Yoga Nidra - Seated Practice

Yoga Nidra is a deeply healing and relaxing meditative exercise, and while it's usually practiced lying down, it can also be done while seated in a chair or on a cushion. This makes it a versatile meditation for any time you're not near your mat (for example at work, during travels, etc). You can still use your Sankalpah (intention or resolve) and move through the practice at a slightly quicker pace.

Have a seat and let's get started.

Transcript

Welcome to this Yoga Nidra session.

Namaste.

Today we're practicing Yoga Nidra in a seated position.

This is a shorter practice.

It takes about 20 minutes to complete.

And this is a practice that can be used at any time,

On a lunch break,

For a corporate event,

On an airplane,

Anywhere that you're seated,

And don't have the ability to lie down with all of the usual props that you would have during a traditional Yoga Nidra session.

So take the next minute to find a comfortable seat in a chair or on a cushion.

Your legs can be crossed if you're seated in a meditation posture.

If you're on a chair,

Uncross your legs and place something under your feet or adjust the height of your chair so that your feet are grounded onto the floor.

You can rest your back against a wall if you're seated on a cushion or against the back of the chair for support.

The arms should feel loose from the shoulders down to the fingertips,

Just dropping onto the lap.

Take a moment to make sure your pelvis feels even So your seat is grounded down quite evenly into the cushion or chair.

And from those two hip points,

Feel your spine lifting upwards,

Elongating towards the ceiling,

As if the spine traveled all the way up through the back of the head.

Allow your eyes to close.

Bring to mind,

For a moment,

Your Sankalpa,

Your personal resolution.

We're working with the same Sankalpa that you've been working with.

So the one that's short and concise and familiar to you that you feel passionate about.

Bring it to mind for a moment.

That's going to be our focus,

The seed that we implant in the subconscious.

Now begin to follow your breath in and out.

Notice the air touching the nostrils as it enters the body and flow with that breath all the way down into the belly.

And then traveling back up and out,

Your attention follows the breath as it exits.

Continue like this.

If it feels comfortable,

Go ahead and slow your breath down just a tiny bit.

Following the breath in and out with your awareness.

In a moment,

We'll begin to rotate our conscious attention around the body.

And we'll do this quite quickly.

So the moment your attention is focused in one area,

You may feel a reaction from that body part,

From every cell that exists right there.

And then the moment we move to the next,

That body part,

The previous one,

Drops out of existence.

And this process will happen quite quickly.

Allow your attention to be focused but loose.

The body stays tall and erect,

With the chest and the torso open and receptive,

And the breath moving on its own now.

And today we'll start by bringing the awareness to the right thumb,

The right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger.

Now the tips of the fingers and thumb,

The spaces between the fingers,

The palm of the right hand,

Back of right hand,

Right arm,

The right arm,

Right shoulder,

Right chest,

Right torso and waist,

The right hip,

Right hip and seat,

Right thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Right ankle,

Sole of foot,

Top of foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And right pinky toe.

Now all of the toes together,

The tips of the toes,

The spaces between the toes.

Move the awareness to the left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

The tips of the fingers and thumb,

The spaces between the fingers,

Palm of left hand,

Back of left hand,

The entire left arm,

Left shoulder,

Chest,

Left torso and waist,

Left hip and seat,

Left thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Left ankle joint,

Sole of left foot,

Top of left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And left pinky toe.

Now all of the toes together,

The tips of the toes,

The spaces between the toes.

Move the attention to the abdomen,

The solar plexus and the rib cage,

The top of the chest,

The base of the throat,

Top of the left shoulder,

Top of the right shoulder,

Tops of both shoulders together,

The upper back and shoulder blades,

The middle back and spine,

Lower back and spine,

Back of the neck,

Sides of the neck,

The entire throat,

The jaw,

Left cheek,

Right cheek,

Both cheeks together,

Top lip,

Bottom lip,

And both lips together,

The chin,

The tip of the nose,

Left eye,

Right eye,

Both eyes together,

Both eyes deep into the skull,

Both eyes extending deep into the skull,

The base of the tongue,

The middle of the tongue,

Tip of the tongue,

Top teeth,

Bottom teeth,

All of the teeth together,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Both ears together,

Deep into the skull,

Follow both ears deep into the skull,

Both temples,

The forehead,

The entire scalp,

And the point at the very top of the head.

