Yoga Nidra: A Journey Within

Yoga Nidra is a guided meditation and relaxation technique that aims to help you reach a state of deep relaxation while remaining in a state of awareness, similar to the liminal space between wakefulness and sleep. This practice can be a powerful way to explore your inner self and connect with your subconscious mind. As you are led through the tranquil expanse of desert landscapes, you embark on a journey of self-exploration, progressively delving deeper into the recesses of your inner world.

Music/Sounds:
Binaural Overlay by Joseph Beg From Epidemic Sound
River Loop from Epidemic Sound
Ambience Valley Distant A (Nature Ambience) From Audiosocket

Transcript

Welcome to your Yoga Nidra,

A guided meditation and relaxation technique that aims to help you reach a deep state of relaxation while remaining in a state of awareness.

As you enter this state,

You'll enter a liminal space between wakefulness and sleep.

This practice can be a powerful way to explore your inner self and connect with your subconscious mind.

As you are led through the tranquil expanse of desert landscapes,

Embark on a journey of self-exploration,

Progressively delving deeper into the recesses of your inner world.

Begin by finding a supported yet comfortable seated or lying down position.

You may prefer to have a blanket pulled over the body as your body temperature drops in Yoga Nidra.

Breathe into any spaces where you might be holding tension in the body.

With every exhale,

Let the tension dissolve out your pores.

Each inhale,

Feeling the fresh molecules of oxygen nourishing and calming the body.

Every exhale,

Releasing tension,

Residual thoughts or distractions.

Take a few more moments here to deepen into your level of relaxation.

Allow your body to sink into the support beneath you.

As you feel your body being supported,

Notice where the body is touching the floor or the surface you're resting on.

Visualize your body in space.

Be aware of any sounds or sensations that externalize your mind and awareness.

Simply notice these things unattached yet aware.

Throughout this practice,

I invite you to become a witness,

Observing all of the internal and external sensations,

Thoughts and emotions that you possess.

Remember,

You are not these things,

Rather the witness to them all.

Let them come and let them go.

All of these things are simply passengers here for a while and then gone.

Noticing all of them as they arrive and depart.

Set the intention now to remain awake,

Aware and deeply relaxed.

Awake,

Aware and deeply relaxed.

Repeat this intention three more times now in your mind.

Now let's move your awareness around your body.

As I say a part of your body,

Mentally echo it back to yourself while simultaneously bringing your awareness to that part of your body.

Travel your awareness to your right thumb now.

Notice your second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The top of your right hand,

The palm of your hand,

The entire right hand relaxed.

Notice your right wrist,

The top of your wrist,

Bottom of your wrist,

The inside of your wrist,

Your right forearm,

Elbow,

Elbow crease releasing,

The top of your right shoulder,

Back of your right shoulder,

Your upper arm attached to the shoulder.

Notice your right armpit softening,

Releasing,

The entire right arm relaxed and at ease.

Now move your consciousness over to your left thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Top of your hand,

Palm of your hand,

The entire left hand relaxed.

Notice your left wrist,

The top of your wrist,

Bottom of your wrist,

Inside of your wrist,

Your left forearm,

Elbow,

Elbow crease,

The top of your left shoulder,

Back of the shoulder,

The left upper arm attached to the shoulder.

Be aware of your left armpit softening and releasing,

The entire left arm is releasing and at ease.

Notice both arms relaxed,

Melting into space.

Then move your awareness down to your feet.

Notice your toes,

From your pinky toes to your big toes.

Notice them settling into the spaciousness between each toe.

Notice the top of your feet,

The soles of your feet,

Heels heavy,

Ankles relaxed.

Notice the inside of your ankles.

Notice both shins and the bottom halves of the calves melting into a state of complete ease and relaxation.

Notice the knees,

Tops of the knees and bottoms of the knees.

Let the joint feel spacious.

Move your awareness now to the top of your thighs,

Bottom of your thighs.

Relaxation permeating all the way to the marrow of the thigh bones.

Be aware of your hips,

The pelvis,

The sacrum heavy.

Notice both legs relaxed and at ease.

Move your mind to your belly.

