Get ready for the practice of yoga nidra.
It is recommended that you listen to the same recording regularly until you feel that recording has served its purpose in your life.
Then move on to another recording to practice regularly.
Before you begin,
Grab a blanket,
A pillow,
And we will begin by lying on our backs on a comfortable surface.
You can take a pillow and place it underneath your head for comfort.
If you have another pillow or bolsters and your back feels sensitive,
You can place it underneath your thighs for support.
Place blankets over your body as during the practice,
The body will become very relaxed and as a result of relaxation,
The temperature of the body will drop.
Take a final moment to adjust your props,
Pillows,
Or clothing.
Adjust yourself for the practice of yoga nidra.
For these next minutes,
We want the body to be completely still and relaxed.
If during the practice you need to move the body,
You can,
But then return to stillness.
Take a final moment now to adjust yourself and then start to settle.
We settle first by opening and softening the legs.
Let the feet fall open and soften into the arms.
Let the hands fall open.
Let your spine be in one alignment.
The practice of yoga nidra is a practice where we are totally mentally relaxed,
Physically relaxed,
And emotionally relaxed.
We release tension on our physical,
Mental,
And emotional states.
It is the practice of perceiving,
Feeling,
And then letting go.
Let's feel now the spots where your body is meeting the floor.
Let the body's weight melt into the ground through these contact points.
Surrender the body's weight to the ground with each exhale.
Let go of the holding and let the mind be free of the body as you relax the body's weight into the The face soft and free of tension.
The space between the eyebrows feels expansive and open.
The eyes are relaxed behind closed lids.
The temples are free of any tension.
The cheeks are relaxed and smooth.
The jaw unhinged and soft,
Neck free of any tension.
Chest and lungs are free and open to move up and down.
Arms and shoulders are heavy.
The belly is relaxed and free to move up and down gently.
The hips are free of any tension and the leg bones are heavy and relaxed.
Feel your entire body,
From head down to toes,
In this relaxed state.
Say to yourself internally,
Now I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
The body is now relaxed.
My thinking and analysing mind can take a rest while the higher mind comes to the forefront.
In your mind's eye now,
See the room that you are in,
Vivid and bright as you can.
See the ceiling,
The walls,
See the floor,
And then see your body on the ground from head down to toes.
You are now practicing Yoga Nidra and you will remain awake throughout this practice.
Become aware of a distant sound now.
Become aware of another sound in the distance.
Allow your awareness to drift from sound to sound,
Not judging the sounds or trying to interpret where they are coming from.
Just rest in judgment-free awareness.
Become aware of closer sounds.
Move the awareness from one sound to the next,
Without identifying where the sound is coming from or trying to analyse what is making the sound.
Just simply listening.
Keep moving the awareness from one sound to the next.
Perhaps some sounds are coming and going.
Listen now for the inner sounds of the breath,
Maybe some sounds of the digestive system.
Just paying attention to the inner sounds of the body.
Now is the time to rotate the awareness around the body.
As the awareness rotates throughout the body,
It becomes prana and clears the energy channels throughout each part of the body.
We do this by relaxing each body part,
Sensing any sensations in the body part,
And maybe visualising or repeating the name of the body.
As the awareness moves through the body,
The body remains still.
Begin with the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm,
Palm,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Underarm,
The side waist,
Hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe.
Stay awake.
Bring the awareness now to the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Underarm,
The side waist,
Hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Inner ear,
Left ear,
Inner ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Tip of the nose,
Right side of the jaw,
Left side of the jaw,
Chin,
Front of the neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
The hollow between,
The right side of the chest,
The left side of the chest,
Heart center,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
Pelvic region,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
And top of the head.
Feel now the whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Torso,
Neck,
And head.
Feel now both legs together,
Both arms together,
Torso,
Neck,
And head.
Feel the whole body,
The whole body,
And the whole body.
Feel the natural up and down movement of the breath.
Feel the breath moving like a soft wave from the belly to the nose and like a wave from the nose to the belly.
The breath moving from the belly to the nose and down from nose to belly.
As the breath is moving this way,
Track the breath by counting the breath.
Begin with ten,
Counting down to one.
Moving from belly to nose,
Ten.
Down from nose to belly,
Ten.
Up from belly to nose,
Nine.
And down from nose to belly,
Nine.
And so on,
Counting down.
If you lose track of the count or reach one,
Start again at ten,
Counting down to one.
Stay awake.
Stay awake.
Let go of the breath now and let go of the count.
Recall now a sensation of warmth.
Remember a time when your body felt warm.
Recall that sensation of warmth.
Allow your body to recall a comfortable sense of coziness,
Sinking into a pleasant,
Toasty feeling.
Glowing,
Soothing warmth,
Just like a gentle glow radiating from a sun.
Allow your body to relax into sensations of warmth.
Now recall sensations of coolness.
Recall a time when your body felt cool and remember that sensation of coolness.
Feel a soothing chill,
A gentle,
Relieving sense of coolness.
Allow your body to remember a soothing,
Relaxing sense of cool.
Recall now a sensation of heaviness.
Remember a time when your body felt heavy and recall that sensation of heaviness.
Allow yourself to feel a gentle weightedness,
Like a thick blanket laying over your body.
Feel yourself sinking slowly,
Remembering a comforting sense of heaviness.
Recall now a sensation of lightness.
Remember a time when your body felt light and recall that sensation of lightness.
Like a soft sensation of floating,
Feel a comforting lightness come over your body.
Airy and weightless,
Feel a relaxing feeling of being light and weightless.
Become aware now of inner sounds of the body.
Sounds of the breath,
Perhaps sounds of the digestive system.
Extend your hearing a little farther out and become aware of the sounds around you in the room that you're in.
Becoming aware of closer sounds and farther sounds.
Awareness drifting back and forth,
From sound to sound,
Without judgement.
Become aware of sounds outside of the room,
Maybe even outside of the home.
Moving the awareness from sound to sound to sound.
Trying to figure out where the sound is coming from.
Extend the awareness far and wide.
Picture the room that you're in now,
Vibrantly as you can.
See the ceiling,
The walls,
The floor.
And on the floor,
See your body again laying there,
Colourful and vivid as you can.
As you see your body on the floor,
You may begin to feel into the body.
Connect to the physical sensations of the body.
Feeling the body's weight against the ground and connecting to the gentle flow of the breath.
Maybe even connecting to the sense of smell or taste in your mouth.
Become gradually familiar once again with the senses of the body now.
As you stay a moment there,
You can say to yourself,
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
As I deepen my breath,
I can now begin to move my body.
Wiggling the fingers and toes gently.
Maybe nodding the head or giving yourself a nice stretch.
Reaching up to the sides or overhead.
The practice is now concluded.
Take your time rolling onto your side and slowly coming out of this practice.
You may want to take some quiet time with yourself before continuing throughout the rest of your day.
Namaste.
