Yoga Nidra: The Gift

This is a systematic relaxation practice. The literal translation of Yoga Nidra is yogic sleep. The process deprograms tension and induces deeper brain wave rhythms. A 40 minute practice of Yoga Nidra can equate to getting about 4 hours of sleep. Yoga Nidra has also been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and depression and is effective in treating PTSD. It can improve digestion, sleep, aid recovery time and overcoming addictions.

Karina has been teaching Yoga Nidra since 2003. This practice draws inspiration from ParaYoga Nidra, iRest of Richard Miller, and the journey work of Tom Holmes PhD.

Intro/Outro Music by Leigh Robinson-NaturesEye

Transcript

Please lie comfortably on your back.

It's important that you are in a space free of distractions.

You will most likely want some cushion under your body,

Especially your head,

Though it's not recommended that you lie in bed due to the mind's association to sleep.

Uncross your arms and legs,

Close your eyes,

And start to settle in.

Become aware of your body and the space occupied by your body.

Become aware of the points of contact the body makes with the floor or the surface beneath you.

Now become aware of your breath and the rise and fall of your abdomen as you inhale and exhale.

Let's take nine conscious breaths.

We'll count them backwards.

Inhale as the belly rises,

Count nine.

Exhale,

Belly drops,

Nine.

Inhale,

Eight.

Exhale,

Eight,

And so on.

Every time you exhale,

Every time the belly drops,

Feel yourself settling a little more deeply into the points of contact the body makes with the floor or surface beneath you.

We'll begin the practice of Yoga Nidra by stating your sankalpa three times.

If you do not have a sankalpa,

You may use these words,

I know that I am worthy of happiness and success.

I make choices aligned with my highest good and authentic ground of being.

Now that you've said the words of your sankalpa,

Picture in your mind what your life would look like if it had already come to fruition.

Really see an image of yourself having manifest that resolve.

Now that you have stated the words of your sankalpa and visualized an image of it coming to fruition,

Feel a sense of joy and gratitude that this moment,

This practice is moving you in that direction.

So we'll begin Yoga Nidra by rotating consciousness through the body.

I'll be naming body parts and all you have to do is follow along with your awareness in your own body.

You don't have to move or try to relax these areas.

Just simply let your awareness move from point to point as I name them.

We'll begin with the crown of the head,

Both ears,

The forehead,

Eyebrows,

Eyebrow center,

Ridge of the nose,

Base of the nostrils,

Both eyelids,

The eyeballs themselves,

The area behind the eyes,

The sinuses,

The eustachian tubes running from the inner ear to the center of the throat,

The jaw,

Both lips,

The rows of teeth,

Space inside the mouth,

Roof of the mouth,

Tongue,

Both cheekbones,

The whole surface of the face,

The whole head,

Neck,

Center of the throat,

Right collarbone,

Right shoulder joint,

Armpit,

Upper arm,

Right elbow,

Forearm,

Right wrist,

Right thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Palm of the right hand,

Back of the hand,

The whole right hand and fingers together,

Just the fingertips,

The whole right arm and hand together,

Center of the chest,

Left collarbone,

Left shoulder joint,

Left armpit,

Upper arm,

Left elbow,

Forearm,

Wrist,

Left thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Back of the hand,

The whole left hand and fingers together,

Just the fingertips,

The whole left arm and hand together,

Center of the chest,

The whole surface of the chest,

Surface of the abdomen,

Navel center,

Right hip joint,

Right thigh,

Knee joint,

Lower leg,

Right ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth,

The whole right foot and toes together,

The whole right leg and foot together,

Base of the spine,

Left hip joint,

Thigh,

Left knee joint,

Lower leg,

Left ankle joint,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth,

The whole left foot and toes together,

The whole left leg and foot together,

Base of the spine,

Lower back,

Mid-back,

Upper back,

The whole length of the spine,

The point between the eyebrows,

Point at the back of the head,

Point between the eyebrows,

Base of the spine,

All ten fingertips,

Heart center,

Ten toe tips,

Base of the spine,

Back of the head,

Point between the eyebrows,

The whole right side of the body,

The whole left side of the body,

The whole front surface of the body,

The whole back side of the body,

Whole body.

Rest your awareness in the whole body and let the whole body rest in your awareness.

Now move your attention to the flow of breath in the nostrils.

