Yoga Nidra Practice 2
20 minute guided yoga nidra, prepare by lying in shavasana on a mat or the floor. Nidra is a guided meditation to lower brain waves to create a feeling of calm and peace. Great for stress, anxiety and to help with sleep.
Transcript
For today's practice of Yoga Nidra,
You'll only need your body and either a yoga mat or the floor,
So go ahead and either pause or find your way to lying flat on your back.
And today,
Your focus is just to develop a deep state of relaxation simply by lying and listening to my voice.
Yoga Nidra is a practice of awareness and a practice of listening and being only.
All right,
As you lie down in corpse pose in Savasana,
Just taking another few breaths just to make any final adjustments to how you're lying,
To your clothing or your blankets or anything you're using so you can be the most comfortable.
So for the practice,
You want to have awareness but stillness at the same time.
You want to be comfortable but alert,
So maybe letting your chin drop below the level of your forehead if that feels good,
Closing your eyes,
Coming to the face,
Noticing any unconscious tension there,
Taking a few longer breaths in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth just to continue to settle and sensing your entire body lying on the floor.
Just allow yourself to be just 10% more comfortable,
All right,
Feeling your body as information.
So feel your head,
Feel your arms,
Feel yourself breathe,
Feel your back,
Feel your pelvis,
Feel your legs from hips to knees,
From knees to shins,
Shins to ankles,
And to your feet and toes and the soles of your feet.
Now feel your upper half again,
And then your lower half,
Your upper half,
Feeling both simultaneously,
Feeling your entire body,
Your entire body.
Be comfortable,
Be cozy,
Calling back the energy that's always flowing out of you,
Allowing this time to be a return.
And if you'd like,
You can create your resolve,
Your statement,
Your intention right now.
Is there something in your life that could use some extra attention,
Energy,
Or support?
Name it three times silently to yourself,
And then drop it into the pool of your practice and trust.
We'll start with the body scan naming different parts,
And you will repeat that name to yourself.
And simultaneously,
Just bring your attention,
Be aware of that body part.
Bring your attention to the right hand,
Mentally repeat after me,
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
The right waist,
The right hip,
The right thigh,
The kneecap,
The calf,
The ankle,
The heel,
The sole of the right foot,
The top of the foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Awareness of the left hand,
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Kneecap,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the left foot,
Big toe,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The back,
The right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade,
The right buttocks,
The left buttocks,
The spine,
The whole back together,
The head,
The top of the head,
The forehead,
The right eyebrow,
The left eyebrow,
The space between the eyebrows,
The right eyelid,
The left eyelid,
The right eye,
The left eye,
The right ear,
The left ear,
The right cheek,
The left cheek,
The nose,
The tip of the nose,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
The chin,
The throat,
The right chest,
The left chest,
The middle of the chest,
The navel,
The abdomen,
The whole of the right leg,
The whole of the left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole of the right arm,
The whole of the left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole of the back,
Buttocks,
Spine,
Shoulder blades,
The whole of the front,
Abdomen,
Chest,
The whole of the back and the front,
The whole of the head,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
The whole body together.
What are you aware of in this moment?
What sensation calls your attention?
You may notice that as sensations change,
They reveal that awareness in that space,
Awareness of experiencing your body lying on the floor.
You are aware,
Awareness experiencing itself as the sensation of a body lying on the floor.
You notice the connection points between your back body and the floor,
The back of your head,
Your shoulder blades,
Your sit bones and buttocks,
The backs of your thighs,
Your heels,
Your calves,
The backs of your hands,
All simultaneously feeling the connection,
Your whole body lying on the floor.
Now come back to the awareness of your breath,
Awareness that underneath the nose,
There's breath moving in and out of the nostrils.
Concentrate on the movement of the breath in and out.
Keep your attention on the breath and the nostrils.
Begin to count backwards from 27.
If you lose count,
You go back to 27 and begin again.
If you reach one,
You go back to 27 and begin again.
