Yoga Nidra Script for Rest and Renewal

Yoga Nidra Practice for Rest and Renewal

In just a few minutes, this guided meditation supports a relaxed, receptive state. Through gentle attention, breath, and imagery, it invites a soft settling of the body and nervous system, deepening the breath and supporting restoration without effort.

Rooted in listening, warmth, and quiet intention, awareness moves from the heart into the hands and through the whole body - from inward nourishment to outward expression, as the energy of love moving into the world.

You might explore this meditation within your own personal practice, returning to it whenever you wish to replenish and settle into balance, warmth, and ease.

You are also welcome to use it, or to draw inspiration from it within your yoga classes, as a way to support students in arriving on the mat, or to offer it as a Savasana closing visualization for sealing the practice with a few moments of quiet, heart-centered pause. May this short practice offer a moment of gentleness, for you and for those you guide.

I am happy to share that a new offering is on the horizon - one that has been slowly taking shape through many years of teaching and practice. Rooted in the heart of Yoga Nidra and a deep love for this work of sacred rest and all it serves, I look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks ahead. 💜

Yoga Nidra Mini · Lotuses of the Hands · ~10 minutes

Come to a comfortable meditative posture.

This might be seated, or lying down with the body stretched out and supported.

Allow the body to settle, and let the hands rest lightly on the legs or the earth, palms facing upward. (pause)

Take a few slow breaths in… and out. (pause)

Sense your whole being settling into this present time and space.

Let go of the weight of the body. Let go of the work of the muscles.

Let go of any need to do, or to be anywhere or anything else for right now.

Let go of all effort. (pause)

Bring a gentle, open attention toward the heart space, noticing the soft warmth that is present.

Enjoy a few more easy breaths, as though breathing directly through the space of the heart. (pause)

Sense the warmth of the heart and warmth of the breath, meeting and mingling deep within. (pause)

Let the breath remain effortless, relaxed, and at ease.

Follow the heart’s warmth as it extends naturally downward, through the belly.

Enjoy a lingering breath in and out, feeling this warmth and ease filling the belly. (pause)

Follow the heart’s warmth now through the hips, the legs, and into the feet and toes…

Feel the whole lower body warm and at ease. (pause)

From the heart, sense the warmth flowing upward through the shoulders, down the arms, and into the palms and fingers.

Feel both arms, hands, and fingers warm, relaxed, and receptive. (pause)

Let your awareness rest in the palms of both hands, where the energies of giving and receiving meet…this warmth flowing outward from the heart and into the hands. (pause)

Bring your attention now to the center of the right palm, there you might sense a soft white lotus appearing, delicate and luminous, a lotus offered from the heart, now resting so lightly in your right hand.

In the right palm lives the energy of offering, radiating the natural impulse to give, to extend care and love into the world.

You might allow a simple blessing or prayer to form here, something you wish to offer outward, carried gently on the breath. (pause)

Sense how this movement of giving softens the heart, creating space for balance and ease. (pause)

Bring your attention now to the left palm. In the center of the left palm, a second soft white lotus, blossoming slowly and gently…emerging from the heart, now resting lightly in your left hand.

Here, sense the energy of receiving, a willingness to receive the care, support, and love of others. (pause)

Allow this openness to be felt in the heart, offering rest and ease. (pause)

Right hand lotus…left hand lotus…the equal grace of offering and receiving, allowing care, comfort, and love to be felt by all.

Rest with both hands open, a lotus blossoming within each, feeling the heart’s energy moving through them, connecting heart and hand, being and doing, inner stillness and outward expression.

As you rest within this awareness, widen your attention to encompass your whole body. (pause)

Sense the whole body as a single lotus blossoming…rooted in the earth, open to the sky, luminous and glowing with love in every cell. (pause)

Remain here for a few moments, letting this quiet radiance ride the breath, moving through the tender field of your own awakened wholeness. (long pause)

If you're looking for more Yoga Nidra meditations to nourish the mind and spirit, you might enjoy my book - The Book of Yoga Nidra Meditation Scripts now available on Amazon 🕊