Welcome to your yoga nidra session.
This is your guide Ganshi and I am grateful you took this time to be here today.
Yoga nidra is a powerful technique of conscious rest.
It guides us into a deep state of stillness where the mind becomes quiet,
Emotions soften and a safe space begins to unfold.
This recording focuses on the svadhisthana chakra,
The sacral center which is your seat of emotion,
Pleasure and creative flow.
As you enter your state of deep rest we will begin to explore the qualities of fluidity,
Openness and connection to the senses and feelings.
Lie down on your back in shavasana,
Finding a position that feels restful and comfortable.
Extend your arms out,
Relaxing them,
Palms facing the ceiling,
Allow the legs to stretch out as your feet drop out to the sides naturally.
Take a moment to sense the outline of your body,
Notice if it feels centered and balanced.
You might want to place a pillow beneath your knees or a blanket under your head for added support.
If any part of you feels tense or uncomfortable,
Please make any adjustments now to fully relax.
Let your eyes close and breathe deeply into the belly,
Letting a soft breath out.
Start by telling yourself mentally,
I am now going to begin the practice of yoga nidra.
I will stay awake and aware,
I will be still,
I will avoid thinking and analyzing,
Instead I will focus on relaxing,
Experiencing and enjoying.
I will keep following all instructions.
Start by tensing and relaxing the body,
As you breathe in scrunch your face to tighten the facial muscles,
Tighten the limbs all the way to the fingertips and the toes,
Tightening the chest,
Stomach and buttocks all at once.
Now holding your breath consciously and creating maximum tension for a few moments in every muscle of your body and then release,
Letting go of the breath completely and taking a few deep breaths,
Enjoying that feeling of relaxing as you exhale.
And now for the second time as you inhale,
Tighten your face,
Arms,
Legs,
Chest,
Stomach and buttocks,
Feel the tension build up in every muscle,
Every corner of the body,
This time sending all your mental frustrations and worries into the physical body,
Really holding it there and then letting go,
Taking a couple of deep breaths without tensing to help you let go further as you exhale.
Know that you can let go mentally as easily as you can let go physically.
From now on there will be no further movements,
So if you wish to make any last adjustments please feel free to,
So you can get perfectly comfortable and relaxed,
Relaxed for the rest of your yoga nidra practice.
Now taking your awareness outside and listening to all the sounds around you and in this recording without thinking of the cause or the origin of these sounds,
Simply hearing as if you are listening to noises or music,
Stretch your awareness out like a radar,
Picking up on the softest,
Most subtle and far away sounds.
In this moment ask yourself,
Am I awake and aware?
If your mind begins to wander and think of other things,
Realize what has happened and know that it is okay,
It is normal,
But as soon as you realize that your mind has drifted off,
Bring it back to listening,
Listening to my voice,
Keep bringing it back to simply listening and listening very carefully,
Observing the gaps,
The gaps in between the sounds and the sound of silence itself.
Feel your body resting against the floor and the contact points,
The contact points between the body and the ground underneath,
The back of the legs,
Buttocks,
Hands,
Arms,
Shoulders and the back of the head.
Feel the force of gravity pulling your body towards the floor and surrendering,
Surrendering to the force of gravity as the weight of your body presses down,
Down against the surface of the earth.
Now bring your attention to the heart space.
In this moment of stillness invite to Sankalpa a simple and positive intention or resolve.
Let it reflect your desire to feel freely,
To express authentically and embrace your creative flowing nature.
If you don't have a personal Sankalpa that you are working with at the moment,
You can choose one of the following resolves for this practice.
I move through life with ease and pleasure.
Creativity flows through me freely.
From the depth of your being,
Repeat your Sankalpa silently in your mind,
Three times with full faith and conviction,
Knowing that the Sankalpa made in your Yoga Nidra will become a reality as you mentally speak it and see yourself already living it.
Notice how you feel after making your Sankalpa and planting it like a seed in the quiet soil of your being,
Letting it rest there gently.
Now begin to bring your awareness to the body,
Rotation of consciousness.
Stay still and simply feel each part as I name it.
Allow every part of the body to relax and allow it to soften.
Starting with the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle,
Ring,
Little finger,
Inside of the palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip joint,
The entire thigh,
Knee joint,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Now sweeping your awareness up and down the right side of the body,
Relaxing and refreshing the right half of your body.
Now shifting your awareness to the left side,
Left hand thumb,
Index,
Middle,
Ring,
Little finger,
Inside of the palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip joint,
The entire thigh,
Knee joint,
Calf,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth and fifth toe.
Now sweeping your awareness up and down the left side of the body,
Relaxing and refreshing the left half of your body.
In this moment,
Ask yourself,
Am I awake and aware?
