Practice: Yoga Nidra for Deep Renewal

When was the last time you let your body do the healing by doing less? We invite you to lie down, soften your gaze inward, and experience a guided Yoga Nidra—yogic sleep—that helps release tension, restore the nervous system, and reconnect you with a quiet source of renewal. This practice anchors our October theme, rituals of restoration, and it’s crafted to be accessible: no props required, no experience needed, just a few minutes of uninterrupted stillness.

We start by setting a simple intention—restoration, peace, or renewal—then guide you through a precise body scan that travels from fingers and wrists through shoulders, down to toes and hips, and up through the pelvis, chest, back, neck, and crown. As attention flows part by part, the mind unwinds and the body recognizes safety, easing you toward the restorative parasympathetic state. If seated meditation feels hard, this lying-down approach can be a welcome doorway into deep rest.

The core takeaway is simple and radical: restoration isn’t something you earn; it’s your birthright. Use this session as an evening wind-down, a midday reset, or a weekend ritual to replenish your energy and reconnect with purpose. 

If the practice supports you, share it with a friend who could use a gentle reset. Subscribe for weekly practices and reflections, leave a review to help others find the show, and tell us: what intention are you carrying into your next moment?

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Chapters

• 0:08 Welcome and Purpose
• 1:09 October Theme: Rituals of Restoration
• 1:19 Introducing Yoga Nidra
• 1:47 Setup and Intention Setting
• 3:14 Guided Body Awareness: Right Side
• 4:05 Guided Body Awareness: Left Side
• 4:54 Lower Body and Full Body Scan
• 6:18 Breath, Light, and Renewal
• 9:30 Reawakening and Closing Reflection

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:08

Hi, I'm Lizzie. Have you ever felt that your life was missing purpose, joy, or deep connection? Welcome to the Modern Zen Collective Podcast, where we embrace holistic living for a joyful purpose-driven life.

SPEAKER_02: 0:26

In today's episode, we will be sharing one of the practices we use to help us release, receive, come back into alignment, and connect with the divinity within and all around us.

SPEAKER_01: 0:37

We hope you enjoy it and continue to join us weekly on the Modern Zen Collective Podcast, elevating your mind, body, and spirit. And now, today's practice. All October, we're moving through the theme of rituals of restoration, honoring the power of slowing down, tending to ourselves, and finding renewal. Today I'm going to guide you through a Yoga Nidra practice, sometimes called yogic sleep, to help you release tension and restore your whole being. I love Yoga Nidra so much, and I'm so excited to bring this to the podcast and allow you to experience this deeply restorative state where the body rests, the mind softens, and your spirit is allowed to renew itself. So find a comfortable lying position. It's important to be lying down this time. Arms relaxed at your sides, palms facing up. Feet gently falling outward, hips allowing to be open up towards the sky. Let your whole body sink down. Allow it to release. Allow it to be supported. And gently close your eyes. To begin, I'd like you to bring to mind an intention for this practice. Perhaps restoration or peace, maybe renewal. Let this intention whisper through your heart. Now I will guide you through awareness of the body. Move gently with my words, not your muscles. Bring awareness to your right thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, palm of your right hand, back of the hand, right wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder. Bring your awareness to the left thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger, the palm of your right hand, the back of the hand, the left wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder. Bring your awareness to the toes on the right foot, the sole, heel, top of the right foot, ankle, calf, knee, thigh, hip. Now bring your awareness to the toes on the left foot, sole, heel, the top of the left foot, ankle, cap, knee, thigh, hip. Allow awareness to flow through the pelvis, belly, chest, back, neck, face, the back of the head, the crown of the head.

SPEAKER_00: 7:18

Inhale and exhale.

SPEAKER_01: 8:18

Each ray of light dissolves tension and fills you with warmth, peace, and renewal. I am renewed. I am deeply restored. Begin to deepen your breath. Bring some slow movement back into the body, wiggle your fingers and your toes, roll out your wrists and your inkles, and take a full big inhale in. And a slow, complete exhale out. Remember, restoration isn't something you have to earn, it's your birthright. Thank you for being here with us in this ritual of restoration. We can't wait to continue this journey with you in our next episode.