Yoga Nidra For Centeredness & Grounding

This is a recording of a live Yoga Nidra practice streamed on April 14, 2020. It begins with a brief discussion about the use of props in Yoga Nidra and then moves into a full-length practice. This Yoga Nidra practice is a fusion of several different lineages.

Transcript

But good to see you all joining.

We've got a few more minutes before we begin.

Remember to have all your props ready.

And I've talked about those a little bit before.

But the ones that people seem to enjoy the most and seem to be most helpful for yoga nidra are something under the knees as you're laying down.

So the knees can bend.

And when the knees are bent and you're laying down,

It actually takes a fair amount of strain or stress out of the low back.

So that can feel really good.

And also a rolled blanket,

Just a little bit of a roll,

Maybe two or three inches at the most,

To rest your neck on,

Not your head.

So if you put your head on a pillow or something like that,

What happens is you kind of bring your spine out of alignment,

Which usually results in your having to move eventually because it doesn't feel really very comfortable.

So those are my suggestions.

And also it's also nice to lay on a blanket.

That can feel really good,

Just giving you a little bit of extra cushion.

So make sure that you have your props ready to go.

You also may want to dim the lights a little bit in your space and remove yourself to the extent you can from most of the distractions that would take you out of yoga nidra.

So why don't you now prepare for yoga nidra?

Everyone go ahead and lay down on your mat.

If you want to dim the lights a bit from what they were,

You can do that as well.

And begin to find shavasana.

You can bring your feet apart a little bit.

They don't have to be hip width.

They can be even a little bit more than that.

Remember the toes can kind of flop out a bit.

They can be a little bit more than that.

And then the feet will relax the muscles in the legs as well as the glutes and the low back.

I always recommend flipping the palms so they face up.

You've heard me suggest that in shavasana many times.

The reason I suggest that is otherwise what happens is you get a lot of tension in your body and those sensations can detract from the experience of yoga nidra or shavasana.

When you're ready,

Begin to let your eyes close down.

And once the eyes are closed,

Just begin to settle in.

Take note of your body resting on the mat,

On a blanket.

Notice how it feels.

And now take a moment and just begin to become aware of any areas in your body where you feel tension.

And you may well,

Perfectly normal to do that.

Many of us have been cooped up inside.

Sometimes for an extended period of time,

Many days or weeks.

And so we're probably doing less of what we normally would do,

Moving around.

And that can create a physical sensation of tension.

That tension can also be caused just by the emotional content of what's going on in our lives at the moment.

So regardless of the source of the tension,

Just acknowledge where it exists,

If it does.

Don't beat yourself up over it.

You don't even have to begin to release it.

That'll happen naturally as we move through our yoga nidra practice.

Now bring your awareness to your breath.

And just notice how you're breathing.

Again,

Nothing here to change.

This is all process of observation at this point.

We're just noticing what's going on.

So notice your breath.

Notice your body breathing in and breathing out.

You may want to take notice of how long your inhale and your exhale are.

Maybe four counts or five counts,

Maybe three or six.

Again,

Not trying to change it,

Just noticing the way it is today.

Now become aware of whether your inhale and exhale are even.

That is,

Whether they're the same length.

Oftentimes,

They're not.

So maybe you're inhaling for four counts,

And finding your natural rhythm at this moment is to exhale for six or five counts.

Or maybe it's the other way around,

And you're inhaling for four,

Five,

Or six counts and exhaling for a shorter period of time.

Again,

Nothing to do about it.

Just observe.

Just notice.

Let's release a little bit of residual tension now.

I want you to draw a deep breath in,

Breathing in for at least five counts.

Feel the breath come all the way down into the belly.

So a big,

Full,

Complete breath.

And then open your mouth as you exhale.

Make sure all the breath comes out.

Then do that again,

A big,

Deep inhale.

Make it long.

And then an open mouth exhale.

And do that one more time,

A big,

Deep breath in.

