Yoga Nidra For Mental Clarity, Memory And Intuition.

This audio recording will guide you into deep relaxation of the physical, emotional and mental layers of the being. The aim of the particular practice is to support Mental Clarity, Memory and Intuition. I learned this particular practice from Rod Stryker while studying for my certification with Para Yoga Nidra. It was a supportive one for me during a tumultuous time as I committed to it for 40 days. It allows perspective which may increase your level of compassion for yourself and others. It clarifies memories and this practice in general can support your own inherent intuitive capacity. Get fully comfortable and cozy to allow yourself to open to the benefits of complete relaxation while still being awake and aware. Gather a blanket, a pillow for under your knees and a small one for support of your neck, and perhaps a light covering for your eyes. Enjoy, and I would love to know how you feel post practice.

Transcript

Let's breathe. My name is Kathy and I'm so glad you've joined me today. We'll be really diving into a deep relaxation practice that has the goal of leading you towards a state of grace, Which is called Yoga Nidra. The guidance for this particular practice today leads us to an overall awareness of cognition. So this practice is for mental clarity, Memory, And intuition. You may also consider this as a practice to ponder the answer to the question, How clearly do I see myself? So let's come into our comfortable yoga nidra posture and all the ways that support your spine, The proper alignment of your spine including the neck, With perhaps a small pillow for the back of your head to support a proper alignment of the cervical spine, Perhaps a bolster under the knees. Choose a position that's really comfortable for you today. And sometimes that may even be sidelining. But it's really just important to consider the spine and allow the spine to be fully lengthened and supported. The goal is to become as comfortable as possible so that you don't need to move at any time during the practice. Stillness is key to this kind of practice but that being said at any time that you need to shift or move of course feel free to do so. Make sure that you'll be warm. So if you need to, Pause this recording and get what you need to have to be fully comfortable and warm. So that you can really settle in. So let's go ahead and just rest back down. Letting go of any need to feel that you need to be doing anything specific right now. This is a time for being. For listening, For sensing. For feeling. So let's go ahead and invite a breath in through the nose. And a long exhalation out of the mouth. Feeling the body become heavier. Can you feel the face soften? The throat soften. Feel all the connection points of your physical body that are resting on the surface upon which you lay. And let those connection points be held. By the surface. Tracing down below the mat, The blankets, The floor. The bed, Tracing down until you come to the surface of the earth. Ultimately knowing yourself to be held by the earth. The Earth can handle your weight. So feel now that you're releasing all tensions that may be held in the body. It's necessary to move through the day with a bit of tension, But for this practice and this time now, You can let all of that go. And allow softness. To begin to melt through the entire body. Feel how you're releasing the entire weight of the cranium to the back of the head. Feel those shoulder blades fully connected. The surface beneath you even if you need to tuck your shoulders under just a bit feel the collarbones wide Tracing downward to the next connection point, Perhaps the sacrum. Heavy and resting on the earth. The backs of the knees on the bolster. And the heels. The backs of the arms and the backs of the hands, Perhaps. All releasing tensions as your body continues to open to the earth. Whole body relaxing. Inviting even the vital organs to relax. The muscles to release any tensions. And consider the entire network of fascia. The fascia is like an intelligent weaving of support for the organs, The bones, The muscles, All of the structural components that form your physical body. Everything right now having this time to rejuvenate. To repair. To rehydrate. To rest. Letting go of any to-do lists. Any worldly concerns. Even letting go of any tightly held beliefs Let's hold on loosely here. Bringing awareness to the cranium. Feel the jaw and the tongue completely relax. Softening the middle of the tongue and the root of the tongue so that it falls away from the roof of the mouth. Softening all muscles around the eyes and even behind the eyes. Feel even the teeth and the gums softening. The scalp releasing its grip on the skull. Feel the ear canals broaden and deepen. And with that, Could you feel a subtle length in the cervical spine and a softness in the pit of the throat? Bringing your awareness to the back of the neck and the trapezius muscles that reach from the neck down to the shoulders. Feel them lengthen. As the shoulders move down away from the ears, Creating more length, More space. Could you feel an awareness of your spine? Feel as if your spine is lengthening as it continues to unfold and to release any contraction. As if the spine is becoming a little bit longer through the thoracic area. And the lumbar. Tracing your awareness all the way down to the base of the spine where your pelvic bowl is resting on the sacrum. Feel all four lines of the legs. Lengthening the tops of the thighs, The backs of the thighs, The inner and outer thighs. Calves relaxed. And loosening any tensions that may be held in the ankles. Perhaps even shaking the feet a bit and making sure that the feet fall outward. This helps to relax the hips. As you continue to relax the physical body. The thoughts begin to quiet. But there is part of you that will remain very awake and aware. Resist the urge to fall completely asleep here. So that you can be fully aware and awake of this beautiful place of