You're welcome.
The following is a yoga ninja practice.
And yoga nidra is intended to be a deep relaxation practice.
Through it,
You're training your body and mind to be in that space between awake and asleep.
So it's not intended to be used directly before you actually are going to sleep,
Although if that works for you,
You're welcome to do that.
But the overall goal is to train.
A type of relaxation that is also engaged.
And as you are practicing this,
Keep in mind that it is practice.
So if you start and you feel.
That you do fall right into sleep or that your mind kind of won't shut off,
That's normal.
But keep practicing.
Allow it to be something that you train yourself in.
And so start by finding a lying down position,
A supine position.
They might be in a bed or a couch.
You might be lying down on the floor or a yoga mat.
And if you are lying on the floor.
I encourage you to bend your knees and plant your feet.
So that your low back has some relief.
And then gently start to lengthen out your breath.
Nothing too effortful here.
Just noticing a gentle lengthened breath.
Allowing it to start to soften your body.
And before we begin the formal practice,
I'll ask you to set a sankalpa,
Which is an intention.
You can picture it like a little seed that you want to plant in your mind.
And allow it to be phrased in the present tense.
And as something positive.
So it might sound like.
I am calm.
In the busyness of my life.
I maintain compassion for myself and others.
Or I'm balanced in rest and activity.
Once you choose a Sankalpa.
Repeat it to yourself three times.
And then release with sankalpa.
Bring your attention back to your body.
Lying in stillness.
And softness.
And the first part of the yoga nidra practice is a rotation of consciousness around the body.
And so I will name a point on your body.
And I simply ask that you direct your attention there.
You don't have to tense it.
But it can help to picture it in your mind's eye.
So bring your attention.
To your right hand.
Your thumb.
Your first finger.
Second finger.
Third finger pinky finger.
The palm of your right hand.
Back of your right hand.
Your wrist.
Your forearm.
Your elbow.
Your upper arm.
Armpit.
Shoulder.
Your right side body and waist.
Your ship.
Your upper leg.
Knee.
Lower leg heel.
The bottom of your right foot.
The top of your right foot.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And fifth toe.
Shift your attention.
To your left hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger pinky finger.
The palm of your left hand.
And back.
Of your left hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Armpit.
Shoulder.
Your left side body.
And waste.
Your hip.
Upper length.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Angle.
Heal,
The bottom of your left foot.
Top of your left foot.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth dough.
Shift your attention.
To your shoulder blades.
And the space between your shoulder blades.
The middle of your back.
Your low back.
Your seat.
Shift your attention.
To your collarbones.
Your chest.
Your upper abdomen.
Lower abdomen.
Pelvis.
Bring your attention.
To your neck.
Your throat.
Your jaw.
Your mouth.
Tongue.
Lips,
Notice your nose.
And your nostrils.
Notice your right eye and eyelid.
Your left eye and eyelid.
Your eyebrows.
And the space between your eyebrows.
Your forehead.
The top of your head.
Shift your attention.
To your right hand.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Thank you,
Sangha.
Palm,
And back of your right hand.
Oris?
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Armpit shoulder.
The side body.
Upper leg.
Knee.
Lower leg angle.
Here.
Bottom of your right foot.
Top of your right foot.
Toes on your right foot.
Notice.
Your left hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Palm,
Back of your left hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm armpit,
Shoulder.
Side body.
Upper leg.
Me.
Lower leg angle.
Heal.
The bottom of your left foot.
Tap of your left foot.
And toes on your left foot.
Notice.
Your shoulder blades.
Your mid back.
Low back.
Notice.
Your chest.
Your abdomen.
And your pelvis.
Shift your awareness.
Tearing it down.
Your jaw.
Your mouth.
Your nose.
Your eyes.
Your forehead.
Your face as a whole.
And your head as a whole.
And then notice the whole right side of your body.
The whole right side.
And then notice the whole left side.
Of your body.
The whole left side.
And then notice your body as a whole.
Notice your whole body.
