Hello,
And welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra.
I'm Kumari,
And I will be your guide.
Take some time now to get yourself really comfy.
Comfort is truly a gift you give yourself.
And it will help you to completely let go during the practice.
I'll leave a moment here for you to do that.
Good.
I trust that you are nice and comfy.
You have a natural ability to heal yourself.
And deep relaxation with Yoga Nidra will assist healing on all levels.
Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation that uses a systematic method of inducing complete physical,
Mental and emotional relaxation.
This yogic sleep technique calms the nervous system and activates the parasympathetic nervous system response.
So that's relax,
Rest and digest.
And the practice has a profound healing effect on your nervous system.
I like to think of it as rebooting your nervous system to function optimally.
It's not uncommon to be living in a state where the mind,
Emotions and body never really get a rest.
And we might not even realize it.
Our bodies and minds are so adaptable that even living in a stressed state seems normal.
This is why taking the time to power down is so important and beneficial.
It's like cleaning the slate.
And just so you know,
Yoga Nidra can be practiced anytime.
But it can be especially helpful before bed to help you relax.
But it is also wonderful as a power nap or a morning meditation.
Also,
It's really normal to drift in and out of consciousness or even fall asleep.
And if this happens,
Don't worry,
Just come back to my voice as soon as you realize.
And your subconscious is always listening.
So the effects of the practice are never lost.
Now that we've been in our comfy position for a few minutes,
Is there any other little adjustments you could make that would help you become like,
Even 5% more comfortable?
We'll begin by taking a few breaths together.
Take in two sips of air through the nose like this.
And exhale through your mouth,
Trying to extend exhale as long as you can.
This breath is called the physiological sigh.
Let's do three more rounds together.
Ready?
Sensing your breath as life force energy or prana effortlessly moving through your body.
Can you sense the aliveness of your body?
The subtle energy currents that animate your beingness?
Feel the weight of your head,
Shoulder,
Hips and buttocks,
Your arms and hands,
Legs and feet,
Your entire body softening,
Letting go and surrendering into stillness.
Feel your natural inhale from the belly all the way to the chest.
And your exhale from the chest to the belly,
Ebbing and flowing just like the tide rolling in and out,
In and out.
Could you drop out of your thinking mind down into your heart space now?
Sensing the ease of your relaxed beingness,
Embodying the simplicity of just being here breathing.
Nothing to do except melt into oneness with your own true nature.
Now we'll cultivate sankalpa.
Sankalpa is a Sanskrit term in yogic philosophy that refers to a heartfelt desire or an intention or a resolve to do something.
It's similar to the English concept of resolution,
Except that it comes from even deeper within and tends to be more like an affirmation.
And this term comes from the Sanskrit roots.
San meaning a connection with the highest truth,
And kalpa meaning vow.
So it translates to denote an affirming resolve to do something or achieve something spiritual.
So unlike a goal,
Which is a personal need to accomplish something,
The concept of sankalpa turns inward to connect with the heart's highest intention.
A goal can be thought of as an individual's will.
While the sankalpa is the universal will.
A sankalpa is a positive declaration or affirmation,
Such as peace is my true nature,
Rather than an ego driven statement like I want peace in my life.
And working with the same sankalpa every time you practice is very beneficial because you continue to plant this same intention each time.
And over time,
Your subconscious will take this in as ultimate truth.
It's also potent and fine to create a single use sankalpa as needed.
So I'll give you a few moments to either call in a sankalpa you're working with,
Or create a new one to use with this practice.
Once you feel really connected to your personal sankalpa,
Go ahead and repeat it in your mind three times with feeling like it's already done.
So we'll continue now with the rotation of consciousness around the body as a way of bringing the physical body into a deeper state of rest by releasing resistance in the tissues.
Simply bring your attention to each area I mentioned.
Or some people enjoy imagining touching the area I mentioned.
See what works for you.
And remember,
You can't get this wrong.
Think of it like an energetic massage.
We'll begin inside the mouth.
Sense the tongue,
The insides of the cheeks,
The gums and teeth.
Sense the subtle tingly energy in your mouth here.
And moving to the lips,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
And both lips at the same time.
To the nose,
And the breath effortlessly moving in and out of the nostrils.
To the outside of the right cheek,
And the left cheek.
To the right eye.
Sensing the right eyeball within its socket.
