Yoga Nidra For Managing Stress

This is an excerpt from a simple Yoga Nidra script. The practice of Yoga Nidra is meant to guide you to a state of consciousness between sleeping and wakefulness. You will be asked to move your awareness to various body parts and sensations.

Transcript

The practice of yoga nidra is a practice of yogic sleep that will guide you to a hypnotic 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 intently as this may prevent you from relaxing.

During this meditation,

Please use and absorb what you need to 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.

Become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment,

Nothing else but what you can hear without strain.

Begin to focus on the most distant sounds that you can hear.

Let your sense of hearing radiate outward,

Searching out the 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 of the house,

To sounds inside of the house,

To sounds inside of the room.

Without opening your eyes,

Visualize the four walls of the room,

The ceiling,

The floor and your body lying down.

Visualize your body,

The position of your body,

Your clothes,

Your hair,

Your face.

Become acutely aware of the existence of your physical body lying down.

Now become aware of your natural breath.

Become aware of the natural and spontaneous 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.

There is a sense of coolness as you inhale.

Follow this feeling into your nose,

Your sinuses,

Down the back of your throat and into your lungs.

There is a sense of warmth as you exhale the breath.

Feel this warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.

As your natural breath flows through both nostrils during the inhale and exhale,

Allow your breath to become longer and slower.

Take a long slow inhale followed by a longer slower exhale.

Make your exhale even slower and notice the slight pause after the exhale.

Long slow inhale,

Even slower exhale and pause.

Allow the urge to breathe bubble up inside of you and when you need to inhale,

Please do so.

Long slow inhale,

Longer slower exhale and pause.

And continue to breathe this way for a few more breaths.

And release and go back to the natural easy breath.

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 of the body to yourself and feel that part of your body without moving it.

We will begin the practice on the right side.

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the right hand,

Back of the right hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Right hip,

Right thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And 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 the neck,

And 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,

The whole left leg,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

The whole face,

The whole head,

The whole torso,

The whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Now imagine the whole body becoming light as though your body could float away from the floor and toward the ceiling.

Your head is light and weightless.

Your limbs are light and weightless.

Your torso is light and weightless.

Your whole body is weightless.

You are rising higher and higher away from the floor.

Imagine your body becoming heavy.

Feel the heaviness fill all parts of your body.

Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

Your head is heavy.

Your limbs are heavy.

Your torso is heavy.

The whole body is heavy,

So heavy that it is sinking down into the floor.

Awaken the experience of cold in the body,

Experience being chilly.

Imagine being outside in winter without enough clothes and you feel the chill permeating your entire body.

Now allow the sensation of warmth to spread throughout your entire body.

Recall a feeling of heat in summer when you are out in the sun with no shade.

You feel the heat radiating onto your skin and all throughout your body.

Begin to concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids.

Imagine before you a transparent screen as though we are at the 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 phenomenon that manifests within it.

Colors,

Patterns,

And light.

Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.

Continue your awareness of this space but do not become involved.

Practice detached awareness only.

If any subtle images make themselves known,

Simply notice them without directing the images.

If thoughts occur,

Let them come and go but continue watching the dark space.

Continue this with detached awareness.

Now a number of different things will be named and you should envision them on the screen,

On the level of emotion,

Memory,

And imagination as best as you can.

Jump from image to image as soon as you hear it.

A red desert.

Peacock feathers.

Doctor's office.

A good night's rest.

A full moon.

Your reflection in a mirror.

A foggy morning.

Sun shining overhead.

Bouquet of flowers.

A tall tree.

A cool,

Clear water.

A relaxing afternoon.

Laughing with friends.

A warm embrace.

A burning candle.

A temple on a mountainside.

A path in the woods.

A vibrant sunset.

A cat stretching.

A beautiful garden path.

Your favorite song.

The sound of my voice.

And your body lying on the floor.

Now come back to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.

Maintain your awareness of breath and at the same time develop your awareness of your physical body.

Your body is relaxed and lying down.

Feel your skin and the clothes and the surface that's touching you.

Notice the heaviness of your body as it rests on the floor and take your awareness to all points that are touching the floor.

The back of your heels,

Your thighs,

Your buttocks,

Shoulder blades,

Arms,

Hands and head.

Don't open your eyes but visualize the surrounding room.

Imagine where you are in the room and the other objects that are around you.

Lie quietly until you feel ready to move.

Begin slowly by moving your hands and feet.

Taking your time.

And when you feel fully awake,

Gently open your eyes and roll to the side and come up and sit.