Lying in stoners.
And softness.
Notice your whole body.
And as you are noticing.
Your whole body.
Begin to feel,
Sense,
Or imagine.
A happiness.
In your whole body.
As if you could turn the gravity up.
And your body became so heavy.
As if you couldn't lift your arms off the ground.
Your whole body.
Is heavy.
Heavy.
Happy.
And now feel,
Sense,
Or imagine.
Your whole body.
Is light.
As if it was filled with air.
And it could just float.
Off the ground.
And hover in the air.
Imagine that's your whole body.
Is as light as a feather.
Weightless.
Feeling your body.
As light.
Now imagine heavy.
Your body once again.
Becoming so heavy.
Heavy.
Happy.
And then switching back to light.
Light.
And now release that and simply notice your body.
Lying in stillness.
Now with your body lying in stillness.
Begin to notice your breath.
Begin to notice the natural in and out.
And out.
Inhale.
.
.
And exhale.
And bring your attention to your belly.
And notice that as you breathe.
Your belly gently rises.
And false.
And as you are watching that rising and falling of the belly,
Begin to count your breaths backwards.
Starting at 11.
Belly rises,
11.
Belly Falls 11.
Belly rises 10.
Belly falls,
10.
And so on.
If you lose count,
Just simply start back at 11.
And release your counting.
Shift your attention to your chest.
And notice that the chest expands and contracts with the breath.
And as you are watching that expansion,
And contraction.
Begin to count your breaths backwards.
Starting at 11.
Chest expands,
11.
Just contracts 11.
And so on.
And then release your counting.
Shift your attention to your nostrils.
And notice the air moving in and out of your nostrils.
Notice that the air is cooler on the breath in.
And warmer on the breath out.
And begin to count your breaths backwards and forwards.
Starting at 11.
Take a cool breath in,
11.
Warm breath out.
Eleven.
All the way down.
And release your counting.
Shift your attention back to your whole body.
Lyonstonis.
Notice yourself being breathed.
The air effortlessly moving in and out.
And the final part of the yoga nidra practice.
Is a visualization practice.
And you will simply call the following images into your mind's eye.
Using your imagination.
And so picture yourself.
On a white sandy beach.
The sun above you.
In a blue sky.
There's a gentle breeze on your skin.
The water in front of you.
Is gently shifting.
The waves moving in.
And out.
And imagine yourself.
Walking towards the edge of the water.
And is cool on your toes.
And notice the ebb and flow.
Of the waves.
As they meet your feet.
And then recede back into the ocean.
Your feet might sink slightly.
Into the wet sand.
And then picture yourself.
Walking out into the water.
Allowing it to pass your ankle.
Your shins.
Your knee.
Eventually coming to your belly.
And your chest.
You just notice that gentle push and pull of the waves around you.
The buoyancy of your own body.
And gentle splashes.
The way.
And then imagine diving underneath.
The surface of the water.
Where everything is perfectly still.
Notice the stillness around you.
The lightness of your own body.
And the stillness of your surroundings.
And imagine that the light begins to dim.
And the scene around you.
Begins to fade.
Until it is just you.
And perfect.
And release your visualization.
Call back to mind the sankalpa or intention that you set at the beginning of the practice.
And repeat it to yourself now.
Three times.
And then release your sun kalpa.
Bring your attention back to your body.
And notice the points of contact between your body and the ground.
You might feel a certain heaviness.
But also notice that the ground is pushing up to meet you.
It is actively supporting you.
And then notice the space around your body.
The temperature of air on your skin.
And then start to notice the sounds.
The nearby sounds.
And the far away sounds.
Notice that every sound fades back into silence.
And then take a few deep breaths.
Start to bring your attention back.
To the room.
Eventually blinking open your eyes.
You might take a gentle stretch.
But notice.
Anything that you feel right now.
You might feel more grounded,
You might feel more still.
You might not feel any of those things and that's okay.
But take these final few moments to sit with yourself.
Before you move on to your day.
Thank you for practicing.
