Written by Desmond Olubunmi · Founder of Sunya
A practice of guided rest rooted in the ancient tradition of Yoga Nidra. The body becomes profoundly still — as if asleep — while the mind remains clear and quietly aware. A powerful way to recharge the energy body and calm the nervous system at any time of day.
In ordinary rest the mind is either active or unconscious. NSDR occupies a rare third state: the body fully released from effort while awareness remains gently present. In this state the nervous system recalibrates deeply — accumulated tension discharges, the life force replenishes, and the mind rests in a natural stillness that active thinking never allows.
Find a comfortable position lying on your back, eyes closed. Your only goal for the next ten minutes is to remain as still as possible and gently guide your awareness. Settle your body. Take a few slow, deep breaths. With each exhale, feel the body soften and sink into the surface beneath you. Release all tension and relax completely. Scan your awareness.
Begin a gentle journey of attention through the body, noticing any sensations without judgment. Start at the tips of the toes and slowly guide awareness up through the feet, the legs, and the torso. Then scan from the right fingertips up the right arm to the shoulder, and from the left fingertips up the left arm to the shoulder.
Finally, bring awareness slowly to the neck, face, and the top of the head. Feel the whole body. Now bring awareness to the entire body at once — feel it as a single, unified field of sensation, completely relaxed from head to toe. Rest with the breath.
With the whole body totally relaxed, let your awareness come to rest on the natural, effortless movement of the breath, without trying to change it. Be the witness. Drop all sense of doing and simply be. If thoughts arise, let them pass. You remain as the silent, peaceful witness.
To conclude, bring gentle movement back to the fingers and toes, then slowly roll onto one side and ease up to a seated position.
Occasional writing on the levers, the practices, and how to actually work with them.
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