Yoga Nidra With Chakra Alignment
Yoga Nidra is the practice of yogic sleeping. Thirty minutes of Yoga Nidra is said to have the same health benefits as three hours of sleep. The practice may support the release of negative emotions and thought patterns, calming the nervous system. It may reduce depression, anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain. This Yoga Nidra Practice offers a focus on energising and aligning the Chakras.
Transcript
Today I will be sharing the practice of yoga nidra.
This is an ancient practice of yogic sleeping to support calming the nervous system,
Relaxing the body,
Allowing the regeneration of cells to occur with this deepened state of meditation that is somewhere between meditative presence and expanded awareness and deep sleep.
So for this practice I encourage you to create a sacred space for you to really rest into this I encourage you to be lying down.
Being on your back with your knees slightly bent and supported.
Ideally your body should be straight from the head to the toes,
Feet wide,
Toes falling out and the arms out from the body,
Palms up.
Make sure that you are warm,
That your position is one that will be comfortable for the duration of this practice.
Try as much as you can to remain still during yoga nidra so that both your body and your brain can have a chance to fully relax.
However,
If you become uncomfortable,
Please feel free to change position before finding stillness again.
There is no need to make any movement.
Simply allow your body to find deep rest.
Allow your eyes to close and rest and keep them closed until the practice has ended.
Take a deep breath and allow your cares and worries to flow out with the exhale.
The practice of yoga nidra is a practice of yogic sleep that will guide you into a hypnagogic state,
A state of consciousness between wakefulness and sleeping.
Try to remain awake by listening to the sound of my voice.
Try not to intellectualize the instructions.
You will be asked to move your awareness to various bodily sensations,
Emotions and images.
Try not to concentrate too intensely as this may prevent you from relaxing.
If thoughts arise,
Gently steer your focus back to the instruction.
During this meditation,
Please use and absorb what you need in the moment and leave the rest behind.
If the mind becomes overactive with thoughts and worries,
Just come back to the sound of my voice.
Begin to develop your awareness from the top of your body all the way down to your feet,
Bringing about a feeling of inner relaxation.
Become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment,
Nothing else but what you can hear without strain.
Start with the most distant sounds that you can hear.
Let your sense of hearing radiate outward,
Searching out these distant sounds and following them for a few moments.
Move your attention from sound to sound without labeling the source.
Gradually bringing your attention to closer sounds,
To sounds outside of the building,
To sounds inside this building,
To sounds inside the room.
Without opening your eyes,
Visualize the four walls of your room,
The ceiling,
The floor,
Your body lying on the floor.
Visualize your body lying,
The position of your body,
Your clothes,
Your hair,
Your face.
Become acutely aware of the existence of your physical body lying on the floor.
Become aware of your natural breath.
Become aware of your natural and spontaneous breath that moves in and out of your body without any effort.
Become aware of the fact that you are going to practice yoga nidra.
The practice of yoga nidra begins now.
At this moment,
You are invited to make your sankalpa your intention or resolve.
A sankalpa should be a short positive statement in simple language.
Try to discover one naturally.
Please state your sankalpa clearly three times internally with emphasis,
Awareness and feeling.
The sankalpa you make during yoga nidra plants a seed in the fertile soil of your mind to bring about transformation and healing.
Along with your sankalpa and your intention,
Say to yourself,
I'm practicing yoga nidra.
I am awake and relaxed.
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I am awake and relaxed.
We will now begin a systematic journey of sensory awareness throughout the body.
You will move your awareness to different parts of your body as soon as you hear them named.
Please say the name of the part of yourself and feel that part of your body,
But do not move any part.
Keep yourself alert,
But do not concentrate too intensely.
The practice begins on the right side.
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Left hand thumb,
Left second finger,
Left third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Back of the body,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
The entire spine,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
The front of the body,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Middle of the 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 side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
Right groin,
Left groin,
The pelvic floor,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Whole right arm,
Whole left arm,
The whole face,
The whole head,
The whole torso,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Now become aware of your breath,
The natural breath that flows in through both nostrils.
Notice the feeling of the breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils.
There is a sense of coolness as you inhale the breath.
Follow this feeling into your nose,
Your sinuses,
The back of the throat,
Into your lungs.
There is a sense of warmth as you exhale the breath.
Feel this warmth on your upper lip as you breathe out.
The natural breath flows through both nostrils during the inhale and the exhale.
Allow your breath to become longer and slower.
Take a long,
Slow inhalation,
Followed by a longer,
Slower exhalation.
Make your exhale even slower.
Notice the slight pause after the exhale.
Slow inhale.
Slow exhale.
And pause.
Feel the urge to breathe in,
Bubble up inside of you,
And when you need to inhale,
Please do so.
Long,
Slow inhale.
Longer,
Slower exhale and then pause where the body is neither breathing in nor out.
Please continue breathing in this way.
Now go back to the natural,
Easy breath,
Releasing any control over the inhale or exhale.
We will begin feeling opposite sensations,
Starting with lightness and heaviness.
Imagine the whole body becoming light,
As though the body could float away from the floor and toward the ceiling.
The head is light and weightless.
The limbs are light and weightless.
The torso is light and weightless.
