Hello,
I'm Amy Ruthy and this is a yoga nidra to help you gain more clarity.
Lie down and close your eyes and make sure your head and neck are really comfortable,
Really relaxed.
Relax your shoulders,
Your hands,
And hips,
And anywhere else where you might be holding tension.
Really relax everything down.
Right now,
You don't have to be anywhere or do anything.
Move your awareness inward and notice how your belly moves as you breathe in and out of your nose.
Notice the gentle movement of your belly out as you inhale and back in as you exhale.
To help settle in a little more,
We'll practice a breathing technique called dhirga pranayama.
Or the three-part breath.
In a moment,
You'll inhale and exhale through your nose.
And as you inhale,
Notice how your belly fills and expands with air.
And as you exhale,
Notice how your belly contracts.
So,
Bring your awareness to your belly.
Inhale and fill your belly with air.
Exhale,
Watch your belly contract.
Inhale,
Fill your belly with air.
And exhale,
Release.
Three more times like that on your own.
Now,
Notice how as you inhale,
Your belly expands and then your ribcage expands.
So,
Inhale,
Expand the belly and then the ribcage.
And exhale,
Ribcage and belly soften.
Inhale into the belly,
Then ribcage.
Exhale,
Release.
Three more times like that on your own.
Now,
We'll add in the third part of the three-part breath.
In a moment,
You'll inhale into your belly and then your ribcage and then your chest.
So,
Inhale together into the belly,
Ribcage,
Chest.
And exhale all three simultaneously.
Inhale,
Belly,
Ribs,
Chest.
And exhale all three at the same time.
Three more times like that.
Now,
Shift your awareness to your heart and come up with your sankalpa for the practice.
Your heart's desire,
Your heart's intention.
I'll give you some time in a moment to come up with that.
And if nothing bubbles up from your heart,
That's okay.
I'll provide examples that you can use in a little bit.
So,
Check in with your heart and ask your heart what its deepest desire is.
And take that answer and turn it into a positive statement in the present tense.
For example,
I think clearly even in challenging situations.
Or,
My mind is clear.
So,
Come up with your own words,
Your own sankalpa,
Or use one of the examples and repeat that to yourself silently three times with feeling.
Now,
We'll flow to the body scan.
In a moment,
I'll name different parts of the body.
And all you have to do is bring a gentle awareness to that body part.
You don't have to think about it or focus on it.
Just bring a gentle,
Relaxed awareness to that body part.
Starting with your right hand,
Bring your awareness to the tip of your right thumb.
Tip of the second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger.
The palm of the right hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Right elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Underarm,
Right side of the chest,
Right waist,
Hip,
Right upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole right side of the body.
Sensation and clarity filling the whole right side of the body.
Now flow to your left hand.
Bring your awareness to the tip of your left hand thumb.
Tip of the second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Underarm,
Left side of the chest,
Left waist,
Hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole left side of the body.
Sensation and clarity filling up the whole left side of the body.
Now the back of the body starting with the back of your right heel,
Right heel,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Right hamstring,
Left hamstring,
Right glute,
Left glute,
Sacrum,
Back of the pelvis,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
The entire spine,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The center of the eyebrows,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Both lips together,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
The whole face,
The whole body,
The whole body breathing with sensation and clarity.
Keep your body still and your breath the same and watch your body breathing naturally.
Naturally.
No altering the breath,
Just watch,
Observe your body breathing.
Bring awareness to the whole front side of your body from the face all the way down to the tops of your feet.
The whole front side of your body.
The whole back of the body from the back of your head all the way down to your heels.
Sensation in the whole back of the body.
Now the whole body,
Awareness and the feeling of clarity flowing through the whole body.
Keep your body still and imagine the sensation of the body feeling murky,
Like murky water.
Body feels murky,
Unclear.
Now imagine the sensation of the body feeling full of clarity,
Clear like a mountain lake.
Back to the body feeling murky and unclear.
Back to feeling clarity like crystal clear water.
Clarity flowing through your whole body.
Now sense both murkiness and clarity at the same time.
Now bring your awareness to your mind's eye,
The space between your eyebrows,
And imagine a place that you've either been to before or a place that you've never been to before.
A place that you'd like to imagine now.
A place where you felt very comfortable and full of clarity,
Your mind very clear.
Imagine that place at your mind's eye now.
Keep your eyes closed and imagine what that place looks like all around you.
What does it look like all around you?
In that place,
What do you hear around you?
What sounds are around you?
And what do you feel under your body supporting you in that place?
What do you feel under your body and where do you feel it under your body?
Really fill in the picture here.
Sense that place at your mind's eye.
As you imagine yourself in that place,
Start to notice your breath again.
Keep your breath the same,
Just your natural rhythm of breath.
And watch your body breathing within that scene.
Clear mind.
And while your body is deeply relaxed and your mind is more clear,
Circle back to your Sankalpa,
Your heart's desire.
And repeat that to yourself three more times.
You can use,
I think clearly,
Even in challenging situations,
Or my mind is clear,
Or use your own Sankalpa and repeat that three times to yourself.
Begin to deepen your breath now.
Inhale and exhale through your nose.
Lengthen your inhale and lengthen your exhale.
Start to notice the sounds in your current environment.
Notice the touch of the surface beneath you that's supporting your body.
Eyes remain closed and notice any light that might be coming through your eyelids.
Continue to deepen your breath.
Coming back to the present moment.
And before you open your eyes,
Notice how you feel in your body right now.
Notice your mind and if it seems more clear now.
And in this moment,
Remind yourself that you can always come back to the practice of Yoga Nidra to feel deeply relaxed and to gain clarity before coming back to your current environment.
I might also encourage you to think of things in your life that allow your mind to be more clear.
Maybe it's practicing Yoga Nidra.
Maybe it's doing yoga.
Journaling or a long hike in nature.
Remind yourself how you can get to this place of clarity.
Ready.
Begin to open your eyes.
Thank you for trusting me to guide you on this journey of clarity.
And I hope that you feel more calm and relaxed.
Namaste.
