Yoga Nidra: Befriending Yourself

Be guided slowly and gently through the body and into a state of deep rest. You will then settle on the breath, before using visualisation to relax into your subconscious. Leave feeling rested and refreshed, or ready for deeper rest if it is that time of the day.

Transcript

Welcome to this yoga nidra practice.

Once you're lying down close your eyes and prepare to allow the body to relax.

I'm going to invite you to take a few breaths together to start with.

The breath will come in through the nose naturally then the exhale will come out through your mouth with pursed lips making a whooshing sound similar to the sound of shushing someone.

So let's practice this together five times.

Inhaling naturally.

Allowing your breath to relax.

Allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm.

As we go through the process of yoga nidra I invite you to welcome anything and everything that comes into your awareness.

From this point on and through the duration of the practice try to let go of the need for things to be different or to judge things.

Take a moment to acknowledge your desire for joy and acknowledge that this is something you share with every other person you meet.

When we observe others we often have a clear idea from the outside as to what would bring them balance and joy into their life especially if we know them well.

If you could see yourself as clearly and kindly as your closest friend sees you what would this person want for you in your life right now?

What would they wish for you to help you reach your fullest potential your fullest sense of freedom and joy?

Just stay with the first idea that comes to your mind and let this be at the heart of your intention for today's practice.

Consider your intention or your blessing to yourself for practicing yoga nidra.

In your own mind repeat three times my intention for practicing yoga nidra is and fill in whatever you wish for yourself.

We will come back to this again later.

Now bring your awareness to your physical body.

Feel the volume and weight of your body.

Feel the ground supporting your body as your physical body moves into this deep primordial rest your consciousness remains actively engaged to register this experience.

Now I invite you to relax 10% more than you're currently relaxed.

Your face,

Your entire head,

Arms,

Chest,

Belly and back.

Relax your pelvis and the length of your legs.

As we go through the yoga nidra practice don't try to control your experience.

Simply pay attention to my words and welcome,

Recognize and witness everything that comes into your awareness without the need to change anything.

We're now going to move the awareness around the body.

To start bring your awareness inside your mouth.

Feel the aliveness of the gums,

Teeth,

Roof of the mouth,

Floor of the mouth,

Left inner cheek,

Right inner cheek,

The whole interior of the mouth.

Now allow that awareness to spread across the face,

Lips,

Ears,

Eyes,

Nose,

Cheeks,

Forehead.

Awareness moving clearly and decisively now to your right hand.

Thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Five fingers together,

Palm,

Back of the hand,

The whole hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Crease of the elbow,

Tip of the elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Five toes together,

The whole right side,

The whole right side moving into deep rest,

Stillness,

Awareness still flowing through your body,

Awareness moving now decisively to the left hand.

Thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Five fingers together,

Palm,

Back of the hand,

The whole hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Crease of the elbow,

Tip of the elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Five toes together,

The whole left side,

The whole left side moving into deep rest,

Stillness,

The mind at rest,

Consciousness actively engaged,

Move your awareness now to the back body,

Back of the head,

Neck,

Upper back,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Mid back,

Upper back,

Sacrum,

Tail,

Right buttock,

Back of the right thigh,

Hollow behind the knee,

The calf,

Heel,

Foot,

Left buttock,

Back of the left thigh,

Hollow behind the knee,

The calf,

Heel,

Foot,

The whole back body sinking into rest,

Stillness,

Surface consciousness is maintained,

Awareness now of the front body,

Scalp,

Forehead,

Right side,

Left side,

Center of the forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Right eyelid,

Eyeball and eye socket,

Left eyelid,

Eyeball and eye socket,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Hole of the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheekbone,

Left cheekbone,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Notch at the base of the throat,

The hole of the chest,

Right breast,

Ribcage and lung,

Left breast,

Ribcage and lung,

Diaphragm,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

Pubic bone,

Genitals,

Right hip bone,

Right top of the thigh,

Kneecap,

Shin,

Ankle and foot,

Left hip bone,

Left top of the thigh,

Knee cap,

Shin,

Ankle and foot,

The whole front body sinking into stillness,

The whole back body,

The left side,

The right side,

The inside,

The whole of the physical body at rest,

Whole body stillness,

The mind completely at ease with active awareness.

Now become aware of the subtle movement of breath into the body as it circulates through the body and moves out again in the same way that you might notice a breeze coming through your home,

Entering the body,

Filtering through your body and leaving your body.

Effortlessly the breath simply breathing you feel into the ebb and flow,

The rhythm of that movement.

Now imagine the whole body becoming light as though your body could float away from the floor and towards the ceiling.

The head is light and weightless,

The limbs are light and weightless,

The torso is light and weightless,

The whole body light and weightless like a feather.

You are rising higher and higher away from the floor.

Now imagine your body becoming heavy,

Feel the heaviness in all parts of the body.

Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy,

The limbs are heavy,

The torso is heavy,

The whole body is heavy,

Gravity holding you down.

So heavy that the whole body is sinking into the floor.

Now let go of this sensation and bring your awareness to the sensation of heat.

Your right leg warm,

Your left leg warm,

Both arms filled with warmth,

Torso warm,

The head and the scalp are warm,

The whole body becoming hot.

Now all at once your body becomes cold,

Legs cold,

Arms cold,

Torso cold,

The entire body cold.

Now let go of that sensation.

Once more coming back to the intention you set at the start of this practice.

The gift you wish to give to yourself.

Feel this gift that you wish to give to yourself filling your entire body.

Repeat three times to yourself quietly with meaning this intention.

Now gently become aware of your physical body lying on the earth.

Become aware once more of your breath at the nostrils without needing to change the breath,

Just allowing the breaths to come in and out.

Become more aware of the earth beneath you holding you and start to become aware of sounds,

Sounds closer by and sounds further away,

Allowing the sounds to arrive in your field of awareness.

Slowly with the eyes still closed start to become aware of your surroundings.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

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