Hello and welcome to the practice of yoga nidra.
My name is Kumari and I'll be your guide today.
Take some time now to make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Traditionally,
Yoga nidra is practiced lying down with the head and neck comfortably supported,
The arms a little bit away from the body and palms up,
And maybe even a little support under the knees like a rolled blanket.
You might even like a soft cover for your eyes to assist you in going deeply inward.
But also know that it is perfectly fine to do this yoga nidra practice in a different position.
The key thing here is to just get yourself as comfortable as possible so you can completely relax.
Now as you get settled in,
I'll just share a little bit about this practice.
First and foremost,
Yoga nidra is an effortless practice that brings you deep into this state of consciousness that's similar to sleep,
But only the body is asleep and the mind remains awake.
In Sanskrit,
One of the ways to translate the word nidra is sleep.
And this is why this practice is sometimes referred to as the yogic sleep.
I'll be guiding you into this deep state of rest and into the parasympathetic nervous system response.
Rest and digest.
It is this state that instigates profound shifts within your body,
Kind of like cleaning the slate,
Regular practice can help with so many things.
Anxiety,
Worry,
Stress,
Fear,
Recovery from traumas and PTSD and just so many more benefits.
Let's begin the practice of yoga nidra.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and now hold your breath.
And let it go audibly through an open mouth.
Again,
Inhale,
Hold your breath at the top,
And let it go.
Let's do that one more time.
Inhaling,
Hold,
Hold,
And let it go.
Can you feel now just how a few breaths has guided you into feeling more relaxed?
Next,
We'll practice tensing and releasing the whole body.
Begin to squeeze all your muscles inwards towards your center,
The feet,
The legs,
Buttocks,
Hands,
Arms,
Face,
Squeeze,
Take a breath in and release.
Let's do that one more time,
Squeezing all of your muscles,
Squeezing all of your muscles,
All of your muscles,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Take a breath in and then let it all go.
Allow your body to melt down towards the surface below you.
Begin to sense yourself in your space and in your mind's eye,
Can you see the ceiling,
The floor,
The forewall,
And your place within this room.
Welcome any sounds you hear.
You might move from sound to sound,
Simply noticing the sound.
Now start to search for any sounds beyond the room you're in.
And now both sounds from farther away and sounds in your space,
Ears receptive and listening.
And your listening ears catching all the little sounds.
And now could you hear your own breath.
Now could you imagine the color purple behind your closed eyes,
Sensing a vibrant purple color with your eyes closed,
Seeing into your own innate wisdom here.
Now allow the vision of this color to fade as the eyes relax back into the skull.
All the many tiny muscles and delicate tissues that hold the eyes soften.
The eyes so comfortable and so at ease and held.
Can you notice any aromas?
Even the nostrils alive with sensation.
Jaw releasing.
And the tongue letting go from the roof of the mouth.
Sense the hinge of the jaws softening.
All the muscles in the whole face and scalp responding to your stillness.
Any holding has dissolved.
The whole body as a unified field of energy.
Still and peaceful.
Now can you feel the entire body?
Still and peaceful.
Now can you feel the entire backside of your body making contact with the surface beneath it?
Held and grounded.
Heavy with relaxation.
Heavy with sensation.
Melting deeper down with each exhale.
Begin to notice where your attention lingers.
It may be a sound.
It may be a sensation in your body.
It might be a thought.
Notice the unfolding of your awareness.
Notice how your attention is constantly changing in this stillness.
Notice all of your senses.
Your thoughts.
Noticing from this place of simply being.
Not getting attached to any one sound,
Sensation,
Or thought.
Experience simply being.
In this yoga nidra practice,
We'll welcome in a sankalpa.
A sankalpa is like an intention or determination.
Consciously choosing the essence of your heart's desire for this time in your life.
In the form of a simple sentence spoken in the positive,
Present tense.
An example would be,
I am cultivating a peaceful state of being.
Now from this place of resting in your beingness,
Allow your sankalpa or intention to come to mind.
And when you have your sankalpa,
Repeat it three times in your mind.
This repetition of your sankalpa is like impressing your heart's desire deep into your subconscious.
From this place of presence,
Where it can grow and flourish effortlessly.
Next,
I'm going to take you on a journey through your body called the rotation of consciousness.
When attention is placed on areas of the physical body,
When attention is placed on areas of the physical body,
Energetic shifts such as clearing or balancing can happen.
