Motivation & Confidence - A Yoga Nidra Practice

Starting with a brief diaphragmatic breathing activity we will enter into a calm and relaxed state. We will then travel through the stages of yoga nidra and a brief visualization to help us realize that we already hold all we need within ourselves to go about our days with confidence and motivation. Lie back and get comfortable for this yoga nidra experience. Photo by Altinay Dinc

Transcript

Welcome.

Today we're practicing Yoga Nidra meditation for a felt sense of motivation and increased confidence.

Before we get started and while we're sitting,

I'd like for us to prepare with a mindful breathing practice.

Sit in a comfortable position with your spine upright.

You can close your eyes or simply gaze downward as you place one hand over your heart center and the other hand above your belly button but below your sternum.

This is where your diaphragm is located.

Breathe in and out through your nose at your normal pace.

Notice the sensation of the rise and fall of your hands as they rest on these areas.

Notice the temperature of your hands.

Notice anything else that comes into your field of awareness as you sit in stillness,

Breathing in and out through your nose as your hands are resting comfortably where they are.

I invite you to lower your hands and your arms down by your side and place them comfortably in your lap.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale with an audible sigh out your mouth or your nose.

Let's do this one more time together.

Now that we're a little more relaxed and calmed,

You're invited to lie down in a comfortable position.

Make yourself as comfortable as you can with a pillow under your knees and a blanket to keep you warm if you need it.

Give yourself permission to completely relax during our next moments together as you listen to my voice and follow my invitations for relaxation meant to facilitate improved self-awareness in each present moment.

During this meditation,

There is no right or wrong.

There is no good or bad.

Everything that comes into your field of awareness is simply information.

You're invited to welcome all of it in,

Recognize and witness it without analyzing or getting attached to it.

While it's preferred that you remain relaxed in body and alert in mind,

If you fall asleep or slip into and out of awareness,

That's totally okay.

The part of you that I'm speaking to is always listening.

If you fall asleep,

That must be what your body and your mind need at the moment.

You can always come back and listen again.

We'll go through a body scan to relax your body,

And then we'll take a journey through the other subtle layers to help illuminate the wonderful truth that exists deep within us,

That of pure awareness and wonderment.

If you haven't already,

Go ahead and close your eyes and do anything you need in order to stay relaxed during this time together.

Breathe in and out through your nose at your normal pace.

Go ahead and bring your attention to what you can hear at this moment.

Maintain your awareness on everything you hear at this very moment.

Now move your attention to the sensations of your breath.

Maintain your awareness on the sensations of your breath in this moment.

Go back and pay attention to what you were first listening to.

You're returning your attention to what you were listening to a few moments ago.

Return to the sensations of your breath.

Now please hold your attention on both what you were hearing and the sensations of your breath at the same time.

You're holding your awareness on both your sense of hearing and the sensations of your breath together at the same time.

In life,

We may find that we need to hold our focus on two seemingly different things at the same time.

What these seemingly different things have in common is that we're aware of them.

Usually we'll find that things that are different will have at least one thing in common,

At the very least our awareness of them.

Now's a good time to set your intention,

Your Sankalpa.

This will be a positive statement of truth that's set in the present moment,

As if it's already happening.

It may answer the question,

What's the purpose of my listening to this meditation today?

If you don't have an intention,

No problem.

You can always use mine.

My intention for today's meditation is this.

I'm finding my purpose.

I have motivation and confidence to take small steps daily toward my goal.

I'll repeat this three times and will then give you a few moments.

You can repeat it with me silently or wait and state your own.

I'm finding my purpose.

I have motivation and confidence to take small steps daily toward my goal.

I'm finding my purpose.

I have motivation and confidence to take small steps daily toward my goal.

I'm finding my purpose.

I have motivation and confidence to take small steps daily toward my goal.

I'll now give you a few moments to either repeat this again if you'd like or state your own sankalpa for this practice.

You're invited now to transport yourself to a place or a spot that you love spending time during the summer months.

A place or spot that makes you feel joyful,

Safe,

And uplifted.

A place that you feel your best.

This place can be real or it can be made up.

This is your inner sanctum.

Use your senses to feel yourself in this place right now in the present moment.

What do you see all around you?

What are the sounds that you hear?

Are you indoors or outdoors?

What's the temperature like?

How does the air feel on your skin?

Are you aware of any smells or scents in the air?

How do you feel here in this place,

Emotionally and mentally?

This inner sanctum is a place you can visit anytime you wish,

At any time during this meditation and any time of day or night when you just need a moment to yourself.

Take a breath in,

Absorb this place for a second more,

And exhale as we continue on to our body scan.

Bring your awareness to the sensation of your eyes.

Left eye.

Right eye.

Your nose.

Left ear.

Right ear.

Feel the sensation of your lips as they gently touch each other.

Your chin.

Notice the sensation of your entire face as a whole.

Feel the sensation of the top of your head.

Back of your head.

And in back of your neck.

You are awareness,

Noticing the sensations of your entire head,

Face and neck.

Allow your awareness to travel down to your collarbones,

To the center of your chest,

Front of your torso and abdomen.

As you breathe in and out,

Notice the slight movement of your ribs as they expand and contract,

Becoming aware of the diaphragm that's just below your ribcage.

Now bring attention to the back of your torso,

Your shoulder blades and middle spine.

