Hello everyone and welcome to today's yoga nidra practice.
My name is Amanda and I'll be guiding you through your practice today.
It's now time to get ready for yoga nidra.
Yoga nidra is often called yogic sleep or non-sleep deep rest.
It's a deeply relaxing practice that takes you into a state between waking and sleeping.
This practice is great for regulating the nervous system because it brings you into a state of deep relaxation and stress relief.
I've said it before and I'll say it again,
It's truly a practice for anyone but it's especially beneficial for those of you feeling overwhelmed,
Anxious,
Tired,
Fatigued,
Or sleep deprived.
Lying down on your back,
Get yourself comfortable and cozy in your yoga nidra nest and begin to settle in.
You may want to put a bolster or pillow underneath your knees to support the legs and perhaps a pillow or blanket underneath your neck to support your head.
You can cover yourself with a blanket for warmth and cover your eyes with an eye mask.
Get nice and cozy in your yoga nidra nest and begin to encourage your body to relax into the ground beneath you.
Allow yourself to feel heavy and supported by the ground beneath you.
We'll begin by taking a couple of nice deep inhales and exhales.
Inhale deeply through your nose,
Expanding your belly,
Filling the lungs and then as you're ready,
Exhale inside out through your mouth.
Twice more just like that.
Inhale deeply.
Exhale completely.
Once more,
Inhale deeply.
Exhale completely.
Allow your breath to return to the natural rhythm of your inhale and exhale.
Allow yourself to get one percent more comfortable here.
Allow your head to feel heavy.
Relax your jaw.
Allow your tongue to feel heavy in your mouth.
Relax your shoulders,
Hips and feet.
I am awake.
But deeply relaxed.
I am awake.
But deeply relaxed.
Begin to settle into your body,
Allowing your body to feel heavy on the earth.
Surrender into the surface beneath you.
Feeling rooted,
Grounded and held by the earth beneath you.
We'll begin by setting an intention or a sankalpa for this practice.
If you don't already have an intention or a sankalpa that you're working with,
The one I'll offer is,
I am safe,
Grounded and rooted into the earth.
I am safe,
Grounded and rooted into the earth.
Repeat this silently in your mind three times,
Allowing it to settle in.
Planting it into your subconscious like a seed.
And now rotating attention through the body.
Letting your attention move from place to place.
You listen to my voice.
The only thing there is for you to do is listen,
Sense and feel.
Moving your attention to different parts of your body as you hear them named.
Remaining in your cozy yoga nidra nest.
Bring awareness to your mouth.
Feel your tongue heavy in your mouth.
Feel the tip of your tongue.
The back of the tongue.
The jaw.
The cheeks.
The eyebrows.
The head.
Relaxing your entire head into the earth.
Bring your awareness into the center of your chest.
And allow yourself to feel rooted from the center of your chest all the way into the earth.
Bring awareness to your right shoulder.
Your elbow.
Your wrist.
Your hands.
All five fingers.
Your thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
The left shoulder.
Oh.
Wrist.
The whole hand.
The thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Now bring awareness to your belly.
Feel the expansion of your belly as you breathe.
In and out.
Now shift your awareness to your waist.
Your right hip.
Shinbone.
Ankle.
Your whole foot.
Your big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
The whole foot.
The whole right leg.
The whole right side of the body.
Now bring your awareness back to your belly.
Feel the expansion of your belly as you breathe.
In.
Now shift your awareness to your waist.
The left hip.
The left knee.
The left shinbone.
The left ankle.
The whole foot.
The big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
The whole foot.
The whole left leg.
The whole right leg.
Feel the whole left side of the body.
Feel the whole right side of the body.
Feel the whole body.
The whole body.
Allow yourself to feel fully settled here,
Rooted and grounded into the earth.
Feel the expansiveness of your inhale and exhale,
Allowing yourself to settle into the magic of Yoga Nidra.
And as you settle here,
I would like to take you on a journey.
You can imagine that you're lying on a forest floor in a soft bed of earth,
Surrounded by soft grass and pine needles.
The earth is cool,
But not cold.
You can hear the sounds of nature around you.
You can feel the sun coming through the trees above you.
The air feels calm.
Everything around you feels calm and peaceful.
I invite you to feel calm and peaceful.
You can begin to imagine that the earth below you is giving you a great big hug.
Mother Nature is welcoming you home with a great big hug.
Now begin to notice what's around you.
The color of the trees.
The shape of the leaves.
The way the sun creates shadows on the forest floor.
The sounds of the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze.
The sounds of nature.
What do you see?
What do you feel?
What do you hear?
What do you smell?
How do you feel?
I'll give you a few minutes now to enjoy bathing in this beautiful,
Tranquil forest.
Begin to bring attention to the rise and fall of your belly as you inhale and exhale.
Take two inhales in through your nose.
Then exhale and sigh it out through your mouth.
Again,
Two sips of air in through your nose.
As you're ready,
Exhale,
Sigh it out through your mouth.
Once more,
Just like that.
Inhale,
Two sips of air.
Exhale,
Sigh it out through your mouth.
Now release that and begin to feel the natural inhale and exhale in and out of your body.
Feel your belly rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.
Feel your chest rise and fall as you inhale and exhale.
Feel your back expand into the earth beneath you,
Rooting you into the ground as you breathe in.
Breathe in and out.
Feel your body rooted into the earth beneath you.
We'll revisit our sankalpa or our intention.
I am safe,
Grounded,
And rooted into the earth.
I am safe,
Grounded,
And rooted into the earth.
Perhaps this is something that you'd like to take with you for the rest of your day,
Or leave here in your cozy yoga nidra nest.
Beginning to wake up the body.
You can wiggle fingers and toes.
Do little wrist circles and ankle circles.
Perhaps stretching your arms above your head if that feels good.
And as you come out of your yoga nidra practice,
Begin to tune into how you feel.
How do you feel mentally,
Physically,
Emotionally?
Perhaps you roll to one side and spend a few moments in fetal position before making your way back to a seated position.
Move slowly and kindly to your body,
Making your way out of your yoga nidra practice at your own pace.
And as you do so,
I'd like to invite you to consider what has come to fruition in this time together.
In this time where you went inwards.
Perhaps you take a few moments to have some thoughtful silence or journal about what's come up for you.
I wish you well with the rest of your day.
Your yoga nidra is now complete.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
And I will see you next time.