The whole body light and weightless.
You are rising higher and higher away from the floor.
Imagine your body becoming heavy.
Feel the heaviness in all parts of the body.
Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.
The head is heavy.
The limbs are heavy.
The torso is heavy.
The whole body is heavy.
So heavy that it is sinking down into the floor.
Awaken the experience of cold in the body,
The experience of chilly cold.
Imagine being outside in winter without enough clothing.
You feel this chill permeating your entire body.
Now allow the sensation of warmth to spread throughout the entire body.
Remember the feeling of heat in summer when you are out in the sun with no shade.
You feel heat radiating onto your skin.
Heat all around the body.
Recollect the experience of anxiety,
Intense anxiety and worry.
Feel this stress in your mind and body,
But do not concentrate on its source.
Create the experience of anxiety as clearly as possible.
Now allow the feeling of complete calm to envelop you.
Manifest the experience of calm in your entire mind,
Body and emotions.
You are relaxed and aware.
You are completely calm.
Begin to concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids.
Imagine before you a transparent screen as though you were at the movie theatre.
The screen is as high and as wide as the eyes can see.
Concentrate on this mind screen and become aware of any phenomena that manifest within it.
Colours,
Patterns and light.
Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.
Continue your awareness of this space.
But do not become involved.
Practice detached awareness only.
If any subtle images make themselves known,
Simply notice them without directing the images.
If thoughts occur,
Let them come and go.
But continue watching the dark space.
Continue with this detached awareness.
Now a number of things will be named and you should envision them on the level of emotion,
Memory and imagination as best as you can.
Jump from image to image as soon as you hear it.
A red desert.
Peacock feather.
Buddha meditating.
Doctor's office.
A good night's rest.
Full moon.
Your reflection in a mirror.
Foggy morning.
Waiting for results.
Tall palm tree.
A golden spider web.
Sun shining overhead.
A heart.
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.
A monk praying.
Your own body.
A yogi sitting in lotus.
Vibrant sunset.
Taking a deep breath.
Cat stretching.
Freshly baked bread.
A beautiful garden path.
Your favourite song.
The symbol om.
Begin to visualise the psychic centres of the body,
Starting from the bottom and progressing upwards.
Notice each centre as a radiating light.
Seven radiating lights up through the centre of the body.
Pause on each one,
Directly or indirectly,
Breathing into the space.
Do this breathing in a straight line up and down the body.
Breathe in,
Light goes up.
Breathe out,
Light goes down.
Starting by inhaling into the Mooladhara Chakra,
The root.
Feel yourself becoming grounded,
Held,
Nurtured and safe as you draw light into this space of your being.
Moving up to the Sacral Chakra,
An inch beneath the belly button,
The Svadhisthana Chakra.
Draw in the essence of creativity,
Sensuality,
Sexuality,
A space of connection with the outside world.
Exhale,
Draw the energy to an inch above the navel,
The Manipura Chakra.
Here at our solar plexus,
Breathe in empowerment,
Strength,
Fire,
Determination,
The capacity to digest and assimilate our food as well as our environment,
Our thoughts and emotions.
Exhale,
Drawing the energy into the Heart Chakra,
The Anahata Chakra.
Breathe in unconditional love,
Peace,
Harmony,
Compassion and forgiveness.
Exhale,
Energy flows to the throat,
The Vishuddha Chakra.
Breathe in radical self-expression,
A capacity to channel,
To become a vessel for poetry,
Music and art.
Exhale,
Drawing the energy to the third eye,
Inhale into the Ajna Chakra,
Reopening the mind,
Seeing beyond this realm into the imaginary realm,
Seeing the matrix of life,
The universal architecture of existence for what it truly is beyond your projections or perceptions of reality.
Exhale,
Inhale,
Draw the energy up to the crown,
The Sahasrara Chakra.
Breathe into opening to all of creation,
Universal consciousness,
To divine love and divine inspiration.
Exhale,
Allow yourself to breathe up and down the body from the roots all the way to the crown,
Feeling,
Opening,
Healing and expansion in these energy centers.
It is time to repeat your Sankalpa,
The intention that you said at the beginning of the practice.
Please repeat this same statement three times inside of your mind and your heart now.
Come back to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.
Maintain your awareness of breath and at the same time develop your awareness of your physical body.
Your body is relaxed and lying on the floor.
Feel the container of your skin and the clothes and the props that are touching you.
Notice the heaviness of your body as it rests on the floor.
And take your awareness into all the points that are touching the floor.
The back of the heels,
Thighs,
Buttocks,
Shoulder blades,
Arms,
Hands and head.
Do not open your eyes yet,
But visualize the surrounding room.
Imagine where you are in the room and the other objects that are around you.
Lie quietly until you feel ready to move.
Start by slowly moving your hands and feet.
Take your time.
There is no hurry.
When you're sure that you are fully awake,
Gently open your eyes.
Come to reach your arms all the way up over the head,
Stretching long and tall.
Whenever you're ready,
You can roll over to your right side.
I invite and encourage you to stay on your right side for a few more moments.
And when you're ready,
You can use your hands to press yourself up from the floor,
Letting your head come up last.
You are here,
Back in your body,
Back in the room,
In this present moment.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
