Hello,
And welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Hillary Jackendorf,
And I'm so happy that you're here with me,
Taking some time for yourself and turning inward.
In today's meditation,
We will be practicing a short 10-minute yoga nidra together.
If you're new to yoga nidra,
It is an effortless meditation that helps you learn how to let go.
I recommend lying down for the practice,
But if you'd prefer to practice from seated,
That's fine too.
You might like to pause the recording and get yourself settled in,
Lying on the floor or even lying in your bed.
Ideally,
Make sure your feet are equal distance from your midline,
Your arms and hands equal distance from your sides.
Make sure your head is centered and your face wearing a natural expression.
Let's begin by taking three deep,
Slow breaths,
Exploring and seeing if you can make your exhale a little longer than your inhale,
Maybe even exhaling through your mouth in a long sigh.
Really releasing deeply settling breaths.
And let this go now.
Let your natural breath emerge.
Let your whole body to soften,
Releasing any held tension in the face,
In the eyes,
The cheeks,
The lips,
The jaw.
And feel that your chest is fully open,
Shoulders released,
Abdomen expansive.
Let your legs and feet grow heavy,
Your arms and hands too.
Feeling the feeling that the whole body is at ease,
The whole body is at rest,
The mind too.
Draw your attention to your natural breath now and notice it effortlessly flowing in and out of your nostrils.
See if you can create the felt experience that with every inhale you're drawing in calmness and a sense of ease.
And with every exhale tension in your muscles simply melts away.
Now gently guide your attention to sounds,
Inviting them all in with curiosity.
Listen carefully,
Completely attuned to the sense of hearing.
Release the attention on sounds and direct awareness into the body.
And body parts will be named.
And as they are,
Direct attention into each part,
Feeling it and mentally repeating its name.
Beginning on the right side of the body,
Right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of chest,
Right side of waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Entire right side of the body held in awareness.
Direct awareness to the left side.
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Sole,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Whole left side of the body.
Gently shift attention from the body to the breath.
Aware of the body breathing,
The breath flowing effortlessly.
As the breath flows,
Begin to notice where it can be felt within.
Knowing if the breath can be sensed in the abdomen or perhaps the chest.
Perhaps the breath can only be felt in the nostrils.
Take the attention to wherever the breath can be felt most.
Begin to count the spontaneous breath here.
Counting down from 14 towards zero.
Breathing in 14,
Breathing out 14.
Breathing in 13,
Out 13.
Let go of the count.
Begin to notice the sensations of the breath,
The coolness on the inhale,
The warmth on the exhale.
Listen to the sound of the breath and all the other sounds around you.
Feel back into your body,
Noticing any shifts that may have occurred.
Feel into the surface beneath you.
Remember the room around you.
Know that you've been practicing Yoganidra and know that the practice has ended.
Thank you so much for allowing me to guide you in meditation today.
And I hope you will continue your journey with Yoganidra.