And a full,

Open mouth exhale.

Now just let everything settle.

Return to the natural rhythm of your breath,

Whatever that is today.

And now say to yourself,

I am going to practice Yoganidra.

I will remain awake.

And I will remain still.

Recognize if you have to move.

Go ahead and do it.

But then return to stillness as quickly as you can.

So what we are working towards is complete stillness of the body.

And then become aware of any intention that you have or that you would like to adopt for this practice.

In Sanskrit,

This is called a sankalpa.

Sometimes in English we call it a resolve.

Usually a sankalpa or resolve or intention is a statement of a present condition.

You may say,

I embody peacefulness.

Maybe that is the intention that you want to work with today.

Or maybe your sankalpa is,

I release tension with every moment.

Those are just examples.

I am not suggesting you necessarily adopt those.

But that is the kind of statement that you might want to work with.

Some people work with an intention over a long period of time.

Maybe months or even years.

So if you have a sankalpa,

If you have an intention for this practice,

Bring it to mind now.

And if you don't have one,

And if one doesn't occur to you,

Don't worry about it.

Don't let the lack of a sankalpa cause any additional tension in your body or your mind.

Now begin to repeat silently to yourself any intention that you have for this practice.

Go ahead and do that now.

In the next phase of yoga nidra,

We will begin to concentrate on the physical body or physical presence.

Bringing awareness to the physical body.

Just begin by recognizing that you are resting on the mat or on the floor or a blanket.

And just begin to feel into your body.

Notice how it feels at this moment.

Notice the experience of resting on the mat.

Now bring your awareness to the tips of your toes.

Then let your awareness rise to the feet.

Then up to the legs.

Then to the hips.

Then up to the torso.

To the shoulders.

Let your awareness wash over your neck.

Then to the head.

Then to the face.

Down the front of the face to the chin.

Then down your neck to your shoulders.

Then down the arms to the elbows.

From the elbows to the wrists.

And from the wrists to the fingertips.

Let your awareness rest on your fingertips.

Now bring your attention to the thumb on your right hand.

First finger on the right hand.

Second finger on the right hand.

Third finger.

Pinky finger on the right hand.

The palm back of the hand.

Up the arm to the elbow.

From the elbow to the shoulder.

To the armpit on the right side.

Down the right side body to the right hip.

Down the right leg to the right knee.

Around to the back of the knee.

Down the front of the right leg to the ankle.

Around to the back of the ankle.

The top of the right foot.

The heel of the right foot.

In step.

The ball of the right foot.

The little toe on the right foot.

And the next bigger toe.

And the toe next to it.

And the first toe.

And the big toe on the right foot.

The big toe on the left foot.

The second toe on the left foot.

The third toe on the left foot.

Fourth toe.

Pinky toe on the left foot.

The ball of the left foot.

The in step.

Heel.

The top of the left foot.

The left ankle.

Front of the left ankle.

Up the lower left leg to the left knee.

Back of the knee.

Up the left thigh to the left hip.

Up the side of the left body to the armpit.

The left shoulder.

Down the left arm to the elbow.

Down the left forearm to the left wrist.

The palm of the left hand.

Back of the left hand.

The left thumb.

Second finger on the left hand.

Third finger.

Pinky on the left hand.

Feel the whole right side of the body.

Feel the whole left side of the body.

Feel your whole body all at once.

Bring awareness now to the top of the head.

The soft spot when you were a baby.

And now feel your forehead.

Bring awareness now to eyebrow center.

And the right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Bring your awareness to your right eye.

Imagine the right eye beneath the eyelid.

Awareness to the left eye.

Imagine your left eye beneath the eyelid.

The right temple.

The left temple.

The right ear.

The right eardrum.

The left ear.

The left eardrum.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

The bridge of the nose.

Tip of the nose.

Right nostril.

The nasal passages.

The left nostril.

The upper lip.

Inside the mouth.

The lower lip.

Chin.

