30-Minute Yoga Nidra Script (Full Text, Deep Rest Version)
Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 20 September 2026
Thirty minutes gives room for the parts of the practice that get cut at shorter lengths: a slower rotation, two sets of opposites, a short passage of imagery and a return that does not feel like an alarm clock. This is the version to use at the weekend, after a long week, or when you simply want the full shape of the practice.
The short answers
- A complete thirty-minute script with the full structure and generous silences.
- Structure: settle (4 min), sankalpa (2 min), extended rotation (10 min), breath (5 min), opposites (4 min), imagery (3 min), return (2 min).
- The imagery section is optional and marked as such — leave it out if guided images unsettle you.
- At this length, warmth matters: a blanket over the body and something under the knees.
- Best in the afternoon or early evening; at thirty minutes late at night most people sleep through it.
- Read slowly, around 100 words per minute, and let every marked pause be real.
Before you begin
Set up properly for half an hour of stillness: a mat or rug, a folded blanket under the head, a bolster or rolled blanket under the knees, a blanket over the whole body, and the room slightly dim. Turn the phone off rather than to silent.
If you are pregnant, lie on your left side with support between the knees. If lying down aggravates your back, use a chair with the feet supported.
The script
[Begin. Fifteen seconds of silence.]
Let the practice begin by doing nothing. No effort is required for the next half hour. The body has arranged itself; let it stay exactly as it is.
Feel the weight of the body against the floor. Notice each place where the body is supported — the back of the head, the shoulder blades, the upper arms, the forearms, the hands, the pelvis, the backs of the thighs, the calves, the heels.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
Let the breath be exactly as it is. No lengthening, no deepening. Let it move on its own.
Soften the forehead. Soften the muscles around the eyes. Let the eyes be still behind closed lids. Let the jaw hang loose, the teeth unclenched, the tongue resting on the floor of the mouth.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
Listen outward. The furthest sound you can hear — traffic, wind, a room elsewhere in the building. Let awareness travel to it without effort.
Now the nearest sounds. The sound of your own breath. Perhaps the sound of your own heartbeat.
Now all sound together, near and far, without preferring any of it.
[Pause, 45 seconds.]
Make the resolve to remain awake. Not braced, not vigilant — awake and resting.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
If you use a sankalpa, bring it now. One short sentence, present tense, unhurried. Repeat it silently three times with full attention, as though it were already the case.
[Pause, 60 seconds.]
Now the rotation of consciousness. Each part of the body will be named. Let awareness touch it and move on. Nothing to feel. Nothing to correct.
Right hand thumb. Second finger. Third finger. Fourth finger. Fifth finger. Palm of the hand. Back of the hand. Wrist. Lower arm. Elbow. Upper arm. Shoulder. Armpit. Right side of the chest. Right ribs. Right waist. Right hip. Right buttock. Right thigh. Kneecap. Back of the knee. Shin. Calf. Ankle. Heel. Sole of the foot. Top of the foot. Big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe.
[Pause, 20 seconds.]
Left hand thumb. Second finger. Third finger. Fourth finger. Fifth finger. Palm of the hand. Back of the hand. Wrist. Lower arm. Elbow. Upper arm. Shoulder. Armpit. Left side of the chest. Left ribs. Left waist. Left hip. Left buttock. Left thigh. Kneecap. Back of the knee. Shin. Calf. Ankle. Heel. Sole of the foot. Top of the foot. Big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe.
[Pause, 20 seconds.]
The back of the body now. Back of the head. Nape of the neck. Right shoulder blade. Left shoulder blade. The space between the shoulder blades. Right side of the spine. Left side of the spine. The whole length of the spine. Right side of the lower back. Left side of the lower back. The base of the spine. The whole back of the body, from the head to the heels.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
The front and the head. Crown of the head. Forehead. Right temple. Left temple. Right eyebrow. Left eyebrow. The space between the eyebrows. Right eyelid. Left eyelid. Right eye. Left eye. Right ear. Left ear. Right cheek. Left cheek. Right nostril. Left nostril. Tip of the nose. Upper lip. Lower lip. The mouth. The chin. The jaw. The throat. The right collarbone. The left collarbone. The right side of the chest. The left side of the chest. The centre of the chest. The upper abdomen. The navel. The lower abdomen. The right groin. The left groin.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
Now larger areas. The whole right arm. The whole left arm. The whole right leg. The whole left leg. The whole torso. The whole head. The whole body, complete, lying still.
[Pause, 60 seconds.]
Let awareness move to the breath. Find it at the nostrils first — the cool air arriving, the warmer air leaving.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
Now follow the breath inward: the nostrils, the throat, the chest, the abdomen. And outward again: the abdomen, the chest, the throat, the nostrils. Follow that path without changing the breath.
[Pause, 60 seconds.]
Now count. Silently, backwards from twenty-seven. Twenty-seven, breathing in; twenty-seven, breathing out. Twenty-six, breathing in; twenty-six, breathing out. Continue in your own time. If the count is lost, begin again at twenty-seven, without any judgement at all.
