Yoga Nidra Meditation
Come on a journey with this Yoga Nidra guided meditation. It is a practice of moving your awareness from the external to the internal . Method of Pratyhana , the withdraw of the senses, where we will scan the body and tap into deep awareness and relaxation
Transcript
Hello,
My name is Tracy Seawright and I am your guide for this yoga nidra practice.
Find a comfortable place,
Whether it is on the floor,
The bed,
Or in a chair,
Somewhere where you can remain supported in that shape for the entire practice.
I invite you to bring any props or anything necessary for you in this moment,
Whether it is a pillow to place under your head or a blanket to place over you.
You can also have something for your eyes to cover it.
Just find a place where you will be uninterrupted.
And as you're settling in,
You are able to rest your hands either on the floor or mattress beside you,
On your lower belly,
Or maybe one on your heart and on your stomach.
If you're seated in the chair,
Make sure that your feet touch the ground.
And if you are laying reclined,
Make sure your legs are straight.
Including a spot or a room where it will be quiet,
Where you will not be disturbed,
And you will give yourself this ample time to relax.
Take this moment to make any final adjustments to your body,
To your props,
To your clothes,
To your environment,
So that you can be completely comfortable and at ease.
Yoga Nidra Yoga means wholeness,
Oneness,
Union,
And nidra means sleep.
So together,
This is a yogic sleep.
The overall goal is not to completely fall asleep.
However,
If that happens for you at this time,
This is exactly what your body needs.
My voice will be an anchor to you to keep you relaxed and in this present moment.
And for any time you feel your body drifting off to sleep,
Just think awake and aware,
Awake and aware.
Because the mind at times will have the monkey mind overactive with thoughts,
But continue to listen to my voice with your full attention.
Awake and aware,
Awake and aware.
Now besides the sound of my voice,
As we go into this practice with your eyes closed,
What other sounds can you hear?
And in listening to these sounds,
Simply be a witness,
An observer,
Making no judgment.
Radiate your sense of hearing to take all the sounds that are occurring in the space you are at.
What are the sounds you are hearing in this space?
Now listen for the most distant sound and follow them for a few moments.
Listening as a witness,
No judgment,
Trying not to label each sound.
Now gradually bring your attention to closer sounds.
Perhaps the sounds outside your room,
The sounds inside the room.
What sounds are arising from you?
Can you hear the sound of your breath moving in and out of your body?
Follow the slow and steady rhythm without trying to change it,
Going at your own pace.
Feel this fullness of the inhalation and surrender to the exhalation.
And with each cycle of breath that you take,
You become more and more relaxed and centered.
Now in our journey of Yoga Nidra,
We will take this moment in time to think of a sankalpa.
A sankalpa is a short positive statement in the present tense.
Allow this sankalpa to arise for your truest desire.
For this is your true authentic self.
It can be a simple statement such as,
I am strong.
I am resilient.
I am a wonderful person.
Whatever it is that arises at this moment and this time.
And it is okay if one does not come for you in this moment.
If you have chosen your sankalpa,
State it three times silently.
This sankalpa recited during Yoga Nidra plants the seed for wishes for self-discovery and transformation.
And this will happen deep within your mind and will come to fruition with repetition and patience.
Continue breathing in and out.
Now I will take you on a sensory journey through the pathways of your body.
So I ask you in this moment to take your hands and tighten them into your fists.
Tighten tighten tighten and let go.
Now with your feet with your toes.
Tighten tighten tighten let go.
Now your whole body making it tight and tense.
Tighten tighten tighten and let go.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Feeling that sensation as it goes through your body.
Now as we continue on this sensory journey,
As you hear different parts of the body,
Repeat the name and part silently and move all your awareness into the part of the body.
Notice the movement from one part to the next.
Keeping yourself awake and aware,
Awake and aware.
Focus on the sensation coming from the body,
Coming from the part.
Right hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Groin,
Buttock,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Right second toe,
Right third toe,
Right fourth toe,
Right fifth toe,
Left hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the left hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Groin,
Buttocks,
Thigh,
Left knee,
Left calf,
Left ankle,
Left sole of the foot,
Left top of the foot,
The left big toe,
The left second toe,
The left third toe,
The left fourth toe,
The left fifth toe.
