Last updated on December 2nd, 2023.
This may sound surprising, but you need to teach more than just yoga poses when working as a yoga teacher. You may be asked to solve various problems that your students may have. Yes, you’ll probably be called on to help your students with problems from insomnia to negative feelings about themselves.
There’s a type of yoga that can definitely help students with those problems. Yoga Nidra is a practice that allows students to relax into a deep sleep-like state. It helps students with stress, depression and even insomnia. And it can even help with self-care and self-love, reminding students not to neglect themselves.
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Writing a Yoga Nidra Script
As a yoga teacher or an aspiring yoga teacher, you’ll definitely want to have a variety of set scripts you can use for different yoga styles. For instance, you may want to have a generic easy Hatha yoga class script that you could use for a beginner class. And, a chair yoga script is essential if you are hired to teach a yoga class for seniors. Also useful is having a Yoga Nidra script that you can use when you are teaching yoga for relaxation.
A Yoga Nidra class is pretty straightforward. You’re guiding your students to a deep, sleep-like state. (Check out this article specifically talking about Yoga Nidra for Sleep). To prepare teaching a Yoga Nidra class, you’ll need to practice guiding your students with a quiet, gentle voice. You’ll want to choose quiet meditative music or sounds, such as ocean waves, light rain or even a low ambient hum.
You’ll need to prepare the space for the Yoga Nidra class if you’re teaching in person, or, if you’re teaching an online class, you’ll need to give your students directions on how they should set up their space for maximum comfort. For instance, the Yoga Nidra space should be dark. Ambient light is a good idea. You’ll want to make sure that the space isn’t too cold or too hot; you don’t want to your students to be distracted. In fact, try to minimize all distractions in the space. Make sure your students have blankets and bolsters under their knees if needed.
We’ll be offering some tips below for you to write your own Yoga Nidra script. You can take those tips and personalize for your class. After you write your script, read it out, and time it, so you’ll know how long the session will be. You can do a “dress rehearsal,” and set up your space, complete with low lighting and calming music. Get a feel for the class before teaching it to people. You could even test it out with friends or relatives and ask for feedback so that you can finetune the class for optimum relaxation.
We’ll also give you some tips for writing a self-love Yoga Nidra session. These tips will allow you to facilitate a class to open your students’ hearts to love. They’ll become aware that they are worthy of self-love and the love of others. And, you’ll help your students learn to practice self-care and stop neglecting themselves and their hearts.
So, please read on to incorporate all of these Yoga Nidra tips for your teaching. You can take the ideas and expand upon them and compose them in your own voice. Not only will you help your students live calmer lives and practice self-love, you’ll increase the feeling of joy in your life from helping others. So read on below for all of our tips.
If you are still not a teacher, but it is one of your goals to become one, check out the best online Yoga Nidra Teacher Training in that article!
The 7 steps to create your own Yoga Nidra script.
I actually have 8 Yoga Nidra script tips because we have to prepare a quiet space before we begin the class. So, my first tip is that if you are teaching in a studio, prepare a warm, dark and calm area in your studio. If you are teaching online, ask your students to set up their mat in a quiet space with no distractions. Then, construct your Yoga Nidra script for the following Yoga Nidra stages.
1. Making an affirmation.
Guide your students into making an affirmation or intention in the Yoga Nidra stage knows as Sankalpa. The phrase affirms something you are feeling such as “I am loving,” or something that you are striving for, such as “I am healed.” Even though healing could be something you are working toward, teachers guide their students to craft their intention in the present tense, manifesting change in themselves. Ask your students to repeat their affirmation three times silently, planting the seed of change in their minds.
2. Scanning the body.
Guide your students to scan their body. You’ll start on the right side with the thumb. And you’ll ask the students to be aware of the right thumb, then move to each individual finger, wrist, arm and so on, all the way down to the little toe. Then, guide the students through the same exercise on the left side of the body.
3. Centering the breath.
Direct your students to clear their minds and just become aware of their breath. Guide them through “belly breathing,” asking them to breathe through their nose and fill up their belly like a balloon. Ask your students to draw their attention to their inhales and exhales as well as to their inner sensations and inner energy. Some Yoga Nidra teachers direct their students to count down each inhale and exhale, from 40 to 1.
4. Welcoming your feelings.
Ask your students to acknowledge any sensations, opinions or feelings that they are now experiencing, without any judgment or opinion. You can tell your students that this step will allow them to gain willpower and will make it easier for them to relax.
5. Visualizing images.
Guide your students through this step by naming a series of things from nature and life and having them visualize them, being aware of their emotions, memories and imagination. There are many things to choose from. Obviously, the items should be calming, such as a desert sunset, a purring cat, a loving embrace, etc.
