Welcome to Yoga Nidra.
For stress relief,
Finding a comfortable position,
You might want a blanket to keep your body
warm or a pillow for under your head.
If you'd like an eye pillow or something to cover your eyes to block or dim out the
light,
Gathering all the props that you need to make yourself as comfortable as possible
for the next 20 minutes so you can go into a state of deep rest,
Into a state of deep
relaxation.
Become aware of the space that you're in,
The surface your body is lying on top of.
Notice your breath as it moves in and out of your body.
Space inward into the space of your mind.
Create an intention for your practice,
Such as,
I give myself this time as a gift to relax.
If you have your own intention that you're working with,
Using your own intention,
Repeated
to yourself mentally three times,
Noticing any tension that you might be holding onto
in your body around the muscles of your face,
Maybe around your eyes or your forehead or
your jaw.
Maybe you're holding tension around your neck and your shoulders,
Just noticing.
And if it feels good for you,
Using your breath to breathe into that area and exhaling,
Releasing
the tension,
Sighing it out if you like.
Let's do a rotation of consciousness over your body.
I'll go through the different parts of your body,
As I say each part of your body,
Let
the tension dissolve as if it's oozing out of that part of your body,
Liquefying,
Being
absorbed by the ground below.
Move your awareness to your right thumb,
Relaxing.
Right second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
All of the fingers of
your right hand melting,
Oozing.
Palm of your hand,
Soft,
Back of your hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
From your shoulder to your fingertips,
Let the tension dissolve,
Melting.
Aware of the side of your right waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Top of
the right foot,
Sole of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
Fifth
toe,
All of the toes of your right foot melting,
Releasing,
Letting go.
Aware of the left side of your body,
Your left thumb melting,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
All of the fingers relaxing,
Releasing,
Melting.
Left palm,
The back of your left hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
From
the shoulder to the fingertips,
The entire left arm is releasing,
Is letting go.
Left side waist,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Top of the left foot,
Sole of
the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
All of the toes
of the left foot relaxing,
Oozing,
Releasing.
Aware of the back of your body,
Back of your heels,
Back of your legs,
The back of your hips,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
The muscles around
your back melting,
The entire spine softening,
Back of neck,
Back of head,
Top of head,
The
forehead softening,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Sides of the head spreading,
Right hemisphere
of the brain,
Left hemisphere softening,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between the
eyebrows sinking,
Releasing towards the back of your skull,
The right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
The right eye,
The left eye,
The muscles around the eyes soft,
Bridge of your nose,
Tip of your
nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril spreading,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right ear,
Inner ear,
Left ear,
Inner ear,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Roof of the mouth,
The tongue,
Upper jaw,
Lower jaw,
The throat,
Front of the neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Center of the chest,
The heart softening,
The lungs relaxed,
The ribs melting,
Upper belly,
Lower belly,
Navel center,
Become aware of your right arm,
Your whole arm,
Relaxing,
Letting go,
The left arm,
The whole arm,
Relaxing,
Melting,
Both arms sinking,
Relaxing,
Softening into the surface below,
Right leg,
Left leg,
The muscles of your legs dissolving onto the bones,
The bones heavy,
Sinking,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Relaxing,
Melting,
The front of your body sinking towards the back of your body,
All of the muscles weighed down by gravity sinking to the back of your body,
Back of your body dissolving,
Melting into the surface below,
Your whole body releasing,
Liquefying,
Oozing,
Your body is resting comfortably
while your mind is aware,
Aware of your breath moving in and out of your belly,
The motion of your belly ebbing and flowing like the tides of the ocean ebb and flow,
As you watch your breath,
Mentally count your breath back from 18 to 1,
18 belly up,
18 belly down,
17 belly up,
17 belly down,
As you get closer and closer to 1,
Your body is asleep,
Letting go,
Your mind completely aware,
Very good,
Imagine your body is surrounded by a golden orb,
This orb completely envelops your body,
Cocoons your body,
Protects you from all of the external influences,
It allows your mind to take a vacation,
A sense of relief washes over your body as the cells of your body absorb the golden light,
It circulates around the different parts of your body,
Relaxing your nervous system,
Dissolving any residual tension you are holding onto,
You surrender as the golden light blows down upon you,
Seeping into all of the crevices
and spaces of your body,
Releasing and melting any tension,
Your body feels a sense of complete
peace,
A sense of inner ease,
Become aware of your breath moving in and out of your body,
Aware of the surface your body is lying upon,
A sense of calm,
Setting an intention to remain in a state of ease as you move out of your practice,
Externalize your mind to the outer environment,
Moving arms and legs,
Wiggling fingers,
Wiggling toes,
Stretching your body,
Bending your knees,
Coming to a seated position,
Appreciating the time that you've taken to de-stress,
When you're ready,
Blink your eyes open.
