Yoga Nidra To Restore Right Rhythm

Yoga Nidra is an ancient technology that helps us restore rhythm within this body architecture. When we are not attuned to our natural cycles and rhythms we are 'out of time', resulting in anything from sluggish energy to sickness. This is an intermediate practice, recorded during a live class, with invitations for guided imagery and spaces of silence that foster deep listening and communion with one's inner knowing.
Music by Moby

Transcript

Prepare yourself for the practice of yoga nidra.

This will be a guided sleep journey meditation and we will be utilizing this ancient technology that is yogic sleep.

So the main thing for you today is to take the time to make yourself comfortable as we will be resting in stillness for the majority of this practice.

You can pause the recording here so that you can gather any items that will make you feel comfortable and cozy today.

So a pillow to support the head and the neck or a pillow to slide underneath the backs of both knees if you will practice today in a reclined position and something like a blanket or a bed sheet to cover the body and retain some warmth as the body's temperature will naturally fall through this time spent in stillness.

And consider having something soft and lightweight within reach to cover the eyes like the sleeve of a shirt or a sweater or a soft towel.

And tune into the way that the body wants to accommodate itself for this guided nap.

Perhaps the body does not wish to be on the back on a firm surface today.

Perhaps it does.

Traditionally this practice is received while resting in the pose of the corpse,

Shavasana.

However if you are pregnant or experiencing lower back discomfort an alternative for you could be to roll onto the left side in the fetal position still supporting the head and the neck placing a pillow or a cushion between both thighs.

And this practice can also be received while sitting comfortably upright in a chair or from the bed or from the couch.

And once you find that place of rest for you today you can close the eyes and cover them.

And if we are on our back today in shavasana you can slide the arms now away from the side body palms face up in a receptive position and additionally sliding the legs away from one another.

And then tuning into the position of the head and the neck and if you notice that the chin is pointing slightly up toward the ceiling you can gently tuck the chin down toward the chest.

The eyes now closed and covered simply observe the body in space and how it begins to settle in to stillness.

Before we begin today we will do a brief squeezing and releasing technique to tense and tighten the muscles activate the body so that we can consciously experience the releasing the surrendering the surrendering the letting go which is a big pillar to this practice.

So when I say begin you'll take an extended breath in and as you do so you will squeeze whichever body part I instruct you through and then on the exhale ease full breath out as you release that tension that contraction.

So we'll begin with the whole right arm so letting a breath flow through in and out and now on the next breath in squeeze the right hand into a fist and tense the whole right arm fist lower arm upper arm whole right arm squeeze and hold.

Exhale let it go.

Exhale let it go.

Then we'll move into the whole left arm as you breathe in squeeze the left hand into a fist squeeze tense tighten whole left arm lower arm upper arm squeeze and hold and exhale let it go.

Bring awareness to the whole right leg as you continue to breathe and on your next inhale breathe in squeeze the toes squeeze the lower leg the thigh muscle whole right leg isolated and squeeze and as you exhale release and take a full breath as you bring awareness into the left leg and on your next breath in squeeze whole left leg from the tips of the toes curling in toward the sole lower leg thigh everything squeezes contracts in toward the muscle or muscle in toward the bone as you exhale release.

Take a breath in and out and now we'll do whole right arm and whole right leg so as you breathe in squeeze contract all the muscle in toward the bone squeeze the whole right leg in the bone squeeze the toe squeeze the right fist whole right side of the body squeeze exhale and let it go.

So you take a breath tune into the left side of the body and in your own time breathing in squeezing muscles of the left leg muscles of the left arm contract squeeze hold and exhale let it go.

We'll take one breath in as we prepare to do the full body including the face and the torso so as we breathe in squeeze every muscle that you can think of and locate in the body including the muscles of the abdomen muscles in the face forehead eyebrows nose mouth everything scrunches in toward the center squeeze squeeze squeeze and hold and exhale audible sigh out and you can let it all go and simply observe and enjoy the effects of this conscious release.

