My name is Kumari and I'll be your guide.
This is an effortless meditation.
It's the perfect way to unwind after a long day and it's a great way to encourage a good night's sleep or even as an afternoon pick-me-up or power nap.
Hoping that you have an amazing session.
Thanks so much for joining us.
So Yoga Nidra wasn't necessarily created for going to sleep,
But the techniques that we use naturally bring the brainwaves into a really slow state.
That same state that happens when you're getting sleepy or when you're just falling asleep or when you're in deep sleep.
In Yoga Nidra,
We actually move through the brainwave cycles just like we do in sleep,
Except in Yoga Nidra,
It's a little faster,
A lot faster.
Fine to get really comfortable.
However that might be for you,
You could be in your bed,
You could be on a yoga mat on your couch and of course your body temperature naturally drops.
So consider getting a little extra cozy.
I love covering my eyes with something to block out any light.
Even if it's dark out,
There's something about just like having my eyes covered that takes me inward,
Easy peasy.
And I will guide you out of the practice.
So if you do want to go to sleep,
As soon as you kind of realize it's over,
You might want to click things off.
First,
Let's take a deep breath together.
Just landing here.
Letting go of the past,
Letting go of the future.
Diving inward.
Feeling the breath,
Our anchor,
Our touch point.
Hypnotizing yourself inward by following the rise and fall of your breath.
Ebbing and flowing.
Breathing.
Sensing the body's stillness.
Lightly noticing the feet,
The legs,
The arms,
The hands.
Just resting back even more.
Completely surrendering the weight of your body down into the surface you're resting upon.
Letting go.
There's nothing else you need to do now.
Remember,
It's always okay to let go of the past.
Readjust your position.
You don't have to worry if you drift off to sleep or feel like you've lost track of the guidance.
You can just let this be whatever it's going to be.
Return to the feeling of your breath at the nostrils.
Feeling the temperature of the air coming in the nostrils and flowing out the nostrils.
Imagining the beating of your heart inside your chest.
Sensing the warmth and energy of your body.
Resting back.
Do a little breathing practice now as a way of calming the nervous system a little bit more and also calming the body,
The body letting go even more.
That's where we're gonna take three sips of breath through the nose and then hold the breath and we're gonna tense the body.
You don't have to do the whole body.
You can just do your arms and hands.
You also have the option of visualizing or energetically imagining tensing.
So do what you feel suits you best.
Let's begin with a deep breath.
Inhaling,
Full deep breath and then let it go.
First round,
Three sips in.
Hold your breath and squeeze and tense the whole body.
And let it go.
Feel your whole body relaxing.
Let's try it again.
Hold and tense the body.
Tense,
Tense,
Let it go.
Off,
Whole body softening again.
Hold,
Tense,
Tense,
Release.
Whole body peacefully energized,
Ready.
Call in your sankalpa now.
And if you're not currently working with a sankalpa,
Create an intention for your practice.
You want to speak this intention as if it's already manifest,
It's already done.
I am the picture of perfect health.
Or I trust in the unfolding of my life.
Give yourself a moment here.
Now repeat this intention sankalpa three times.
Feeling this statement as the truth permeating every cell of your body.
Follow my voice as we move around the body in the rotation of consciousness.
And in this way,
We can take the body and every part of it to a little bit deeper.
Level of relaxation.
Beginning at the crown of the head.
Sensing the crown of the head.
Now the center of the forehead.
The third eye.
The right eye.
The left eye.
Both eyes.
The space behind the eyes.
Sense the ear canals.
And then the ear lobes.
The jaw.
The cheekbones.
The bridge of the nose.
The lips.
Now the inside of the mouth.
The mouth.
Like you could feel all 10,
000 taste buds tingling.
Now the top row of teeth and gums.
And the lower row of teeth and gums.
Sense the mouth alive with sensation.
Now to the hollow of the throat.
The collarbones.
The fronts of the shoulder.
The elbows.
The wrists.
The palms into all 10 fingers.
The palms and all 10 fingers alive with sensation.
Tingling.
Tingling.
Both hands,
Both arms.
And the backs of the shoulders and the shoulder blades.
Sensing the whole upper back.
The very center of the chest.
And the whole right half of the chest.
And the whole left half of the chest.
Sense the solar plexus area.
The upper abdomen.
The lower abdomen.
The chin.
The navel.
Lower back.
Hips and glutes.
The points of the hips.
The pelvic bowl.
The fronts of the knees.
And now the backs of the knees.
Both ankles.
And now sensing the soles of the feet.
The soles of the feet into all 10 toes.
The soles of the feet and all 10 toes subtly vibrating.
Feeling both the feet,
Both the legs.
And now a sense of the whole body as one.
The whole body.
Shimmering with radiance,
Life force energy.
Sense your whole body deeply resting.
Whole body deeply resting.
Noticing the breath again at the nostrils.
Healing the cool quality of the breath.
It's slow and easy rhythm.
Observing the breath.
Now sensing the breath as energy.
Bring your awareness back to the palm and fingers of your right hand.
Perhaps sensing a warmth or shimmering energy in the palm and fingers.