Simply by placing awareness there.
By bringing your consciousness to these areas,
Your presence allows for a subtle energetic shift.
We'll begin with the right hand thumb,
The first finger,
Second,
Third,
And fourth,
The palm of the hand,
And the top of the hand.
Now could you sense your whole right hand?
Now the wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Collarbone,
And the right side of the rib cage,
The right side of the waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
And the sole of the foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth,
Feeling into the entire right foot.
And now allow your awareness to shift to the left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth,
And now the sole of the foot,
The top of the foot,
Your whole left foot,
Teeming with subtle sensation,
The left ankle,
Lower leg,
Knee,
Thigh,
Hip,
Waist,
Left side of the rib cage,
Collarbone,
Shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Palm of your left hand,
Top of the hand,
The thumb,
First finger,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Sensing the left hand,
The whole left hand,
Moving attention now to the navel,
The center of the chest,
The hollow of the throat,
The inside of the mouth,
The whole mouth vibrant with sensations,
To the tip of the nose,
Both eyes,
And both ears simultaneously listening to the center of the forehead,
The crown of the head,
The crown of the head,
And feeling the gentle energy in the whole skull,
Healing into your whole body as one radiant field of sensation,
Slowly drift your awareness to your breath,
Following the rise and fall of your breath for a moment,
Notice where your body softly expands as you inhale,
And where it lets go into you on the exhale,
Next we'll count the breath down from 10 to one,
Like this,
Inhale 10,
Exhale 10,
Inhale nine,
Exhale nine,
Continue at your own pace all the way down to one,
Don't worry if you drift off or lose track,
Simply begin at 10 again,
Now dissolve the focus in counting the breath,
And take a moment to feel into the body,
So peaceful,
So peaceful,
Floating in pure awareness,
Could you imagine that you're floating here,
The arms and hands,
Feet and legs,
The entire torso,
Head and neck,
Weightless,
Hovering just above the surface beneath you,
Safely held,
Energetically floating,
Shift your focus now to the sensation of your body touching the surface it's on,
As if it was sinking down,
The hands and arms,
Feet and legs,
Torso and head,
Heavy,
Sinking,
A natural heaviness fills your entire body,
As if you were sinking into a soft piece of foam,
Sinking down,
Sinking and warm,
Sense your whole body as cozy and warm,
Pleasant warm fills your body,
As if you were sitting on a soft piece of foam,
As if you were sitting on a soft piece of foam,
Sinking down into a cave,
And through your closed eyes,
You can sense the faint smell of wet earth,
Held securely by the earth,
Taking in the aroma of the earth,
And this cave lovingly holds you in silence,
Allowing for any thoughts,
Feeling,
Messages to pass through here,
You are the witness,
And the pure silence changes to a single drop of water,
Drop,
Drop,
Drop,
Awareness of your body becoming light again,
Your backside begins to feel cool,
Sensing your body as light,
Floaty,
Graceful,
As you flow,
The sound of the water gets a bit louder,
The sound of the water gets a bit louder,
And you sense more light from your closed eyelids,
Feeling the breaths that you draw in as cooler,
You smell the water,
Floating,
Floating,
Sensing,
Spacious,
And your body softly grounded once again on the earth,
Stable,
Held,
Stable,
You hear the sound of a small gentle stream,
Seeing this small stream with your eyes closed,
Taking the sound of the little babbling brook,
Allow the infinite flow of the water to take you deeper,
Inside your inner landscape,
Noticing,
You are the watcher,
Asking in the soothing sound of water,
Stillness,
Alignment with your source,
Resting here as your true nature,
Deeply resting,
Your sankalpa is here,
Maybe it's more of a feeling or a vision or a single word now,
Allow your sankalpa to arise again in this space of oneness,
You might repeat it three more times,
The vibration of your sankalpa permeating your whole being,
Deep into your subconscious where it can take root and flourish,
Rest here now with the felt sense of your sankalpa,
Return to the awareness of your breath now,
Tuning in once again to how and where your body moves as you breathe,
Starting to draw in even deeper breath,
Sensing your life force energy in every nook and cranny of your body,
Coming back to the body by making small movements,
Taking your time to switch positions as you're ready,
Moving on with your breathing,
Switching positions as you're ready,
Moving on with your day or evening,
Thank you for joining this yoga ninja practice,
Wishing you all the best,
Namaste.