Notice the belly softening into the low back.

Notice the low back soften around the spine.

Move your awareness now up the spine towards your chest.

Notice it softening around your heart.

Move your mind through the chest to the upper back.

Notice it softening and releasing.

Notice your entire torso relaxed,

All the muscles of the torso at ease.

Bring your mind now to your neck,

The muscles of the neck relaxed,

The throat spacious and softening,

The back of your skull heavy,

The crown of your head,

Both eyebrows softening around your eyes,

The eyes like pools of water resting in the bed of your eye sockets,

The smooth muscle around your face,

No tension,

Only ease.

Notice the mouth,

Lips softening,

Tongue relaxed and resting behind your lower teeth,

Jaw relaxed,

Cheekbones hollowing out.

Notice your entire body relaxed and in a state of complete ease and calm.

The entire body relaxed,

Calm and at ease.

Now draw your attention away from the body and back to your breath.

Notice the natural in-going and out-going breath.

As you feel the breath coming in and out of your lungs,

Try your best not to change the rhythm.

Allow the breathing to be natural,

Automatic.

You are not doing the breath.

There is no effort.

Maintain awareness of your breath,

Complete awareness.

As you continue to breathe,

Begin to count your breath backwards from 27 to 1.

Inhaling,

Belly rise,

27.

Exhaling,

Belly falls,

27.

Inhaling,

Belly rise,

26.

Exhaling,

Belly falls,

26.

And so on until you reach 1.

If you arrive at 1,

Start back over at 27.

If you forget where you are,

Simply find your way back to 27,

Starting over.

Begin now.

Wherever you are counting your breath,

Stop now and come back to the sound of my voice.

Project your mind now through the center of your forehead,

The space of the mind.

Imagine before you a transparent screen through which you can see infinite space.

A space as far and as wide as the mind can see.

Watch the darkness that you see before you very carefully.

Be totally aware but not involved.

Notice any images that manifest in the dark space.

You might see colors,

Patterns or flashes of light.

Simply notice these things and continue with your awareness.

Whatever you see is the manifestation of your subconscious mind.

As you watch,

If thoughts occur,

Let them come and go but continue watching the dark space.

There should be no effort,

Just awareness.

Uninvolved,

Detached and relaxed awareness.

Now clear your mind screen and awaken the experience of inspiration in your body and mind.

Remember a time or a season that you felt truly inspired.

Perhaps your inspiration was by something or someone around you.

Feel the inner sense of motivation to accomplish something new.

Feel a surge of fresh ideas and creativity wash over you.

Recreate this experience in your mind,

The environment,

The people who were present,

The feelings that you had.

Now let that memory go and remember a time where you may have felt uninspired.

A time perhaps where you were facing a creative block.

Perhaps this block was going on in your work or outside life.

Perhaps it was something more personal,

Relating to your inner world.

Find the feeling of the mundane.

Perhaps the feeling of doing the same thing on autopilot.

Recall this memory in your mind,

The environment,

The people present,

The feelings that accompanied it.

Use your imagination.

Now let go of this memory.

Come back to your present self,

Practicing Yoga Nidra.

Re-enter your mind space and gaze upon your mind screen.

As you gaze into your mind screen,

I'll list a series of images.

Try your best to allow whatever pops up into your mind to arrive and then depart as you move on to the next visualization.

If nothing comes to mind,

Simply move on to the next.

Bring to mind a dry desert.

Beating heart.

A drawing of a heart.

A bowl of cherries.

Being in love.

A journal entry.

A warm sunny day.

Crisp cold air.

A beautiful mountaintop.

Your commute to work.

A fish in the sea.

An empty shell in the sand.

A desert cactus.

A dark room.

A double rainbow.

Blooming cherry blossoms.

A quiet morning.

Your reflection in a pond.

Birds chirping.

A glass of water.

A hot cup of tea.

A long pause.

Place of comfort.

Your body lying on the floor.

The sound of my voice.

Now clear your mind.

Imagine you're floating down a river,

Surrounded by a dusty desert landscape.

You have the whole raft to yourself.

The water gently glides along,

Carrying you with it.

