Yoga Nidra Non-Sleep Deep Rest: I Am Peace
This Yoga Nidra/NSDR meditation offers a sanctuary from the stressors of the day to promote healing and personal growth. I combine trauma-informed care with evidence-based, transformative practices to help you navigate life's challenges with compassion and clarity. This meditation is inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." I also wish to extend deep appreciation and gratitude to my Yoga Nidra teacher, Ally Boothroyd. Enjoy this music composed by Music of Wisdom.
Transcript
Welcome.
Thank you for joining me today in this practice of yoga nidra,
Also known as non-sleep deep rest.
Today's meditation includes a body scan,
Breath work,
And a guided journey with a gentle awareness of the symbolism of a lighthouse,
A beacon of light that sends a message of peace as you come home from the adventures of the day,
Whether you were out having fun or busy working beyond your home,
Or perhaps you feel tense or tired or confused if you felt lost at sea.
So turn now to the lighthouse that guides you to the safe harbor,
A place to be mindful of lessons learned and knowing this too will pass as the day ends.
The lighthouse reminds you,
I am peace.
As you enter into this journey,
First make sure you are comfortable settling in now.
Be sure your body is completely comfortable and at ease,
Resting on your mat or bed or the earth itself,
On your back facing up,
Arms gently at your side,
Palms open in a soft surrender.
You may close your eyes or wear a mask.
If you choose to keep your eyes open,
They may be gently softening.
Allow the earth to completely support you so there's nothing for you to do to hold your body upright.
Noticing where you could soften any areas that are gripping or tense as you may also notice areas that feel light and peaceful.
Check in with your energy levels.
Do you feel rested or fatigued?
Notice your emotional body.
Do you feel energetically charged or emotionally drained?
And attend briefly to the quality of your thoughts.
No need to give them too much attention.
Just a brief check-in to allow space to witness your experience and then letting go of that awareness,
Expanding,
Becoming aware of your real self and now returning to an awareness of your physical body.
You may want to adjust the head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Pelvis and hips so you can become effortless in the physical body.
Perhaps you adjust any props or blankets for comfort.
Could you get 5% maybe 10% more comfortable?
Perhaps you want a pillow for your knees.
If you feel any discomfort give yourself permission to move but if it is comfortable begin to embrace the stillness allowing your attention now to float through your body following the guidance of my voice.
Imagine your attention fluidly moving from one point to the next creating a stream of awareness through your body.
As attention moves the body remains in stillness welcoming sensations just as they are without any need to change them or make anything different.
You might think of this body scan as a massage for your nervous system energetically sensing the gentle release of tension that comes the gentle awareness of peace at each point of awareness as you follow my guidance.
Become aware of sensations starting with your mouth,
The roof of your mouth,
The back of your mouth,
The tip of your tongue,
The root of your tongue,
Inner right cheek,
Inner left cheek,
Upper gums and teeth,
Lower gums and teeth,
The space between the upper teeth and lower teeth,
Upper lip and lower lip,
Space between the lips,
Slightly parted,
The tip of your nose,
Inside the right nostril,
Inside the left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The softness of your cheeks,
The right eye,
Eyelid,
Temple,
Right eyebrow.
Notice the space between your eyebrows,
The left eye,
Eyelid,
Temple,
Left eyebrow.
Bring an awareness of both eyes as they deeply settle into relaxation and let go,
Feeling the space between your eyes.
Sense if there is any residual tension in the eyes,
Eyebrows and forehead.
Bring your attention to your ears,
Right ear,
The folds and valleys of the outer ear,
The touch of air on the earlobe,
The ear canal,
Deep inside the inner ear.
Notice now the left ear,
The folds and valleys of the outer ear,
The touch of air on the earlobe,
The ear canal,
Deep inside the inner ear.
Notice the scalp and hair at the top of the head,
Back of your head,
The whole face and head,
Along the neck and throat,
From the neck to the base of your neck at the collarbone,
Right collarbone,
Upper arm,
Right elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Center of the right palm,
And counting your fingers on your right hand down from 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Sense the space around the fingers on the right hand.