Allow the breath to flow freely here there is no need to control or direct the breath anymore.

And imagine the exhale to be a grounding force for you now.

So each time you observe the breath moving through you and out imagine it has you settling just slightly closer toward the earth through the back body.

Each continuous exhalation grounding you.

And with your sense of outer vision now removed take in your surroundings and your environment through your other sensory organs as the body rests here.

Notice if anything becomes more heightened or sharpened through your other senses with eyes now closed.

And sense of smell through the nose any sense or aromas coming in through these passageways of the nostrils.

Now imagine that you can invite these senses inward while your sense of hearing remains online and you take in the sound of my voice not necessarily the words that I speak rather allow the sound of my voice to enter through your auditory perception as vibration.

If you were to imagine it to be raining right now how would you take in the sound of rain and in this similar fashion allow my words to fall upon your ears without thought without analysis.

As you draw your sense of hearing closer in now and you take in the sound of any bodily functions or processes.

And finally the sound of your own breath.

You've arrived welcome yourself here into this space of conscious rest.

Remind yourself that there is nothing you have to be doing in this moment nothing you need to strive for no desired outcome.

If anything this is actually the place where you can let all of that go.

His practice of yogic sleep is a conscious act of non-doing.

Innately restorative and healing yet also an exploration of the liminal these in-between spaces in consciousness.

You can welcome yourself here exactly as you are which means there is no need to compose or mask or costume yourself.

Whatever emotional state you find yourself in right now whatever is real for you in this moment allow yourself the permission to be exactly that.

And simultaneously give yourself the permission to change or shift into a different state throughout today's session.

This is a series of healing games and everything is an invitation everything is optional.

If there are any lingering expectations you may have around rest sleep for this practice allow these to dissolve and fade away now.

While you rest in the faith that your body will receive the same experience while you rest in the faith that your body will receive exactly what it needs today.

And if what it needs today is just sleep know that you are fully welcome to surrender to that.

And as you welcome yourself here contemplate the part of you who brings you into this space.

If you could give this part of you a name or a trait or a descriptive word what would it be?

Is it my curious self,

My tired self,

My apathetic self,

My peaceful self,

My sad self?

It does not matter which part brings you here today simply call it forth bring it into your awareness and welcome and thank this part of yourself now.

And acknowledge now the land upon which you rest this earth as our home and the back body in direct connection with the support of the earth below.

And though you may be resting on a particular surface in a particular place today imagine what type of earth you could be resting on right now if you could be anywhere in the world.

Would you be resting upon a soft bed of moss or in a field of wildflowers upon the forest floor or perhaps a sandy shoreline?

We allow the mind to play here and expand in this invitation for restfulness.

There is no one right way to do this.

There is no one right way to do this.

And there is so much to be said for simply closing the eyes.

So take comfort in knowing that what you are already doing is enough.

And tune into the physical body.

Scan the body for any potential distractions anything pulling your attention away from this experience.

And then turn into the physical body.

Scan the body for any potential distractions anything pulling your attention away from this experience.

As you are so deserving of your physical comfort today so if you notice there is an urge to fidget or move in any way which would allow you to be even more comfortable do so now do so now make your final adjustments so that you can now confidently rest in stillness releasing any physical effort now.

Bringing awareness to the entirety of the face as the face becomes free from expression.

Noticing what is required of you to allow for a softening through all the muscles in the face.

And what is required to experience a softening through all the muscles in the face.

And what is required to experience a softening through the forehead.

And for the temples right and left temples to melt down toward the ears.

And for the ears to melt down toward the earth and your eyes both right and left eyeballs rest back in their sockets.

The external world of looking taking in visual stimulation is on pause for now.

Bring awareness into the jaw right side of the jaw left side of the jaw and the chin whole entire jaw releases.

Mouth softens.

Bring awareness to the tip of the tongue.

Releasing effort through the tongue.

And come to the base of the tongue.