rest. Now let's rest the attention of the space around the heart. Could you feel the beating of your heart? Pulsation there, The life force that exists. In this space of the heart. And in this place of greater softness and relaxation. As we enter into this deeper stillness. Let's take a moment to set an intention for this practice today. So if you have an intention that you're working with, You might state it now. And if not for today I might offer I invite the power of relaxation to offer clarity of mind and compassion for all. And with intention seated in the heart and the whole being. We'll continue with our practice. Let's begin first by just bringing an awareness to sounds, The sounds that are around you. The sounds from this recording. And my voice. And perhaps to sounds around you, Even outside of the room where you are resting. Or outside of the space in which you're in. We're not trying to analyze any of the sounds here, But just to be aware. Eventually all of the sounds begin to fade in the background. Like a subtle, Subtle symphony of sounds. Let your awareness come back to the sounds closer to you. Perhaps the sound of your own breath. Now let your awareness move to the space between the navel and the pubic bone, This breathing space here. Between the navel and the pubic bone. But also extending to the sides of the waist and the low back. And let's invite a softness here in this space. And as you're ready to breathe in, Let's invite a breath into this lower breathing space of the abdomen. So that as you breathe in you feel the belly rise on the inhalation. And the belly fall on the exhalation. Let's invite a few more breaths like that in this soft and open space. Abdomen rising on the breath in. Waistline expanding, Low back softening. And everything knitting back inward on the breath out, The chest remains still. Could you begin to feel that you're shaping the breaths in a very easy, Subtle way to become equal? Equal in length and in energy flow. Smooth breath. Ironing out any hitches or breaks. And at the end of your next exhalation, Just let all that go. And just resting. And allowing the breath to respond in any way it wishes. Just resting for a moment. As the body continues to soften and release any tensions. And the mind becomes more spacious. Now let's come back into this very easeful shaping of the breath once again. In the same space. So as you're ready to breathe in, Just to invite the breath into the space of the lower abdomen. Feeling the abdomen rise on the breath in, The waistline expand, Low back softens. And as you exhale, Just notice how everything knits back inward. Let this breath be even once again, Inviting another breath in the same location with spaciousness and ease and a smoothness, No hitches or breaks. Find a pace that works for you. Let the breath be easy and slow but with this awareness that it's in the abdomen. At the end of your next exhalation let everything go and just rest once again. Resting in the intelligence of your breath's response. Softening any tensions that may have crept back in. Very effortlessly will invite that breath once again in the same way as you are ready. We'll breathe into the space of the low abdomen. Feel how as you breathe in, The abdomen expands. There's so much room here to breathe. As you breathe out, The belly falls back towards the spine. Feel this breath to be smooth. Even. Quiet. The smooth, Slow breathing in the space of the abdomen sends a signal to the nervous system to relax. To return to a clarity and a calm. At the end of your next exhalation just letting go of any particular shape and just let yourself rest. Breathing effortlessly now. Allowing your breath to respond with its own natural intelligence. Letting the body be breathed. Letting go of all effort. Letting go of any contraction. A wave of regeneration. Moving through the mind and the body. The body continues to soften. Let go of any holding. As the body is completely supported and held. By the Earth. The breathing is so subtle now. On these subtle exhalations can you sense your body being pulled by gravity? The body heavy? Breathing effortless. And then on the subtle inhalations. Could you sense? A subtle lightness. A lifting. As if you're floating on a cloud. As the awareness becomes more subtle now could you become aware of the the junctions or the transitions between your breaths so the space between the inhale and the exhale and the space between the exhale and the inhale Could you soften even more into these spaces? Allow your awareness. To notice these transitions in the flow of the breath. Can you sense them? Awareness is the part of each of us that never changes. It's been the same since you took your first breath. It knows you. It's at the very edge of soul. Or witness. This presence that is always at ease, Always at home. The body continuing to allow layers and layers of relaxation. Mind becoming spacious. Let's bring attention. To the space either between the eyebrows. Or two inches back in the middle of the brain. Just resting your attention there. You might feel a subtle bit of pulsation or of warmth. And perhaps you could sense or feel or trust that there is a bit of light there, A golden point of light. This light is alive and vibrant. And we'll begin to rotate consciousness through the body. Just allow your awareness now to float from point to point through the body where mentioned and bring the light along. So beginning here. In the middle of the brain. Let's come to the center of the throat. In the right shoulder. The right elbow. The right wrist golden point of light, Warmth, Pulsation, Center of the palm, Warmth pulsation here. Can you feel it? The pads of all five fingers. Back to the right palm, The right wrist. The right elbow. The right shoulder. The center of the throat. Golden light here, Left shoulder. Left elbow. Left wrist. The left palm. Feel for pulsation. Sense or trust a golden light here. The pads of all five fingers of the left hand. The center of the palm. The