Please prepare for a short practice of yoga nidra.
This is a guided relaxation.
This practice leads for deep relaxation on the physical plane,
The mental plane and the emotional plane.
Find a quiet place where you can lie down,
Ideally on the floor,
On a rug or a mat,
Placing some support under the head and if you need to maybe rolling a blanket under the knees or placing a bolster under the knees.
Lie down in savasana,
Also known as the corpse pose,
With feet spreading out to the sides,
Arms a short distance diagonally away from the body and palms facing up.
If you wish,
You can roll the head from side to side until it naturally gravitates to the center and stay there.
Tuck the chin slightly towards the chest elongating the back of the neck.
This short practice allows the entire system to reboot and restart and recharge.
Bring the awareness to the contact points of the body with the floor and take three deep breaths.
With each exhalation,
Relax down to the earth,
Gently surrendering to the pull of gravity.
Now bring the awareness to sounds,
Listening to any sounds coming from outside the room.
Welcome all sounds evenly.
Then bring the awareness closer to sounds within the room,
Moving from one sound to the next.
And finally,
Bring the awareness to the sounds of the body,
Listening to the sound of the breath entering and leaving the nostrils,
Maybe being able to listen to any sounds of digestion or even sensing the heartbeat,
The pulse.
And now to increase the relaxation,
We'll rotate between the different body parts.
Each time a body part is named,
Repeat the name mentally,
Simultaneously visualize that body part and with no need to move the body part,
Send the awareness to relax and ease the specific body part.
Starting with the right hand thumb,
Moving to the right index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Right armpit,
Right side of the waist,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Shin bone,
Right ankle,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth and fifth.
Bring the awareness to the left hand thumb,
Left index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Middle finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Left elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left side of the waist,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Shin bone,
Left ankle,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth and fifth.
Bring the awareness to the right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf muscle,
Left calf muscle,
Back of the right knee,
Back of the left knee,
Back of the right thigh,
Back of the left thigh,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Lower back,
Middle of the back,
Upper back,
Awareness to the right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck and awareness to the whole spine,
Whole spine,
Awareness to the back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Awareness to the right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Eyebrow center,
Awareness to the right temple,
Left temple,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Tip of the nose,
Awareness to the upper lip,
Bottom lip,
Awareness to the chin,
Throat,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Chest center,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
Awareness to the groin.
Now bring awareness to the whole right leg,
Whole right leg,
Whole left leg,
Whole left leg,
Whole right arm,
Whole right arm,
Whole left arm,
Whole left arm,
Whole torso,
Whole torso,
Neck and head,
Neck and head,
Awareness to the whole front of the body,
Front of the body,
And awareness to the whole back of the body,
Back of the body,
Awareness to the whole body,
Whole body,
Whole body lying on the floor.
Bring a gentle awareness now to the natural breath.
Hover around the nose area and become aware of each inhalation and each exhalation.
Begin counting the breath backwards from 28 to 0.
Each cycle of inhalation exhalation equals one count.
Start counting back from 28 to 0 if you haven't yet.
Try not to rush the breath or force the breath.
Witnessing each inhalation and each exhalation and counting back.
So if you lose the count at any stage simply start counting again from 28 back to zero.
So now release the count and return to natural breath.
Listening to the sound of the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils.
Becoming more aware of the sensation of air touching the nostrils,
That tingling sensation.
And become aware of exposed parts of the skin as air touches those parts.
Become more aware of the sensation of touch of clothing on your skin.
And become aware of the contact points of your body with the floor.
Listening to the sounds in the room,
Visualizing the size of the room you're in,
The different objects around you,
Their colors,
Your location in the room.
And now listen to sounds that are coming from outside the room.
Start visualizing the activities happening outside the room,
Remembering the time of day and externalizing the awareness further.
Knowing you've practiced a short yoga nidra meditation and the practice is now complete.
Introduce some movement by wiggling the toes and moving your fingers and if you wish upon your next inhalation take the arms over the head and stretch them up over the head.
Have the feet together and toes pointing in the opposite direction.
Have a nice stretch.
Then bring the knees to your chest,
Squeeze the knees to your chest and roll over to your right side.
Rest in the fetal position with eyes closed for a few more moments and in your own time making your way back up.
This practice creating peace,
Relaxation and restoration in the whole body allowing you to take some of this calmness to the rest of your day.
Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day.