From the base of the tongue travel down the length of the throat.

You sense the hollowness of the throat the space within the throat.

And how the throat has an energetic connection to the space within the throat.

And how the throat has an energetic connection to the base of the pelvis.

Place awareness within the bones of the body.

Sense their density as they surrender their weight.

The muscles around the bones soften.

And the network of interconnected fascia connective tissue is fluid and spacious.

Meditate now on the experience of gravity.

Rather than intellectualizing what gravity is have a felt experience of gravity.

An invisible yet magical force that keeps us literally grounded on this earth.

And imagining that gravity were to drape itself over the body like a weighted blanket.

Gently and lovingly holding your body close to the earth.

While your awareness remains untethered and free to expand beyond the physical borders of this body.

And bring awareness into the palm of the right hand.

And imagine this gravity to be a loving force that just ever so slightly softens the right hand.

All four fingers and the thumb.

Whole right hand.

And glide awareness into the right wrist joint.

Right elbow joint.

Right shoulder joint.

This weighted blanket of gravity comes down softly along the whole right arm.

Traverses down the landscape of the right side torso.

Glides along the right thigh and rests at the right kneecap.

Moves down the lower leg to meet right ankle joint.

Softens you through the top of the right foot into the sole of the right foot.

And all five toes.

Whole right foot.

And all five toes.

Whole right foot.

Whole right side of the body.

This loving awareness softens you through whole right side.

This loving awareness softens you through whole right side.

Whole right side surrenders ever so slightly closer toward the earth.

The whole right side is relaxed.

And imagine awareness to land now in the palm of the left hand.

This loving force of gravity softens you through the whole left hand.

All four fingers and the thumb.

You become aware of the left wrist joint.

Left elbow joint.

Left shoulder joint.

The whole left arm from the tips of the fingers up to the top of the shoulder.

Relaxed.

This soft gravitational force caresses the landscape of the left side torso.

Continues down the length of the left thigh.

Rests within the left kneecap.

Glides down left lower leg.

And softens you through the top of the left foot.

Into the sole of the left foot.

And all five toes.

Whole left foot.

Whole left side of the body.

Whole left side surrenders toward the earth.

Whole left side is relaxed.

Bring awareness to the space between the eyebrows.

The eyebrows,

Brow center.

And move now into the space directly behind the surface of the brow center.

And sense its energetic connection down the throat as you land at the base of the throat.

And this energetic cord continues to descend into the heart center.

Down into the navel center space just behind the navel point.

The cord connects all the way down to the base of the pelvic bowl.

And you sense the core of you now,

Your inner space.

From the base of the pelvic bowl all the way up to the space just behind brow center.

And from the brow center,

Space between the eyes.

Imagine now a golden thread that connects this space directly behind the surface of the forehead to the midbrain.

And awareness oscillates back and forth in rhythm with the breath.

Visualizing or imagining a golden thread that connects the space just behind the surface of the forehead to the midbrain.

And you sense now right hemisphere of the brain,

The left hemisphere of the brain,

In both hemispheres simultaneously,

Right side and left side all at once.

Integration through the whole body,

Whole right side,

And the whole left side,

Front side of the body,

Back side of the body.

From the base of the soles of the feet to the roof and the crown of the head.

The whole body supported and held.

As you return to the experience of the earth,

Meditate on the ways in which you are currently held and supported in this life.

While the earth holds and cradles the body.

And simply observe the breath.

Observing the breath within the body.

Having a felt experience of the natural cycle of expansion and contraction.

Expansion and contraction directly felt through the breath within the body.

And imagine now that as you watch the body breathe in,

The earth below rises up to receive the weight of your bones.

And you witness this now just the inhalations earth rises up to meet and hold you.

And shift awareness to the exhale.

And imagine now that as the breath is passively released on the exhalation,

It has the back body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body's body.

And imagine now that as the breath is passively released on the exhalation,

It has the back body sinking further into the earth.