left wrist. Left elbow golden light body is relaxed left shoulder center of the throat. The space in the middle of the chest. Pulsation here. Warmth. The navel center, Golden point of light. Center of the pelvis. Middle of the right hip. The right knee. Pulsation here, Light. Right ankle. Top of the right foot. Soul of the right foot. The pads of all five toes on the right foot. Points of light. The arch of the foot. Top of the foot. Right ankle warm with presence. Right knee. Middle of the right hip joint. Center of the pelvis warm with presence, Golden light, Left hip joint. Left knee. Left ankle. The top of the left foot. The arch of the left foot. The pads all five toes. Warm with presence, Light. The arch of the left foot. Top of the left foot, Left ankle. Left knee. Left hip bone. Center of the pelvis. Navel center, Light pulsating. Middle of the chest. Center of the throat. And the middle of the brain. Golden light here. Now begin to see. All of these spaces at once. Like a constellation of stars. Could you imagine now that you're laying on a warm beach at night? Looking up at a sky full of stars and recognizing that you are a reflection of what you see. As if the lights within your own body are a reflection of the constellation of stars that you see outside of you. Vibrant constellation of vast, Vast space. The body is that space. The mind is that space and the breath flows through effortlessly. Awareness of the links, The junctions, The transitions between the breaths. Rest in the awareness of that that endures, That which is eternal, Always at rest, Always whole. Rest in this wholeness. Now go backward in time to what you were doing approximately a half an hour ago. Recollect the circumstances of that moment. What were you doing? And thinking and feeling. And see it not from any place of judgment, But from perspective of the witness. See it as how you are reacting in the moment but see it from a non-reactive perspective. And then go back another 30 minutes. Again. Seeing it from a place of the witness. Make peace with what you were doing an hour ago. And then continue in half hour increments. Viewing as the witness. Observing with a compassion, With peace. Continue until the time just before you woke this morning. And now bringing your awareness back to the breath. The subtle rise and fall of breath as it moves through your nostrils. Feel the breath as two distinct streams of air left and right. And again, As the witness, Just watching the effortless flow of the breath. And then allow your attention to alternate between nostrils. So using your mind, Feel your awareness rest on the left nostril and feel the ascension of the breath through the left nostril, Moving up to a space between the eyebrows and then descending through the right nostril. Ascending the right and descending the left. Not trying too hard here, Just feeling this awareness of breath directed by your mind moving up the left nostril and out the right. And up the right nostril and out the left. Eventually could you sense? Heightened awareness. Rides on the path of the breath. And that's as if each time the breath touches the space between the eyebrows, You are depositing a little bit. Of that awareness, That energy, That heightened awareness. Of presence. A healing presence. A kind of luminosity starts to fill this space center of the eyebrows and two inches back in the middle of the brain. Without trying hard, Allow this to continue. For a few more breaths. Softening any tensions that may have crept back into the body. Relaxing the jaw. Relaxing the whole spine and the shoulders. As the body continues to breathe. And the luminosity builds. Now letting go of that practice of the breath. Just resting in this sense of presence begin to see or sense or just trust a screen the screen that exists right in the front of your forehead. Like a movie screen, Although this is a screen of the mind. And have the intention that thoughts and beliefs will unfold on this screen of the mind. Have a willingness here that all of the thoughts and feelings will manifest as image in this space. You may see colors or shapes or more may unfold. Whatever unfolds simply abide in this space of rest. Being the witness. And observe with a relaxed curiosity and a sense of true compassion. For the next 60 seconds. Now clear the screen of mind. Letting go of all effort, All technique and just resting now. Feeling the breath move in any way it wishes, Moving through this spacious awareness. Just resting in the experience. Resting in the experience which is beyond the waking and the dreaming and the sleeping states. And very very gently beginning to bring your awareness. Back to the surface upon which your body lays. Feeling your physical body being held and supported and mentally record any experience you may have had. And becoming aware of the space that you are resting in. Noticing if there are any sounds around you. Maybe outside the space that you're laying in. And invite a longer breath. There's a longer breath coming into the space of the abdomen. And as you exhale, Apply a subtle bit of tension at the space of the navel. In order to anchor the energy here at navel point. And maybe one more breath like that. Just intentionally inviting longer breaths. And as you exhale applying just a subtle bit of tension at the space of the navel with the intention of anchoring the energy here. Where you can save it for later. Begin to wiggle your toes. If your arms are away from your body, Bring your hands to come rest somewhere on the abdomen and the chest. And very, Very slowly rolling to a side. Fully comfortable. Fully supported. Allow some light to come back into the eyes. The practice is now complete. Take your time here. And you Just remember here that as you return to this visual world, This external world, That all of the clarity. And perspective, The calm, The ease. The string. It's all a part of who you are and you can carry it with you. And share that as you go back out into the world. Namaste.