Welcome.
I'm Phyllis and I'll be guiding you today in your Yoga Nidra practice for self-confidence.
As you settle in,
Know that there is no way to practice this wrong.
You only need to rest and listen.
This practice guides your body and mind into deep relaxation,
Where you can remember the qualities you already carry,
Strength and trust in yourself.
Let this be a quiet space to remember who you are beneath the noise and the doubt.
Begin by getting yourself as comfortable as you can,
Making your Yoga Nidra nest.
Yoga Nidra can retrain the body and mind to let go of stress and retrain the nervous system to a state of calm rather than reaction and anxiety.
Over time,
Calm starts to become the new normal.
Whatever arises during your practice,
Any thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations or even sleep,
Is perfectly ok.
Your experience today is exactly what you need.
Remain as the silent awareness,
The witness.
Take a nice deep inhale through the nose and an exhale out through the mouth.
Do that two more times as you inhale,
Feel calm spreading through the body.
And on the exhale,
Feel the cares of the world flowing out of the body.
One more time,
Inhale,
Calm throughout the body.
Exhale,
Cares of the world flowing out.
And now allow awareness of your natural breath.
Sense the breath at the tip of the nose.
And now allow yourself to sense the breath going into the nostrils,
Into the nasal passages,
Down into the throat,
Into the chest and all the way to the navel.
On the exhale,
Breath flows out from the navel,
Following that passage back out through the nose.
Keep the breath still natural.
You might say to yourself,
Inhale,
Nose to navel.
Exhale,
Navel to nose.
Allow that effortless breath.
And now allow that imagery to go.
And listen for any sounds around you.
Listen to them as purely as a sound without a story about it.
Just the quality of the sound.
Listen for each sound from far away to the closest sound.
And now notice the points of contact that the body has with the support beneath.
The back of the head.
Right shoulder blades.
Left shoulder blades.
Right arm.
Left arm.
Right hand.
Left hand.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Right calf.
Left calf.
Right heel.
Left heel.
Feel your body sinking down into the support.
Letting go of the day.
Allow thoughts to come and go.
And now can you welcome in a sankalpa or a deep resolve.
Let the words be simple and present tense and true for you.
If you don't have one,
You might use,
I trust myself.
If that resonates for you,
Or if you have your own,
Repeat mentally 3 times with feeling and emotion,
Allowing it to settle deep within you,
As though planting a seed.
And now we will rotate our awareness throughout the body,
Allowing your mind to move freely from one part to the next,
As it is mentioned.
And imagine with each body part mentioned,
There is a soft golden light settling deep into that part of the body.
Bring your awareness to the right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third and fifth finger,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Waist,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Awareness to the whole right side of the body,
Bathed in soft golden light.
Draw your awareness to the left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth finger,
Sole,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Fifth toe,
Awareness to the whole left side of the body,
The whole left side of the body,
Bathed in a soft golden light.
Awareness to the back of the body,
The right buttock,
Left buttock,
Right lower back,
Left lower back,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The entire right side of the back,
The entire left side of the back,
The whole spine,
The back of the neck,
The back of the head,
The entire back body,
The entire back body,
Bathed in soft golden light.
Awareness to the crown of the head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The brow center,
Right eyelid,
Right eyelid,
Left ear,
The tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
The space between the lips,
Teeth,
Sensing the whole tongue,
Pit of the throat,
Chin,
Front of the neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Right abdomen,
The navel center.
Sense the entire front of the body,
The entire front of the body,
Bathed in soft golden light.
The whole right leg.
The whole left leg.
Both legs together.
The whole right arm.
Both arms together.
The whole back.
The whole front.
Sense the entire body.
The entire body,
Enveloped in this soft golden light.
Aware of the entire body,
From the crown of the head to the tips of the fingers and the toes,
Enveloped in a soft golden light.
And now become aware of the soothing ebb and flow of your natural breath.
Feel the body gently moving.
And now we'll move through a mental alternate nostril breathing,
Counting back from 18.
Inhale left nostril.
Exhale right nostril.
Inhale right nostril.
Exhale left nostril.
Inhale left nostril.
Exhale right nostril.
Inhale right nostril.
Exhale left nostril.
Inhale left nostril.
Keep going with this breath,
Counting down to zero.
Keep your breath at a natural rhythm.
And if you lose count,
Or get confused,
Start again.
Or allow your awareness just to settle on the breath,
At its natural ebb and flow.
Now let that counting go,
Whether you're finished or not.
Begin to feel the whole body heavy.
Feel the body sinking.
Feel the body,
The denseness.
Feel the heaviness of the body.
Imagine the front body sinks down into the back body.
The body is so heavy.
Feel heaviness.