Now move your awareness to the top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The whole nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Heart center,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
The pelvic floor,
Tailbone,
Sacrum,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
The entire spine,
From the tailbone to the base of the skull,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Crown of the head.
Now feel the whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Both legs together,
The entire torso,
The face,
The head,
The body,
The whole body,
Your entire body.
Remember you are awake and aware,
Awake and aware.
Continue to feel this entire body and notice that each part of the body.
Now at this time,
Continue to feel in the entire body and notice that each part of the body feels heavy,
Grounded into the earth,
So heavy.
Your arms are heavy,
Your legs are heavy,
You can barely lift your head,
Your torso is heavy,
The body is so,
So heavy,
Like bags of sand are on top of you,
Heavy and grounded.
You seem to be sinking into the floor,
So,
So heavy.
Now experience the whole body suddenly becoming light,
Light and buoyant,
Weightless,
Floating sensation,
Weightless into the arms and legs.
Your head and torso feel light like floating.
You feel as though you're levitating,
So weightless that you can rise from the floor to the ceiling.
Now return to the sensation of your body,
Resting in this peaceful,
Comfortable safety of your practice of yoga nidra.
You are awake and you are aware.
Now with your eyelids closed in a dark space,
Begin to concentrate.
Imagine if you will,
With closed eyes,
A screen in front of you as if you were in the movie theater.
This screen in your mind is high and wide as your eyes can see.
Looking at this white screen,
Concentrate on it and become aware as the movements of shadows and lights,
Swirls of colors and patterns begin to dance on the screen.
Be aware of the different shapes and colors and the movements on the screen.
No judgment,
Simply an observer.
Whatever you see within your mind,
Do not worry about the content.
Do not judge.
Practice being a witness to this awareness.
Detach yourself from any feeling that can arise.
The movie will now begin and before you will be flashes of the things I am about to say.
Again,
Just observe you are a witness,
Have no feeling that rises up and if it does,
It's okay.
Acknowledge it and gain the wisdom from it and let it go.
Imagine a white feather,
A cloud in the sky,
A full moon,
A raining day,
A field of sunflowers,
A shooting star,
A blank piece of paper,
Bubbles floating in the air,
A butterfly passing by a window,
A baseball game,
A warm summer day,
Folded laundry,
A campfire,
A clear tune of a bell,
A ferris wheel,
Sitting in the sand near the ocean,
A melting ice cream cone,
A tall tree,
The door of your bedroom,
An eagle soaring in the sky,
The shape of your body lying on the floor,
Footprints in the sand,
Snow falling,
Your reflection in the mirror,
A dog wagging its tail.
Where you are awake and aware,
Awake and aware.
Now it's time to repeat your sankalpa,
The one that we thought of at the beginning of our journey.
Please repeat the same statement made at the beginning of our practice and silently say it three times.
Continue to cultivate and nurture this deeply planted wish for your healing and self-transformation.
Continuing to focus on your breath,
Begin to become aware and listen once more to all the sounds you can hear in this moment.
Allow these noises to bring awareness into this moment,
The moments that are passing moment by moment,
Hearing the sound of your breath moving in and out and gently opening your eyes to watch your belly expand with each inhalation and surrendering to the exhalation.
And as your awareness of your breath deepens,
Become aware of your body that's resting in yoga nidra.
In your mind's eye,
Visualize your body lying on the floor in your bed,
Seated in your chair.
Imagine where you're located,
Whether it's in your room or maybe outside.
Become aware of everything that is in your space.
Become aware of the time of day.
Slowly begin to bring gentle movement to your body,
Whether it's wiggling your fingers,
Wiggling your toes,
Stretching your arms above your head for a deep stretch.
And begin to move your hands and feet slowly.
And you can bend your knees one leg at a time towards your abdomen.
Or if you still want to be where you are,
You are welcome to stay and we can say silent goodbyes.
And if you're ready,
Slowly roll over to your side.
And ever so gently,
As if you're waking up a loved one,
Begin to use your hands to press yourself up with your head coming up last.
And in your comfortable seated shape.
It was an honor going on this journey with you.
And the practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
