How do you best set yourself up for deepest relaxation in your yoga nidra practice? This video brings you through my 5 best tips and tools on how to ensure you get maximum, deepest relaxation in your yoga nidra practice.

No time to watch this 8-minute video? Read the transcript below.

All links to recommended products, including discount codes below too……

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LINKS IN DESCRIPTION:

○ Get my "5 Good Things To Share!" monthly mind + body tips email - this month's edition on living with intention, according to your life purpose (dharma): http://enlightenedspoon.com/5things
○ Manduka PRO yoga mat: https://geni.us/manduka-pro-mat
○ Manduka unBLOK curved yoga block: https://geni.us/manduka-unblok
○ Manduka flat bolster: https://geni.us/manduka-flat-bolster
○ Manduka round bolster: https://geni.us/manduka-round-bolster
○ Manduka cotton blanket: https://geni.us/manduka-cotton-blanket
○ YogaClicks eye pillow: https://www.yogaclicks.com/?rfsn=5382575.660df7&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=5382575.660df7
○ Jaybird Tarah Pro earphones: https://geni.us/P6cTUs

DISCOUNT CODES:

○ Manduka Europe: Use my promo code "ENLIGHTENEDSPOON" for a 10% discount when checking out at https://eu.manduka.com/?rfsn=4562660.df7ab6
○ YogaClicks: Get 15% off your first purchase (automatically applied) with my link: https://www.yogaclicks.com/?rfsn=5382575.660df7&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=5382575.660df7

PS. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something I'll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content each week!

MENTIONED VIDEOS:

○ Best Stress Buster for MENTAL BALANCE + GROUNDING: https://youtu.be/_yvY-fnzFqk
○ All My Manduka Yoga Mat Reviews: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgSmPfcaRy5_yBaTDpy4KXo8CFX9L4vq5
○ Holiday Gift Guide (for more on the Jaybird Tarah Pro earphones): https://youtu.be/nx6fUKJTf5k

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro
00:43 Who Am I?
01:30 Why Practice Yoga Nidra?
02:23 Best Tip #1
02:30 Best Tip #2
02:46 Best Tip #3
04:46 Best Tip #4
05:54 Best Tip #5
06:45 How to Find Your Sankalpa?
07:37 What’s Next?

TRANSCRIPT:

Intro:

When you’re busy and stressed out - let’s face it, time isn’t your friend. So when you’re able to carve out just 15 - 30 minutes of your precious time for some deep rest especially in the middle of your busy day - you wanna make sure it counts. This video takes you through how to set yourself up for deepest relaxation in your yoga nidra practice.

Hi, and welcome back to my channel. I’m Jaime Tan at Enlightened Spoon, feeding your mind, body soul. On this channel you’ll get lifestyle design and easy hacks you can squeeze into your busy day just like today’s… and other times you’ll get nutrition, yoga and meditation videos… all tools to help you stress less, yet accomplish more. So hit that Like button and subscribe if you want more like this.

Who Am I?

Now, I’m a wellness coach trained in nutrition, yoga and meditation, but I’m also an Executive Producer in one of the world’s top creative agencies frequently shooting with celebrities and pro-athletes… so I know what it’s like navigating a busy, full-on life. In the past month, I’ve been on a 19-day production spanning 4 continents, shooting remotely from home… because global pandemic - which means shooting at odd hours sometimes from 1am-1pm, or sometimes working 19-hour days. Of course it’s not ideal to be working those hours, but I recognise it’s not forever, and while you’re in the middle of the storm, you need to change up your daily rituals to help support your present moment.

Why Practice Yoga Nidra?

So… what do I do in these hyper-stressed, sleep-deprived times?

I give myself 15 - 30 minute yoga nidra breaks. It’s like taking a souped up nap, almost equivalent to the rest you’ll get from 2-3 hours of deep sleep. You can watch this previous video on all of the science-backed research on what is Yoga Nidra and why it’s one of my best kept stress-busting secrets, especially when you can slide it into the middle of your busy day.

How do you ensure you get the deepest relaxation possible? I’ve got some suggestions here and sometimes links to products that might help you, along with discount codes. Do note some of these are affiliate links - it just means I make a small commission on every qualifying purchase at no extra cost to you. It simply allows me to continue making these hopefully helpful videos to you.

Here goes:

1. Turn Off All Notifications

If you’re giving yourself a timeout - give yourself a timeout.

2. Go Into “Do Not Disturb” Mode

Whether you’re working from home with a partner or kids around - ensure you lock yourself in a quiet room where you won’t be disturbed. Give yourself this timeout.

