The practice of yoga nidra begins.
Begin to settle yourself in,
Become cozy.
Make as many adjustments as you need so that you begin to relax in this space.
Adjust your clothing.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Rotate your wrists and ankles.
And then decide if you're going to lay on your back,
On your side,
Or if you're going to take any other position.
Take any position that you feel that you need so that you can be at ease and feel as if your body were being set up for relaxation.
As I continue to provide guidance in this stage of the yoga nidra session,
You can take the suggestions that I make or just take this time to really find comfort,
To really find that space of ease.
Whatever position you choose,
Make sure it's one that you can remain still for this practice.
If you're lying on your back,
You can have your arms out to your sides with your palms face up or in,
Or you can have your palms gently relaxed on your abdomen.
You can have your legs outstretched so that your feet are not touching and your heels are relaxed on the bed and your feet are gently rolled out to the sides.
If you have any discomfort in your low back but you still like to lay on your back,
Try placing a pillow or a rolled up blanket or even a bolster under your knees.
If you choose to lie on your side,
Have a pillow under your head.
Maybe try placing a pillow between your knees and you can even cradle the pillow between your arms.
And once you've found a position of comfort for yourself,
Stay here for a moment and take some deep breaths,
Inhaling all the way into the abdomen,
Letting the belly rise and exhaling.
Let the belly fall.
Continue to breathe naturally.
Allow your body to become supported by the bed beneath you and observe the body,
Starting with your fingers,
Your arms.
Take your attention to your shoulders and your neck and to the base of the throat,
To your chin,
Your jaw,
The mouth,
Inside the mouth,
Moving up to the sinus cavities and outward to the nose,
Your eyes,
Eyebrows,
The space between your eyebrows.
Sense peace settling on your forehead.
And let the wave of relaxation spread from your forehead to your scalp,
All the way behind your head.
Feel your head being supported.
Allow the muscles of your neck to release any holding.
Take another deep breath here,
All the way into the lower abdomen.
Observe the navel rising as you inhale,
The rib cage expanding.
Then release the breath.
As you release,
Notice the body sinking even more into the support beneath you.
Allow the sinking feeling to become a relaxing feeling.
And take these sensations to your navel,
Your diaphragm,
Not controlling the breath,
Just observing the breath.
Take another deep breath here,
And as you exhale,
Make an H-A sound.
Do this at your own pace,
Taking a few breaths like this.
Notice how the body settles even deeper into a state of relaxation and peace.
Let your awareness journey down toward your pelvis and your hips,
The pelvic bone.
And then spread your awareness outward toward your hips.
Continue to notice the muscles of the hips.
Continue to observe the breath,
Taking your breath to the space below the navel.
Notice how the spine,
The sacrum,
And the pelvis have gentle,
Subtle movements here as you inhale deeply.
And then as you exhale,
Find stillness and relaxation in the hips.
Feel your legs melting into the support beneath you.
Let this space be yours now.
Go ahead and make any further adjustments that you need and begin to settle here.
Let your body be still during this practice.
Know that your comfort is the most important thing,
So if you have to move,
Do so carefully and subtly,
Treating yourself very gently during this practice.
Take your awareness to your hearing.
Begin to listen to the sound of your own breath.
Now take your awareness a little bit further away,
Listening to sounds within the room.
Let your awareness of sounds drift even further away,
Reaching to the furthest sound that you can hear.
Now without labeling the sounds and seeing yourself as a witness in your space here,
Sense your awareness from sound to sound,
Near,
Mid,
To far.
Let awareness of the sounds drift away.
Any time thoughts begin to come in,
Just bring your awareness to my voice and let me guide you back to this sense of peace and ease.
Moving on to a practice of sankalpa,
Intention.
If you need a sankalpa,
We'll take a few moments here so that you can find one that fits just right with you.
As part of this sankalpa practice,
I'm going to say some very short yet powerful statements.
After each statement,
Repeat it in your mind and just see if it's one that's right for you.
And if it is,
Keep it in the back of your mind.
And if it's not,
Let it go.
I am at ease.
My muscles are relaxed.
I am in the right place at the right time.
I am beautiful.
I am safe.
Important people respond to me.
I create and attract positive experiences.
All my needs are met.
I am abundantly cared for.
I float through life.
I thoroughly enjoy life.
I love being alive.
I love relaxing.
I am so comfortable.
Everything works out in my favor.
I know everything works out for my good.
My relaxation is already happening.
I feel relaxation setting in.
I am beautifully and wonderfully made.
I am a miracle.
I allow miracles to happen to me every day.
Joy springs up within my heart.
I love myself very much.
I love taking care of myself.
Taking care of myself allows me to help others.
I live in a beautiful world.
I act from love.
I have an unshakable foundation of love.
You may use any of these examples as your son culpa.
Or take a few moments here and find one that is exactly right for you.
Recall the feeling of willpower and determination.
Not the circumstance,
Just the feeling.
With this feeling,
Say your son culpa in your mind three times.
For now,
Let your son culpa go.
Let's move on to a rotation of consciousness.
I will say a part of the body.
All you have to do is become aware of that part.
Become aware of your right hand.
Your whole right hand.
Right hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Right side ribs.
Right side waist.
Right hip.
Body.
Body.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Soles of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Your entire right foot.
Now take your awareness.
To your left hand.
Your entire left hand.
Left hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky.
Palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Arm pit.
Left side ribs.
Left side waist.
Left hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Heel.
Shoulder.
Ankle.
Ankle.
Ankle.
Ankle.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
The entire left foot.
Right knee.
Right knee.
Right knee.
Right knee.
If you lose track that's okay.
Just start again at 10.
And now let the counting of your breath go.
And just be.
Become aware of the right side of the body.
The entire right side.
Now the left side of the body.
The entire left side.
Right side of the body.
Left side of the body.
Experience a feeling of coolness.
Now experience a feeling of warmth.
Return to the sensations of coolness.
And to sensations of warmth.
Imagine you're holding something that is very firm like a rock or stone.
Now imagine you are holding something very soft and fluffy like a cotton ball or a sponge.
Return to the sensation that you're holding something very firm.
And now feel as if you're holding something very fluffy and soft.
And release these sensations,
These feelings of opposites.
Allow your awareness to drift to the screen of your mind.
I will say a series of words and just visualize these words as images in this screen of your mind.
Rolling ocean waves.
A field of grass.
A mountain peak.
A cardinal.
A seashell.
A pyramid.
A wonder cloud.
A footprint.
A butterfly.
An oak tree.
A fireplace.
A blue balloon.
A rose.
A flower.
A flower.
A flower.
A flower.
A flower.
A flower.
A flower.