Notice any sensations you feel in your shoulder blades and your middle spine,

Your lower back and pelvis.

Travel back up to the center of your chest.

Bring awareness to the left shoulder.

Left upper arm.

Forearm.

Left wrist.

Top of your hand.

Palm of your hand.

Fingers and thumb.

Your entire left arm.

Your right shoulder.

Right upper arm.

Forearm.

Right wrist.

Top of your hand.

Palm of your hand.

Your fingers and thumb.

Your entire right arm.

Both arms together.

Notice the sensations of both arms as you hold them in your awareness at the same time.

Allow your intention to travel to your pelvis,

Front and back.

Left hip and thigh.

Left knee and lower leg.

Ankle.

Top of foot.

Sole of foot.

All five toes.

Sense the feeling of your entire left leg and toes.

Right hip and thigh.

Right knee and lower leg.

Ankle.

Top of foot.

Sole of foot.

All five toes.

Sense the feeling of your entire right leg and toes.

Both legs together.

Notice the sensations of both legs as you hold them in your awareness at the same time.

Feel the sensations of the entire left side of your body from head to toes.

Your awareness is on the entire left side of your body.

Feel the sensations of the entire right side of your body from head to toes.

Your awareness is on the entire right side of your body.

Holding your awareness to both the left and right sides of your body together simultaneously.

You're holding awareness of your entire body.

Feeling sensations in the present moment of your entire body lying on the surface beneath you.

Notice how relaxed your body feels as you're resting here and now in the present moment.

Take a breath in from the top of your head down to the area of your diaphragm and exhale out from this place a radiant golden light to surround your body.

Now take a breath in from the base of your spine up to this area of your diaphragm and exhale this radiant golden light to surround your body again.

Keep practicing this breathing pattern as you watch this brilliant and radiant golden light expand around your body to help you become more aware of your own beautiful radiance.

I invite you to notice how your body feels as you experience this energy,

Your energy.

Notice your thoughts in this moment.

Welcome them in.

Recognize them for what they are.

Watch them as a distant observer who has no judgments about them.

And then notice them fade away.

Each thought,

Each emotion fading in and fading away like clouds in a bright blue sky gliding by you as you take notice without judgment.

Go ahead now and focus on the place between your eyes on your forehead.

You're bringing your awareness to the area known as your mind's eye.

In your mind's eye,

Visualize the sun,

The bright shining sun,

The moon.

You're visualizing the moon,

A warming campfire,

A cooling rain,

A sharp sewing needle,

A dull butter knife.

Picture yourself holding a sharp sewing needle in one hand while simultaneously holding a dull butter knife in the other hand.

You're holding your awareness of both a sharp sewing needle and a dull butter knife at the same time without attachment to either of them.

Bring your awareness to a feeling of calmness.

Now bring your awareness to a feeling of worry.

Now become aware of both the senses of feeling calmness and worry at the same time.

This doesn't need to make any sense.

Simply notice your awareness of holding both senses of feeling calmness and worry together at the same time.

In your mind's eye,

Visualize standing in front of a large blank TV screen.

As you're looking at this TV,

Become aware of a positive description of yourself that appears on the screen.

This positive description is a quality that you already possess to succeed in life.

Read this description.

Take it in.

Absorb it.

Notice how it makes you feel.

Where in your body do you feel it?

You'll remember this positive attribute that you already possess,

And you'll use it as a motivation for anything that you do in daily life.

Rest in stillness.

Keeping aware of this description and how you're feeling in the present moment.

As you keep this description in your awareness,

Notice the golden light of energy that surrounds you,

Enveloping you with confidence,

Motivation,

And compassion for yourself and for others.

Take a deep breath in.

Feel and feel your body as it rests on the surface beneath you.

Feel the back of your head,

Your shoulders,

Upper,

Middle,

And lower back.

Glutes.

Backs of your legs and heels,

All resting on this surface.

You're invited to use your senses to transport yourself back to your sanctuary.

As you feel the air on your skin,

Notice the things that you see.

Smell the scents in your sanctuary.

Hear the beautiful sounds.

Repeat these words with me.

I am confident and capable.

I have the will and motivation to accomplish my goals.

I am confident and capable.

I have the will and motivation to accomplish my goals.

I am confident and capable.

I have the will and motivation to accomplish my goals.

If you can remember your sankalpa that you set for today's meditation,

You're invited to repeat it now to yourself.

I'll give you a few moments.

My wish for you today is that you go through your days with an improved sense of self-awareness,

Confidence,

And motivation to take even one small step in a forward direction to reach your goals.

May you remember the positive description from your mind's eye,

That positive attribute that's already a part of you.

May you use that for continued success.

Every step forward,

No matter how tiny,

Small,

Or large,

Is a step in the right direction.

In a moment,

I'll count down from 5 to 1 and our yoga nidra meditation will be over.

5,

4,

3,

2,

1.

Gently wiggle your toes,

Your fingers.

Stretch out your arms and legs.

Open your eyes.

Roll to your side and come to a sitting position.

Notice how your body feels in the present moment.

Notice what you see and what you hear.

Give yourself a moment or two to ground yourself back into the now.

And when you're ready,

You're welcome to move forward with your day.

Our yoga nidra practice is over.

Thank you and I'll see you next time.