Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra to de-stress and release from anxiety.
Lie down now on a mat on the floor or on your bed.
Let the body sink into the surface supporting you.
Take a little time to get comfortable.
Giving yourself the leisure to make any adjustments that will help the body have even a little more ease at this time.
Lying on your back,
Take your feet wider than your hips.
Allow your feet to flop to the sides,
Palms a little away from the hips,
Allowing your armpits to breathe.
Make sure you are warm enough and take a position now that would be comfortable for you for the entire duration of the practice.
Relax your shoulders,
Relax your arms,
Relax your hips,
Your back,
Your knees,
Your ankles.
Lift your head a couple of times to release any tight spots from the back of your neck.
Now allow your eyes to close and keep them closed for the entire duration of the practice.
If you feel any tension or tight spots in any part of your body,
Take your awareness now to that body part and consciously invite a little more ease and space and softness to that body part.
It is best that you remain still during the practice of Yoga Nidra.
However,
If you become uncomfortable,
Please feel free to make any changes or adjustments slowly and with intention and so making the shift itself part of the practice.
It is natural to flow in and out of conscious hearing during this practice.
No worries,
No problem.
Nothing has gone wrong when you notice the mind is wandering.
Perfectly normal.
Understand that whatever your experience is in doing this practice today is the experience that is meant for you.
There is no way to do this wrong.
Know that you are in a safe environment and protected space.
Stay awake by listening to the sound of my voice.
And when you notice your mind wandering,
Remember perfectly natural.
Just come back to the sound of my voice.
Now say to yourself,
I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
I am awake and will remain awake till the end of the practice.
And I will come out of the practice when I am asked to do so.
The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.
Become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.
Nothing else but what you can hear without straining your ears.
Start by focusing on the most distant sounds.
Move your attention from sound to sound without labelling the source.
Now move your awareness to sounds within this room.
To the sound of your breath.
The sound of your breath flowing freely between your nostrils.
Now visualize yourself within the room you're lying down in.
Visualize the four walls of this room without opening your eyes.
The ceiling,
The floor,
The walls.
Visualize your position in the room.
Your body lying down now on the surface supporting you.
The parts of your body touching this support.
Your clothes,
Your hair,
Your face.
Your entire body lying down,
Sinking into the surface supporting you.
It is now time for you to make your sankalpa or resolution.
A simple,
Short resolution in the present tense.
An example might be saying to yourself,
I am free from stress,
Anxiety and worries.
Or I am relaxed and I am happy.
So taking a little time now to allow your felt resolve,
Deepest intention or heartfelt desire for yourself to arrive.
Simple,
Present tense resolve.
And when you have that phrase,
Repeat your sankalpa now three times to yourself.
Mentally,
Clearly and with faith and focus.
Your private,
Simple,
Heartfelt resolve for yourself.
We will now begin a systemic journey of awareness throughout the whole body.
You will move your awareness to different parts of your body as soon as you hear them named.
We will begin with the right side.
Right hand,
Thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Right side of the chest,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right calf,
Right ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Moving to the left side.
Left hand,
Thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel.
Moving to the left side.
Left hand,
Thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now go to the back of the body,
The soles of the feet,
Right and left heels,
Right and left calves,
The back of your knees,
The back of your thighs,
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,
Space between the eyebrows,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Your entire mouth,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
The chest,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
The whole torso,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Now check that you are awake by moving your right toe.
As you move your right toe,
Say to yourself,
I am awake.
I am aware.
And I am practicing yoga nidra.
Become aware of your breath now.
Feel the flow of your natural breath in and out of your nostrils.
The breathing is normal and spontaneous without any effort.
Maintaining awareness of your breath,
Continue to breathe through the belly.
With every inhalation the abdomen is expanding and on every exhale the navel is drawing towards the spine.
Now as you breathe in,
Mentally say the number nine in your head and as you breathe out,
Mentally repeat nine to yourself.
Breathe in,
Say eight to yourself and as you breathe out,
Repeat eight to yourself.
Continue in this way,
Counting backwards from nine to one with every inhale and exhale.
If you lose track of the count midway,
Then begin again from nine.
No worries,
No problem.
Coming back,
Beginning to count backwards again from nine to one with every inhale and exhale.
Shake up your consciousness now.
Come back,
Be present to the sound of my voice.
You are not asleep,
You are awake.
Now start to remember,
Bring to mind the experience of anxiety,
A feeling of losing control over yourself.
Any situation where you felt worried,
Stressed and a state of unknown anxiety or fear taking over you.
