Bye there.
Welcome to this recording for absolute beginners to yoga nidra.
Before we do anything,
Get yourself comfortable lying down.
On your back preferably,
But really whatever position feels most comfortable for you today is the best position for this practice.
The goal here is simply to get your body as physically effortless and as cozy as possible.
So you might like to use a pillow underneath your head.
Perhaps another behind the knees.
Maybe pull a blanket over you for a little extra warmth.
And just take whatever little movements or adjustments you need to make.
To allow yourself to really feel comfortable and supported.
And once you are comfortable,
You might gently close down the eyes.
If you've never tried Joginidra before.
Or maybe you've tried meditation and decided you're just not very good at it.
You're very welcome here.
I actually came to Yoganidra as somebody who found a lot of other meditation quite difficult.
The idea of sitting upright,
Trying to quiet my mind.
Or wondering whether I was doing it properly just wasn't particularly appealing to me.
But Yoganidra did feel different.
For one thing,
You get to lie down.
And rather than trying to empty your mind,
I'll give your attention simple things to follow throughout the practice.
And your mind will wander.
You might lose track of what I'm saying.
You might realize you've been thinking about something completely unrelated.
You might even fall asleep.
And none of these things mean you've done it wrong.
Whenever you notice your attention has wandered,
Just come back to the sound of my voice and pick up wherever we are.
My own yoga nidra teacher once described the practice like shutting down the tabs and windows on a computer,
Allowing the whole system to recharge and reboot.
And that analogy really stuck with me because most of us are going through our days with an enormous number of tabs open.
Things we're doing,
Things we're remembering,
Planning.
Conversations we had,
Conversations we haven't had yet,
All quietly running in the background.
So for the next little while,
You don't need to solve anything.
You don't have to concentrate perfectly and you definitely don't have to be good at meditation.
I'm going to guide you through the whole thing.
And your only job is to get comfortable.
And listen whenever you remember to.
And we'll begin with three breaths.
Breathing in gently through the nose.
And then a long easy breath out as if you were fogging up a mirror Again,
Breathing in through the nose.
And out through the mouth,
Fogging up that mirror And once more,
Breathing in,
Filling the lungs.
And a long easy breath out Noticing the body settling a little further into the support beneath you.
And now letting go of any control of the breath.
You bring your awareness to the forehead.
Perhaps sensing the muscles across the brow beginning to soften.
The space between the eyebrows.
Releasing effort.
Noticing the tiny muscles around and behind the eyes.
And allowing them to soften too.
The jaw.
Letting is.
Rest open.
Allowing a little space between the teeth.
Tongue resting heavy inside the mouth.
Shoulders softening.
Belly,
Soft.
Allowing both legs to settle even more.
Feet naturally falling out to the sides.
Yoga nidra traditionally includes something called a sankalpa.
A short positive intention that you silently repeat to yourself during the practice.
And if this is completely new to you,
Don't worry about trying to come up with the perfect one today.
You might already have something meaningful to you.
Or you can simply borrow this one for today's practice.
My mind is clear and at ease.
My mind is clear and at ease.
Repeating those words silently to yourself three times.
And then letting those words go.
I'm going to guide your awareness now through different parts of the body.
And there's nothing you need to move.
As I name each area,
Simply notice it.
Sense it.
Or perhaps just know it's there.
And you might notice warmth or coolness in some areas.
Maybe a subtle tingling or vibration.
Or maybe nothing particularly noticeable at all.
There's really no right or wrong experience here.
So could you bring your attention now to the crown of the head?
All your awareness settling at the crown of the head.
Moving down to the center of the forehead.
To the space between the eyebrows.
Both eyes.
Her tiny muscles around and behind the eyes.
Perhaps softening even more.
Both cheeks.
The nose.
Perhaps noticing any tingling or warmth that might be present here at both lips.
And now bringing your awareness inside the mouth the inside of the rice cheek.
Inside the left cheek.
Roof of the mansion.
Upper Guns.
Flower.
Comes.
Tip of the tongue.
Roots of the tongue.
Center of the throat.
Piss of the throat.
Down to the center of the chest.
Awareness drifting out now to both shoulders Both upper arms.
Forearms.
Rest.
The palms of both hands.
Tips of all ten fingers.
Tracing awareness back now through the wrists.
Forearms.
Upper arms.
Shoulders.
And back to the center of the chest.
Moving down through the ribs Upper belly.
Lower belly.
Pelvis.
Both hips.
Both eyes.
Knees.
The back of both knees.
Lower legs.
I'm cold Heals.
The souls of both beasts.
The tips of all 10 toes.
And now allowing awareness to spread through both feet.
Both legs.
The belly and chest.
Both arms and hands.
The neck and head.
Until you are sensing the whole body together The whole body soaked in awareness.
And from this sense of the whole body.
You might begin to notice something that's been happening all along.
The natural movement of the breath.
And there's no need to breathe in any particular way here.
You don't need to make the breath slower or deeper.
Just noticing the already happening breath.
Trusting that the body knows how to breathe all by itself.
You might notice the sensation of air at the nostrils.
Perhaps a little cooler as you breathe in.
A little warmer as you breathe out.
Just following the natural in and out.
You might become aware of the gentle movement of the chest and belly.
Rising with the in-breath and falling with the breath.
Just noticing.
And you might let that go now and.
.
.
Could you begin to welcome a sense of coolness throughout the whole body?
Perhaps recalling the feeling of cool air against the skin.
A cool breeze or Cool water.
You might sense coolness quite clearly.
Or maybe you're simply remembering what coolness feels like.
And either is absolutely fine.
Coolness throughout the whole body.
And could you now welcome a sense of warmth?
Perhaps remembering the feeling of warm air against the skin.
Sunlight.
Welcoming a sense of warmth throughout the whole body.
And now welcoming coolness once more.
A fresh,
Crisp coolness throughout the whole body.
And now inviting warmth back into the body again comforting warmth throughout the whole body And could you allow now both sensations to be present in the body at the same time?
Simply imagining both warm.
On coolness together.
And trusting here that your mind and body know exactly what to do.
Warmth and coolness.
Present here at the same time.
And letting both fade now.
Awareness settling once more throughout the whole body.
I'm just sensing.
The whole body resting here.
And for the next few moments there is nothing you need to follow.
Simply sensing the whole body at ease.
And you might now welcome your sankalpa,
Your intention,
Once more.
Or return to the simple words we used earlier.
My mind is clear and at ease.
Mentally whispering those words three times.
I'm beginning now to become aware once more of the body resting here.
Feeling the surface beneath you the weight of your body being supported.
Becoming aware of any sounds in the room.
Perhaps noticing the hair against your skin.
And taking a slightly fuller breath in through the nose here.
And letting it go through the mouth.
Beginning to bring some small movements back into the body.
Maybe stretching the fingers and letting them soften.
Moving the toes.
Perhaps circling the wrists or ankles.
And if it feels good reaching the arms overhead and taking a big old stretch No rush here.
And whenever you're ready,
Gently allowing the eyes to open.
And maybe noticing how you feel.
Maybe a little more rested.
A little clearer.
Or maybe you don't notice much difference at all And there's no particular way you need to feel at the end of yoga nidra either.
But I do hope you feel a little lighter.
And if you don't,
That's okay too.
Thanks for practicing and hope to see you next time.