Now imagine the whole body light,
Buoyant,
Effortless,
Like you're floating on a cloud.
The body becomes so light.
Feel the heaviness.
Feel the lightness.
And now alternate between both heaviness and lightness.
And now feel heaviness and lightness together.
And return now to a neutral awareness of the whole body.
Begin to imagine yourself standing at the edge of a vast,
Peaceful landscape.
Take a slow,
Easy breath in.
And as you look out over this beautiful space,
The air around you is fresh.
The land rolls gently in the distance.
Soft hills rising.
There are grasses that shimmer as they move with the gentle breeze.
Each blade catching the sunlight like strands of silk.
You sense the quiet hum of life all around you.
The faint call of a bird.
The peaceful rhythm of nature.
You breathe in deeply and the scent of warm earth fills your nostrils.
As you breathe out,
You notice your body softening.
Your jaw releases.
The whole being settles.
You feel the ground beneath your feet steady and completely supporting you.
The earth is holding you,
Reminding you that you belong here.
A warmth from the sun touches your skin.
You feel safe.
You are home.
Before you stretches a golden field of tall grasses.
You watch the grasses moving gently,
Swaying,
Bowing to the earth.
You begin to walk slowly,
Unhurried.
Touching the grasses with your fingertips as you walk through.
And with every step you feel a quiet strength rising from the ground.
Filling your whole body.
Burnt with strength and calm.
The earth whispers to you.
You are supported.
As you walk you notice a small rise ahead.
A hill.
And at the top stands a single tree.
Tall and open to the sky.
You feel drawn toward it,
As though it's calling you here.
With each step toward this tree your mind becomes quieter.
When you reach the tree,
You pause beneath its branches.
The tree's trunk is wide and strong.
You reach out to touch it.
You feel the texture of the bark beneath your fingertips.
You sit down and you lean your back against the tree.
Letting its steady presence support you.
You can almost feel its roots beneath the ground.
Reaching deep into the earth.
Anchoring you both in quiet strength.
And as you rest here,
Imagine that you have roots extending from the soles of your feet.
They reach down through the layers of the soil.
Intertwining with the tree's roots.
Reaching all the way into the heart of the earth.
And with each inhale,
You draw up the strength and stability of the earth.
With each exhale,
You let go of any self-doubt.
The earth receives the doubt and transforms it back into trust in yourself.
Trust in the earth.
And bring your attention to the centre of your chest.
Your heart space.
And imagine a soft,
Golden light beginning to glow from your heart centre.
At first,
It's faint.
But with each breath,
It grows a little brighter and steadier.
Spreading warmth through your whole body.
This light is your inner confidence.
Quiet,
Grounded and true.
You imagine placing one hand over your heart.
And you feel its warmth radiating outward.
Radiating outward.
Through your chest,
Shoulders,
Arms.
Down through your torso,
Hips and legs.
All the way to your toes.
Your whole being glows with this steady,
Peaceful confidence.
It's calm and unwavering.
Something that has always lived within you.
And you are remembering it now.
Imagine this golden light softly expanding beyond your body.
A gentle aura surrounding you.
Touching the tree,
The grasses,
The horizon.
This whole landscape glows with you.
You and the earth,
The sky and the sunlight.
All sharing the same quiet radiance.
And as you rest here,
You remember this light is your essence.
Your natural state of being.
Rest here now for the next few moments.
Wrapped in your own golden light of peace and confidence.
Let yourself feel the deep ease of being exactly where you are.
Steady,
Strong and at home in yourself.
And you notice now the sun is beginning to set.
And the sky starts to turn to crimson.
Splashing the color on the earth all around you.
Symbolizing a promise of renewal.
Allow this image of the landscape to slowly soften and fade away.
And here,
Invite your sankalpa back again.
I trust myself.
And mentally repeat it three times with feeling.
Feel yourself resting in your physical body.
Notice the soft rhythm of your breath.
The gentle rise and fall of your chest.
Become aware of any sounds.
Noticing the walls.
Notice the support beneath you.
And the ceiling above you.
Notice the effects of your practice here today.
Know that you have begun to create new neural pathways.
Begin to lengthen your breath by taking a deep inhale through the nose.
You might want to do an audible sigh out through your mouth.
Start to gently move your body.
Maybe the toes and the fingers.
Circling the ankles and the wrists.
Moving the head side to side.
You might want to bring your knees in towards your chest to give them a hug.
Rolling over to one side.
Stay here as long as you need.
No rush to return.
Bring yourself up to a seated position.
Know that you can come back to this practice at any time.
And repeat your sankalpa at any time throughout the day.
I trust myself.
Thank you for joining me.
Until next time,
Namaste.