The throat.

Heart.

Solar plexus.

Naval.

The pubic bone.

Tailbone.

Low back.

Middle part of the back right at the spine.

The space between the shoulder blades.

Back of the neck.

The spot where your skull attaches to the spine.

Top of the head.

The whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Now feel both legs together.

The right arm.

The left arm.

Now both arms together.

The right side of the body.

The left side of the body.

Now the whole body all at once.

Bring your awareness to your whole body.

The whole body.

Now bring your awareness to your breath.

Breathe in and out softly through both nostrils.

Just continue breathing in and out very gently,

Very softly,

Evenly through both nostrils.

Now bring your attention back to the tips of the toes,

And the next time you inhale,

Imagine that you're able to breathe in through the toes.

As you continue breathing in,

Feel the breath flowing through the toes and rising all the way to the top of your head.

And when you exhale,

Imagine the breath flowing from the top of the head all the way down through the body and out the toes.

Just continue breathing through the whole body,

From the tips of the toes to the top of the head.

You can let your breath lengthen a bit if you like.

Just breathe long,

Full,

Complete breaths.

Now release the full body breaths and bring your awareness back to the breath flowing softly in and out through the nostrils.

Now we will practice mental alternate nostril breathing.

There is no need to block your nostrils.

We're just going to allow the mind to direct the breath from side to side.

The next time you breathe in,

Breathe in through the left nostril,

And then breathe out through the right.

Breathe in through the right nostril now,

And then breathe out through the left.

That's one round.

Do that again.

Breathe in through the left,

And then breathe out through the right.

Breathe in from the right.

Breathe out to the left and say two.

We're going to count the breaths.

Now breathe in from the left,

Breathe out to the right.

Breathe in from the right,

And breathe out to the left and say three.

Now continue breathing in and out this way on your own,

Counting,

And see if you can work your way all the way up to 13 without losing count of the breath.

If you do lose count,

Don't worry about it.

Just begin again at one.

Now continue the alternate nostril breathing.

Now discontinue the alternate nostril breathing.

It doesn't matter how far you've gotten.

Bring your awareness back to the breath in the nostrils.

Feel the breath flowing in and flowing out.

Now bring your awareness to the fingertips,

And notice whether you feel a gentle buzzing on the tips of the fingers.

Just a gentle vibration.

If you feel a little gentle buzzing at the fingertips,

See if you can broaden your awareness and notice that gentle buzzing,

That little vibration on all of the skin.

Stay aware of whatever vibratory energy you feel.

Perhaps you'll begin to notice that the subtle energy extends even beyond the skin,

An inch or two.

Now deepen your awareness of this field of energy.

Feel its power.

Bring your awareness now to the root chakra.

You'll find that approximately at the pubic bone.

Just let your awareness rest there for a moment.

Now imagine a beautiful luminous ball of energy forming at that spot.

Begin to feel its power.

It may be very subtle,

It may be hard to detect,

Or it may be very obvious to you.

Just notice whatever,

If anything,

Is there.

Now the next time you inhale,

Feel that energy rising all the way to the heart space.

It rises up the space along the spine.

Take a breath or two,

Resting with that energy at the heart space.

And then when you're ready,

On an exhale,

Release the energy and let it slide down the spine and back to the root chakra.

Let it rest there for a moment,

But keep your awareness on that little ball of luminous energy.

You may see it as a ball of light.

And now the next time you inhale,

Feel the energy rise up the spine to the heart space.

And then exhale and let it slide back down.

Inhaling,

The energy rises from the root chakra to the heart,

And on the exhale,

It descends,

Returning to the root.

One more time,

Inhale,

Feeling the energy rising.

Hold it in the heart,

And then on the next exhale,

Let it descend.

And now release it,

Let it go.

Bring your awareness now to the inside of your mouth,

And begin to feel the mouth become drier and drier.

If you like,

Recall a sensation of dryness,

A time when you felt really dry in the mouth.