[Pause, 2 minutes 30 seconds.]
Let the counting go.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
Pairs of opposites now. First, heaviness. Let the body become heavy — heavy limbs, heavy head, the whole body pressing down into the floor.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
Now lightness. The body light, weightless, almost floating. Every part of the body light.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
Heaviness and lightness together, both present in the same body.
[Pause, 20 seconds.]
Now warmth. Recall warmth — sun on the skin, warm water, a warm room. Let the sensation of warmth spread through the body.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
Now coolness. Cool air, cool water, cool stone. Let coolness move through the body.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
Warmth and coolness together. Then let both dissolve.
[Pause, 30 seconds.]
[Optional imagery section — omit if imagery is unsettling for you or your students.]
Now a few images. Let each one appear if it comes, and let it go without holding on. There is no need to see anything clearly.
A candle flame, steady in still air. [Pause, 15 seconds.] A wide, empty beach at first light. [Pause, 15 seconds.] An old tree with deep roots. [Pause, 15 seconds.] Still water with no wind on it. [Pause, 15 seconds.] An open night sky. [Pause, 20 seconds.] A single point of light at the centre of the chest.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
Let all images go. Rest in the darkness behind the eyes.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
If you used a sankalpa, repeat it once more now, three times, clearly.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
Now begin the return, slowly. Become aware of the room again — its size, its air, its sound. Become aware of the body lying on the floor, and of the breath moving in it.
Let the breath deepen. Let the fingers move a little, and the toes. Let small movements come back in their own time.
Roll onto one side. Rest there for several breaths.
[Pause, 40 seconds.]
Come up to sitting slowly, eyes still closed. Sit for a few breaths before opening the eyes.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is complete.
Notes on use
Half an hour late at night usually becomes sleep — that is fine, but if you want the practice rather than the nap, put it in the afternoon or early evening. Reading this aloud takes roughly thirty minutes at a slow pace with the pauses observed; if you finish in twenty, you read too fast.
Shorter versions: the 20-minute script and the 10-minute script. For night use, the script for sleep ends without waking you.
How to use it
Set up for half an hour of stillness
Head support, knee support, a blanket over the body, dim room, phone off. Discomfort at minute twenty ruins the session.
Take four minutes to settle
Contact points, face, breath, then sound — near, far and all at once. The length of the settling makes the long rotation possible.
Rotate slowly
Ten minutes for the extended sequence, including large areas at the end. Even pace, no emphasis.
Follow the breath, then count down from twenty-seven
Nostrils, throat, chest, abdomen and back again, then a silent countdown restarted without judgement whenever it is lost.
Use two pairs of opposites
Heavy and light, then warm and cool, each held separately and then together before being released.
Return over two full minutes
Room, body, breath, small movements, side-lying, sitting, eyes last. Never sit up quickly from a long session.
Cautions worth reading
- Yoga Nidra is guided rest, not treatment. If you live with trauma, dissociation, psychosis or severe insomnia, keep sessions short, stay with body and breath rather than imagery, and work alongside a clinician rather than self-prescribing long practices. Never listen while driving or operating anything.
- Never listen while driving or operating machinery.
- Pregnancy: practise on the left side with support rather than flat on the back.
- Skip the imagery section if guided images provoke anxiety, intrusive memories or dissociation — the body and breath sections are enough.
- Half an hour of stillness cools the body; use a blanket, and get up slowly afterwards.
Where the evidence stands
Most Yoga Nidra research uses sessions between eleven and thirty minutes and reports improvements in self-reported sleep quality, perceived stress and wellbeing, alongside some autonomic measures such as heart rate variability. The studies are small and early, and longer sessions have not been shown to be better than shorter ones — nobody has run that comparison well. Choose the length you will actually do, and treat claims that a thirty-minute practice equals hours of sleep as folklore rather than measurement.
Questions people ask
+ Is 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra too long?
+ Does 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra equal hours of sleep?
+ When is the best time for a long Yoga Nidra?
+ Can I skip the visualisation part?
+ Why do I get cold during Yoga Nidra?
+ Can I record this script for my students?
Sources
- Satyananda Saraswati, *Yoga Nidra*, Bihar School of Yoga — the source of the modern method and of the rotation of consciousness.
- James Mallinson & Mark Singleton, *Roots of Yoga* (Penguin Classics, 2017) — on nyasa, the older tantric practice of placing awareness at named points.
- Richard Miller, *iRest Meditation* — on the clinical adaptation of the practice.
- Datta, Tripathi & Mallick, 'Yoga Nidra: An innovative approach for management of chronic insomnia', *Sleep Science Practice*, 2017 — small, early work.
- Moszeik, von Oertzen & Renner, 'Effectiveness of a short audio-based Yoga Nidra meditation on stress, sleep and wellbeing', *Current Psychology*, 2020.
Educational content, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting new practices if you have a health condition or are pregnant.