Yoga Nidra For Balance And Equinimity

This long Yoga Nidra practice focuses on the exploration of opposite qualities. By bringing the awareness to opposing qualities, and then experiencing them together, we move into a non-dual or liminal state of awareness, beyond either one thing or another, and the mind experiences deep relaxation. This technique allows us to neuralise the charges of preference and aversion that we tend to hold with opposites and experience them in a more balanced, equinimous way. Opposite qualities in this relaxation include heavy/light, hot/cold, stillness/movement and wholeness/separation, and tìhe exploration of the left and right sides of the body.

Image by Umut Hasanoglu

Transcript

Welcome to Yoga Nidra.

Make sure that you're comfortable to begin the practice.

Yoga Nidra is traditionally practiced in Shavasana,

Lying on your back,

With your feet relaxing out towards the sides,

And with the arms at the sides of the body,

And the palms facing upwards.

Draw the shoulder blades together to open the front of the chest,

And tuck the chin in to lengthen the back of the neck.

You might like to support your body by placing a rolled up blanket under the knees,

Or a block or a pillow under the head.

And if you don't feel like you'll be able to relax completely in Shavasana,

Find another position that feels more comfortable for you.

And the practice can also be done sitting,

If you prefer.

Once your body is comfortable and settled,

Do your best to remain in this position for the whole of the practice.

If you feel the need to move at any time,

First take a moment just to observe that need for movement.

Often the desire to move goes away all by itself.

But if that need for movement does continue to persist,

Make sure to move yourself slowly and carefully,

Being mindful not to disturb the rest of the body that's relaxing deeply.

Feel your body continuing to settle.

Feel all of the places where your body connects to the surface beneath you,

And feel your body becoming heavy in each of these places.

With every breath,

Feel your body sinking into the surface beneath.

Watch the gentle movement of the breath as it enters and leaves the body.

And feel every exhalation carrying you into relaxation.

Bring your awareness to the nose,

And feel the sensation of the air against your nose.

Feel the sensation of the air entering and leaving the nostrils.

And now bring the awareness into the ears,

And feel the sensation of the air inside the ears.

And with the awareness inside the ears,

Welcome any sounds that you can hear,

Without getting too involved in what the sounds are,

Or where they're coming from.

Just acknowledge that they are there,

And know that the sounds are not going to disturb you,

But will only help you to relax even more deeply.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

Invite a feeling to arise of complete safety and well-being.

You might like to remember a time when you felt safe,

Secure,

And well.

Or you could imagine a situation where you would feel safe,

Well,

And secure.

Invite this feeling to arise vividly.

Welcome it into your body.

Safety,

Security,

Well-being.

This is your inner resource,

And you can return to it at any time during the practice,

If you need to.

If you have a sankalpa,

Now is the time for your sankalpa.

The sankalpa is a vow or prayer from the heart for something you wish to attain in your life.

You can state the sankalpa as a short,

Positive statement,

Or it may arise as an image,

A feeling,

Or a deep sense of knowing.

There is no need to force your sankalpa.

Allow it to arise as it comes.

And if you don't have one,

Bring your awareness to rest at the heart centre,

And observe the heart centre.

We'll now begin the rotation of consciousness around the body,

Beginning at the right hand thumb.

Bring your awareness to rest at the right hand thumb,

The right index finger,

The right middle finger,

The ring finger,

And the little finger,

The palm of the right hand,

The back of the hand,

The right wrist,

The right forearm,

The right elbow,

The upper arm,

The right shoulder,

The right side of the chest,

The right waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The right knee,

The lower leg,

The right ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the right foot,

The top of the right foot,

And the right toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Move the awareness to the left hand thumb,

The left index finger,

The middle finger,

The ring finger,

And the little finger,

The palm of the left hand,

The back of the hand,

The left wrist,

The forearm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The left shoulder,

The left side of the chest,

The left waist,

The left hip,

The thigh,

The knee,

The lower leg,

The left ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the left foot,

The top of the left foot,

The left toes.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Bring the awareness to the right shoulder blade and the left shoulder blade,

The right buttock and the left buttock,

The whole of the spine,

The back of the head,

The top of the head,

The forehead,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

The eyebrow centre,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The nose,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The chin,

The jaw,

The neck,

The right collarbone,

The left collarbone,

The space between the collarbones,

The right side of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

The centre of the chest,

The navel,

The lower abdomen,

The right hip,

The left hip,

The right knee,

The left knee,

The right ankle,

The left ankle,

The right toes,

The left toes,

And the whole of the right leg.

Bring the awareness to the whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

The whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

The whole of the right side of the body,

The whole of the left side of the body,

The whole of the body together,

The whole of the body together.

Awareness on the whole of the body together.

Bring the awareness to the breath.

Observe the breath entering and leaving the body through the nostrils.

And notice how the breath makes a triangle shape as you breathe in and out.

It comes from outside the body,

And as you breathe in it moves up through each separate nostril and meets at the eyebrow centre,

Making a triangle.

And then as you breathe out,

It moves out through the separate nostrils again.

Keep watching this triangular shape made by the breath.

And now visualise the breath moving through alternate nostrils.

As you breathe in,

See the breath moving in through the left nostril and coming up to the eyebrow centre.

And as you breathe out,

See the breath moving out through the right nostril.

Breathe in through the right nostril,

Up to the eyebrow centre,

And breathe out through the left nostril.

Breathe in through the left,

Breathe out through the right,

Breathe in through the right,

Breathe out through the left.

