Hi,
My name is Ashley and I'm a yoga teacher.
I teach mindfulness and meditation.
But yoga nidra is one of the most healing practices that I teach.
It's my favorite to teach.
I hope you enjoy it.
So first,
Let's get yourself settled.
I want you to find a comfortable place to lie down.
Be a yoga mat.
Hopefully you're in your cozy bed.
So wherever you are,
Just set up your space so that you're completely warm and comfortable.
Your blood pressure may lower during this practice.
So you want to be warm,
Comfortable in a quiet space where no one will disturb you.
You can pause this if you need to set up.
Once you've found your space,
You have your blankets,
Maybe you have a bolster under your knees.
Maybe you have an eye pillow.
Allow yourself to just stretch the body out.
Feet slightly apart.
Arms a little away from the body.
Palms of your hands facing upwards.
Adjust your blanket and your clothes,
Your position so that you can practice with no physical discomfort.
Let's begin with a few cleansing breaths.
Inhaling through your nose,
Exhaling,
Sigh it out.
Release full permission for sound.
Let's do another inhaling through your nose,
Exhaling,
Release,
Letting everything go.
Last one,
Filling up,
Inhaling through your nose,
Exhaling,
Release.
Good.
The practice of yoga nidra is an act of hearing and an act of feeling.
These are the only important factors.
There's nothing for you to know,
To do,
To get.
Just simply allow your mind to let go.
You will be functioning on the level of hearing and awareness.
In dreams you have no control.
In yoga nidra you are the creator of the dream.
Even if you do not hear everything I say or you do not understand everything I say,
It does not matter.
There's no way to do this wrong.
Say to yourself mentally,
I will not sleep.
I shall only listen to her voice.
When relaxation becomes deep,
Sleep may come and that's okay,
But try to keep yourself awake.
Take another deep breath in and as you breathe in,
Feel calmness spreading throughout your body.
Take another deep breath in and I want you to visualize letting all the worries of your day just flow out of you,
Just dropping away.
Take one more deep breath in and as you breathe out,
Say mentally to yourself,
Relax.
This is your time.
Begin to notice sounds in the distance.
Let your sense of hearing operate like a radar beam,
Searching out distant sounds,
Following them for a few seconds.
Move your attention from sound to sound without attempting to identify the source.
Finally bring your attention to closer sounds,
To sounds outside your building,
To sounds inside your room.
Become aware of your body lying on the floor or the bed.
Pick up your awareness of all the physical meeting points between your body and the floor.
Feel your heels,
The backs of your arms,
Your spine,
The back of your head.
Just notice and allow the body to feel weighted.
Check in with your shoulders,
See if you can drop them back.
Become aware of your natural breath.
Become aware of your deep,
Natural,
Spontaneous breath.
Keep on listening to me,
Know that you're breathing,
You're in a safe environment,
A protected and held space.
Let go of everything,
But right here,
Right now.
Next I want you to set an intention or a resolve.
Ask yourself what is your deepest heartfelt wish in this present moment?
Think of this wish as a seed you're planting into your subconscious to grow.
See and feel your life with the fulfillment of this wish.
Keep it short,
Simple,
Positive language such as,
I am healthy.
I flow through life with ease.
Whatever it is that you wish for yourself,
State it now three times and just let it go.
Know it will come true.
Next we will take an awareness of the parts of your body.
Your consciousness should move around the body as I say apart,
Try to bring your mind and awareness to that part of your body,
But without moving it.
Just let your mind move freely.
Do not concentrate on any one part,
Just let your mind jump from part to part.
The practice always begins with the right hand.
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Palm,
Back of your hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Waist,
Hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right calf muscle,
Right ankle,
Right heel,
Sole of your foot,
Top of your foot,
Right toes,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Palm of your hand,
Back of your hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Waist,
Hip,
Left thigh,
Left knee,
Right calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of your left foot,
Top of your foot,
Left toes,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Go to your right toes,
Start from the bottom,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Top of your foot,
Sole,
Heel,
Ankle,
Calf muscle,
Kneecap,
Thigh,
Hip,
Waist,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Back of your hand,
Palm of your hand,
Right thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth.
Go to your left toes,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth,
Top of your foot,
Sole,
Heel,
Ankle,
Calf muscle,
Kneecap,
Thigh,
Hip,
Waist,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Back of the hand,
Palm of your hand,
Left thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth.