Remember that sensation and begin to relive it,

Begin to experience that sensation of dryness in the mouth again.

Now notice that sensation becoming more and more intense as the mouth becomes drier and drier.

This is the sensation of dryness.

Now begin to feel moistness in the mouth.

Feel the sensation of moistness,

The physical sensation.

Feel your mouth becoming moister and moister,

The sensation of moistness.

Now cultivate this sensation of pain,

Of physical pain.

Remember a time in your life when you felt deep physical pain.

Experience that sensation,

The sensation of pain in the body.

Now remember a time when you felt physical pleasure.

Experience physical pleasure in your body now.

Remember what it was like,

Remember how it felt.

The feeling of pleasure in the body.

And now return to the experience,

The sensation of pain.

Feel it in your body.

And now back to the sensation of pleasure.

Feel physical pleasure in your body.

Now back to the sensation of pain.

And return to the sensation of pleasure.

Now release sensations and cultivate the emotion or feeling of happiness.

Remember a time in your life when you were supremely happy.

Remember what that felt like and relive the emotion or feeling of happiness.

Now recall a time when you felt deeply sad and feel the feeling of sadness.

Allow yourself the experience of sadness.

Now release sadness and return to happiness.

Remember the feeling of happiness.

And back to the feeling of deep sadness.

And happiness and sadness.

Imagine now that you have your arms outstretched in front of you with the palms facing up.

And in the left palm you have the feeling of happiness.

In the right palm you have the feeling of sadness.

Look to the left and see happiness.

And to the right palm and see sadness.

Happiness on the left,

Sadness on the right.

Now release the emotions.

Release those feelings,

Let them go.

I now will name or describe certain images.

As I name each image,

Just visualize it.

Try not to judge it.

Just remember a time in your life when you experienced whatever the image is that I name.

Ocean.

Land.

Flowing river.

Stagnant pond.

Lush green forest.

Dry treeless plain.

Roaring fire.

A smoldering flame.

A fresh spring day.

A cool day in the fall.

A newborn child.

An old person near death.

A bright and sunny day.

A torrential downpour.

Waves breaking on a beach.

Waves flowing out to the sea.

Waves breaking on the beach.

Waves flowing out to the sea.

Waves breaking on the beach.

And waves flowing out to an endless sea.

Become aware again of your intention,

Your samkulpa,

If you had one,

For this practice.

Recall that intention.

Now repeat it silently to yourself three times.

Recognizing that the intention already exists.

Now bring your awareness back to your body.

And remember that your body is resting and facing up.

Begin to bring your awareness to the fingers on the right hand.

And allow those fingers to begin to move.

Bring your awareness now to the fingers on the left hand.

And allow those fingers to begin to move.

Now allow your body to awaken as though you were awakening from a long and restful sleep.

And keep your eyes closed down.

And when you're ready,

Bend your knees and then roll to your side.

Once you're on your side,

Pause for a moment,

Cradle your head into your arm if you like.

When you're ready,

Keep your eyes closed and come to a seat.

Once you're seated,

Bring your hands together.

Put the hands at heart center.

Now begin to rub your palms together.

Rub them together vigorously enough that you create some heat which you can feel in the palms.

And once you feel that heat,

Stop and open the palms and bring the palms to your eyes.

Feel the heat of the palms in the eyes.

And now release your hands down to your lap,

Lift your chin back up and open your eyes.

This completes our practice of Yoga Nidra.

I offer you loving kindness.

May you be happy and well and may you be safe.

May you be peaceful and may you be at ease.

Namaste.

Reviews

Slept wonderfully with vivid dreams, thank you!!!!

Calming and centering

Beautiful Garry. Another spectacular nidra meditation. Thank you so very, very much.

Beautiful

Thank you

That was a wonderful relaxing experience. Hopefully I will stay awake next time.
🌞💖🙏

Amazing. Deep and powerful meditation or nidra practice