Welcome to your Yoga Nidra practice.
Make sure that you're in a comfortable position for your relaxation.
Yoga Nidra is traditionally practiced lying in Shavasana.
That's lying on your back with your legs open to a little wider than hip distance apart and with your arms a little away from your body,
With the palms of your hands facing upwards.
Or if Shavasana doesn't feel comfortable for you to rest in for a long time,
Choose another position that doesn't cause you any physical discomfort.
You can bring your feet to the mat at hip distance apart and drop the knees together.
Or bring the feet together with the knees opening to the sides.
Or if you prefer,
You can also do this practice sitting.
Take any support that you need to feel warm and comfortable.
And once you've found your position,
Make the intention to yourself to remain in that position all the way through the practice.
Sometimes during the practice,
The need to move may arise.
But if this happens,
First of all,
Just observe that need for movement.
Often it will pass by itself very naturally.
But if the feeling does persist and you do need to physically move,
Make sure that you do so carefully and mindfully,
Gently moving that part of your body to a more comfortable place without disturbing your resting body any more than is necessary.
And as you become more comfortable and ready for your relaxation,
Feel your body beginning to relax and settle into the surface beneath you.
Settle into all of the meeting points where your body connects into that surface.
And with each exhalation,
Feel your body relaxing more deeply into each of those places.
Now move your awareness to the space behind your closed eyes.
Touch the space behind your eyes and observe what's happening behind your eyelids.
Observe any shapes,
Colours or patterns or just darkness.
Without analysing or thinking about why anything is the way it is,
Just observe.
On the eyes,
Move to the nose.
Feel into the nose and follow the sensation of the air brushing against the insides of your nostrils as you breathe.
And now move into the ear.
Can you feel the sensation of the air inside your ears?
With the awareness inside the ears,
Become aware of any sounds that are present in your environment right now.
Without analysing the sounds or worrying about where they're coming from,
Just note that they are there.
And know that none of the sounds are going to disturb you,
But they can only assist with your relaxation.
In Yoga Nidra,
We rest between sleeping and waking.
The body sleeps,
But the consciousness remains awake and aware.
And it's from this liminal space between sleeping and waking that we're able to access profound levels of healing,
Rest and insight.
So make the intention to yourself now that you will not sleep,
That you will remain awake and aware for the whole of the practice.
Say to yourself,
I will remain awake and aware for this Yoga Nidra practice.
Now bring your awareness to the eyebrow centre and picture a golden flame burning brightly at the eyebrow centre.
In the centre of the golden flame,
Invite an impression to arise of something that you wish to achieve or attain,
A goal or desire that you intend to move towards in your life.
See yourself living that desire,
Moving through your life with happiness,
Ease and health.
See your desire vividly,
Feel it inside your body as if it's happening right now.
Intensify the feeling,
Welcome it into your body,
Into your mind.
And if it feels right for you,
You may like to word your desire into a short positive statement.
I am completely healthy.
I am one with the divine.
I flow through life's challenges with ease and grace.
Maintain your awareness at the flame at the eyebrow centre.
We're going to move this flame around the body.
So from the eyebrow centre,
Move your awareness to the space between the collarbones and picture a flickering golden flame at the space between the collarbones.
And the right shoulder,
See a flickering flame at the right shoulder.
The right elbow.
The right wrist.
The tip of the right hand thumb.
The tip of the right index finger.
The tip of the right middle finger.
The tip of the right ring finger.
The tip of the right little finger.
The right wrist.
The right elbow.
The right shoulder.
The space between the collarbones.
The left shoulder.
The left elbow.
The left wrist.
The tip of the left hand thumb.
The tip of the left index finger.
The tip of the left middle finger.
The tip of the left ring finger.
The tip of the left little finger.
The left wrist.
The left elbow.
The left shoulder.
The space between the collarbones.
The centre of the chest.
A golden flame at the centre of the chest.
The left side of the chest.
The centre of the chest.
The right side of the chest.
The centre of the chest.
The navel.
The lower abdomen.
The right hip.
The right knee.
The right ankle.
The right big toe.
The second toe.
The third toe.
The fourth toe.
The fifth toe.
The right ankle.
The right knee.
The right hip.
The lower abdomen.
The left hip.
The left knee.
The left ankle.
The left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
The left ankle.
