Welcome to Yoga Nidra,
I'm Ashley Bentley and I'll be taking you on a guided rotation of consciousness throughout the physical body.
Today's Yoga Nidra is short and sweet,
Allowing your body and mind to deeply rest,
Even for a short period of time,
Is enormously beneficial for calming the nervous system and releasing all of the feel-good neurochemicals that help our bodies feel safe,
Grounded,
In the present moment and connected,
Both with ourselves and the world around us.
Sometimes our busy schedules only allow for brief periods of rest during the day,
But it is precisely this reason that taking even 10 minutes to rest your nervous system is so vital for the health of your body and mind.
So please make sure to thank yourself for taking this time for your wellness.
And just take a moment here to settle in,
Lying down on a mat,
Or your bed,
Or perhaps even a soft patch of grass outside,
Making sure your body is fully supported.
You may want to add an extra pillow under your knees or the small of your back.
And as you come into stillness,
I will be taking your awareness to different parts of the body.
Just make sure to relax,
Lying in stillness and listening to the sound of my voice.
And if your mind wanders off at any point,
Just bring yourself back to the sound of my voice.
Bringing to mind now your Sankalpa,
Your intention for today's practice.
A short,
Positive,
And in-the-present-tense statement,
Affirming whatever message your body and mind needs to hear right now.
Affirming this statement at both the beginning and the end of practice will help to create new positive neural pathways in your brain.
An example could be,
I rest deeply to allow my body to relax,
Restore,
And refresh,
Or I trust in my body's innate ability to relax and restore,
Repeating silently inside now three times.
And taking a gentle breath in through the nose,
And pausing,
And another small breath on top of that,
And out of the mouth with a sigh.
And let's do two more of those,
In through the nose,
And pause,
A tiny breath in on top of that,
And out of the mouth with a sigh.
And one more time,
In through the nose,
Pausing,
A small breath on top of that,
And out of your mouth with a sigh,
Bringing your awareness now to the crown of the head,
The center of the forehead,
The eyebrows,
The space between the eyebrows,
Both eyes and eyelids,
And all the little intricate muscles behind the eyes,
Both cheeks,
The bridge of the nose,
The tip of the nose,
The upper lip,
Lower lip,
Sensations inside of the mouth,
The tip of the tongue,
The root of the tongue,
The middle of the throat,
The base of the throat,
Both collar bones,
Both shoulders,
Elbows,
Running down the arms to both wrists,
Feel the thumbs on both hands,
And then feeling all ten fingers at once,
Feeling both arms together.
Awareness now to the heart center,
The diaphragm,
The pelvic bowl,
Both hip joints,
Running down the legs to both knees,
And carrying on down to both ankles,
Feeling the heels of the feet,
Feeling both big toes at the same time,
And then feeling all ten toes at once,
Feeling the entirety of both legs at the same time.
Awareness now to the whole physical body,
The whole body resting deeply,
Feeling the whole body,
Bringing awareness now to your breath,
This constant companion that is always with you,
The gentle rise and fall of the belly that happens all by itself,
Breathing in gently through your nose and out through your mouth,
Gentle breath at your own pace and speed,
And as you notice your breathing,
You can notice noticing your breathing,
And you can notice noticing your body can relax,
And your mind can relax.
Now,
Just imagine,
Only imagine now,
In your mind's eye,
I want you to imagine that you have left your physical body and can now view yourself from above,
As if you are standing beside your body,
Looking down at yourself,
Lying down,
Deeply resting,
And as you gaze down at yourself,
I'd like you to begin sending a healing light,
Whatever color light resonates with you,
And send this healing light towards yourself,
This you that you are looking at,
Lying down,
And this beautiful healing light enters in through the heart space of the you that is lying down,
And you can see this light begin to swirl all around you and within you,
Bringing healing,
Bringing love,
Bringing a growth mindset and self-compassion.
Whatever it is that your body and mind need right now,
This healing light is bringing to you.
And as you continue to watch this empowering and healing light show,
I'd like you to bring back to your mind your sankalpa,
And as you recite this intention yet again,
Silently inside,
I'd like this healing light to fully embody this intention,
So that it's not only bringing love and healing,
But also directly installing this intention within your body,
Mind,
And spirit.
Reciting now,
Silently,
Three times,
As you watch this light fully install this intention within you.
That's right.
And now I'd like you to return to your physical body that you've been sending healing light to,
Gently taking your time re-embodying into yourself,
In whatever way feels right to you right now.
And as you are now again at one with your physical body,
You can begin to notice the outline of your body,
And where your body ends and the space around your body begins.
And as you begin to reorient yourself back into full awareness,
You can begin to make small movements,
Perhaps touching your thumbs to the tips of all the other fingers,
One by one,
Wiggling your toes and gently moving your head from side to side,
Taking as much time as you need,
Ensuring to not rush the process to fully coming back into the room.
I hope you've enjoyed today's short and sweet Yoga Nidra,
And that you can see just how effective even a short Yoga Nidra can be to both the mind and body.
It is essential that we regularly,
Throughout our day,
Rest our nervous system,
To allow it to work as healthily as possible.
Our modern lives leave our nervous systems feeling frazzled,
As most are in a constant state of fight or flight.
Yoga Nidra and meditation are such useful tools for resting your nervous system,
Which can help fight depression and anxiety,
And allows for better,
More restful sleep.
If you're curious about diving deeper into these practices,
Make sure to check out my 14-day course on Mastering Nervous System Regulation here on Insight Timer,
And my 5-day course on Mastering Sleep,
The Sleep Solution.
Science-backed rest in 5 days.
But no matter what,
Making the commitment to do one Yoga Nidra a day will do wonders for your nervous system,
Helping you to experience more presence in your life at all times.
Namaste.
