Yoga Nidra

Yoga Nidra is a deeply relaxing guided meditation designed to move your awareness through the different layers of the self. Practicing yoga nidra allows you to let go of stress and tension that builds up just by living your everyday life.

Transcript

Let's prepare ourselves to practice yoga nidra.

So make your way down onto your back.

Straighten out your legs.

Bring your hands off to your sides.

Place a rolled up blanket or pillow underneath of your knees to help protect your back.

Make sure you have a little cushion underneath the back of your head.

Take the next few moments and wiggle and move your way into complete comfort.

Practice of yoga nidra happens through the layers of awareness and intention.

So there's no need to physically move the body in any way.

Take the last few moments.

Get your body comfortable.

And when you're ready,

Take a full breath in.

As you exhale,

Feel your body settling into stillness.

Yoga nidra is a practice of yogic sleep that will guide you to a state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleeping.

Allow my voice to be the anchor of your awareness.

To be the bridge that keeps you conscious and awake.

During the practice,

I'll ask you to move your awareness through different bodily sensations,

Emotions and images.

Don't worry about trying too hard,

Concentrating too much.

Yoga nidra is more about experiencing whatever is present.

And not about using your effort to force relaxation.

Allow my mind to guide your awareness.

If you fall asleep at any time,

As soon as you notice,

Just bring your awareness back to my voice and pick up wherever we are.

Now become aware of any sounds that you hear in this moment.

Bring your awareness to sounds far off in the distance.

Think of your sense of hearing as a radar radiating outward,

Searching for sounds off in the distance.

Move your attention from sound to sound without labeling or judging.

And then gradually bring your attention to sounds closer.

Sounds just outside of the building.

The sounds inside of the building.

Imagine the sounds inside of the room you're in.

With your eyes closed,

Recreate the four walls of the room that you're in.

Imagine the ceiling,

The floor,

Your body lying on the floor.

Visualize your body lying there on the floor.

Visualize the position of your body,

Your clothes,

Your hair,

Your face.

Become aware of the existence of your physical body lying effortlessly on the floor.

Become aware of your breath.

Notice of your natural and spontaneous breath as it moves in and out of your body.

Feel the breath flowing in through both nostrils.

Notice a sense of coolness as the air comes into your body.

Feel the cool air passing through your nostrils,

Through your sinuses,

Down the back of your throat and into your lungs.

Notice a sense of warmth as you exhale.

Feel this warm sensation on your upper lip as you breathe out.

Now allow your breath to become a little bit longer,

A little slower than the one before.

Long,

Slow inhale,

Long,

Slow exhale.

Continue to breathe in this way.

Thinking about calming your breath.

Release any control over your inhale or exhale.

Simply allow your breath to be effortless.

Repeat to yourself,

I'm practicing yoga nidra.

I'm awake and aware.

Now's the time for us to make our resolve or our saying kalpa.

Saying kalpa should be a short positive statement made in simple language.

Don't think too much to find a saying kalpa.

Simply allow one to rise from your heart center naturally.

And then repeat it to yourself three times with full attention and full awareness.

Saying kalpa you make during yoga nidra,

Plants a seed in the fertile soil of your mind to bring this transformation and healing into reality.

We'll now begin a systematic journey of sensory awareness through the body.

As I name a body part,

Allow your awareness to collect at that part.

Repeat the name of the part to yourself.

Feel your awareness collecting there.

And then move on to the next part.

Bring your awareness to your right thumb.

Awareness of the right thumb.

The second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Arm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

The wrist,

Forearm,

Right elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot.

Top of the right foot.

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Over to the left thumb.

Awareness at the left thumb.

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger.

Left finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Back of the hand,

The wrist,

Forearm,

Left elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now to the backside of the body.

The right heel,

Left heel,

Right calf,

Left calf,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Low back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

The entire spine,

The right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

The top of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow.

Spot in between the two 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 chest,

Left chest,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

Pelvic floor.

Become aware of the whole right leg,

Become aware of the whole left leg,

Now both legs together,

Awareness of both legs together.

