A Journey To Meet Oneself

So many of us lay down to sleep each evening without ever resolving the tensions of the day. As a result, we wake feeling restless and fatigued. Yoga Nidra, or yogic sleep, encourages the unveiling of heavy burdens through conscious relaxation - allowing one to recharge, renew, and experience blissful tranquility of the body and mind through an eloquently guided journey of sensation and introspection.

Transcript

Get ready to practice yoga nidra or sleep yoga.

Find a comfortable and quiet place to lie down in shavasana.

This means that you lie down on your back with your arms alongside your body,

The palms facing up towards the sky.

A gesture to receive.

And allow your legs to extend long out underneath you,

Giving your hips lots of space to open and soften by separating your legs from each other and allowing your toes to fall outwards.

Feel completely supported by the earth underneath you.

Once you find this very comfortable position lying on your back,

Allow your eyelids to fall heavy.

Keep your eyes closed and prepare to begin your yoga nidra practice.

The practice of yoga nidra is the act of hearing and the act of feeling.

And these are the only important factors.

The only important thing for you to do throughout this practice is to remain still and to listen to my voice.

As you lay here in stillness and in silence,

Say to yourself mentally,

I am going to practice yoga nidra and I will stay awake.

I am going to practice yoga nidra and I will stay awake.

Begin to bring your awareness to the sounds of your breath and the feeling of your breath.

Maybe begin to notice for the first time today the temperature of the air that you breathe in.

Maybe feel the warmth on your upper lip as you exhale.

Just follow the coming and going of this gentle breath in and out.

As you continue to watch and notice this breath,

Feel as though every breath in spreads calmness,

Peace,

Tranquility all throughout your body.

And with every breath out,

Saying to yourself mentally,

Relax.

With every breath in,

You gather into yourself peaceful feelings.

And with every breath out,

You mentally say to yourself,

Relax.

Relax.

And with your eyes closed and your body still,

Begin to bring your awareness to your ears,

To your sense of hearing.

And begin to hear and notice any sounds that you can hear in the distance.

Seek out the most distant sounds that you can hear.

Trying not to label any one sound,

Allowing your sense of hearing to operate like a radar beam.

Hearing distant sounds one by one.

Listening from one sound to the next.

Releasing any urge to label or attach to any one particular sound.

And then gradually begin to draw your awareness of your hearing in a little bit closer.

Maybe within the four walls in which you lay.

And become aware of any sounds that you can hear in this space around you,

Including the sound of my voice.

And once again,

Just hearing each sound one by one.

Not attaching or labeling any one sound.

Just listening to it,

Acknowledging it,

And letting it go.

Bringing out the next noise,

The next sound in and around the space in which you lay.

And then draw your awareness closer still to the sound of your breath.

The incoming and outgoing breath that nourishes every muscle,

Every tendon,

Every cell within your physical body.

Hear the sound of the air as it passes through your nostrils.

The sound of your lungs as they inflate and deflate gently.

And then gradually drawing your awareness closer still to your own center by acknowledging and listening for the sound of your beating heart.

Become so in tune with your sense of hearing with your physical body that you can hear your heart beating in the center of your chest.

And then releasing your awareness on your sense of hearing on your physical body.

It is now time to make a resolve,

A wish to plant a seed.

In Yoga Nidra we practice what is called a sankalpa.

A sankalpa is a Sanskrit word that translates to intention or to seed.

And you can think of this sankalpa as planting a seed not only in this practice,

In this moment,

But also in your daily life,

For the days,

The moments,

The years even that follow this very practice.

To practice sankalpa we first take a moment to practice gratitude.

Allowing yourself to acknowledge,

To notice,

To experience anything for which you can feel thankful for in your life right now.

What makes you so lucky to be you?

And as you reflect on this feeling of thankfulness,

On this feeling of gratitude,

Notice what it feels like to be grateful.

Not just as this idea in your head,

But this embodied experience within you.

And from this place of gratitude,

Of thankfulness,

Ask yourself the question,

What is my deepest,

My most heartfelt wish for my life?

What is my longing?

What do I desire?

Just notice what bubbles to the surface when you ask yourself this question.

What arises within you?

And whatever answers are coming to the surface as you ask yourself this question on this day,

In this moment,

In this place,

This forms the basis for your sankalpa.