Continue breathing through alternate nostrils.

Now extend the breath into the hands and the arms.

Breathe in from the left hand,

Up the left arm,

Through the left nostril,

To the eyebrow centre,

And breathe out through the right nostril,

Down the right arm,

To the right hand.

Breathe in from the right hand,

Up the right arm,

Through the right nostril,

To the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out through the left nostril,

Down the left arm,

To the left hand.

Continue breathing through alternate arms and hands.

And now extend the breath into the legs and feet.

Breathe in from the left foot,

Up the left leg,

Up the left side of the body,

Through the left nostril,

To the eyebrow centre,

And breathe out through the right nostril,

Through the right side of the body,

Down the right leg,

To the right foot.

Breathe in from the right foot,

Up the right leg,

Up the right side of the body,

Through the right nostril,

To the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out through the left nostril,

Down the left side of the body,

Down the left leg,

To the left foot.

Continue breathing through alternate sides of the body.

And now breathe through both sides of the body together.

Breathe in from the feet,

Up the legs,

Up the front of the body,

Through the nostrils,

To the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out from the eyebrow centre,

Down the front of the body,

Down the legs,

To the feet.

Continue breathing this triangle from the feet,

To the eyebrow centre.

And now breathe through the arms and the hands together.

Breathe in from the hands,

Up the arms,

Through the nostrils,

To the eyebrow centre.

Breathe out from the eyebrow centre,

Through the nostrils,

Down the arms,

To the hands.

Continue with this triangular breathing from the hands,

To the eyebrow centre.

And now breathe through the nose.

Watch the triangular shape of the breath moving in through the nostrils,

To the eyebrow centre.

And back out again.

Notice how still the body has become.

Feel your body lying completely still,

Motionless,

As if fast asleep.

Feel the feeling of stillness throughout the body.

Stillness in the body.

Stillness in the body.

But although the body appears to be still,

There is still movement happening.

Feel the gentle rising and falling of the chest as you breathe in and out.

Feel the beating of the heart,

The circulation of the blood.

Feel all of the movements that are always happening inside your body.

Become aware of movement in the body.

Movement in the body.

And is it possible to feel both of those together?

Can you feel your body completely still and alive with movement at the same time?

Are you able to perceive stillness and movement in your body together?

Stillness and movement together.

Stillness and movement together.

Invite the feeling of heat to arise in your body.

Welcome the feeling of heat.

Feel your body becoming very hot.

Feel your body very hot,

As if being outside on a hot summer's day.

Intensify this feeling of heat.

Feel heat inside the body.

Heat inside the body.

And now invite the feeling of cold.

Welcome the feeling of cold.

Feel your body becoming very cold,

As if being outside on a cold winter's day.

Intensify the feeling of cold.

Feel coldness inside the body.

Coldness inside the body.

And are you able to feel both of those at the same time?

Can you feel heat and coldness inside the body at the same time?

Can you feel heat and coldness together?

Heat and coldness together.

The feeling of heaviness.

Welcome the feeling of heaviness in the body.

Feel the body becoming very heavy.

Feel the body becoming so heavy that it sinks into the earth and becomes a part of the earth.

Feel heaviness inside the body.

Heaviness inside the body.

And now the feeling of lightness.

Feel the body becoming very light.

Feel the body so light that it floats away into the sky and becomes a part of the sky.

Feel lightness in the body.

Lightness in the body.

And are you able to perceive both of those together?

Can you feel the body so heavy that it sinks into the earth and so light that it floats away into the sky at the same time?

Can you feel heaviness and lightness together?

Heaviness and lightness together.

Heaviness and lightness together.

Feel into your body.

Feel the whole of your body.

Feel your body as a whole.

Feel the wholeness,

The completeness of your body.

And now become aware of all of the separate parts of your body.

Become aware of the separate limbs,

The different organs,

The bones,

The blood,

And all of the individual cells.

Become aware of the separate parts of the body.

And are you able to feel both of those together?

Can you feel your body completely whole and composed of many separate parts together?

Can you feel the separation and wholeness in your body together?

Separation and wholeness together.

See yourself sitting on the top of a mountain just before sunrise.

The full moon is slowly drifting towards the horizon and the sun has not yet risen.

Daylight is just arriving.

You watch the moon gently float down the sky and the first rays of sunlight begin to arise behind the horizon.

It is no longer night time and not yet morning.

In this in-between time,

As the sun slowly rises and the moon gently sets,

You close your eyes and enter into a deep meditation.

If you have a sankalpa,

Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.

Remember your sankalpa now.

And if you don't have one,

Rest your awareness at the heart and observe what's happening at the heart.

Recall your feeling of safety and well-being.

Welcome once again that feeling of absolute safety,

Security and well-being.

Welcome the feeling of safety into every cell of your body.

This is your inner resource and you can return to it any time that you need it,

In your practice and in your life.

Now slowly begin to turn your awareness back outwards.

Notice any sounds that you can hear in your environment.

Just let the awareness jump from sound to sound.

There's no need to get too involved in any one thing.

Just acknowledge that they are there.

Feel the feeling of the air against your skin and the clothing against your skin.

And can you picture your body so peaceful and still?

Begin to deepen the breathing as you prepare to end the practice.

Make some gentle movements to reawaken your body.

Move the fingers and toes,

The ankles and wrists.

And stretch yourself in any way that feels good for you.

Take your time.

There's no rush.

When you feel ready,

Slowly open your eyes.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.