Yoga Nidra: For Your Imagination

Hi,

Everyone.

I'm Lynette.

Are you ready to go on an adventure with me?

We're going to lie down on our blankets on the floor and get really comfortable,

Just like nap time.

You can even put your head on your pillow and close your eyes if you want to.

We're going to do our best to be still,

But if you need to move around to get more comfortable,

You can.

Are you ready?

Okay,

Let's start by thinking about how do you want to feel today?

Maybe you'd like to feel happy or strong or safe.

Or maybe you want to be a good friend or a good sister or brother today.

We're going to create a wish for today.

You could say something like,

I am a good friend or I feel happy today.

Whatever wish you would like for today.

The wish is called an intention.

Can you say your wish to yourself three times,

Just like you're whispering it to someone?

Go ahead.

I'll do it for you.

Okay.

Now,

We're going to go on a journey to a place where we feel so good and where our wishes can come true.

Let's take a deep breath in and fill our bellies like a balloon.

And as you exhale,

Let it out with a big sigh.

And do that again.

Take a big balloon breath in and a big sigh out.

And one more time just like that.

Big balloon breath in and let it all out.

Good.

Now,

In your imagination,

In front of your closed eyes,

You see a big sparkly unicorn.

And it has wings to fly with.

What color is your unicorn?

Does it have lots of sparkles or just a few?

Or maybe it looks like a big horse instead with lots of hair on its neck and tail.

What does your unicorn look like?

Does it have a big unicorn horn or a little one?

This unicorn is inviting you to hop on,

Hang on tight,

And go on a magical ride.

The unicorn is very friendly and wants to take care of you.

You can give the unicorn a name if you want to.

Have you named your unicorn?

Okay.

Once you're ready,

Hop on.

The unicorn starts walking along slowly and then it starts running a little faster.

And then the wings open wide and they start flapping and it flies into the air higher and higher.

You and the unicorn are flying through the air off the ground.

And as you fly higher and higher,

You see butterflies flying in the sky.

You see big trees with apples on them.

You see kids playing on the playground.

You see dogs running in circles.

You see kittens sleeping.

And you see ducks swimming in the water below.

And then as you go higher in the sky,

You start to see big white fluffy clouds above you and the top of your head is almost touching the clouds.

And as you get closer,

They even start to tickle your nose like a feather.

And soon you pass through the clouds.

And once you fly right above them,

The unicorn starts to slow down and it comes to a stop.

It wants to have a little rest.

So it invites you to hop off and go exploring.

From high above the clouds,

You can feel the sun shining down on your nose and your whole body and it feels so nice and warm.

So you get off and you start tiptoeing around the fluffy white clouds.

They are so soft and they tickle your toes a little.

And then you start bouncing on the clouds like a trampoline and you can go really high,

Up and down,

Up and down.

And the unicorn smiles at you.

You feel very calm and happy up here in the clouds.

You feel like you're smiling the biggest smile ever.

You hop from cloud to cloud,

Looking at the stars above you and you feel so free.

You play a little more and then you and the unicorn decide that it's time to leave this special place and go back down.

So you jump back on your unicorn and you give the unicorn a big hug and thank it for taking you on this great adventure.

Slowly,

The unicorn starts flapping its wings bigger and bigger and bigger and you start flying again and it lifts off the clouds and starts to drop down through these soft fluffy clouds.

And for a moment,

All you can see is clouds around you.

But then you start to go lower and lower back down towards the ground where you can see those ducks floating in the water again.

And you see the kittens sleeping and you see the dogs running in circles and you see the kids playing on the playground.

And as you get lower,

You can see those apples growing on the trees and the butterflies flying around in the air.

And then you can see the path where you started from and that's where the unicorn gently lands on the ground.

And once you land,

You hop off and your feet touch the ground.

Your new friend,

The unicorn,

Thanks you for going on a magical ride with it.

The unicorn tells you that you can fly to the clouds anytime you would like to.

This place is your special place and you can visit anytime.

You wave goodbye as the unicorn flies away.

And then you take another deep breath in like a balloon filling up in your belly.

