Welcome to this Yoga Ninja practice to help soothe your nervous system.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible by lying down on your back.
You might want to support your body with a pillow under your knees or maybe an eye pillow over your eyes.
Let your feet rest slightly apart and place your arms by your sides with your palms facing upwards.
As you settle into stillness,
Take a moment and notice if you can become even just five percent more comfortable and know that it's perfectly fine to move a little during this practice if you need to.
But if you can find stillness,
Do that now.
So go ahead and let your body rest now.
Simply allow my words to wash over you.
There's no need to concentrate too hard and don't worry if your mind drifts or if you miss anything.
Going in and out of consciousness is all part of the relaxation process.
As you sink deeper into the surface below,
You feel any stresses or tensions from the day melting away.
Allow yourself to fully surrender to the weight of your body and take a slow deep breath into your nose and gently release it.
Fill up again,
Expanding through your belly,
Through your chest and then releasing,
Letting it go,
Soften.
Do that one more time.
Let your breath just flow naturally now,
Finding its own rhythm.
Guiding your attention now to your forehead,
To the space between your eyebrows,
Your third eye center.
Just tune into this place and any sensation that might be here.
As you rest your awareness on your mind's eye,
Open up to your inner world.
Feel into your body,
Into your heart and see if there is an intention that wants to rise to the surface.
It might come as a picture,
A feeling or simply as words.
It could be something you deeply long for or wish to invite more of into your life.
Trust that this message arises from a place of truth and inner knowing.
Now create a simple phrase in present tense as if this intention is already manifesting in your life.
This will be your sankalpa,
Your deep resolve for this practice.
For example,
You might say I feel loved or I am calm and at peace and repeat it a few times.
Now bring your attention to any sounds you can hear in this moment.
It can be sounds that are distant or nearby.
Gently guide your attention from sound to sound,
Simply observing them as they arise and fade away.
Become aware of the space around you.
Feel the support beneath you.
Sensing the whole shape of your body resting in this space.
Invite your body to melt and soften a little more.
Sinking back,
Letting go.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Notice the sensation of it moving in and out effortlessly.
The breath is breathing you.
Feel the air moving through your nostrils.
Feel your body moving and responding to the inflow and the outflow of your breath.
Letting go more and more as you follow the ebb and flow of your breath.
Bring your awareness to the top of your head.
Like a soothing wave,
Allow your awareness to gently melt downwards.
Feel it cascading down the back of your head,
The back of your neck,
Down your shoulders.
Let your awareness continue to drop all the way down your back,
Down to your sacrum.
And tailbone,
And into the backs of your legs,
Knees,
Shins,
And into the soles of your feet.
Feel your body grounded and at ease,
Resting in this moment.
Now,
Shift your awareness to your belly center.
Sense the gentle rise and fall of your breath as your body is breathing you.
Feel into your heart center.
Tune into your heart's deepest desire.
And silently repeat your sankalpa a few times,
Planting this intention deeply within.
Then release it,
Trusting that it will take root and blossom in its own time.
We'll now begin a sensory journey throughout the body.
So just bring your awareness to the different parts of the body as I name them.
Move your awareness to your right hand,
And we'll start with the right hand thumb.
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
The right side of the chest,
The right side of the waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe,
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Left side of the chest,
The left side of the waist,
Wrist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Now we move our attention to the back of the body,
Back of the right leg,
Back of the left leg,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Back,
Upper back,
The whole spine,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
The top of the head,
Forehead,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Both ears together,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Both eyes together,
Rest your awareness for a moment fully on the space between your eyebrows,
Move your awareness to your right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
Throat,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Center of your abdomen,
The pelvic floor,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
The whole right side of the body,
The whole left side of the body,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Begin now to count each breath starting with 10,
Inhale 10,
Exhale 10,
Inhale 9 and so on down to 1.
Let go of the counting.
Allow your attention to settle within your body as you welcome the sensation of heaviness.
Feel each part of your body becoming heavier and heavier as if your entire body is a solid rock sinking into the ground.
Fully surrender to the pull of gravity,
Whole body heavy.
Now bring your attention to a sensation of lightness as though your body is light as a feather and could effortlessly drift off to the surface,
Floating up to the ceiling,
Rising higher and higher above the ground,
Light as a feather.
Then again drop into the sensation of heaviness,
Relaxing into heaviness.
Feel your whole body heavy.
With each exhale let every part of your body soften down.
Come back to your breath now and feel a gentle rise and fall of your belly and chest as you inhale,
Exhale.
Relax into a feeling of just being,
Free from the need to do or require anything,
Simply resting.
The yoga nidra practice is now complete.
If you are ready to sleep now,
Let your body and mind drift off into a peaceful slumber.
And if you're ready to awake,
Bring a little movement into your finger and toes and in your own time,
Slowly open your eyes and let your mind drift off into a peaceful slumber.
Bring a little movement into your finger and toes and in your own time,
Slowly open your eyes.