The left knee.
The left hip.
The lower abdomen.
The navel.
The centre of the chest.
A golden flame flickering at the centre of the chest.
From the chest,
Move the awareness into the lungs.
Feel the air filling the lungs on each inhalation.
Watch the air flowing into every part of the insides of the lungs,
Purifying the insides of the lungs.
And follow the breath into the rest of the body.
Each breath flows into the body,
Purifying the whole of the body.
Follow the breath.
See where it naturally flows to.
Each breath purifies the body and purifies the nadis,
The subtle energy channels that flow all around the body.
With every breath,
Blockages are freed from the nadis,
Bringing you more energy,
More vitality.
Continue to breathe into the whole of the body.
Breathe life and freedom into the whole of the body.
Now feel into your body and feel your body becoming very heavy.
Feel the feeling of heaviness inside the body.
Feel the body becoming heavier and heavier.
Feel the body sinking into the surface beneath you,
Sinking into the earth.
Intensify the feeling of heaviness.
Feel it vividly.
The feeling of heaviness in the body.
The feeling of heaviness.
And now feel your body becoming very light.
Feel the body becoming lighter and lighter.
Feel the body becoming so light that it floats away into the sky.
The feeling of lightness.
Intensify the feeling.
The feeling of lightness.
Feel it vividly.
Lightness.
The feeling of lightness.
Heaviness and lightness together.
Welcome the feelings of heaviness and lightness together.
Can you feel the body becoming very heavy,
Sinking into the earth,
And very light,
Floating away into the sky at the same time?
Can you feel heaviness and lightness together?
Heaviness and lightness together.
Now feel into your body and invite the feeling of apathy to arise.
The feeling of apathy.
If it helps you to recall the feeling you might like to remember a time or a situation where you felt very apathetic,
Very disinterested,
Or simply allow the feeling of apathy to arise by itself.
Feel how the feeling manifests inside your body.
The feeling of apathy.
Intensify the feeling.
Feel it vividly.
The feeling of apathy.
The feeling of apathy.
And now the feeling of passion.
Invite the feeling of passion to arise.
Perhaps recalling a time you felt very passionate,
Or something that you do feel very passionate about,
Or just allowing the feeling to come by itself.
Feel it vividly inside your body.
The feeling of passion.
Intensify the feeling.
The feeling of passion.
The feeling of passion.
And is it possible to feel passion and apathy together?
Can you welcome the feelings of passion and apathy as they arise inside the body at the same time?
Passion and apathy together.
Intensify the feelings.
Passion and apathy together.
Passion and apathy together.
Bring the awareness back to the eyebrow centre.
Observe what's happening at the eyebrow centre.
Notice any shapes,
Colours,
Images or patterns.
Without getting involved in them,
Just watch.
Keep the awareness at the eyebrow centre.
I'm going to name some different things.
Allow an impression of each one to arise.
Without forcing anything,
Allow each one to come by itself,
However it comes.
Starting with the midday sun.
A desert storm.
The starry night sky.
A feather.
The infinity symbol.
The colour red.
A butterfly.
A windy mountaintop.
White clouds in a blue sky.
Striking a match.
The symbol of Om.
A flickering flame.
Keep the awareness on the flickering flame at the eyebrow centre.
Invite,
Once again,
Your goal or intention to arise in the centre of the flame.
See yourself doing the thing that you most want to do.
Achieving the thing that you most want to achieve.
Feel your desire as if it is happening right now.
Feel the vivid feeling that it is happening.
And if it feels right for you,
Repeat it as a short positive statement once more.
I am completely healthy.
I am one with the divine.
I flow through life's challenges with ease and grace.
And now slowly begin to send your awareness back outwards.
Send your awareness out to the sounds that you can hear in your environment and let the awareness jump between the different sounds without remaining too long at any one sound.
Feel into the feeling of your body resting into the surface beneath you.
And in your mind,
Can you create a picture of the room that you're in?
Can you picture the walls,
The floor and the ceiling?
Can you picture the furniture and all of the different objects?
Now take a long deep breath as you prepare to end the practice.
Start to make some small movements with your fingers and your toes.
Make some circles with your wrists and your ankles.
And give yourself a stretch in any way that feels good for you.
When you feel ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Your practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
Thank you for listening.