And as you exhale,

Let it all out.

That was so much fun.

Now that you're back on the ground,

You see one of those beautiful butterflies flying towards you.

What color is this butterfly?

It's so pretty.

Would you like to say hi to the butterfly?

Go ahead.

Now this butterfly is going to fly around you and wherever it lands,

Just relax that part of your body.

First,

The butterfly flies and lands softly between your eyebrows.

And then it gets up and lands lightly on your neck.

And then it's up again and this time it lands on one of your shoulders.

It makes its way down that same arm and lands on the hand and rests there for a moment.

And then it flies back up to the shoulder.

And then it flies over and lands on the other shoulder.

And it moves down the rest of your arm until it gets to your hand and it rests there.

And then it flies back up to your shoulder.

And then gently flies and lands on top of your heart.

It's happy there.

This little butterfly can feel your heart beating.

Can you feel your heart beating?

From here the butterfly flies down to your belly button.

And then it flies down and lands on one of your knees.

And then it flies down to your toes and rests on your big toe.

Then it flies back up to your knee and then all the way back up to your belly button again.

And all the way back up to your heart and it smiles here.

It flies back up to your neck and then lands in the middle of your eyebrows again where it started.

You feel so relaxed after the butterfly has traveled around your whole body.

Now that butterfly decides to go back and rest on your belly button again.

And as you breathe in and out,

Your belly rises and falls.

And so does the butterfly rise and fall.

So as you inhale,

The belly rises and the butterfly rises.

And as you exhale,

The belly softens and the butterfly drops down.

And it stays here and breathes with you.

Inhale belly rises.

Exhale belly falls.

Inhale butterfly rises.

Exhale butterfly falls.

We're going to count 10 more breaths just like this.

Are you ready?

1,

2,

3,

4,

5,

6,

7,

8,

9,

10.

Good job.

You can stop counting your breaths now.

And as you stop counting,

You watch the butterfly fly up and away back to the sky to play with all the other butterflies.

And as the butterfly flies away,

You start to notice all the feelings in your body.

Let your body feel very light,

Just like a feather or a butterfly landing on a flower.

You feel so light.

What does that feel like?

Now let your body feel very heavy,

Just like you're throwing a big heavy rock into a puddle.

Your body feels heavy like a rock.

What does it feel like to feel so heavy?

Now let your body feel very quiet inside,

Just like a baby sleeping.

Shhh.

You feel so quiet.

What does that feel like?

Now let your body feel very loud inside,

Just like a race car zooming down a racetrack.

You feel so loud inside.

What does it feel like to be so loud?

Notice how you are able to feel all these different feelings.

Sometimes light,

Sometimes heavy,

Sometimes quiet,

And sometimes very loud.

Your body is full of all these different feelings.

And as you feel all these feelings,

Notice your whole body smiling.

What does it feel like to smile?

Where does the smile start?

Your mouth?

Notice where you're smiling.

Maybe you feel the smile in your heart.

Feel your arms smiling,

Your hands,

And even your fingers are smiling.

What does it feel like for your fingers to smile?

Now feel your tummy smiling,

Your legs are smiling,

Even your feet and your toes are smiling.

What does it feel like when your toes smile?

Now the smile fills your whole head and your whole face.

Even your eyes are smiling,

Your ears,

Your nose,

And your mouth,

Your whole body.

What does it feel like when your whole body smiles?

Now can you remember that wish you made at the very beginning?

That special wish you had for how you wanted to feel today?

Remember how good it made you feel to say this to yourself?

Can you say it again three times like you're whispering it to someone?

And notice how your body is still smiling.

When you feel ready,

You can take a deep breath in and out,

And you can start to wiggle your toes and fingers like a worm wiggling around on the ground.

You can wiggle your feet and your hands,

And you can stretch out your arms and legs like you're waking up from a long sleep.

And then you can roll onto your side in a little tiny ball and take a breath here.

And then when you're ready,

You can come and sit up tall with a big smile on your face.

And I want you to remember that you can take your wish with you wherever you go today.

And remember,

You can go back to your happy place any time you want to.

Have a really good day.