Yoga Nidra Practice 4
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.
Now through the practice,
If you do feel the urge to shift,
Just do so mindfully.
Your arms can be slightly away from your body,
Palms up.
If it feels okay to close your eyes,
Just commit to keeping them closed.
And again,
This is an act of hearing,
This practice is about feeling.
That's the only thing that matters,
That awareness,
Listening to the voice.
And this is called yogic sleep.
So thinking about how when we dream,
We don't have control,
But for this practice,
You are the creator of the dream.
And commit to staying awake by mentally telling yourself,
I shall not sleep,
I will only listen to the voice.
Just repeating that mentally now,
I will not sleep.
And as you continue to become calm and steady,
Just breathing in,
Feeling this calmness,
This relaxation spreading through your body,
Breathing out,
Telling yourself to relax,
And just bringing your awareness to the room that you're lying in without opening your eyes,
Imagining the walls and the floor,
The ceiling,
And then seeing your body lying on the floor in stillness.
Become aware of the existence of your physical body lying on the floor,
Total awareness of the connection points with the back of your body and the floor,
Awareness of the space,
Awareness of your body lying in stillness,
And then become aware of the natural breath without changing or concentrating too much,
Just noticing the inhale and the exhale.
Just continuing to listen to me,
Know that you're breathing.
And the practice begins now.
This is the time to make a resolve,
A statement,
Something you'd like to bring into your life,
Something simple,
You can state three times in the present tense clearly.
Just go ahead and bring that to mind and repeat it to yourself three times now with feeling and awareness.
We'll rotate your awareness and consciousness throughout the body as quickly as possible.
You'll send your attention from body part to body part,
As I name them.
You can mentally repeat the name or just send your attention there,
Do both.
We'll begin with the right hand,
The right hand thumb,
The second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Waist,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the right foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
Lower arm,
Left elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Waist,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Moving to the back,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The spine,
Right buttocks,
Left buttocks,
The whole back together,
Moving to the head,
The forehead,
The right eyebrow,
The left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center,
The right eye,
The left eye,
The right ear,
The left ear,
Right cheek,
The left cheek,
The nose,
Tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel,
Abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole of the back,
The whole of the front,
The whole of the head,
The legs,
The arms,
The back,
The front,
The head,
Together,
The whole body together,
The whole body together,
Awareness of the body,
Awareness of the space occupied by your body,
Feeling the meeting points between your body and the floor,
The backs of your feet and the floor,
The backs of your legs,
The buttocks and the floor,
The spine,
The elbows,
The backs of the hands,
Shoulder blades,
The back of the head,
And coming around to the eyelids,
Feeling the narrow line,
The meeting point between the upper and lower eyelids,
And then the lips,
The line between the top and bottom lip,
The space between them,
And the breath going in and out,
Passing over the top lip,
Feeling the breath moving along the passage between the navel and the throat.
On inhalation,
It rises from navel to throat.
On exhalation,
It descends.
On inhalation,
The chest rises.
On exhalation,
It descends.
And we'll start to maintain this awareness at the same time counting backwards as follows.
Chest rising 27,
Chest falling 27,
Chest rising 26,
Chest falling 26,
Chest rising 25,
Chest falling 25,
Chest rising 25,
Continuing to count to yourself following the rise and fall,
Awareness of breathing and counting.
If you mess up,
You start over at 27.
If you get to one,
You start over.
The breath is slow and relaxed.
Continue counting to yourself as you breathe.
Awareness of breathing,
Awareness of counting,
And then stopping your counting of the chest breathing and moving your awareness to the nostrils.
Become aware of the breath moving in and out of the nostrils.
Concentrate on the movement of the breath in and out.
27 breathing in,
27 breathing out,
26 breathing in,
26 breathing out.
Continue counting awareness,
Effortless awareness.
Continuing the practice,
Counting and breathing,
Breathing and counting.
No movement,
No sleeping.
And stopping your counting now,
It doesn't matter if you came to one,
Leaving your breathing.
As I name a body part,
Bring your attention accompanied by a feeling of heaviness.
Awakening this feeling in your body,
Feeling heavy,
Sinking like a stone in water,
Both feet heavy,
Both feet heavy.
Calves and knees heavy,
Sinking deeper.
Thighs and hips heavy.
Your abdomen and chest,
Gravity pulling you down.
Shoulders,
Arms and palms all feel very heavy.
Your entire head heavy like a stone.
Experiencing your whole body now,
Sinking deeper and deeper,
Deeper into stillness.
Shifting your attention as I name a part of the body,
Letting the heaviness drain away,
Inviting in lightness,
Buoyancy like a cloud,
Both feet limp and light.
Calves and knees empty and free.
Thighs and hips,
Hollow weightlessness.
Abdomen,
Chest and back,
Light and empty.
Shoulders and arms and palms floating.
Head,
Hollow,
Empty.
Feeling your body empty,
Light and hollow.
Sensing this emptiness,
The silence of your mind.
And now we move on to affirmations.
Allow your entire self to respond spontaneously and effortlessly to what I say.
I am released from my self-image to experience the infinite potential unfolding from within me.
My source is silent stillness.
I rest in peace.
I am the non-participant,
The observer,
Separate from my thoughts and emotions that come and go.
I am free and clear of all that has happened in the past.
I go to the source within that heals all conflicts and restores my health and peace of mind.
I am at peace with myself as I am in the world as it is.
And here your intentions and affirmations are actualized and fulfilled.
Repeat your intention,
Your resolve now silently three times to yourself,
Knowing that what you have set in motion is already yours.
And begin to bring your attention back to the rising and falling of the breath.
Slowly feeling yourself just rising to the surface of awareness.
Sense the body resting on the floor.
Sense the air as it touches the skin.
Gradually you can bring in some movement or deeper breathing,
Maybe wiggling your jaw or your fingers or toes.
The practice is ending,
But take your time.
Do not hurry.
As you find your way into whatever shape,
Maybe turning on to your side or just staying where you're at for another moment or two,
Just sealing in the intention you set,
The awareness that you've cultivated,
And eventually returning fully to the room and the space that you're in.
But know that our practice together has ended and it was so lovely to spend this time with you.
Thank you again.
Namaste.
