Yoga nidra: a 20-minute yogic sleep script for beginners

What yoga nidra is

Yoga nidra means "yogic sleep". It's a guided meditation you do lying down, where your body goes heavy and floaty like you're falling asleep, but part of your mind stays softly awake, following a voice or a script.

It's the most relaxing thing on this whole site, and you literally don't have to do anything. No sitting up straight, no breath counting you can get wrong. You lie down and listen.

People also call it NSDR (non-sleep deep rest), which is the same idea with a more modern name 🫧

Where yoga nidra comes from

The word is old. In Sanskrit epics and Puranas, yoganidra is the cosmic sleep of the god Vishnu between the ages of the world. In medieval hatha and raja yoga texts, it's another name for samadhi, a deep meditative state beyond waking, dreaming and sleep.

The step-by-step practice most people mean today is much newer. It was set out in the 1960s and 70s at the Bihar School of Yoga in India, whose 1976 book Yoga Nidra gave it the shape it still has. Scholars Jason Birch and Jacqueline Hargreaves traced the parts: some come from tantric practices like nyasa (placing awareness on parts of the body), and some, like the resolve, look a lot like Western relaxation methods from the early 1900s.

So it's a modern practice with old roots. Both things are true, and it's still lovely.

The 8 stages

The classic method has eight parts. The script below follows them:

1. Settling in. Lie down and get still.
2. Sankalpa. A short resolve, said silently.
3. Rotation of awareness. Your attention moves quickly around the body.
4. Breath awareness. Counting breaths backwards.
5. Opposites. Feeling heavy, then light. Warm, then cool.
6. Visualisation. A few calm images.
7. Sankalpa again.
8. Coming back.

Before you start

• Lie on your back on a mat, a rug or your bed, arms a little away from your sides, palms up. A pillow under your knees is so nice.
• Cover yourself with a blanket. You cool down fast.
• Pick your sankalpa: one short, positive sentence in the present tense, like "I am calm and steady" or "I rest easily". Keep the same one for a few weeks.
• Decide if this is a daytime rest (try to stay awake) or a bedtime one (falling asleep is totally fine).

A 20-minute yoga nidra script

Read it through once, then do it from memory, or record yourself reading it slowly and play it back. Pause between every line.

Settling in (2 minutes). Close your eyes. Let your body get heavy on the floor. Take a big breath in, and let it go with a sigh. Say silently: "I'm going to practise yoga nidra. I'm awake and aware." Notice the sounds far away, then the sounds close by, then the room around you.

Sankalpa (1 minute). Say your sankalpa silently, three times, as if it's already true.

Rotation of awareness (5 minutes). Move your attention to each place as you name it. Don't move, just notice. Right thumb, first finger, second finger, third finger, little finger. Palm, back of the hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, upper arm, shoulder. Right side of the waist, hip, thigh, knee, shin, ankle, heel, sole, toes. Then the whole left side the same way. Then the back: shoulder blades, spine, lower back, buttocks, backs of the legs. Then the front: forehead, eyebrows, the space between them, eyes, cheeks, nose, lips, chin, throat, chest, belly. The whole right side. The whole left side. The whole body, all at once.

Breath (4 minutes). Feel the natural breath, without changing it. Now count each breath backwards from 27: "breathing in, 27, breathing out, 27; breathing in, 26…". If you lose count, start again at 27. Nobody's checking.

Opposites (3 minutes). Feel your body getting very heavy, sinking into the floor. Heavier. Now feel it getting light, like it could float up. Now feel warmth, like sunshine on your skin. Now coolness, like a breeze.

Visualisation (3 minutes). Picture each image for a moment, then let it go: a calm lake at sunrise. A candle flame. A pink cloud. A full moon over water. Your own front door. Soft white light.

Sankalpa again (1 minute). Say your sankalpa silently three times.

Coming back (1 minute). Feel your breath. Feel the floor under you. Hear the room. Wiggle your fingers and toes, stretch, roll onto your side, and slowly sit up. Say silently: "Yoga nidra is complete."

Shorter versions

• 11 minutes: settling, sankalpa, a quicker body rotation, 9 breaths backwards, sankalpa, coming back.
• 5 minutes: a plain body scan from toes to head. It's not the full method, but it's the same vibe.

What the research says

• A 2022 review gathered yoga nidra studies reporting less stress and anxiety, better sleep and some changes in the body. Most of those studies were small, so it's an early picture, not a settled one.
• A 2022 online trial gave 341 people an 11-minute yoga nidra recording to use for 30 days and compared them with 430 people on a waitlist. The yoga nidra group reported a little less stress, a little better sleep quality and a little more well-being. The effects were small, and there was no active comparison.
• A small 2002 brain-scan study found more dopamine activity in part of the brain during yoga nidra, in a handful of experienced practitioners.

What it can't do: you'll see posts saying an hour of yoga nidra equals four hours of sleep. There's no good research behind that. Yoga nidra is lovely rest, and it isn't a stand-in for sleep. If you're having trouble sleeping for weeks, please talk to a doctor. There's real, effective help for that.

Go deeper

Yoga nidra loves company: try 4-7-8 breathing before you lie down, or a 528 Hz track playing quietly. Our Kundalini for Babes course has a whole lesson on deep relaxation, and the free 7-Day Chakra Challenge is the softest place to start 🌙

FAQ

What is yoga nidra?

Yoga nidra, or "yogic sleep", is a guided meditation done lying down. You follow a script through a resolve, a tour of the body, breath counting and simple images while staying softly awake.

Is it okay to fall asleep during yoga nidra?

Yes. At bedtime, falling asleep is a lovely result. In the daytime, the aim is to stay aware, so try a slightly cooler room or keep your eyes a little open.

How long is a yoga nidra session?

Most sessions are 20 to 45 minutes. Short ones of 10 or 11 minutes are popular too, and one recent trial used an 11-minute version.

Can yoga nidra replace sleep?

No. It's deep rest, and many people find it refreshing, but there's no good evidence it can replace sleep. If you're struggling to sleep, see a doctor.

Sources

• Birch J, Hargreaves J (2015). Yoganidra: an understanding of the history and context. The Luminescent. theluminescent.org
• Bihar School of Yoga (1976). Yoga Nidra. Munger, India.
• Pandi-Perumal SR, Spence DW, Srivastava N, et al. (2022). The origin and clinical relevance of yoga nidra. Sleep and Vigilance 6(1):61-84. PubMed Central
• Moszeik EN, von Oertzen T, Renner KH (2022). Effectiveness of a short yoga nidra meditation on stress, sleep, and well-being in a large and diverse sample. Current Psychology 41:5272-5286. Springer
• Kjaer TW, Bertelsen C, Piccini P, et al. (2002). Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change of consciousness. Cognitive Brain Research 13(2):255-259. PubMed
• Farias M, Maraldi E, Wallenkampf KC, Lucchetti G (2020). Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 142(5):374-393. PubMed