cottage, snuggled up and warm… watching the stars through the window… and you open the window for a moment – enjoying the contrasts: the warm blanket – and the fresh and crisp air outside.
What does winter smell like?
Feel or imagine that your body is grounded and relaxed.
And now, imagine that the whole body is light, and free…
And again, grounded and relaxed.
And if you want, you can stay there for a while, on the sofa, tucked under and comfortable, or imagine feeling light again… so light… you’re floating…
and maybe you’re surprised at first… and then amazed…
…drifting… maybe towards the night sky…
Weightless… free…
What does it look like among the stars?
…and then, like a snowflake, slowly and peacefully coming back down.
You’re softening…
Pause
IMAGES & FREE FLOW
And flow with whatever experience you have right now… or if you want: visualize or feel a snowflake… snow on a tree… stillness… ice on a lake… a jetty… a thermos with hot tea or coffee… glittering snow under a streetlight… frost on a window… silence…
… a fireplace… a candle… a book… a warm blanket… stars…
And now let images and sensations flow…
Longer pause
Letting images and sensations come – and go…
Longer pause
You’re softening…
Longer pause
(SANKALPA)
If you’re using a Sankalpa: include it again here.
RETURN/END
…and now we’ve come to the end of our practice together…
Include a return of your choice. For inspiration – see the other scripts below.
If you’re guiding a Yoga Nidra for sleep, you can end the practice by saying “Sleep well” three times if that resonates with you.
If you want to listen to a recording to a similar version of this Nidra, see link below.