Hello,
I'm Amy Ruthy,
And this is a yoga nidra meditation to help you find more peace within.
Before we begin,
Try to get as comfortable as you can.
Lie down on your back and support any body part that needs a little more support.
Really settle in for this journey of yoga nidra.
Relax the muscles in your face.
Your shoulders,
Chest,
Belly,
Hips,
Legs,
And feet.
Allow everything to melt down.
Close your eyes and begin to notice your breath as you inhale and exhale through your nose.
Notice the movement of the air in and out of your nose as you breathe.
Before we drop into the yoga nidra,
We'll practice a breathing technique to help regulate your nervous system called ujjayi breathing.
To begin,
Inhale through your nose and then exhale through your mouth as if you're fogging a mirror that's in front of your mouth.
Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth,
Fogging a mirror.
Now close your mouth and inhale through your nose,
And this time exhale through your nose and create a slight bit of constriction in the back of your throat to allow your breath to sound like the ocean.
So inhale through your nose,
Exhale through your nose,
And fog the mirror with your nose.
Three more times on your own.
Inhaling and exhaling through your nose and creating that ocean-like breath.
Now return to your natural breath.
It's time to come up with your heart's desire,
Your sankalpa.
Check in with your heart and see what it needs right now.
What it needs in your life right now.
I'll give you some time to think about that in a moment and to allow that to bubble up from your heart.
And if nothing bubbles up,
That's okay.
I'll provide some examples for you to try.
So check in with your heart and ask your heart what it needs.
I'll give you some time in silence.
Now use that answer and create a positive statement in the present tense to come up with your sankalpa.
For example,
I am peaceful in all situations,
Or I trust,
Or I am peace.
Once you have your sankalpa,
Repeat that to yourself three times with sincerity.
Now we'll flow to a rotation of consciousness throughout the body.
In a moment,
I'll name different parts of the body,
And all you have to do is bring your awareness to that body part.
You don't have to think about it.
You don't have to move your body.
Just remain in stillness and silence and bring your awareness,
Gentle awareness,
To the different body parts.
Starting with your mouth,
Bring your full awareness to the roof of your mouth,
The back of your mouth,
The tip of your tongue,
The base of your tongue,
Inside the right cheek,
Inside the left cheek,
Upper gums and teeth,
Lower gums and teeth,
The space between your upper and lower teeth.
Upper lip,
Space between the lips,
Tip of your nose,
Inside the right nostril,
Inside the left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The right eye and eyelid,
Right temple,
Eyebrow,
The space between your eyebrows,
The left eye and eyelid,
Left temple,
Eyebrow,
Sensation of both of the eyes,
The right earlobe,
Right ear canal,
Middle ear,
Deep inside the inner ear,
The scalp and hair,
Top of the head,
Back of the head,
The whole face and neck,
The whole face and neck,
Head along with the neck and throat,
The base of your neck,
Right collarbone,
Right upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Right palm,
Right thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Back to the base of your neck,
Left collarbone,
Left upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Center of the left palm,
Left thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Back to the base of your neck,
Front of the chest,
Front of the ribs,
Navel,
Lower belly,
Center of the pelvis,
Right hip,
Right upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Back to the center of the pelvis,
Left hip,
Left upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole body,
Right and left,
Front and back,
The whole body,
Breathing with sensation and inner peace.
For a few moments,
Observe your body breathing with your natural rate of breath.
Now,
Sense the whole right side of your body.
The whole right side of your body.
The whole left side of your body.
Awareness filling up the whole left side of your body.
The front side of your body.
Awareness in the whole front side of the body.
Now,
The back of the body.
Awareness in the whole back of the body.
Now,
The whole body.
Sense and feel your entire body.
Every part of your body.
Keep your body still,
And your breath the same,
And sense the feeling of constriction in your body.
Body feels constricted.
Now,
Sense the body feeling expansion,
Expansion.
Back to constriction in the body.
Keep the body still,
And sense the feeling of constriction.
Now,
Expansion.
Without merging the two,
Sense both constriction and expansion at the same time.
Now,
Bring your awareness to the point between your eyebrows,
Your mind's eye.
Allow the following images to arise.
A yellow sunflower.
A large mountain range in the distance.
The sun rising from behind the mountain range.
Beautiful green leaves on a large tree.
Birds chirping.
An orange butterfly landing on a flower.
A large,
Calm lake.
The sun setting over the horizon.
Now,
Witness,
Observe your body as it breathes naturally.
There is no need to change anything here.
Just allow your body to breathe naturally,
To be alive.
Just observe.
Maybe,
Feeling a sense of inner peace,
Perhaps bliss.
Allow yourself to soak up this moment.
This moment of stillness and peace for the next few cycles of breath in this peaceful moment.
Circle back to your sankalpa.
And repeat it to yourself three more times with feeling.
Gently begin to deepen your breath.
Bringing yourself back to the present moment.
Keep your eyes closed and start to notice the surface underneath you.
Feel the points where the surface is supporting your body.
Notice any sounds around you in the environment.
Notice any smells around you.
Any light that might be coming through your closed eyelids.
And notice how you feel in this moment.
In your body and in your mind.
As we conclude the practice of yoga nidra.
Remind yourself how you got to this point.
Remind yourself that this state is always accessible through your yoga nidra practice.
When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes.
I'm Amy Ruthie.
And thank you for joining me today and for allowing me to guide you on this yoga nidra journey.
Namaste.