As you inhale,

Two little streams of breath rise in the nostrils.

And as you exhale,

Those two little streams of breath flow out towards the base of the nostrils.

Very effortlessly,

These two little streams of breath rise and fall.

We're going to imagine that those two streams of breath are like two streams of light rising on inhale from the base of the nostrils to converge at the center of the brain.

And on exhalation,

They move from that point at the brain center out to the base of the nostrils again.

Now we know that the breath is doing much more than this,

But this is all we're paying attention to.

Two little streams rise to converge like an inverted V of light.

On inhale and on exhalation,

They move back out to the base of the nostrils.

We're going to count these breaths now backwards from 27 to 1.

For example,

Inhale,

The two streams of light rise,

You count 27,

Exhale 27,

Inhale 26,

Exhale 26,

And so on.

If you finish before I speak again,

Please just start over counting the breaths backwards.

If you get distracted for any reason and lose count,

Also just start over counting the breaths backwards from 27 to 1 as they rise and fall in the nostrils.

Please begin.

Wherever you are,

Please stop counting and move your awareness to the space just off the surface of the forehead.

This space just off the surface of the forehead is referred to as the Chittikasha or the screen of consciousness.

And as you hold your awareness there,

You may see light or images flashing on that screen.

Try not to analyze or get too involved with whatever you might see there.

Just allow the subconscious to start deprogramming some of what's stored there.

It's just releasing.

Try to watch like an amused observer.

We'll now work with the pairs of opposites,

Both in sensation and emotion.

Feel the body and imagine that it is made of solid concrete.

Invoke the sensations of heaviness in the body.

The body is as heavy and dense as concrete.

So heavy you can feel your body sinking a little deeper into the floor or surface beneath you.

Invoke the sensations of heaviness in the body.

Feel the body as heavy and dense as concrete.

Now we'll move to the opposite.

Imagine that the body is actually made of helium.

The body is as light as the helium balloon.

The body is as light as a helium balloon.

So light you could feel yourself lifting right up off the floor or surface you're lying on.

Invoke the sensations of lightness in the body.

Feel the body as light as a helium balloon.

Change the intention back to heavy.

The body is as heavy as concrete.

Change it back to light.

The body is as light as a helium balloon.

And now return to a normal weight and density.

Now imagine that you are standing inside a deep freezer or outside in a blizzard in the freezing cold temperatures with very little clothes on.

Invoke the sensations of coldness in the body.

Feel the body excessively cold.

Now change the intention.

Imagine that you're standing in the desert at high noon or in a blazing furnace.

Invoke the sensations of heat in the body.

Feel the body excessively hot.

Change the intention back to cold,

Frigid,

Deep freezer cold.

Change the intention back to heat,

Blazing furnace heat.

And now return to a normal temperature.

Move the awareness back to the space just off the surface of the forehead.

And remember a time.

It may have been in the recent past or maybe long ago.

Remember a time when you felt really vibrant and healthy in your physical body.

Maybe you felt strong with a lot of energy.

Remember a time of feeling very healthy and vibrant in your physical body.

And now remember a time,

Again it may have been in the recent past or long ago,

When you did not feel very vibrant in your physical body.

Maybe you did not have optimal health.

Maybe you were sick or fatigued or injured in some way.

Remember a time when you did not feel the most vibrant in your physical body.

And now move to the center of consciousness.

The place inside that can hold both of these two experiences in awareness at once simultaneously.

Both a time when you felt very healthy and vibrant in your physical body and a time when you maybe felt not so well physically.

Simply hold these two experiences in awareness together without preference,

Without judgment.

Just hold them in awareness.

Now recall a time,

May have been long ago or in the recent past,

When you felt really joyful,

Really happy.

Maybe you were laughing or just having a wonderful day.

Remember a time when you felt really happy,

Really joyful.

And now recall a time,

Again it may have been recently or long ago,

When you did not feel very happy.

Maybe you were grieving or upset,

Maybe depressed.

Remember a time feeling not so joyful.

Now move to the place inside that can hold both of these two experiences in awareness at once simultaneously.

Both a time of feeling very joyful and a time of feeling not so happy.

Hold these two experiences without judgment,

Without preference,

Just in awareness together.

Now recall a moment,

Maybe it was long ago or in the recent past,

Where you felt very grounded,

Very centered,

Very focused.