Go to the back of your body,
Go to the back of your head,
Your right shoulder blade,
Your left shoulder blade,
The whole spine,
Right hip,
Left hip,
Back of your right thigh,
Back of your left thigh,
Back of the right knee,
Back of your left knee,
Right calf muscle,
Right calf muscle,
Right ankle,
Left ankle,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Right ankle,
Left ankle,
Right calf muscle,
Left calf muscle,
Back of your right knee,
Back of your left knee,
Back of your right thigh,
Back of your left thigh,
Right hip,
Left hip,
Whole spine,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of your head,
Top of your head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Space between the eyebrows,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel,
Upper abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
Right groin,
Left groin,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Right knee,
Left knee,
Right toes,
Left toes,
Right toes,
Left toes,
Right knee,
Left knee,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Right groin,
Left groin,
Lower abdomen,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Middle of the chest,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Throat,
Jaw,
Chin,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Forehead,
Top of your head,
Whole of your right leg,
Whole of your left leg,
Both legs together,
Whole of your right arm,
Whole of your left arm,
Both arms together,
Whole of your back together,
Whole of the front together,
Whole of your head together,
Your whole body,
Your whole body,
The whole body.
Visualize your whole body.
Become aware of the meeting points between your body and the floor.
Feel the meeting points between your body and the floor or the bed.
Feel it holding you like a baby in arms.
Bring your attention back to your natural quiet breath.
Become aware of the breath moving in through both nostrils.
The natural breath flows through both nostrils.
It meets at the top of the nose to form a triangle.
The breath enters through both nostrils,
Moves upwards,
Draws together,
Forms a triangle with its apex in the eyebrow center.
Be aware of your breath passing through both nostrils.
Become aware of both breaths separately,
Simultaneously.
Continue this awareness of your breath,
Awareness of breathing.
Continue this awareness and begin to count your breath backwards as follows.
I am breathing in 54.
I am breathing out 54.
I am breathing in 53.
I am breathing out 53.
And so on,
Continue counting your breath backwards all the way down to one.
Total awareness of counting and breathing.
If you make a mistake,
Just begin again.
Be friendly to your mind if it starts to fall asleep or forgets that you're counting.
Just begin again.
Awareness and breathing.
Begin counting.
Continue.
Now let go if you're counting.
Remain aware of the breath only.
Inhaling evenly through both nostrils.
Begin to awaken the experience of heaviness in your whole body.
Become aware of heaviness in each part of the body as I name it.
Toes,
Heels,
Ankles,
Calves,
Knees,
Thighs,
Hips,
Back,
Abdomen,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Palms,
Head,
Eyelids.
The whole body heavy.
Imagine you feel so heavy.
Your bones are made of lead.
You're so heavy you feel as if you're sinking.
Experience this feeling of heaviness in the whole body.
Now awaken the experience of lightness in your whole body.
Experience this feeling of lightness from the top of your head,
The whole head,
Shoulders,
Palms,
Back,
Chest,
Abdomen,
Thighs,
Knees,
Calves,
Heels,
Soles,
Toes.
Experience the experience of lightness in the whole body from top to toe.
Imagine you're so light.
Your whole body is made of space.
Feel yourself so light you're floating up to the ceiling on the inhale.
On the exhale,
You gently drift back down as if you're a feather drifting back and forth.
Enjoy this experience until lightness is manifest.
Think of an ocean.
Think of a dark blue ocean.
Become aware of its waves.
The ocean lies within the inner space of your mind.
The rolling waves represent sleep,
The manifesting unconscious state of your mind.
Become aware of sleep.
Try to visualize the state of unconsciousness within you like waves on an ocean.
Above is a beautiful blue sky.
Below you is the vast ocean with infinite waves.
We now come to visualizations.
I will name a few objects.
You try to imagine them on the levels of feeling,
Awareness,
Emotion,
Imagination as best as you can.
Move as fast as I go,
Jumping your mind from image to image.
Do not concentrate on any one image.
Just keep moving.
Rain candle.
Weeping willow tree.
Tall palm tree.
Car moving on a road.
Clouds gathering.
Yellow clouds.
Blue clouds.
Starlit night.
Full moon.
Rising sun.
Setting sun.
Ocean with waves.
Big pond with clear water.
Blue lotus.
White lotus.
Pink lotus.
A golden spider web.
Sandy bank of a wide river.
Boat sailing on the water.
See the ripples.
Cross above a church.
Chimney smoke rising from an old house.
A cold winter.
A fire burning in the house.
Dawn of a new day.
A temple bell ringing.
You in deep meditation.
It is time to remember your resolve.
Say it to yourself again.
Relax all your efforts now.
Just feel the natural breath flowing in and out.
Become aware of your physical relaxation.
You have been practicing yoga nidra.
Lie quietly.
Slowly allow yourself to drift off into your most restful sleep.