3. Get Comfy

Whether this means getting into sweatpants, grabbing a blanket, cushions, pillows… anything you need to support and enhance your practice of Yoga Nidra. This is one of the great things of currently working from home - it’s easy to get comfy.

Now traditionally, you’re laying down on a yoga mat in Savasana, or corpse pose. But for some of us, this can get terribly uncomfortable if we’ve got a thin yoga mat or a really hard floor. What can you do to make this experience a little more comfy?

For example:

Use a thicker yoga mat like a Manduka PRO - you can watch this previous review I made and I’ll also put a link to it in description below.
You can lay blankets or towels on your yoga mat, to make it an even softer, plusher experience.
You can place a yoga bolster or pillow under your knees especially if your lower back tends to hurt after laying flat for too long. Or a pillow under your head.
And if a yoga mat on the floor is just a no go zone for you - you can even lay on your sofa or in bed! Be careful though if you get too comfy and really start to fall asleep. Perhaps then you’ve gotten TOO comfy!

Of course with any of these props, you can always grab what you’ve got around you at home - but if you want my recommendations - All the links to the yoga mats, blankets, bolsters, blocks in the description just below the video! With a discount code for my European viewers. Still valid at the time of making this video.

Check out Manduka Yoga Mats, Blocks, Bolsters

Even though yoga nidra is traditionally done laying down, you could choose to sit down in a chair, or sit down on the floor or on a meditation cushion. You could even do this standing up, or walking around the room. So try this in a few different positions and see what works best for you.

Do you practice yoga nidra and what’s your favourite way of getting comfy? Let me know in the comments below. And if you’re enjoying this, do hit that like button and subscribe to my channel for more like this!

Subscribe to my Channel

4. Use an Eye Pillow

Now - to really enhance the yoga nidra experience, especially if you’re doing this in the middle of the day, I love using an eye pillow. This one by YogaClicks is one of my faves - it’s filled with wheat grains so it’s got a nice weight to it, like a weighted blanket for the eyes. It’s also stuffed with lavender, so it’s got a beautiful relaxing scent. And what I LOVE is that the exterior is like a pillow case, so you can remove it to hand-wash this easily. Great for hygiene. If you’ve seen any of my other yoga mat reviews - you know hygiene and me are a thing.

What you wanna do is place your finger in the middle of it so all the wheat grains fall onto either side. Then place each heavy side lightly onto your eyes, to encourage deeper relaxation with the weight, as well as shutting out daylight.

These eye pillows come with different themed words embroidered on them - mine says “Breathe” as my constant reminder… and I’ve also got another link for you with a 15% discount off your first purchase on the YogaClicks website:

Get 15% off your first purchase on Yogaclicks

5. Use Headphones

Another way to really focus your attention on the yoga nidra practice is to use headphones or earphones. This way you remain undistracted to the sounds around you or outside the room. If you get a little more advanced in your practice, you might actually want to try it without the earphones and see if you’re able to work with any distractions that might be around you, bringing that into your meditation experience as well.

But otherwise, I find using earphones an instant way to draw my focus and attention straight into the guided meditation. If you have a smartphone, you probably already have a pair laying around the house, otherwise, I love these Jaybird Tarah Pro bluetooth wireless earphones - zero cables is the way to go! I talk about them more in this gift guide video. I’ll put a link to it below, along with links to all the other products I mentioned before.

Check out Jaybird EarPhones

What Is Your Heartfelt Desire For This Life?

Now most yoga nidra sessions almost always start off with setting an intention and opening into your heartfelt desire, also known as the Sanskrit term of “sankalpa”. This is where the juiciness lies, beyond that moment of relaxation, this practice can take you so much deeper… but it’s a whole different topic for a different video - I go into more detail about this in this month’s email - I send out 5 Good Things to Share! Every first Sunday of the month and February 2021 is all about living with intention. Connecting with your purpose in life also known as your “dharma code” and you can sign up for it in the link in description below. If you’re watching this after February 2021 but want a link to this sankalpa edition - let me know in the comments below, or you can send me a message on Instagram, my account details up there.

Get my "5 Good Things To Share!" - Mind + Body Email

In my next video I’ll go into more on how you’re being guided through in a yoga nidra session to bring breath, body, mind into equanimity but if you wanna jump in already, try my 15-minute yoga nidra to help calm your mind during the day here, or check out this playlist of all my other yoga nidra meditations here…, if you enjoyed this, smash like and subscribe… I hope this helps you flow through your busy life with more grace, ease and flow… and I’ll see you in the next one!