Allow time for your attention to come back to the base of your neck and bring your awareness to your left collarbone,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Center of the palm,
Fingers on the left hand,
And counting your fingers on your left hand down from 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Sense the space around the fingers on the left hand and bring your attention back to the base of your neck,
The front of the chest,
The ribs,
Navel,
Lower belly,
The bowl of the pelvic girdle,
Sensing the entire pelvic bowl,
Witnessing the fluid movement of the breath throughout the whole torso.
Feel the sensation in your right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Your right foot,
And counting your toes on your right foot down from 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Sense the space around the toes on the right foot and bring your attention to the left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg.
Feel your left foot and counting your toes down from 5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Sense the space around the toes on the left foot,
The whole body down the left and right,
Front and back,
The whole body,
A unified field of sensation,
Awareness throughout the whole body,
Head to toe,
Skin to bones.
And now bring your attention to your breath.
Ask yourself if you can breathe effortlessly at a rhythm that feels right to you,
Just as the waves ebb and flow naturally without effort.
With each exhale,
Letting go of any stress your body might be holding,
Just surrender and let it go.
And for the next minute or two,
Following my guidance,
Practice a gentle ocean breath,
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling with a gentle ocean sound as if you're matching the energy of the fog that surrounds your imaginary boat.
With each exhale sounding like you're gently fogging a mirror,
Again in through the nose and with lips softly closed,
Exhaling as you make the sound of a gentle wave adding to the fog of your imaginary seascape.
One more time,
Allowing the breath to come in gently through the nose on the inhale,
And a gentle ocean sound as you fog your imaginary ocean of breath around you.
As your breath returns to a natural rhythm,
Notice if there was any effort or tension in your jaw or tongue and allow your entire face and neck to soften.
You might draw awareness to the tongue.
If it is somewhat tense at the top of your mouth,
Allow it to relax now.
Similar to a curled fist softening and relaxing into a state of open receptivity,
You might always check in with your mind,
Asking your thoughts and mind to relax and soften.
If you notice some chatter,
Just sort of opening from any clenching or holding sensation of thoughts.
As you let go of the mental busyness of the day,
Inviting the senses to open and drop into this feeling and listening to the body's intention to dissolve deeper into a state of deep relaxation in this peaceful journey.
Welcoming the sensation of softness in your body.
Sense the places where natural softness occurs.
Feel all the places in your body where softness abides.
Notice if there is some tension in your body.
Sensing all the places where a natural tension may remain from the effort of the day.
Where do you feel it?
And now come back to the feeling of softness.
Feeling the areas in the body that have softened.
Then notice if you have any areas that are still tense.
Can you sense both opposing sensations simultaneously?
Notice if your body may have areas that feel contracted,
Tight or stiff.
And again,
Turn to a softening as you feel your body expanding,
Becoming spacious.
One more time and you can notice if there's any remaining muscles that feel tight and bring a feeling of open,
Expanded,
Spacious softening to that area.
As you go back and forth at your own pace,
Notice that perhaps your journey,
Your daily adventures might have created some tension in your body.
And witness the embrace of the sensation of coming home.
Acknowledging the light of the lighthouse,
The beacon of light that reminds you,
I am peace.
This replaces any remaining tension or discomfort with deep relaxation and softness.
Noticing the whole left side of the body and the whole right side of the body,
Integrating left and right into a deep state of relaxation.
So settling in now,
Embrace the sensation of effortless floating.
Bring your awareness again to your breath.
Notice the breath ebbing and flowing,
The rise and fall with nothing to do.
Your breath may begin to match the rhythm of the rotation of light emanating from the lighthouse.
As the light rotates in and out of the darkness,
You settle into this feeling of peace.
You may hear some music coming from the shore.
Your eyes rest on the horizon softly.
And then you turn to look at the shore,
Following the direction of the sound,
As you set the intention of coming home.
And returning to the breath,
Perhaps you use a mantra,
Your heart's vow,
Or a sankalpa.
You may have your own,
Or you can borrow mine.
I am peace.
I am peace.
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