6. Repeating the affirmation.
Ask your students to repeat the Sankalpa stage. Direct them to repeat their affirmation three times silently to themselves. It will remind them of their intention, allowing that intention to enter their subconscious mind and sparking them to successfully manifest that intention.
7. Re-entering the real world.
Invite your students to slowly become aware. Have them keep their eyes closed and listen to their breath, feel their body and recognize where they are. Guide them through awakening their limbs, first by slowly wiggling their fingers and toes and then by moving their wrists and ankles, and so on. Invite your students to take a full-body stretch if they’d like.
Finally, they should slowly and gently come to a seated pose. They can keep their eyes closed if they wish. Once seated, guide your students to place their palms together by their heart and take a deep inhale and exhale. Classes generally end by saying Namaste. There are various mantras that yoga teachers may invoke at the end of a class, but Namaste is quite popular to end a class with. Invite your class to take as long as they need to stand up and leave the space.
After class is over, you may want to check in with your students and ask them how they feel or if they have any questions. Even though they may not have fallen asleep completely, they may be a bit shaky when getting on their feet again, so remind them to be safe if they are driving home.
Again, you can take the suggestions above and modify them for your own audience, whether in a studio classroom setting or online. Make it your own; that will help you understand and remember the routine.
Advice for Writing a Yoga Nidra Script on Self Love
If you ask most people these days, they probably don’t have time for self-care and self-love. They’re too busy working, rushing around to take the kids to various activities or trying to figure out what to cobble together for a semi-healthy meal. Who’s got time to think about themselves? Well, reconnecting with yourself will allow you to open your heart and affirm that you are worthy, loved and compassionate.
There are themed Yoga Nidra classes for insomnia, chronic pain and even for self-love. So, we have some tips for you to create your own Yoga Nidra script for self-love, to help your students remember to give and receive love, and to love and care for themselves.
1. Getting comfortable.
Invite your students to lay down on their mats, again, in a quiet, calm space. Perhaps they want a blanket or a bolster under their knees. Ask your students to become aware of their body and to feel connected to the earth from where their body touches the mat.
2. Becoming aware of breath and sensation.
Direct your students to close their eyes and become aware of their breath. Guide them to notice their inhales and exhales. And have them begin to notice how they feel physically and emotionally, without judgment. Perhaps they are tense; have them acknowledge that feeling but criticize themselves about being tense. They should remain neutral about any sensations or feeling.
3. Opening the heart.
Ask your students to place their hands over their heart. Guide them through a heart-opening exercise. They could ask themselves how their heart feels, that place where they love themselves and others. Ask them if they feel their heart growing with joy and opening to love.
4. Breathe out negativity.
Direct your students to begin inhaling love and exhaling negative thoughts about themselves. Ask them to inhale the love they feel from others, such as their friends and loved ones. Or love from the earth. Have them exhale any self-criticism and long-held harsh opinions of themselves.
5. Affirming themselves.
Your students can begin to affirm their self-worth. For instance, you could direct them to inhale an affirmation such as “I am worthy of love” and exhale “I am loved.”
6. Filling the heart with love.
Now, have you students imagine inhaling love into their heart. Have them visualize their entire body filled with love. Have them feel the warmth of love from the top of their head to the bottoms of their feet. Guide them to visualize that they are glowing with love.
7. Coming back to awareness.
After a few moments, bring your students back to awareness. Have them become aware of their breath through some deep inhales and exhales. The, have them wiggle their fingers and their toes and then the rest of their body. Direct them to softly and gently sit up, still with their eyes closed. Ask your students to bring their hands together to their heart. And direct them to revel in love for a few breaths and then open their eyes slowly and gently. Remind them to feel the love that they’ve manifested and hold onto it as they go through their day.
Moving forward.
The point is to share the key benefits of Yoga Nidra with your students. With our busy and hectic lives, we generally neglect self-care and self-love. We are stressed and tense and we don’t make any attempts to relax. We may not feel we are worthy of caring for ourselves. Well, Yoga Nidra is a fantastic way to care for ourselves. To release ourselves from negative thoughts and to relax our bodies and our minds.
If you want to learn more poses to incorporate in your script, check out the complete guide to yoga poses for more ideas. We hope the tips for creating a Yoga Nidra script will help you create a calming script to teach your students to relax, heal, and improve their sleep.
We’d also suggest that you to incorporate self-love into your yoga practice and your yoga teaching. You could take some or all of our self-love tips to create a Yoga Nidra script. You’ll be helping your students open their hearts and increase their joy. And, teaching a self-love Yoga Nidra class will help you increase your love for yourself and others. It’s a beautiful practice and we hope you allow love into your life.
