Welcome,
I'm Phyllis and this Yoga Nidra practice can be helpful when your mind feels scattered and unclear.
Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation where your body drops into deep relaxation.
While you stay awake and aware.
When the body feels safe and supported.
The brain can shift out of stress mode.
Thoughts slow down,
Mental noise can soften.
Allowing the mind to become clearer.
As the nervous system begins to downregulate.
I am so glad you've chosen to give your mind a break of any effort,
Any solving,
Planning and thinking.
This is an effortless practice.
But deeply healing.
There's no way to do this practice wrong.
If your mind wanders.
Or is stuck in thinking,
That's completely normal.
Just continue to come back to the sound of my voice.
Begin by taking a moment to get as comfortable as you can.
Lying down or reclining back.
In a position that feels supportive.
Allowing yourself this time to rest.
You might choose to place something underneath your thighs.
Or knees.
Support for underneath your head.
A blanket for warmth.
Get as cozy as you can right now.
Take a nice deep inhale through the nose.
And then an exhale out through the mouth.
With each exhale,
Let your body begin to melt down.
Further and further.
Softening down.
Notice the coolness of the air on your skin.
The warmth of clothing on your skin.
The sounds in your environment.
And in this recording.
Notice the sense of smell.
Any lingering tastes in the mouth.
The sense of sight with eyes closed.
Feel the body resting now.
Allowing tension to dissipate from the body.
Imagine the mind as a muscle.
And it is also letting go of any tension.
Any doubts?
Self-judgement.
Allow the mind to soften.
Our breath can be a way to begin to relax the mind and the body.
So we will move through a three-part breath.
First start with feeling the belly.
Feel like a balloon on the inhale.
And on the exhale.
Air comes out like a balloon deflating.
Few more times that way,
Feeling the belly expand like a balloon.
Letting the air out like a balloon on the exhale.
And then adding on to all three parts.
On the next inhale,
Feel the belly expand.
The ribcage expand and then all the way into the upper chest,
Right around the collarbones.
And then exhale,
Upper chest deflates,
Rib cage softens,
And belly softens.
Inhale belly,
Rib cage,
Upper chest.
Exhale upper chest,
Rib cage,
Belly.
Inhale belly,
Rib cage,
Upper chest.
Exhale upper chest,
Ribcage,
Belly.
Continue with that for a few more moments at your own pace.
And now we will draw in our deep intention or Sankalpa.
If you don't have one.
You might use.
My mind is clear and steady.
Or I trust my inner clarity.
Choose one that resonates with you or if you have your own,
Mentally repeat it three times.
And now we will begin rotating awareness throughout the body.
There is nothing you need to do except allow your attention to settle on each part as you hear it mentioned.
Bring your awareness to the right side of the body.
The right hand.
Right.
First finger.
Second.
Third little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Rest.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Right side of the chest.
Waste.
Right thigh knee.
Lower leg.
And cold.
Heal.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
And all five toes.
Sensing the entire right side of the body.
And shifting awareness to the left side of the body.
The left hand.
Left thumb.
First finger.
Seconds.
Third.
Little finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulders.
Left side of the chest.
Waste.
Left thigh.
Me.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
You.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
All five toes.
Sensing the entire left side of the body.
Allow your awareness to come to the back of the body.
Noticing the back of the head.
Back of the neck.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Upper back.
Mid back.
Lower back.
The whole spine.
Tailbone.
Back of the pelvis.
Back of the thighs.
Back of the knees.
Calves.
Heels.
Sense the whole back body.
And now bring your awareness to the whole front of the body.
Noticing the forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Tempo.
Cheekbones.
Right eye.
Left eyebrow.
Temple.
Cheekbones.
Left eye.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Tip of the nose.
Air flow in and out of the nostrils.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Upper teeth.
Lower cheeks.
Roof of the mouth.
Floor of the mouth.
Sense the softness of the tongue.
Good job.
Throat.
Right side of the chest.
Left side of the chest.
Upper abdomen.
Lower abdomen.
The front of the pelvis.
Front of the thighs.
Kneecaps.
Shins.
Tops of the feet.
Sense the whole front of the body.
And now sense the whole body.
As one field of awareness.
And now let your awareness come to the natural breath.
Notice the breath moving in and out of the nostrils.
Notice how the breath gently moves the body.
Whatever sensations or thoughts arise is fine.
Simply return to the breath.
And to my voice.
We will begin counting the breath backwards from 27.
Inhaling naturally exhaling naturally.
Twenty seven.
Inhale.
Inhale and exhale.
26 Inhale.
Exhale 25.
Continue counting down at a comfortable pace.
If you lose count,
Gently return to 27 and begin again.
Keep the breath effortless,
Flowing in and flowing out.
And now let the counting go.
We will explore opposite sensations.
Bring attention to the experience of mental thought.
You might notice a sense of dullness.
Or confusion.
Happiness in the mind.
Recalling mental fog.
Without any judgment or stories about it.
Just the experience of mental fog.
And now shift to the experience of mental clarity.
Perhaps a feeling of openness.
Ease.
Brightness.
Allow yourself to feel mental clarity.
And then move between the two mental fogs.
And mental clarity.
And now sense the experience of mental effort,
Trying to figure things out,
Holding,
Gripping,
Effort since mental effort.
And now sense the experience of mental ease.
And understanding without any effort.
Spaciousness.
Feel mental ease.
And now go between effort and ease.
And then letting all that go.
And now imagine yourself arriving at a quiet lake.
Early in the morning.
The air is cool and still.
And everything feels calm and spacious.
As you look out over the lake.
You notice that a light fog is resting on the surface of the water.
Makes it hard to see clearly.
You look at the lake but cannot see any reflection.
Slowly the sun begins to rise.
And the fog begins to lift.
As it dissipates,
The surface of the water starts to become clear.
Reflecting the beautiful blue sky above.
And the water is so calm now.
You can see into the depths below.
The fog has lifted.
The water has become clear.
Rest here for a few moments.
In this clear,
Spacious awareness.
And now invite your sankalpa or intention.
My mind is clear and steady.
Or I trust my inner clarity.
Or if you have one of your own.
Repeat it silently three times.
You Allowing that seed to take root.
Begin to notice the body.
On the surface.
Notice how it feels for the body.
To be relaxed and at ease.
Notice how this can affect the mind.
To also be at ease.
Feel the breath.
Moving gently in and out of the body.
Like a wave.
Rolling in.
Rolling out.
Notice once again the sounds in your environment.
Notice where you are in the room.
Begin to wiggle the fingers and the toes.
Inviting small movements back into the body.
You might begin to lengthen the breath by taking a nice deep inhale through the nose again.
This time you might choose to sigh it out through the mouth.
And just allow yourself to simmer in this rest and peace.
And stillness.
No rush to come out of this.
Whenever you're ready you can bring in some larger movements.
And now,
Whether you're lying down or seated.
Bring your palms together.
Rub them together a few times,
Getting some heat in your palms.
And then placing them over the eyes.
Pausing there.
And then keeping your palms together,
Bring your thumbs to your heart center.
And acknowledging yourself that you showed up.
Thanking your body.
Thanking your mind.
Thanking your spirit.
And I thank you so much for joining me today.