Now bringing your awareness to the top of your head,
Feel the sensation here,
Like a still hand resting lovingly over your head,
The same hand gently stroking your forehead,
Wiping away all your worries,
Relax the eyebrows and the space in between the eyebrows,
Left eye and right eye,
Both eyes softening into their sockets,
Left cheek and right cheek,
Left hand becoming loose,
Loose with gravity,
Left ear and right ear,
Top lip and bottom lip,
Letting go of the tension as you slightly part your lips,
The tongue is becoming soft,
Resting at the base of the mouth,
The jaw is now unclenching,
Releasing any stored tension around the jaw and letting all of your face relax at once,
You start to feel the face becoming loose and soft,
As if your face were a mask that you are wearing,
Wearing for the outer world and now you let this external mask melt away,
Connecting to the real you behind this mask,
Now bringing your awareness to the throat,
Collarbones,
Chest,
Heart centre,
Upper belly,
Lower belly,
Pelvis,
Thighs,
Knees,
Shins,
Tops of the feet and then going up the back of the body,
Around the heels,
Knees,
Thighs,
Buttocks,
Sacrum,
Lower back,
Middle,
Upper back,
Back of the arms,
Shoulders,
Neck and the back of the head and now spread your awareness through the whole body,
Feeling your whole body at once,
Completely relaxed,
In this moment ask yourself,
Am I awake and aware?
And now you bring your attention to the natural rhythm of your breath,
The rhythm of your breath just as it is,
Simply observing without trying to change anything,
Notice the effect that the breath has on your upper belly rising as you inhale and falling as you exhale.
Now shift your awareness to the pelvic region,
Two inches below the navel and deep inside,
This is the place of your Svadhisthana Chakra,
Your sacral centre,
Letting the breath move like water through this space,
Allowing in fluidity,
With each inhalation awakening creativity,
With each exhalation softening and releasing,
Each breath harmonising your sacral centre,
The seat of your emotions and pleasure,
In this moment check in with yourself,
Am I awake and aware?
Now let your awareness drift into the space behind your closed eyes,
Your mind's inner screen,
The Chidakash,
A field of imagination and deep memory.
Explore your Chidakash knowing that you are exploring another dimension of your being,
Simply notice if it is a and whatever you see or don't see,
Just watch patiently with acceptance.
You find yourself walking barefoot along the edge of a flowing river,
The sun is shining over you,
Soft and golden,
You notice the atmosphere carries a scent of flowering trees and distant rain,
You continue to walk besides the river and you reach a place where the river takes a curve,
At this curve you find a rock at the river's edge and you take a seat on top of this rock,
The river feels calm and alive and now you reach into the water,
The water feels cool and welcoming,
You make a cup shape out of your palms and splash the water onto your face,
Letting it wash over you as a sense of release follows,
Old emotions,
Forgotten stories,
Gently washing away,
You offer these stories to the water as you watch them flowing away and now you close your eyes,
Leaning back,
Back into your mind's eye and you see a lotus,
A lotus flowering slowly on the surface of the water,
Its petals are glowing in a shade of orange,
With every breath you take a new layer opens,
You see the flower floating easily and effortlessly,
You notice it allows itself to be moved,
Having complete trust in the river,
As the lotus,
The lotus blooms in motion and you begin to feel the same quality in yourself,
The softness,
Fluidity and an inner permission to feel deeply,
To move like water,
To learn,
To express without fear and to receive without guilt,
Allow yourself to rest here next to the sacred river,
Stay with this image for a few moments,
The water,
The lotus and the orange bloom,
Now returning back to your sankalpa,
Mentally repeating it to yourself three times,
With full faith and conviction,
Let it settle deep into your awareness,
Knowing that the sankalpa that you made in your yoga nidra practice will become a reality as you see yourself having achieved your sankalpa already and now notice,
Notice how you feel after achieving your sankalpa and feeling it deeply within your being,
Slowly and gradually start to come back,
Bringing back with you the inner experiences,
Insights and energy begin to bring your awareness back to your body,
Feel the weight of the body resting against the earth,
Feel the shape of your body,
The softness in the muscles,
The calm in your breath and coming back to the sounds surrounding you,
Listening to all the sounds in your presence,
Start to reorient yourself to the external world of sounds and activity as you gently begin to move your fingers and your toes,
Stretching your arms and legs and taking your time as if you were waking from a deep and nourishing rest,
When you feel ready you can roll to one side and pause for a moment continue to rest here,
Laying down or if you feel ready,
Slowly come up to a seated position,
Palms joining together in namaskar mudra in front of your heart center may you move through life with grace,
May you honor your emotions and trust their rhythm,
May joy and creativity flow freely through you Namaste,
I hope you have a wonderful day ahead of you