Feel that stress in your mind and in your body without concentrating on the source or the situation that caused this experience.
Feel your body becoming tensed,
Rigid and tight.
Notice this feeling of tightness and tension around your body and focus on these areas.
Now take a deep breath in and imagine those tight and tense areas becoming slightly relaxed.
With every exhalation now,
Your body is becoming more and more relaxed.
Imagine what this feels like.
Your body is becoming soft,
Loose,
Gentle,
Free and calm.
Allow this feeling of relaxation to grow inch by inch throughout your whole body.
Inhale all the calmness into your system and exhale all the tension and stress out.
Breathe in all the relaxation and breathe out all the worries and fears.
Now begin to create an image in your mind.
Might be the image of a divine for you or your higher consciousness or it could be anyone or any place where you derive maximum comfort and peace.
Your teacher,
Your wisdom figure,
Your source of comfort and peace.
Imagine your source of wisdom and peace sending you now a huge light of positive energy and creating a circle of protection all around you.
Imagine yourself safely cocooned within this circle of protection where you are peaceful,
Stress free and free from all anxieties.
Enjoy the way you feel in this safe place.
You feel calm,
Safe and secure.
While staying in this space of safety and peace,
Revisit now your experience of the same anxiety that you felt before.
Try to manifest the experience of stress and anxiety while all the while keeping the image of your wisdom figure in the background and see how that feeling of stress,
Anxiety or tension simply melts away as you feel protected in this safe space.
This is your zone,
Your secure protected space that is free from all worries and tensions.
Remain in your peaceful place now while you breathe in and out longer and deeper.
Imagine that all of the pains,
Tension and worries are floating away from you and right now in this moment you are happy,
Calm and peaceful.
Repeat your own sankalpa now,
That deepest desire for yourself that you spoke silently at the beginning of this practice.
Repeat it now silently to yourself three times with faith and conviction.
Believe in this affirmation.
Remain in your peaceful place while you breathe in and out longer and deeper.
Imagine that all of the pains,
Tensions and worries are floating away from you and right now in this moment you are happy,
Calm and peaceful.
Repeat this affirmation in your mind with faith and conviction.
Right now in this moment I am happy,
Calm and peaceful.
Believe in this affirmation.
I will now call out a number of different things.
Visualize them on the level of emotion,
Memory and imagination as it resonates with you.
Jump from image to image and do not linger on any image for long.
Cool,
Clear water.
Vibrant sunset.
Tall mountains.
Traffic lights.
A good night's rest.
Beautiful garden.
Temple bells ringing.
Deep blue sky.
Relaxing afternoon.
A cat stretching.
A warm hug.
Doctor's office.
Your reflection in a mirror.
Meditating Buddha.
Mother.
Ancestral home.
Laughing with friends.
The sound of my voice.
Your body lying on the surface supporting you.
It's time now to repeat your own Sankalpa.
Repeat your Sankalpa three times with focus,
Clarity and determination.
Visualize your Sankalpa taking shape.
Feel your Sankalpa bearing fruit,
Becoming successful.
Gradually come back to the feeling of your breath coming in and out of your nostrils.
Maintaining your awareness of breath.
Become aware of your physical body.
Your body is relaxed and supported by the surface you're lying on.
Feel the different parts of your body in contact with this support.
And take your awareness into all of the points that are touching this support.
The back of your heels,
Thighs,
The back shoulder blades,
Arms,
Hands and head.
Shift your attention to sounds within this room.
The sound of your breath.
Sounds around the surface you're lying on.
Sound of my voice.
Now move your attention to sounds outside of the room.
Sounds you can hear without strain.
Move your awareness back to the room.
Visualize the room.
Imagine where you are in the room and the other objects that are around you.
Lie down quietly now until you feel ready to move.
When you do feel ready to move start by slowly moving your hands and feet.
Take your time.
There is no hurry.
When you are sure that you are fully awake bend your knees and roll over to the right side.
Spend a few moments here meditating your practice.
Feeling safe,
Secure,
Calm and peaceful.
Use your left hand to press yourself up from your support and slowly sit up in any comfortable position.
Take a deep breath in and exhale out completely.
Bring your palms to your heart center and rub your palms together.
Transferring now the warmth of your palms to your eyes.
Rub your palms together one more time generating heat and then place your palms on any part of the body that may need comfort healing.
Bring your palms to the front of your eyes open your eyes and look into your palms.
Blink your eyes open.
Thank you.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