The eyelid,
The lower lid,
The whole right eye.
Now over to the left eye.
Sensing the left eyeball within its socket.
The eyelid,
The lower lid,
And a sense of the whole left eye now.
Now can you sense both eyes at the same time?
Both eyes held in the darkness of their lids.
Both eyebrows,
Both temples,
To the right ear.
The right ear listening.
Perceiving the right ear and its shape.
The folds and deep inside the ear canal.
Sensing the ear canal.
Now attention moves to the center of the brain.
Subtle awareness of the center of your brain.
Now shift attention to the ear canal of the left ear.
And the left ear listening.
And then moving outside of the ear canal to sense the shape of the tissues of the left ear.
Outer area of the left ear.
And now could you sense both ears listening at the same time?
Both ears.
Allow awareness to spread to the entire scalp.
The whole scalp alive with subtle sensations.
Now the whole head and face as one region filled with radiant energy.
To the shoulders.
Awareness of both shoulders.
And now elbows.
Tune into the elbows.
And now both wrists simultaneously.
And next spread your awareness to both palms.
Both palms warm with your attention to them.
Your palms and now up into the fingers and thumbs.
All alive with this subtle sensation of awareness.
The tops of the hands.
Both hands and both arms at the same time.
To the center of the chest.
Sensing the center of your chest in all directions.
Subtle expansion and release as you effortlessly breathe.
To the rib cage.
The rib cage softly moving with each breath.
The gentle flow of your breath in and out.
And now to the abdomen.
And the breath influencing the softest movement in the upper and lower abdomen.
Sense and feel the entire abdomen.
And now both hips.
Both hips simultaneously.
And the hips.
To the knees.
Each side.
The front.
Both knees.
And now to the ankles.
Awareness of your ankles.
And now to the soles of both feet.
The soles of the feet.
The heels.
The balls.
The arches.
All softly vibrating.
To the toes.
To the toes.
All 10 toes.
Sensing all 10 toes at the same time.
To the tops of the feet.
Both feet together.
And both legs together.
And the hips and buttocks.
And the shoulder blades.
And the back of your head.
And now begin to become aware of your whole body.
Let your attention fill your entire body.
Your total body as one unified container of radiant energy.
Come back to the awareness of your natural breath flowing.
Your breath as prana or life force energy moving effortlessly in and out.
In and out.
Bring your awareness to your toes.
And might you feel the presence of prana there.
Inhale and feel a wave of prana traveling from the tips of your toes all the way to the top of your head.
As you exhale,
The wave of prana moves back down to the soles of the feet.
Now feel the inhaled wave from your ankles to the top of your head and exhaled back down to your ankles.
Begin to feel the prana as breath moving from your knees to the top of your head.
On the inhale,
And back to your knees with the exhale.
Now follow the inhale of prana from your hips to the top of your head and back to your hips with the exhale.
Now watch prana and presence move from your navel center to the top of your head and back to your navel as you exhale.
Observe the wave from the heart center to the crown of your head and back to the heart center as you exhale.
Watch prana move from the base of the throat to the top of your head and back to the throat center as you exhale.
Inhale and sense the wave move from your third eye to the top of your head and back to the third eye point on your exhale.
And now let your awareness settle at the third eye.
Do you feel as if the breath was moving in and out at this point?
Move your attention to the base of your throat.
Feel the presence and energy of your breath moving there.
Shift awareness to the heart center.
Feel as if you were breathing in and out from here.
Deeply connecting with your heart by your presence.
Feel the love that you are expanding in all directions.
To the earth,
To the sky,
To the vastness of space and ether floating here as your innate wholeness made of love.
You are love.
You are love.
Buoyant in witnessing of pure love and one with the sweetness of your true nature.
Could you call back a felt sense of your sankopa?
Your sankopa swirling and shimmering in your entire body.
And might you repeat it in your mind a few more times.
Start to guide your attention back to the movement of your breath within.
Sensing once again your life force energy pulsing back to the sensation of the surface beneath you.
Feeling your body.
And return now to the awareness of the space around you.
The sounds around you.
And beginning to move your body in any way you like.
Waking your body and mind from deep rest.
Or perhaps clicking off the recording and sinking into a deep sleep.
Whatever's next for you after this journey.
I'm wishing you all the best.
Namaste.