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Now both arms together,

Awareness of both arms together,

The whole face,

The whole of the head,

The whole torso,

The whole body.

Become aware of the whole body,

Feel the whole body relaxing together.

Now to experience opposite sensations.

Now imagine your whole body becoming light,

As though your whole body could float away from the floor,

Floating up towards the ceiling.

Feel the head as light and weightless,

The limbs as what light and weightless,

The torso as light and weightless.

Feel the whole body as light and weightless.

Each breath you're rising higher and higher away from the floor.

Imagine your body becoming heavy,

Feel lightness giving way to heaviness in the body.

Feel heaviness in all parts of the body.

Each breath,

Each part of the body is becoming heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy,

Limbs are heavy,

The torso is heavy,

Body is heavy.

The body is so heavy that it's sinking down into the floor.

Release heaviness and awaken the experience of cold in the body.

Release the chilly cold rushing through your body.

Imagine being out in the snow in the middle of winter,

Only your bathing suit on.

Feel the chill of cold permeating your entire body.

Feel coldness rising up your spine.

Release the experience of coldness and allow the sensations of warmth to spread throughout your entire body.

Feel heat rising through your body as if it were the middle of summer and you're on the beach standing in the sun.

Feel heat radiating onto your skin.

Now release the sensations of heat and bring your awareness to the dark space just in front of your closed eyelids.

Imagine in this dark space a transparent screen as though you were in a movie theater.

The screen is as high and as wide as the eyes can see.

Create your mind on that screen and become aware of any phenomena that manifest within it,

Any colors,

Any patterns,

Any light that you see.

Whatever you see here is the manifesting state of your mind.

Continue your awareness of this place.

Try not to become involved.

Practice detached awareness only as if you were simply watching a movie in a movie theater.

If any subtle images make themselves known,

Simply notice them,

Accept them without the need to direct or control them.

If thoughts occur,

Let them come and go,

Continue to watch the dark space.

Continue with this detached awareness.

Now is time for a short visualization.

A number of different things will be named.

Try to envision them on the level of emotion,

Memory,

And imagination as best that you can.

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

Red Desert Peacock Feather Buddha Meditating Sterile Doctor's Office A Good Night's Rest A Full Moon A Reflection in a Still Lake Foggy Morning Waiting for Results Sun Shining Overhead Bouquet of Flowers Tall Tree Receiving Help from Others Cool Clear Water Making Appointments A Relaxing Afternoon Laughing with Friends A Warm Embrace Burning Candle Temple on a Mountain Path in the Woods Vibrant Sunset Taking a Deep Breath The Cat Stretching Beautiful Garden Path Your Favorite Song The Sound of My Voice Your Body Lying on the Floor Release any images and visualizations in your mind.

It's now time to repeat your saying kalpa.

Please repeat your saying kalpa just as you did in the beginning of the practice.

Repeat it three times to yourself with full intention,

Full awareness.

Bring your awareness back to the feeling of your breath as it flows in and back out of your nostrils.

Expand your awareness to become aware of your physical body.

Your body is relaxed and lying on the floor.

Feel the container of your skin and clothes and any props that may be touching you.

Notice the heaviness of your body as it rests on the floor.

Take your awareness to the points where your body is touching the floor.

Notice the back of your heels,

Your thighs,

Buttocks,

Shoulder blades,

Backs of your arms,

Back of your head.

No need to open your eyes yet with your eyes closed.

Bring your awareness to the room that you're in.

Realize where you are in that room,

Any other objects that may be around you.

Become aware of the ceiling,

Of the floor.

Lie here quietly until you're ready to move.

When you're ready,

Slowly wiggle your fingers and toes,

Circles with your wrists and ankles.

Slowly start to externalize your awareness.

Make sure to take your time,

There's no hurry to pop up out of your practice.

When you're sure that you're fully awake and ready to get up,

Gently open your eyes.

Roll over onto your right side.

Take one more full breath in,

Sigh out through your mouth,

And then use your hands to press yourself up to a seated position.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Namaste.