Yoga Nidra Of Growth And Change

This original Yoga Nidra practice is designed to help you acknowledge, accept and work with the inevitability of change throughout your life. When change is accepted, whether it feels positive or negative at the time, the natural consequence is growth. When we resist change, suffering is always the result and growth is inhibited. With this Nidra practice, you can begin to accept and embrace the changes that happen all around you all the time. And with that acceptance, growth blossoms like a beautiful flower.

Transcript

Welcome.

My name is Gary.

Thank you for joining me for Yoga Nidra.

Let's begin our practice now.

Prepare a place for the practice of Yoga Nidra.

Find a room that's as free of distraction as possible and turn the lights low or close the curtains if it's daytime.

Place a yoga mat or blanket on the floor and then lay down on your back in Shavasana with your feet apart and your palms facing up.

Close your eyes and allow yourself to become motionless.

Now make any adjustments to your body so you're comfortable and you won't need to move at all for the whole practice.

Forget your problems and your worries and concentrate on Yoga Nidra.

Forget all of your cares.

Take a long deep breath as you inhale and as you exhale feel yourself letting go.

Let's find about five breaths this way with complete awareness of the movement of the breath,

The flow of the breath in and out.

Let's begin that five breaths.

Inhale and exhale.

And exhale.

Again inhale and exhale.

Complete awareness of the movement of the breath.

Inhale exhale.

Again breathe in and breathe out.

Once more inhale and exhale.

As you settle deeply into your mat or the blanket become aware of the sounds around you.

Focus on the distant sounds first,

Those that are far away,

Letting your sense of hearing range into the far distance.

Now gradually withdraw your sense of sound back into the room.

Develop your awareness of this room.

Develop your awareness of yourself lying on the floor.

Become aware of your body.

Become aware of your breathing.

Just be conscious that you are breathing.

Awareness of the breath and awareness of the body.

Now say to yourself,

I am going to practice yoga nidra.

I will remain awake.

I will not sleep.

Now let's adopt an intention,

A sankalpa for this practice.

The intention I would suggest is this.

Like all living things I am capable of growth and change.

Repeat that to yourself silently three times.

Like all living things I am capable of growth and change.

Twice more on your own.

Now settle into your breath.

Feel the breath flowing in and flowing out.

Allow yourself to soften,

To relax with each breath.

Now we begin the phase of yoga nidra called rotation of consciousness.

Here I'll name parts of the body.

And as I name each part,

Just bring your focus,

Your awareness to the parts.

Begin with the thumb on the right hand.

Cultivate awareness of the thumb on your right hand.

Now shift the focus to the right index finger.

Right middle finger.

Right ring finger.

Pinky finger on the right hand.

Now cultivate awareness of the palm of the right hand.

The palm of the right hand is the center of your body.

Now cultivate awareness of the palm of the right hand.

Now shift your focus to the back of the right hand.

Become aware of the back of your right hand.

Right wrist,

All the way around the wrist.

Right elbow.

Right shoulder.

Right hip.

Right knee.

Right ankle.

Top of the right foot.

Bottom of the right foot.

Notice the heel.

The instep.

And the ball of the right foot.

Now become aware of the right big toe.

Second toe on the right foot.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the little toe on the right foot.

Now shift your focus to the thumb on the left hand.

Left index finger.

Left middle finger.

Left ring finger.

Ring finger.

Pinky finger on the left hand.

Now become aware of the left palm.

Back of the left hand.

Now focus on the left wrist.

Left elbow.

Left shoulder.

Left hip.

Left knee.

Left ankle.

Top of the left foot.

Bottom of the left foot.

Notice the little toe.

Left heel.

Now become aware of the instep of the left foot.

The ball of the left foot.

Left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And the little toe on the left foot.

Now bring awareness to the whole right arm.

And now shift to the whole left arm.

Awareness of the right leg.

Awareness of the left leg.

Right side of the body.

Notice the whole right side of the body.

And now shift your focus to the left side of the body.

Now bring awareness to the top of the head.

Just let your awareness rest at the top of the head.

Now bring awareness to eyebrow center,

The space between the eyebrows.

Now become aware of the throat,

The heart space,

Solar plexus,

Navel,

The base of the spine,

Just the bottom of the tailbone.

Focus on the bottom of the tailbone.

Now bring awareness to your right hand,

Right elbow,

Right shoulder,

Right hip,

Right knee.

Now focus on the right ankle,

Right foot.

Shift the focus to the left foot,

Left ankle,

Left knee,

Left hip,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow,

Left wrist,

Left hand.

Bring awareness to the eyes.

Focus on both eyes.

Now bring awareness to the left eye.

Now focus on both nostrils.

Become aware of the mouth.

Let your awareness roam around inside the mouth.

Notice the upper palate.

Notice the tongue,

The tip of the tongue and the base of the tongue.

Notice the space below the tongue in the mouth.

Now draw your awareness out of the mouth and focus on both ears.

And now bring awareness to the skin all over the body.

Feel the skin encasing the body like a bag.

Now become aware of all the tissues,

All the bones,

All the organs,

All the fluids encased by the skin.

And now focus on your whole body all at once.

The whole body.

Now bring awareness to the breath.

Inhale and exhale gently a few times and settle into your natural breath in this moment.

Now the next time you inhale,

Inhale for a count of three and then exhale for a count of three.

Do that twice.

Exhale one,

Two,

Three,

One more time,

Inhale three counts and exhale three counts.

