Welcome to Yoga Nidra for Relaxation.
You should be lying on your back with the knees slightly bent and supported.
Make sure that you are warm enough and that your position is one that will be comfortable for the duration of the practice.
It's best that you remain still during Yoga Nidra so that both your body and brain have a chance to fully relax.
However,
If you become uncomfortable,
Please feel free to change position.
Allow your eyes to close and keep them closed until the practice has ended.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is a practice of yogic sleep that will guide you to the hypnagogic state,
A state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleeping.
Try to remain awake by listening to the sound of my voice.
You will be asked to move your awareness to various bodily sensations,
Emotions,
And images.
Try not to concentrate too intensely as this may prevent you from relaxing.
During this meditation,
Please use and absorb what you need in the moment and leave the rest behind.
If the mind becomes overactive with thoughts and worries,
Just come back to the sound of my voice.
Let's begin.
Become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.
And nothing else but what you can hear without straining.
Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear.
Let your sense of hearing radiate outward,
Searching out these distant sounds and following them for a few moments.
Move your attention from sound to sound without labeling the source.
Gradually bring your attention to closer sounds,
To sounds outside this building,
Then sounds inside this building,
And then sounds inside the room.
Without opening your eyes,
Visualize the four walls of this room,
The ceiling,
The floor,
The body lying on the floor,
Or your bed.
Visualize your body lying in the position of your body,
Your clothes,
Your hair,
Your face.
Become aware of the existence of your physical body lying down.
Now become aware of your natural breath.
Become aware of your natural and normal breath that moves in and out of your body without any effort.
The natural breath flows in through both nostrils.
Notice the feeling of the breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils.
Is there a sense of coolness as you inhale the breath?
Follow this feeling into the nose,
Your sinuses,
The back of your throat,
Into your lungs.
There is generally a sense of warmth as you exhale the breath.
Try to feel this warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.
The natural breath flows through both nostrils during the inhale and the exhale.
Allow now your breath to become longer and slower.
Take a long,
Slow inhale,
And then a long,
Slow exhale.
A long,
Slow inhale,
And an even slower exhale.
Notice the slight pause after the exhale.
A slow inhale,
And a slower exhale,
And pause.
Feel the urge to breathe inside of you.
When you need to inhale,
Feel free to do so.
And then a longer exhale,
And then a pause,
Where you're neither breathing in nor out.
Let's continue breathing this way for a few more breaths.
Now,
I invite you to go back to the natural easy breath,
Releasing any control over the inhale and the exhale.
The practice of yoga nidra begins now.
At this moment,
I invite you to make an intention or a sankalpa.
The sankalpa should be a short,
Positive statement in simple language.
Try to allow one to come naturally.
State your sankalpa clearly and with awareness three times.
The sankalpa you make during yoga nidra plants a seed in the fertile soil of your mind to bring about transformation and healing.
And now also say to yourself,
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I am awake and relaxed.
We will now begin a systematic journey of sensory awareness throughout the body.
You will move your awareness to different parts of your body as soon as you hear them named.
Please say the name of the part to yourself and feel that part,
But do not move any part of your body.
This is about awareness directed to that part of your body.
We will begin on the right side of the body.
Right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Waist.
Right hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Calf.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Now to the left side of the body.
Left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Left upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Waist.
Hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Calf.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Now go to the back of the body.
Right heel.
Left heel.
Right calf.
Left calf.
Right thigh.
Left thigh.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Lower back.
Middle back.
Upper back.
The entire spine.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Back of neck.
Back of the head.
Top of the head.
Forehead.
Right temple.
Left temple.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Middle of the eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Both lips together.
Chin.
Jaw.
Throat.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Right side of the chest.
Left side of the chest.
Upper abdomen.
Navel.
Lower abdomen.
Right groin.
Left groin.
The pelvic floor.
The whole right leg.
Whole left leg.
Whole right arm.
Whole left arm.
The whole face.
The whole head.
The whole torso.
The whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body.
Now,
You will imagine the whole body becoming light.
As though your body could float away from the floor and toward the ceiling.
The head is light and weightless.
The limbs are light and weightless.
The torso is light.
The whole body is light.
You are rising higher and higher away from the floor.
Well,
Imagine the opposite sensation now.
Imagine your body becoming heavy.
Feel the heaviness in all parts of the body.
Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.
The head is heavy.
The limbs are heavy.
The torso is heavy.
The whole body is heavy.
The body is sinking down back to the floor or the bed.
Awaken the experience of cold in the body.
Experience the chilliness of being cold.
Imagine being outside in winter and you feel this chill permeating your entire body.
Now,
Allow the sensation of warmth to spread throughout the entire body.
Remember the feeling of heat in the summer when you're out in the sun.
You feel heat radiating onto your skin,
Heat all around the body.
Now we'll explore the opposite sensations of anxiety and calm.
Recollect the experience of anxiety,
Intense anxiety and worry.
Feel the stress in your mind and body,
But do not concentrate on its source.
We're just looking at the sensation now.
Create the experience of how it feels to be anxious as clearly as possible in your body.
And now,
Allow the feeling of complete calm to envelop you.
Manifest the experience of calm in your entire mind,
Body and emotions.
You are relaxed and aware and you are completely calm.
Begin to concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids.
Imagine before you a transparent screen as though you were at a movie theater.
The screen is as high and as wide as the eyes can see.
Concentrate on this mind screen and become aware of any phenomena that manifests.
Colors,
Patterns,
Light.
Continue your awareness of this space,
But no need to get involved.
Practice detached awareness.
If any subtle images make themselves known,
Simply notice them without directing the images.
If thoughts occur,
Let them come and go.
Continue watching the dark space behind your eyelids with detached awareness.
Come back now to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.
It is time to repeat your sankalpa.
Please repeat the same statement made at the beginning of the practice three times in your mind slowly.
Maintaining your awareness of breath and at the same time,
Develop an awareness of your physical body.
Your body is relaxed and lying down.
Feel your skin and the clothes and anything that's touching your skin or your body.
Notice the heaviness of your body as it rests on the floor and take your awareness into all points that are touching the floor.
The back of your heels,
Thighs,
Buttocks,
Shoulder blades,
Arms,
Hands,
And head.
Please do not open your eyes yet to visualize the surrounding room.
Imagine where you are in the room and the other objects that are around you.
Just lie quietly until you feel ready to move only when you are ready to move.
Then we start by slowly moving our hands and feet,
Taking our time,
No hurry.
And when you are sure that you are fully awake,
Gently blink your eyes open.
Let's roll over onto our right side and stay there for a few more moments,
A few more breaths.
Use your hands to press yourself up from your position into a seated position and let your head come up last.
Feel any shift in your practice from when we started to now.
Invite us to bring our palms together at our heart center,
Connecting to self-compassion and gratitude for showing up for this yoga nidra.
Thank you for your time.
Take good care.