Your resolve.

As you lay here in stillness and silence reflecting on your desire,

Your longing,

Your dreams for your life,

Allow it to translate into words that make sense to you in your own language.

And repeat this dream,

This sankalpa,

This wish to yourself three times in your mind's eye,

Silently,

Like a personal mantra.

And state this sankalpa in the present tense,

Although it has already happened or is already happening.

And give thanks and let it go.

I will say a name,

A part of your physical body,

And you will bring all of your awareness,

All of your attention to this part of your body.

And feel and notice any sensation that arises as you focus on this point.

Not seeking or searching for any one sensation,

Just acknowledging and noticing what comes up.

The practice of yoga nidra always begins with the right hand thumb,

The right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

Bring your attention to the palm of your right hand,

To the back of your right hand,

Your right wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

And the right side body.

Notice any sensation that arises when you focus on your right hip,

Quadricep,

Right knee,

Shin,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

And the top and sole of your right foot.

Focus your attention on your right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And pinky toe.

Feel and notice the difference between the right and left sides of your body in this moment.

The asymmetry that your body is meeting this world with right now.

And then slowly bring your awareness to your left hand thumb,

Left index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

And pinky finger.

Focus your attention on your left palm,

The back of your left hand,

Left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Armpit,

And the left side of the body.

Become aware of your left quadricep,

Knee,

Shin,

Calf muscle,

Left ankle,

Top of the left foot,

Heel,

And sole of the left foot.

All awareness comes to the left big toe.

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And fifth toe.

In stillness,

In silence,

Just become aware of the difference in sensation if there is any between the left and right sides of your physical body.

And then bring your awareness,

Your attention to the back of your right shoulder,

The back of your left shoulder,

Your right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Lower back,

Mid back,

And upper portion of the back.

Bring your awareness to the top of your head,

Right in the center of your head,

Your forehead,

Your right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The eyebrow center,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Nose,

Tip of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Chin,

And upper lip.

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right chest,

Right chest,

And chest,

Left chest,

Middle of the chest,

Navel,

Abdomen,

Lower abdomen.

Feel the whole body together,

The whole of the head,

The whole of the body,

Right arm,

Left arm,

Right leg,

Left leg,

The whole of the body together,

The whole of the body together.

Develop homogenous awareness of the whole body and become aware of the space occupied by the body.

Body and space,

Space and body.

And now bring your awareness to the space behind your closed eyelids,

The space right behind your closed eyelids.

And imagine before you is a screen,

A screen through which you can see infinite space,

Never-ending space,

A space that extends far beyond what the eye can see.

Create on this space and become aware of anything that manifests on this screen before your closed eyelids.

Any shapes,

Any colors,

Any phenomena that manifest behind your closed eyelids.

Try not to attach to the shape or anything that comes up in this space.

Just notice it and allow it to pass by.

Detached awareness,

Not investing in what you see or what comes up,

Just allowing it to present,

To manifest and then letting it go.

Whatever you see is the manifesting state of your mind.

Continue your awareness of this space,

Not becoming involved,

Practicing detached awareness only.

And now imagine yourself in a vast and open park in the early morning.

The sun is just beginning to rise and the park is empty,

Deserted,

Except for yourself.

It's a beautiful natural park,

Calm and peaceful.

You walk on a dirt trail for a while and then take a step off the trail onto the springy morning grass.

Around you,

You can hear birds welcoming in the new day.

You can hear insects buzzing,

Flying around.

As you continue to walk on the spongy grass underneath your feet,

You notice up ahead that there is a garden of flowers,

Roses,

Pink ones and red ones and white roses.

You lean in and smell their fragrance and you notice early morning dewdrops on their petals.

Nearby to the rose garden is a pond with lily pads resting on the top surface.

And as you get closer,

You can begin to see goldfish swimming in and amongst these lily pads.

Every once in a while,

The sun,

Rising sun,

Will catch one of the shimmering scales on the goldfish and send a glittering light up towards the surface,

Reflecting,

Igniting,

Illuminating.

You walk between trees,

Beautiful trees,

Bare trees and trees with leaves,

Widespreading trees and tall stately trees.

And up ahead,

You notice a clearing between the trees.

And in the center of the clearing,

You can see a bench with a person sitting on it.