You gaze out to the dusty shoreline of the surrounding desert and spot a coyote lapping up the cold water.

The coyote looks up at you and you lock eyes,

As if you were old souls reconnecting.

As the raft carries you away,

You remember your role as the visitor and the coyote scurries back into the dried out shrubs and purple sage into the dusty canyons off in the distance.

As you travel along,

Your gaze dances across pockets of light gleaming through the cracked stones of these canyons off in the distance.

The beams of sunlight almost seem ethereal as they illuminate the dense and heavy stone that carries with it the many stories over time.

Eventually your raft begins to slow down.

As it comes to hover over calmer water,

You gaze over the edge of the raft and catch a glimpse of your own reflection.

In your reflection,

You see the beautiful natural lines of your face and your defining features.

Your character etched into you like the defining lines of nature etched into the scenery all around you.

You look into your eyes in this moment As you see past your beautiful gaze into the depths of your mind,

You see the real you.

Just like the subtle beautiful slopes and curves of your outward features,

You embrace the slopes and curves of your inwardly defined self.

The beautiful thing,

You think,

It is to be you.

Both your inner and outer landscape there before your eyes.

Cherishing this person filled with the image of your unique life experiences,

Happiness,

Sorrows and more memories,

You gaze back out to the rocky desert skyline.

After a few moments,

You paddle into shore and gaze back towards the current that once carried you.

In your now stillness,

You observe the movement all around you.

The magic of the desert come to life.

The gentle river flowing past and the canyons lighting up the skyline.

Your eye catches tall crimson colored spindly structures that form castles in the sky.

They're soft rock shielded by a thin layer of hard rock.

Such a beautiful sight fills you with wonder and awe.

You wonder how something so brilliant still builds and forms its own set of armor.

You wonder perhaps what armor you might be wearing as well.

Could this armor be keeping your own brilliance in?

Carrying these thoughts with you,

You decide to meander towards the canyons.

As you get closer,

You begin to grow tired.

And upon arrival,

You decide to lay down on the cool canyon floor and close your eyes.

Smell the earth all around you.

Listen for rustling sounds of moss.

Perhaps you still hear the faint sounds of the river off in the distance.

As you lie here,

Feel a deep connection.

A deep connection of your whole body touching the earth.

Feel the texture of the earth underneath you.

As you continue to feel the loving energy of Mother Earth nourishing and cradling you,

Notice how she allows you to let go and allows you to receive.

You feel the beautiful exchange as if through an energetic umbilical cord.

As you take in this experience in all of its different ways,

Take in the feeling of love that you can receive in all of its different ways.

Visualize your heart slowly opening a little bit more with every breath.

As you inhale,

Feel love rushing through you.

The energy of the earth,

The open air,

And the environment that surrounds you.

Perhaps you feel even a pocket of light dancing through to meet your skin.

Take a few more moments here to take in the gratitude for your own personal experience on this canyon floor.

Know that you can always return whenever you like,

But saying goodbye for now.

Allow your intention to remain awake,

Aware,

And deeply relaxed.

Staying connected to the sound of my voice,

Begin to bring your awareness back to your natural breath as you feel it flowing in and out of your nostrils.

As you breathe in,

Feel the cool air,

And as you breathe out,

Allow the warm air to blanket your body.

Notice the feeling of deep relaxation in your physical body,

Feeling the body sinking down into the floor or your supportive surface.

Remember that you're practicing yoga nidra and imagine the surrounding room.

Perhaps imagine any people or objects that are present.

Notice any sounds that you might be able to hear,

Which will bring you more into the present moment.

Begin to move your body very slowly.

Gently brush the pads of your fingers across your thumb,

Beginning to wiggle your toes.

Allow your ankles and wrists to roll in a circular motion.

Place your hands over your heart and take one final deep breath in,

As if your heart were rising to greet your hands in a warm embrace.

As you exhale,

Breathing out the mouth.

Finally,

When you're ready,

Begin to gently crack open your gaze,

Allowing light back into your vision.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Take your time,

Move with ease and intention,

And enjoy the rest of your day or evening.