Cultivating this felt sense of energy in the palm.
And now imagine you could breathe the breath from the palm up the arm to the heart center.
And then exhale the breath from the heart center down the arm to the hand.
And then inhale again.
And exhale again.
Focus on the breath as energy moving up and down.
Palm to heart center,
Heart center back to palm.
And now with the next exhale,
Take attention to the heart center and just hold it there.
Holding awareness,
The energetic seat of the heart.
Take attention to the left hand and fingers.
The left hand and fingers.
Could you start to cultivate a felt sense of energy here?
Maybe even a warmth.
Imagine you could inhale your breath up the left arm to the heart center and exhale it out down the arm back to the palm and fingers.
Just imagining your breath flowing back and forth.
Sensing the energy in the body.
And now with this next exhale,
Let go of that and come back again to the heart center.
Now we'll move back and forth from left to right.
Again,
Cultivating awareness in the right palm and fingers.
Sense,
Feel,
Or just imagine an energy here.
Imagine you could see it on your inhale,
Moving up the right arm to the center and then exhaling down the left arm to that palm and fingers.
And again,
Inhaling from the left up and through the center,
Exhaling down to the palm,
Keep going.
Breathing and moving prana back and forth from side to side.
And now the next time you exhale to the right,
Come back to the center of the chest one more time.
Sense of your own life force energy pulsating within the body alive,
Vibrant with energy.
Sense,
Feel,
Or imagine the whole body energized.
Now we'll sense opposites and there's no exact way can allow it to be whatever it is for you.
Now,
Sense the body as hot and the body very,
Very warm,
Very warm body on the verge of perspiring.
And now cultivating a felt sense of the body as cold,
A body very cool,
Very cold on the verge of shivering,
The body cold,
Drop back down to the sense of the body as hot,
The body is hot,
Very,
Very warm.
Move into the felt sense of the body as cool,
Very,
Very cold,
Icy cold body.
Now experiencing the body as cold and hot simultaneously.
The body is cold and hot at the same time.
Sensing together cold and hot.
Letting this go and coming back to the sense of breath at the heart center,
Back to the heart temperature,
Heart center,
Feel the body as hell,
Like it were swinging from side to side in a hammock.
The body held and now feeling the body as free,
Open,
No boundaries,
Moving freely everywhere.
We turn again to held,
The body as free,
Cozy and comforted,
Wrapped up or cocooned in the hammock.
The body held and now a felt sense of the body as spacious,
Open,
Free,
Moving through time and space.
Unencumbered,
Now could you sense these two opposites,
Held and cocooned and spacious and free together,
Simultaneously.
Coming back to the heart center,
Resting at the space of the heart.
Could you imagine resting on a sandy beach,
The feel of the warm sand beneath the body,
The sand contouring the shape of the body,
Perfectly,
As if every grain of sand is felt,
Every grain warm and welcoming,
Resting the whole body on the sand,
One with the earth and nature,
Held and still and perhaps hearing the sound of the sea,
The waves rolling in and out in and out,
In and out,
Hearing the waves in the mind's eye,
The sound of the waves fills the air,
The misty,
Humid air,
And the temperature is perfection,
Feeling the perfect temperature of every area of your body,
The clouds in the sky blocking the harshness of the sun,
Allowing you to fully let go in this space of sand,
Sea,
And sky,
So connected and tuned in,
Hearing the creatures all around,
The birds,
Even the fish,
Even the insects,
Every being harmonious,
Unity and oneness with all that surrounds you,
In this place on the sand,
In this stillness of the place,
Receptive to messages and insights floating with you,
In this space of unity and connection to all that is,
Everything vibrating,
The hum of all that is,
Floating in a state of pure awareness,
And peace,
You are one,
Melting into all that is.
Can you call back the Sankalpa now,
The intention,
Mingling with your Sankalpa,
Repeating it several more times,
Effortlessly cultivating your desire,
Guiding attention back to the breath,
Sensing the energetic pulse of the breath.
Might you deepen the breath ever so gently now,
Feel the breath everywhere.
Now,
If you wish,
Start to return from the state of yoga nidra,
Taking two sniffs of breath in,
Slowly exhaling,
Listening to the space around you,
Sensing your body on the surface you're resting upon,
Allowing awareness of the space you're in,
Waking up from this deep rest practice,
And perhaps wiggling the toes and the fingers now,
Stretching out the arms and the legs,
Coming back to the body,
And this time and space,
Taking your time,
As much time as you can,
You might bring your intention back to mind again,
Or perhaps reflect on your experience,
Resting in the awareness of the profound benefit you've offered your body and mind with this practice,
Again,
At your own pace.
From here,
If you haven't already,
You could switch the positioning of your body,
Or maybe you're ready to open your eyes and stretch out a little bit more,
Or maybe you're ready to jot down a few things in your journal,
Whatever this time after yoga nidra holds for you,
My hope is that you're feeling more centered,
More calm and a sweet,
Sweet,
Peaceful energy,
Peaceful energy could carry you into sleep or into whatever's next for you,
It's my honor and my pleasure to bring you this practice,
Thank you.