Although it's quite far away,

The sun is rising and hitting this bench with this person sitting with their back towards you and creating this halo of light in and around them.

You cannot yet see this person's face,

But you walk towards them.

Even from this distance,

They seem like a warm,

A loving person.

You continue to walk towards the bench with this golden aura as the sun hits.

And when you reach the bench,

You take a seat beside this human,

Looking over at them and recognizing that this radiant person that sits here is you 25 years from now.

Look into your own kind eyes,

The eyes of your future self.

And notice the calmness,

The peacefulness that you feel as you sit in your own presence.

You begin to speak to your future self,

Asking,

What do I need to pay attention to most in my life right now?

Take a moment to hear the answer.

What do I need to pay attention to most in my life right now?

And listen to what arises when you ask yourself the question.

You sit in silence for a long while on this bench,

A comfortable,

Easy silence,

A familiar presence that goes beyond words.

Continue your awareness of sitting on the bench in the presence of your future self,

Peaceful,

Harmonious,

Comfortable.

And now bring your awareness back to the space you see in front of your closed eyelids.

Rest your mind in this warm and friendly darkness.

Just watching like a movie,

Like a film,

Anything that shows up on the screen behind your closed eyelids without strain,

Without seeking,

Without force,

Just acknowledging any shapes,

Any thoughts,

Any ideas,

Any colors that may manifest in this space.

Starting with detached awareness.

And now remember your sankalpa,

Your intention or seed that you planted at the beginning of this practice.

And using the same words with the same feeling and emphasis,

Repeat the same sankalpa,

The same wish that you made at the beginning of this practice in the same words three times clearly,

Silently to yourself.

And now bring your awareness to your nostrils and become aware of your breathing.

Natural,

Normal,

Effortless breath that enters and exits without any force,

Without any trying.

Awareness of breathing,

Awareness of relaxation.

And now develop an awareness of your physical existence,

Your physical body,

Your body lying on the ground in shavasana,

Corpse pose.

And maybe begin to bring some movement now to your physical body,

Running your thumb pads along each finger pad,

Twinkling your toes gently,

Maybe rocking your head from side to side.

And then when you feel ready,

Drawing both arms up and overhead,

Bringing your legs together long underneath you and stretching out from tip to toe.

And then bending at your knees,

Planting the soles of your feet on the earth,

Knees point up towards the sky and rocking and rolling your body over onto your right side,

Using your right bicep,

Your right tricep as a pillow.

Keeping your eyes closed,

Relishing in these last couple of moments of silence,

Of stillness.

Not thinking of this space as any kind of lack.

It's within this silence,

This stillness that lies so much potential,

The catalyst for so many changes in your life.

And it may be your last opportunity today to relish in the ability to be just with yourself.

Take as much time as you need to in this fetal position,

Before gently guiding your body upright and welcoming the world around you.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Namaste.

Reviews

My first time doing this specific offering from Natasha and I absolutely loved it! I haven’t found an offering of hers that doesn’t just blow me away. They are all incredible. So grateful for this yoga nidra, I couldn’t recommend it more! I feel like I’m floating, aligned, and completely at peace!

Natasha, thank you for another brilliant session , totally relaxed state
Namaste
🙏

Amazing - didnt hear the end as I fell asleep.
Thankyou 🙏

I am looking forward to repeating this beautiful meditation!

Great and relaxing practice. Good for planting intentions. Feel very peaceful afterwards.

Incredible where this took me tonight....peace, beautiful peace ✨✨✨ Thank you 🙏🏽 xxx

Beautiful practice 🙏🏻

Longer visualization journeys are just not for me since they tend to activate my thinking mind, but that doesn't mean this isn't a great you nidra.

One of my favorite yoga nidras
Ever!

Very nice. Thank you for sharing!

This has to be the best experience with Insight timer meditations I’ve had in over a year of being here. Thank you - Namaste

I really enjoyed this yoga nidra meditation. Namaste

Beautiful!!! 🙏🙏🙏

I have listened to this four times, and I've never heard the end of it. Z-z-z-z! I'll keep trying!

I like my yoga nidra in the morning so I can stay awake through these beautiful feelings and thoughts of awareness.
This was lovely.

Beautifully done! Deepest gratitude. Much love, many blessings💝

Beautiful. Namaste

Excellent 🙏💕🦋