And now recall a time when you did not feel very grounded.

Maybe you felt a little spacey or forgetful,

Lacked focus.

Remember a time of feeling ungrounded.

And now return to the center of consciousness,

Where you can hold both of these experiences in awareness together.

Both a time when you felt very grounded,

Very focused,

And a time when you felt maybe not so grounded.

Hold both of these experiences together simultaneously,

Without judgment,

Without preference,

Just in awareness.

And now return your attention to the citta kasha,

The screen of consciousness just off the surface of the forehead.

Again,

As you hold awareness in the space just off the surface of the forehead,

You may see light,

Images,

Shapes flashing on that screen.

Don't try to analyze or get involved with anything that you see.

Just simply relax and allow the subconscious to deprogram.

Now I'm going to ask you to picture something very specific on that screen of consciousness.

Imagine that you are in nature,

Somewhere in nature,

And you're looking for something.

Not quite sure what you're looking for,

But there's an innate sense of curiosity in this place.

And as your mind is open and you're curious,

You happen upon a portal,

Some place that can transport you somewhere else,

Somewhere in the earth,

In some way.

And so you enter that portal and immediately find yourself kind of being whisked through time and space.

And though you don't know where you're going,

You trust that where you're going is where you're supposed to be going.

There's a calm about this unknown channel.

So you surrender to that flow and you let yourself just be carried into the dark unknown.

Eventually you start to see a light up ahead,

The other side of the portal.

And as you approach that opening,

There's a deep sense of peace and even excitement.

When you step out of the portal,

You walk into the most magnificent place in nature that you have ever seen.

A magical place,

A healing place.

It's as if this place was made just for you.

So you walk out in awe and spend some time observing the sights,

The sounds,

The smells.

There's such beauty here,

Such vitality.

You feel nourished just being in this place.

Eventually you come across a place that is the most ideal place you've ever seen for meditation.

Some perfect little spot that is so inviting to you.

You go there and you may choose to sit in meditation or you may choose to lie down on this perfect place.

And as you settle in and close your eyes there,

This warm beam of light starts to shine on you.

And you feel it in every cell of your body,

Every cell being nourished and revitalized.

And it permeates into the corners of your mind,

A deep sense of peace.

So you sit or you lie there and you just receive and absorb this radiance.

You feel as if this light is filling you with exactly what you need right now,

Doing exactly what you need it to do.

Just as this meditation begins to feel complete,

You hear a noise and you sense a presence.

So you look up to see that your spiritual guide has come to join you in this magical healing place.

In whatever form your guide appears to you today,

You know for certain that this is your spiritual guide.

So you get up to greet the guide in whatever way feels right.

You're both happy to see each other.

So just spend some time together now in whatever way feels right.

You're excited to tell your guide about your Sankalpa,

Your resolution.

So if you have your Sankalpa,

Your personal one,

Go ahead and share that with the guide now.

If not,

You can share.

I know that I am worthy of happiness and success.

I make choices aligned with my highest good and authentic ground of being.

The guide is delighted to hear of your resolve and says,

Oh,

I have just the right thing.

And the guide presents you with a gift that will support you.

Receive the gift in whatever form it comes.

You know exactly what to do with this.

The guide also has some wise words for you to remember.

What does the guide say?

Thank the guide for the gift and the wise words to support you with your resolve and take a few moments to just be together again in whatever way feels right.

The time has come to say goodbye to your guide for now.

Grateful for the gifts that you've received.

Knowing that this guide is available to you anytime you need support and that this healing place is available to you anytime you need to return here.

But for now,

The portal is open and it's time to return.

So as you walk towards the opening,

You feel a tremendous sense of peace and wholeness,

Confidence.

You really feel like you have the tools to manifest your Sankalpa.

You can see the image of it so clearly now starting to come into form and feel the gratitude of all that you have done to get you to this moment.

So being grateful for this place,

Grateful for the guide,

You enter the portal and you're quickly whisked back into the place where you are lying on the floor practicing yoga nidra and you start to feel your body again and become aware of your breathing.

So you take some deeper,

Fuller breaths and gently start to stretch and move.

Eventually you'll open your eyes and roll over onto your right side to rest for a few moments before returning to a comfortable cross-legged seat.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Aryom.