Now move your attention down into the skull a few inches,

Between the inner ears,

Somewhere deep in the brain.

Position your awareness there,

Remaining alert yet still.

Start to notice all of the sounds in your environment without reaching or searching for them,

Just allowing all sound,

All vibration to come and go.

Notice the sounds in the distance and sounds closer to you.

Notice low pitch sounds and very high frequencies.

Perhaps noticing the sound of the quietness and stillness positioned in the middle of the brain between the ears.

The attention is like a sensitive microphone,

Just listening and receiving.

Keep listening.

Notice if you hear one sound at a time,

Or if the sounds that you hear make up an orchestra,

A symphony of sound.

Begin to release your awareness from the sounds.

Drop your attention down an inch or two and forward,

Finding that space of the third eye center,

The center of your intuition.

It may be an indigo color.

It may just feel like spaciousness,

Pristine awareness.

With your inner sight focused here at the third eye center,

Set back in the brain behind the forehead.

Begin to imagine a very bright light,

As bright a light as you can possibly imagine.

Bright white light emanating from this space,

Blindingly light.

Keep watching it.

If the image fades,

Rebuild it.

So bright and white,

Everything else is diminished.

Notice the qualities of this bright white light.

Are there any colors present besides the white?

Is there any movement?

Does the light flare?

And start to watch this light begin to dim now,

Dimming,

Slowly dimming,

Slowly dimming,

Until eventually you can barely make out the light and it becomes pure darkness behind the forehead,

Like a dark night sky,

No stars,

No moon,

Completely black.

Notice the qualities of this complete darkness.

What else can you make out about this dark space?

Now in this dark space,

Begin to imagine a star shape.

It could be the outline of a star and it could be a solid star,

Could be made of gas.

Imagine a star shape and what that means to you.

Create the image of this star right there in the third eye.

See the shape,

The size,

The color,

The brightness,

The movement or stillness.

Does it stay the same as you build it in your mind or does it change and shift?

Try to imagine all of the details,

Creatively visualizing this star.

Whenever the image fades,

Simply rebuild it using your imagination.

Now begin to watch the star as it starts to fade,

As it starts to exit,

Pulling back further and further and further away from you,

Becoming smaller and smaller and smaller,

Releasing its energy and light into the deep darkness that was there before,

Being swallowed up by that dark eternal space.

Follow the image of that star fading away as long as you can.

And now it's time to release and plant your sankalpa.

Bring your personal resolution to mind.

To yourself,

Repeat your sankalpa three times now,

Imagining it sinking deeply into the layers of your subconscious.

Very gradually,

We'll make our way back into the awareness of our body,

Seated in the chair or on the cushion.

Feel the weight of your body through your hips,

Thighs,

Feet,

The weight of your hands on your lap.

Notice your head balancing on top.

Observe the breath moving by itself in and out,

Lifting the ribs and allowing them to drop,

Feeling the back body and releasing,

Traveling to the belly and then letting go.

With your eyes still closed,

Notice the temperature of the room that you're in.

Recall the positioning of your chair in this room and the objects that are situated around you.

Body still,

Breathing,

Unconcerned,

Existing in this space,

Intentionalized.

Take one slow and full breath consciously into your abdomen.

As you exhale,

Slowly open your eyes little by little,

Allowing yourself to take in the surroundings,

Re-acclimating to your environment.

And notice how you feel right now.

Allow yourself to enjoy the positive sensations.

This completes the practice of Yoga Nidra.