Now we'll witness these at the same time as you breathe in,

Imagining the earth,

The surface,

The soil to rise up and meet and hold you.

And as you breathe out,

Back body sinks slightly closer into the earth.

Remembering that you are a cyclic being.

That you are an embodiment of nature herself.

Consciousness of your body alive and well.

Supported here by earth.

And as you gaze into the dark space behind closed eyes,

Remain still and in silence as you simply observe your inner world.

Pure beingness.

The effort is so relaxed.

So so so so aware that you are practicing yoga nidra.

Come on to the breath.

Return to the sound of my voice and bring the greater awareness into the state that you are currently in.

Simply witnessing the breath like waves washing up to the shore and retreating back to the ocean.

This life energy moves in sync with the breath.

This life energy that rides the wave of the breath,

This right rhythm restores itself.

So witnessing how the breath is breathing you.

Life continuously chooses you through this breath.

Inviting a gratefulness,

Appreciation for this breath that has always been there,

That has carried you through this journey today.

Witnessing the natural ebb and flow of the breath.

This awareness around the breath increases.

And a wave of gratitude now washes over and through your entire system.

Simple gratefulness for this exact moment is enough.

As the practice of yogic sleep draws to a close,

You can use the breath as a pathway back into the body,

Consciously drawing a longer breath in,

Perhaps a soft audible exhale out the mouth,

Continuously lengthening and deepening the breath.

As you feel your density and your form and your shape return,

Aware of the breath that is now in your body,

Density and your form and your shape return,

Aware of the body resting here in sleep,

Choosing for yourself now how you would like to reawaken the body.

Perhaps inviting small movement into the fingers and the toes,

Sliding the thumb across the fingertips,

Circling the joints of the ankles and the wrists,

Rolling the head from left to right and right to left,

Sliding the tongue across the fronts of the teeth and swallowing.

With eyes remaining closed,

Perhaps inviting in a wake-up stretch,

Lifting the arms up overhead,

Perhaps interlacing the fingers,

Flipping the palms away,

And as you breathe in,

Expanding the limbs in opposite directions,

And exhale softens you back toward the earth,

Stepping the soles of the feet,

One at a time back onto the ground,

And in your own time,

Making your way onto your left side in the fetal position,

Cradling the head,

Drawing the knees up toward the chest,

Heart turns toward the earth,

Keeping the eyes closed,

Maintaining that connection to your inner world for just a moment longer,

Taking a mental,

Emotional snapshot of your body in this moment,

Your mind space,

The emotional landscape.

You are invited here to set or welcome an intention for the rest of today,

For how you would like the rest of today to feel,

And then feeling into that state now if that's not something you currently feel.

When you are ready with a gentle compassion for the body,

Find a way to support yourself to come into an upright seat,

With eyes closed and hands resting on the body,

Simply sense the whole experience settle into the structure of your body,

Keeping the eyes closed as you do so,

And in this upright seat,

Tuning into the earth below,

Sky above,

Sky above,

And you at the center of it all perfectly suspended between these two places.

It is here that I invite you to close your restful practice in any way that feels like a ritual for you,

Whether that is bringing the palms to touch and connecting the thumbs to some place in the body such as the center of the chest or to the lips or to the forehead or soft bow of the head to the heart or a deeper bow of the head all the way to the earth,

Or perhaps it is saying something to yourself that you need to hear today.

When you are ready,

Slowly reopening the eyes,

Taking in your environment,

The space that you occupy through new eyes or refreshed vision.

Thank you for being here.

I wish you a beautiful transition into the next part of your day.

Reviews

So much gratitude for the gentle and softening guidance to be kind with the whole of the body.

Wow! One of the most profound yoga nidra experiences I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing your gift! 🎁🙏🏽💜🌹

Just what I needed after a restless nights sleep.

Yay Katherine! Every meditation is a subliminal treat! Thank you for sharing you gifts with us!! Yoga Nidra is your jam 🙏🏻💜🕉