For this yoga nidra or yogic sleep practice we'll take a journey inward through the layers of our being to de-stimulate the senses and reach that quiet soul space within.
There we will embody a deep relaxation and manifest the ability to welcome peace into our lives.
For this practice you'll want to lay down on the ground or in your bed getting as comfortable and cozy as possible.
In this deep relaxation technique you'll be able to restore yourselves and deeply heal the body by reaching a state between wakefulness and dreaming and that's where a lot of the regenerative powers of our body once it's in this rest mode can be at work.
So find a comfortable spot to lay down bring in any pillows,
Blankets that you need,
Supporting the head or maybe having a pillow underneath the knees to make your low back feel nice and cozy wherever you're at.
Once you've found your comfortable position feel free to make any last-minute wiggles or fidgets just to get it out of the way and settle yourself into a nice cozy cocoon.
Gently close the eyes or soften the gaze and gather your awareness on the rise and fall of your belly with each breath.
Notice how deep your belly is falling with each exhale and how much it inflates with each inhale and consciously on your next round of breath begin to make your exhales longer than your inhales.
Inhaling in through the nose and exhale out the mouth elongating your exhale as far as you can bringing a very light amount of awareness to the belly as you do this.
How the belly expands on the inhale and contracts down towards the spine on the exhale.
If you'd like a count to help you keep track inhale for four and exhale for seven.
Continue to breathe with your exhales longer than your inhales and notice how your body and mind begins to soften and relax.
Ease yourself back into your natural breath.
Now tell yourself three times,
Here begins the practice of yoga nidra.
Tell yourself three times,
I deserve to be at peace.
I let go and let be.
As we further descend into a relaxed state we'll start with a rotation of physical awareness in the body.
As I call out each part bring your awareness to that area and feel it relax and sink into stillness.
Start by becoming aware of the space between the eyebrows,
The center of the forehead,
Base of the throat,
Right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Right wrist,
Right thumb,
Right pointer finger,
Third finger,
Ring finger,
And pinky finger.
Become aware of the right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
Returning back to the base of the throat.
Traverse your awareness over to the left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Left wrist,
Left thumb,
Left pointer finger,
Third finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
Left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Returning back to the base of the throat.
Become aware of the center of the chest,
Right side chest,
Center of the chest,
Left side chest,
Center of the chest.
Moving down to your navel,
Become aware of the pelvis,
Right hip,
Right knee,
Right ankle,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Pinky toe.
Moving up to the right ankle,
Right knee,
Right hip,
Centering back on the pelvis.
Guiding your awareness over the left hip,
Left knee,
Left ankle,
Left big toe,
Left second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And pinky toe.
Moving awareness up to the left ankle,
Left knee,
Left hip.
Become aware of the whole pelvis,
Navel,
Center of the chest,
Base of the throat,
Center of the forehead.
Landing back at the space between your eyebrows.
Now begin to connect to your breath.
As your body starts to melt into relaxation,
Become aware of any part of the body that feels like there may be a little bit of restlessness or activity.
We'll move through a body breathing technique to release any of this residual activity in the body.
Each inhale will move up the body and each exhale will move down the body.
Beginning at your toes,
Inhale and see your breath move up from your toes to your ankles.
Then exhale the breath down from your ankles to your toes.
Breathing between these two points to start.
Inhale toes to ankles,
Exhale ankles to toes.
Now breathe from your ankles to your knees,
Then down from your knees to your ankles.
Inhale up from your knees to your hips,
Then exhale down from your hips to your knees.
Breathing between these two points.
Now breathe from your hips up to your chest,
Then down from your chest to your hips.
Inhale the breath moves up,
Exhale the breath moves down.
Feel the inhale travel to where it feels restless.
Then feel the exhale release it like mist dissipating into the air.
Now breathe from your chest up to your shoulders,
Then down from your shoulders to your chest.
Inhale chest to shoulders,
Exhale shoulders to chest.
Breathe from your shoulders down to your elbows,
Then from your elbows to your shoulders.
Inhale the breath moves up,
Exhale the breath falls down your shoulders towards your elbows.
Breathe from your elbows down to your wrists,
Then up from your wrists to your elbows.
Breathe from your wrists to your fingertips,
Then from your fingertips to your wrists.
Now send breath from your chest to the front of your throat,
Then from the front of your throat to your chest.
Using the breath to settle down any activity here.
Inhale between these two points,
Exhale between these two points.
Now breathe from the front of your throat up to the tip of your nose,
Then the breath falls down from the tip of your nose to the front of your throat.
Breathe from the tip of your nose to the space between your eyebrows,
Then from the space between your eyebrows down to the tip of your nose.
Now breathe from the space between your eyebrows to the crown of your head,
Then from the crown of your head down to the space between your eyebrows.
Creating this arch of consciousness,
Of energy,
Moving the breath between these two points.
Each exhale from crown to space between eyebrows,
Releasing any active thoughts.
Now breathe into every edge of your body,
Gathering any low vibrations in the body,
And with each exhale see this unneeded energy floating off your body and disappearing out into the light.
Each inhale gathers low vibes,
Each exhale releases it,
Letting it go from your body.
Once you've completed your last round of this breath,
You can let it go and return to your natural easy rhythm of breath.
We'll now move through a series of opposing feelings and sensations.
As I call out each one,
Try not to get too caught up in details and just let yourself experience it fully as it is.
Start by experiencing darkness.
Now experience light.
Feel yourself become excited.
Now bring in the feeling of disappointment.
Find yourself becoming calm.
Now find yourself becoming angry.
Feel yourself sinking.
Feel yourself floating.
Feel yourself become hard.
Feel yourself soften up.
Experience the sensation of tightness.
Now allow yourself to become loose and open.
Feel yourself become tense.
And now feel yourself to completely melt into relaxation.
As you continue to become completely relaxed,
Picture yourself in a sun-filled field surrounded by vibrant green grass.
The cool blues of the sky encompass you as the temperature outside feels just right,
Comfortable and breezy.
You lay down on a plush blanket in this field and smell the pure oxygen the plants so generously provide.
The tense in your shoulders ease up.
The tightness of the hips loosen.
The walls of the heart fall.
Feeling weightless with the support of the earth,
The outer sheath of your physical body fully releases.
Then the next layer of your energetic body softens and your aura expands.
Going deeper,
Your mental body eases,
Letting the grip of the mind go.
Further into the subtle body,
The sheath of your wisdom body relaxes,
Welcoming the trust and the intelligence of oneness.
Then even deeper in your bliss body,
Your true self is revealed and smiles at you.
Your bliss body absorbs in the high vibrations that are drawn to you in this loving and open state.
Then you tell yourself three times,
I deserve to be at peace.
I let go and let be.
Slowly and gently,
You begin to reawaken,
Coming back into your physical body,
Running your thumb along each of your other fingers,
Softly wiggling the toes,
Maybe rolling your neck side to side.
If you'd like to take a full body stretch,
Go ahead and do so,
Reaching for all four corners of the physical space you're in,
Eventually rolling over to your favorite side and lying here for just a moment,
Taking a moment of gratitude and acknowledgement for your true self that lies in the state right now.
When it feels right to you,
Slowly push yourself up into a seat,
Keeping the eyes closed,
Bring both hands on the palm of your heart,
Taking a moment to deepen your connection to your heartbeat,
Your force of life.
Close the practice by taking a deep breath in through the nose and as you exhale,
Bow down in gratitude.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Thank you so much for taking the time to join me today and brave the journey inward.
My wish is that you can access this space of relaxation whenever you need.