Now inhale to a count of five and exhale to a count of four.

Now exhale to a count of five and exhale to a count of four.

Five,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Exhale five counts.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Twice more.

Five count inhale,

Five count exhale.

Now inhale to a count of seven.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven.

Exhale count of seven.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven.

Twice more.

Seven count inhale.

Seven count exhale.

One more time.

Seven counts in and seven counts out.

Now let your breath return to a normal rhythm but notice that your breath is capable of growth and change.

Now inhale one,

Two,

Three and exhale seven.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven.

Let's do that again.

Inhale three.

Exhale seven.

Once more.

Three counts in and seven counts out.

Now see that you are capable of change.

The change might come easily or it may be uncomfortable but either way you can change.

Now breathe in for seven counts.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven.

Breathe out.

Five counts.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Again,

Seven counts in.

Five counts out.

Once more.

Seven counts in.

Five count exhale.

See that you are capable of change.

Now bring awareness to where on the spectrum of hot and cold you feel at this moment.

Deepen your awareness of the temperature of the body.

Become aware that the temperature you feel at this moment can stay the same or you can begin to feel hotter or colder.

Let your body begin to feel hotter.

Start to feel hot in the hands and the arms and the legs.

Feel hot in the chest and the back.

Feel hot in the feet.

Hot all over the body,

Like walking in the desert at noon.

Now let the heat in the body go and begin to feel colder.

Feel cold like walking barefoot on arctic ice,

The wind blowing.

You don't have a hat,

A coat,

Or gloves.

Feel cold in the hands and the arms and the legs.

Cold in the chest and the back.

Feel cold in the feet.

Cold all over the body.

Notice that the feeling of hot or cold can change.

Can change.

Now bring awareness to where on the spectrum of sad and happy you feel at this moment.

Allow that awareness to deepen.

Now bring to mind a time,

A specific instance when you felt very sad.

Let the feeling of sadness deepen.

Allow yourself to feel sadder and sadder and sadder.

Try not to push the feeling of sadness away.

Just let it be what it is.

And now see that the feeling of sadness will change.

The feeling of sadness may deepen and linger or it may lighten and abate.

Now remember a time when you felt very happy,

Supremely happy,

Overjoyed.

Recall the experience of overwhelming happiness and let that feeling deepen.

Allow yourself to feel happier and happier and happier.

But try not to grasp onto the feeling of happiness.

Just let it be what it is.

See that the feeling of happiness will change.

It may deepen and you may feel even happier or it may fade and be replaced with another emotion.

Now let your awareness rest on the indelible truth that sadness and happiness are not fixed.

They come and they go.

Feelings change.

Feelings do not stay the same.

Now begin to imagine,

Begin to visualize,

That you are a plant in the garden.

Your roots are firmly anchored in the soil.

You are stable and grounded with and to the earth.

Imagine that it's winter now.

All your leaves are gone.

They've fallen and they're gone.

And your branches are bare.

Now imagine spring has come.

The sun is warming your plant body and the soil into which you're rooted.

The days are getting longer.

Growth and renewal are near.

You are emerging from the hibernation of winter.

You are ready for new growth.

For some of your branches,

Old growth must be trimmed away and left behind for new growth to begin.

For other branches,

New growth begins where the prior season's old growth ended.

If trimming is needed,

Thank the old growth and then let it go.

Release it.

You cannot hold on to the old growth if you want the new to flourish.

If trimming is not needed,

Then feel the new growth begin to sprout where the old ended last season.

Now see and feel the new growth beginning all over you.

Embrace the growth ushered in by the spring.

The new leaves emerging everywhere,

All over you.

This is what growth feels like.

Welcoming the new and releasing the old.

You are still you,

But you are also more.

You have grown.

You have changed.

Now return to the intention and repeat,

Like all living things,

I am capable of growth and change.

Repeat that twice more to yourself.

Like all living things,

I am capable of growth and change.

Like all living things,

I am capable of growth and change.

Now start to become aware of your breath.

Notice your natural breath.

Feel the breath in the nostrils.

Develop total awareness of the nostril breath and continue breathing softly in and out.

Now breathe in through the left nostril and exhale through the right.

Exhale through the right.

Breathe in through the right nostril.

Breathe out through the left.

Breathe in from the left.

Breathe out through the right.

Breathe in through the right.

Breathe out through the left.

Continue breathing from side to side.

Now extend the breath to all parts of the body.

As you inhale,

Feel the life-giving force of the breath permeate your whole body.

Take a long,

Slow breath and become aware of your body as you breathe in.

Aware of your physical presence.

Now remember your surroundings.

Remember the floor.

Remember the room you're in.

Externalize your awareness.

Begin to invite small movements first to the fingers.

Very slow,

Very gentle.

Then extend the movement to the toes.

You can rotate your wrists and the ankles.

If you like,

Bend your elbows.

If a stretch would feel good,

Reach the arms up and overhead and point the toes.

Take another huge breath in.

Fill the whole body with breath.

As you exhale,

Bend your knees and then roll over onto your left side.

Take a moment on your left side with your knees bent.

Cradle your head and your arm if you like.

Give yourself a moment just to be with nothing to do.

No goal to accomplish.

Nowhere to be.

And now gently bring yourself to a seat and open your eyes.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Have a wonderful day.

Reviews

Such a wonderful blessing!! Many thanks for your work, kind voice, and dedication to encouraging others to press on with their practice!