Counting backwards just like this,
27 breathing in,
27 breathing out,
26 breathing in,
26 breathing out,
25 breathing in,
25 breathing out.
Continue on your own,
Remembering to restart if you lose the count.
Breathing and counting,
Awareness.
Keep going with the practice,
Counting and breathing and then keep your attention on the breath but bring it to the awareness that your chest is rising and falling each time you inhale and exhale.
Notice the sensation and the feeling of the chest lifting and coming back down.
We'll count the breath in a similar fashion,
Going backwards from 27 to 1.
Again,
If you lose count,
You go back to 27 and begin again.
If you reach 1,
You go back to 27 and begin.
So counting backwards like this,
27 chest rising,
27 chest falling,
26 chest rising,
25 chest rising,
25 chest falling,
Breathing and counting,
Awareness on the chest,
Awareness on the breath.
Keep counting,
Keep breathing and then continuing to keep your attention on the breath but leaving the chest and going to the belly,
To the navel area,
Noticing and bringing awareness to the expansion and the rising,
The contraction and the falling of this part of your body as you breathe in and breathe out.
We'll have the same counting backwards from 27 with each cycle of breath.
So 27 belly rising,
27 belly falling,
26 belly rising,
26 belly falling,
25 belly rising,
25 belly falling,
Counting and breathing on your own,
Remembering to restart if you lose count.
And now it's time to release counting and leave the breath.
Coming to a visualization,
So just send your attention to the space between your eyes or between your eyebrows.
Just looking in this space,
Noticing what's manifesting there without any guidance,
Maybe lights and colors and things will be named,
Trying to develop a vision of them in this space,
Feeling awareness of any emotion attached to them,
Using your imagination as best as you can.
Relaxing if you don't manage to visualize the items,
Just keep on practicing and returning.
So staying in the space between your eyebrow center,
Seeing burning candle,
Burning candle,
Burning candle,
Endless desert,
Endless desert,
Endless desert,
Egyptian pyramid,
Egyptian pyramid,
Egyptian pyramid,
Snow covered mountains,
Snow covered mountains,
Snow covered mountains,
Rain,
Heavy rain,
Heavy rain,
Clouds drifting through the sky,
Clouds drifting through the sky,
Clouds drifting through the sky,
A Greek temple a Greek temple at sunrise,
A Greek temple at sunrise,
A Greek temple at sunrise,
Coffin beside a grave,
Coffin beside a grave,
Coffin beside a grave,
Stars at night,
Stars at night,
Stars at night,
A cat in a window,
A cat in a window,
A cat in a window,
Full moon,
Full moon,
Full moon,
Your face in a mirror,
Your face in a mirror,
Your face in a mirror,
Your body lying on the floor,
Your body lying on the floor,
Your body lying on the floor,
And keeping your attention here in this space in your eyebrow center,
Just noticing what naturally is popping up and naming any vivid images or letting colors come and go,
Just keeping your attention here and then bringing your attention back to your breath,
Your in and out,
Your natural inhale,
Your natural exhale,
Bringing your attention back to your body,
Lying on the floor in stillness,
Seeing the four walls of the room,
The ceiling,
The floor,
Seeing yourself lying there in perfect stillness practicing.
Now is the time for you to bring your statement back into your mind.
Repeat it to yourself the same way you did at the beginning,
Three times now,
And then take the next moment to really envision this statement coming true in your life.
Imagine the feeling,
See it in that same space in your eyebrow center,
And then awareness of the breathing,
Awareness of your natural breath,
Awareness of deep relaxation,
Develop awareness of your physical existence,
Become aware of the meeting points between your body and the floor,
Awareness of noises in the room and noises outside,
Like quietly for another moment before you start to move,
And then starting to move your body gently,
Taking your time,
There's no hurry,
Wiggling whatever's easy to move,
Maybe circling your wrists or shimmying your hips side to side.
There's no rush at all.
When you feel fully awake and present,
You can flutter your eyes open and take another few breaths just to be where you are with the eyes open before you gently come up to a seat.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Thank you for practicing today.
Namaste.
