Getting ready to practice yoga nidra.
Laying on your back or in a comfortable position.
Take a moment now to get comfortable.
Make any small adjustments to the head and neck,
Shoulders,
Hips and legs.
Notice how your body is supported by the ground beneath you.
Bring attention to your jaw.
Notice if there is any gripping or tension here.
Relax your jaw and all of the muscles of your face.
Scan through your body.
Are there any areas you can soften?
Notice sensations inside your body.
The breath moving in and out.
The rise and fall of your ribs,
Your belly.
Your heartbeat pulsing throughout your body.
We begin with the physiological sigh,
A controlled breathing technique to calm the nervous system.
Take two sips of air in through the nose,
Filling your lungs completely.
And then a long exhale through the mouth.
Nice long exhalation.
Inhale for two.
Long exhalation.
Continue at your own pace for the next few breaths.
Letting go of that,
Feel the breath return to its natural rhythm.
Bring all of your attention back to the movement of breath,
Your chest and your belly.
Welcome in an intention for this practice or your Sankalpa.
If you're not working with a particular Sankalpa,
Perhaps you can choose,
I accept myself just as I am.
Mentally whispering your heart's vow to yourself three times.
Allow your attention to move through your body,
Following the guidance of my voice.
Bring awareness to the tip of your tongue and all the way down to the root of the tongue.
Inside of the right cheek,
Inside of the left cheek,
The roof of the mouth,
The teeth and gums,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
Jaw,
Chin.
Notice the flow of air in the nose,
The right nostril,
Left nostril,
Center of the forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Temple,
Right eye and all of the micro muscles behind the eye.
Left eyebrow,
Temple,
Left eye and all of the muscles behind the eye.
The forehead,
Crown of the head,
Right ear,
Through the center of the head to the left ear,
Back of the neck,
Heart center,
Right side of the chest,
Right shoulder blade,
Shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Arm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Right thumb,
First finger,
Second,
Third,
Little finger,
Arm of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
Let your attention return to your heart center,
Left side of the chest,
Left shoulder blade,
Shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Arm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Left thumb,
First finger,
Second,
Third,
Little finger,
Arm of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
Return attention to the heart center,
Waist,
Belly,
Pelvis,
Right hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Almost,
Little toe,
Sole of the foot,
Ankle,
Lower leg,
Knee,
Upper leg,
Hip,
Pelvic bowl,
Left hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe,
Sole of the foot,
Ankle,
Lower leg,
Knee,
Upper leg,
Hip,
The entire left leg,
Left leg,
Left side of the torso,
Left arm,
The left side of the body.
Bring attention to the left side of the body and the right hemisphere of the brain,
Throughout the left side of the body and the right brain.
Take time to allow your attention to move to the right side of the body,
The right leg,
Torso,
Arm,
The right side of the body and the left hemisphere of the brain,
Right side of the body,
Left brain.
And now feel the whole body,
Left and right,
The whole body now,
Radiant with sensation,
Feel sensation throughout the whole body.
Return your attention to the breath,
Air moving in and out of the body,
Waves of respiration,
In and out.
Just notice the rise and fall of the breath at the belly,
Easy and rhythmic,
Just sensing the expansion and release of the breath.
Let go of thoughts,
Your attention turns inward to the space of awareness within.
Without changing the natural rhythm of breath,
Imagine breathing in through the palm of your right hand,
All the way up the right arm to the heart.
Exhale from the heart,
Down the left arm to the palm of the left hand.
Inhale,
Left arm to heart center,
Switching sides,
Exhale down the right arm to the palm.
Easy,
Natural flow,
In and out.
Palm of the hand to center of the heart,
Switching sides,
Exhale down the arm.
Continue to breathe in a natural,
Easy rhythm,
Feeling the energy of the breath,
Moving from hand to heart on the inhale,
Heart to hand on the exhale.
Just imagine.
And now,
Welcome the feeling of warmth in your body,
Sensing all of the places where you feel warm.
Feel your body warm,
As if a fire burns within you.
How does warmth feel in your body?
Where do you sense it?
And now,
Welcome the feeling of coolness in your body,
Sense all of the places where you feel cool.
Feel coolness,
A river of cool water flowing within your body.
How does coolness feel?
Where do you sense it?
Coming back to the feeling of warmth,
Feeling all of the areas that are warm.
Then,
Welcoming coolness again.
Can you welcome both opposing sensations simultaneously,
Warm and cool?
And now,
Feel your body as contracted,
Closed in,
Tense,
Stiff.
Feel contraction in your body,
As if you are shrinking inwards,
Compacted.
And now,
Feel expansion,
Feel open and spacious.
Feel your body as expansive and spacious,
Infinite.
And now,
Feel contraction again,
Closed,
Compact.
Coming back to feeling wide open and expansive.
And now,
Go back and forth between feeling contracted and this spacious expansiveness.
Back and forth between the two at your own pace.
And now,
Feel them both together.
Welcome the feeling of contracting and expanding at the same time.
Resting back into spacious awareness for the next few moments.
Into this space,
Welcome back your body,
Into this space,
Welcome back your Sankalpa.
Allow your heart's vowel to rest here with you a while.
When you are ready,
Begin to sense any sounds in your environment,
Near or far.
With eyes still closed,
Become aware of the space around you,
From far to near.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And again,
Deep breath in and out.
One more time.
Feel the solid earth beneath you.
Your head,
Shoulders,
Legs and feet.
And slowly start to awaken the body,
Making slow,
Gentle movements.
Notice how you feel as you end your practice.
Notice how you feel as you end your practice.
And move slowly back into your waking life.
Thank you for practicing Yoga Nidra with me today.
Namaste.
