Peaceful Pause Yoga Nidra

Ally Boothroyd guides you in some breathing to stimulate the vagus nerve and into a short guided Yoga Nidra intended to give you a peaceful pause in your day. This practice is meant to take you into the deepest states of rest and relation.

This recording includes soft/gentle rainforest soundscapes of Costa Rica in the background.

Transcript

Namaste.

This is Ali.

Welcome to your yoga nidra practice today.

Take the next few moments to get yourself completely comfortable,

Fine tuning the support that you can give your body through props,

Blankets,

Your environment,

Ensuring that you're in a space where you won't be disturbed and you might block out any light in your surroundings.

My guidance today will emphasize the cultivation of a strong and calm nervous system and deep states of rest and renewal.

You might come back to this practice any time that you need a pocket of pause.

It is my intention to create a portal into a peaceful state that will have ripple effects into your life,

Your relationships,

And into the world.

I'd love to take a moment to honor and give thanks to my past teachers and also all of the wisdom keepers of yoga nidra,

Which is rooted in the sacred and ancient traditions of India.

And it's with respect and gratitude that I'd love to acknowledge their guidance in my life and how it allows each of us to practice today in this moment.

So you might sense any appreciation that you have in your heart and take a deep breath into that sense of gratitude,

Breathing in through the nose and releasing through the mouth.

If there's anything you could do to get even 5% more comfortable,

Please take a moment to do so now.

And we'll begin with a breath to soothe the nervous system and gently stimulate the vagus nerve through a beginner-friendly pramari breath or buzzing bee breath.

Please have your teeth apart and lips closed to make this gentle humming sound on the exhale.

This will also encourage the mind to come towards stillness.

So might you take another deep breath in,

Exhaling with a gentle humming.

We'll do that two more times.

A deep breath in through the nose.

Gentle humming.

And the last time.

Deep breath.

Slow exhale.

Letting your breath settle now into a natural rhythm.

Allow yourself to sink deeper and deeper into the support beneath you with each exhalation.

Could you let the jaw go completely?

Hinges of the jaw softening into their sockets.

Imagining the whole body releasing tension and sinking towards the ground.

As if your whole body could melt like an ice cube into a puddle.

Just melting into the earth with each exhale.

You might welcome into your heart a sankalpa for this practice.

You might welcome the phrase I am resting deeply,

Body,

Mind and spirit.

Or you might have your own sankalpa that you're invoking in this moment now.

Repeating mentally three times.

And now as we begin a rotation of consciousness throughout the body,

Could you invite the intention now,

I am practicing yoganitra,

I am awake and aware.

Could you bring all of your attention now to the tip of your tongue.

The right side of your tongue.

The left side of your tongue.

And all the way down to the root of your tongue.

The inside of the right cheek.

The inside of the left cheek.

The teeth.

The roof of the mouth.

The flow of air within the right nostril.

The nasal flares.

Sensing both cheekbones simultaneously.

The center of the forehead.

The center of the mind.

The midbrain.

Let attention drop down into the center of the throat.

The base of the throat.

Could you sense now both shoulder joints together.

Down to both elbows.

Both wrists.

The palms of both hands.

The backs of the hands.

And then begin to sense all of the tips of the finger.

All of the fingertips simultaneously.

From the fingertips,

Let awareness draw up the arms towards the shoulder.

And then sensing both sides of the chest and the heart center.

Let attention drop down towards the navel.

The navel rising and falling.

The low belly.

Sensing both hip bones simultaneously.

The hip joints.

A sensation to both knees.

Both ankles.

The soles of the feet.

And the tops of the feet.

And then sensing the tips of the toes.

All ten toes simultaneously.

Sensing all ten toes.

And the space around and in between the toes.

And as you notice your natural rhythm of breath.

Could you sense the soles of your feet.

And imagine you could breathe in through the soles of each foot.

Up the legs.

Into the torso.

All the way up towards the crown of the head.

On the exhale,

Imagine a wave of breath and energy cascading back down the body towards the sole of the feet.

Inhaling from the soles of the feet.

All the way up towards the crown of the head.

Exhaling breath and energy.

Flowing back down towards the soles of the feet.

Just imagining.

Harmoniously with the breath.

Inhaling energy flowing up the body.

Exhaling energy gently flowing back down the body.

Just imagining.

And now releasing all technique and effort.

And just allowing yourself to bask here in the beautiful symphony of the jungle.

Nothing to do but rest.

Allowing the sounds to wash through as you bask here in a state of deep,

Deep rest.

And the medicine of pure presence.

Pure presence itself.

Like a healing balm for all of the layers of you.

And might you once again,

Whisper to yourself,

I am resting deeply,

Body,

Mind,

And spirit.

We're welcoming your sankalpa to be here.

And now,

Could you begin to welcome yourself ever so slowly back to the sensations of your body.

Sensing the environment around you,

The support beneath your body,

The gentle soothing rhythm of your breath in and out.

And when you're ready,

Begin to deepen the breath just a little bit.

And releasing through the mouth.

And then a couple of physiological sighs to return.

Inhaling deeply,

And then another big sip of air,

And then a slow release through the mouth.

Let's do that again.

In,

Even more,

And a slow release.

One more time,

In,

And some more,

And releasing slowly.

When you feel ready to begin some movements,

You might start with the fingers and the toes.

And as you're slowly reawakening,

Maybe rolling the ankles or the wrists,

Notice what you have cultivated here in this practice today.

Acknowledging the power of these techniques,

And the effect that they have on the nervous system,

On the mind,

And on the body.

Noticing any sense of clarity that may be here mentally or emotionally,

Energetically.

You might even welcome a sense of the cumulative effects of your practice if you've been exploring Yoga Nidra for a while now.

So allow yourself to rest here and awaken slowly.

And really bask in the moment.

And receive the benefits.

Just allowing yourself to sort of simmer for the next few moments.

Best savoring.

Allowing the benefits to really land in your psyche,

Your nervous system,

Your physical body.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

Again,

My name is Allie Boothroyd.

Thank you so much for being here.

I hope that you have a beautiful day.

May you be happy,

May you be healthy,

May you be peaceful,

And may you be free.

Namaste.

Namaste.

Reviews

Beautiful and peaceful 🙏

Another beautiful Yoga Nidra meditation, Ally. Blessings back to you 🙏💐❤️

Such a relaxing and peaceful experience, thank you for sharing your gifts 🎁 😊

Beautiful, once more. Thank you Ali, your voice and guidance makes it so blissful and easy to bask in deep rest 🙏🏼

Thank you, Ally🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻for bringing the jungle to me while in pure presence and peace🙏🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🙏🏻

Ally...your nidras always transport us to beautiful state of being, Thank you ✨️💛✨️

Ally always has a soothing presence and pace to her practices which are much appreciated. . A couple of niggles: wish she would be quiet at the end so I can bask longer. And the rolling r’s in Nidra sound a bit affected.

Wonderful! Thank you!

Namaste✨💫🙏🏻🦋😘

Thanks Ally, a beautiful practice. Was 😴💤 about halfway through.🙏

I felt deeply restful, right into my bones.

Very relaxing, thank you Ally!

A very gentle and sweet practice

Namaste
Thank you Ally

Incredibly restive and rejuvenating.
I'm floaty and equanimous.
Thank you and many blessings dear Ally. 🙏🏻

Another peaceful, soothing meditation from Ally.