Hello and welcome.
My name is Leah Sugarman and this will be a yoga nidra practice to relieve stress and welcome in deep relaxation Begin by lying down on your back You can lie down on the floor Or on the couch Or on your bed Find a position where you can completely relax your body And completely relax your mind with it Close your eyes And visualize your body Wherever it is in space on the floor your couch or your bed Visualize gravity pressing down against your body And visualize yourself surrendering to that force Let your muscles soften Feel the weight of your bones And feel the weight of your bones Become aware of any sounds that you can hear And without straining Without striving to assign meaning to any sounds Move your attention from sound to sound without labeling the source Gradually bring your attention to sounds that are closer and closer to you Until you eventually bring your attention to the sound of your own breath Become aware of your natural breath Feel it as it moves in and out of your body without any effort Notice how it feels as air enters into your nostrils and Then releases back out Allow your breath to become longer and slower Notice the slight pause between every inhale and every exhale Let your breath naturally move through you As you slowly start to create an intention for your practice Set a clear intention of whatever you would like to see in your life Set a clear intention of whatever you would like to gain from this practice And state it simply and clearly in your mind And slowly repeat this intention,
Your sankalpa,
To yourself three times Let this sankalpa plant a seed in the fertile soil of your mind to bring about transformation and healing Now silently repeat to yourself,
I am practicing yoga nidra,
I am awake and relaxed Bring your awareness to the right side of your body Every time you hear the name of a body part,
Slowly,
Mindfully and systematically relax that part of your body Begin on the right side at your right foot Your right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Pinky toe The ball of your right foot,
The sole of your foot,
Your heel The top of your right foot,
Your ankle,
Your shin,
And your calf The top of your right knee,
The back of your knee The top of your right thigh,
The back of your thigh,
Your right hip,
Belly,
Lower back Middle back,
Rib cage,
Upper back,
Chest Your right shoulder,
Upper right arm,
Forearm,
Wrist Back of your hand,
Palm of your hand,
Right thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Pinky finger The right side of your throat and your neck The right side of your jaw,
Your lips,
And your right cheek,
Your right ear,
Eyelid,
Eyebrow,
Forehead,
And the right side of your scalp Relax the whole right side of your body Bring your awareness to your left foot Relax your left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And pinky toe The ball of your left foot,
The sole of your foot,
Your left heel Top of your left foot,
Ankle,
Shin,
Calf Top of your left knee,
Back of your knee Top of your left thigh,
Back of your thigh Left hip,
Abdomen,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Rib cage,
Upper back Chest Relax your left shoulder,
Upper left arm,
Forearm,
Wrist The back of your left hand,
Palm of your hand Left thumb,
First finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger Second ear,
Pinky finger Relax the left side of your throat and neck The left side of your jaw,
Lips,
Cheek Your left ear,
Eyelid,
Eyebrow,
Forehead,
And the left side of your scalp Relax the whole left side of your body Relax your whole body Imagine your whole body becoming light As if you could float,
Feel yourself weightless Your head weightless,
Your limbs weightless Your torso weightless,
Your whole body light and weightless Allow the feeling of complete calm to envelop you Manifest the experience of calm in your entire mind,
Body,
And emotions Feel relaxed and aware Completely calm Concentrate on the space in front of your closed eyelids Continue to watch this dark space with awareness as you feel the calm,
Relaxed weightlessness of your body Repeat your sankalpa to yourself The intention that you set at the beginning of your practice Repeat this same statement three times Return back to the feeling of your breath flowing through your body Feel it move in and out of your nostrils As you follow the breath,
Become aware of your physical body as your breath moves through it Feel your body relaxed,
Lying down Feel its heaviness and bring your awareness to the points that are in contact with the floor,
The couch,
Or the bed beneath you Without opening your eyes,
Visualize the space around you Either choose to stay here as you drift off into a restful sleep or very slowly start to move your body to resurface Feel this sense of deep relaxation penetrate through your being wherever you take this either into sleep or moving on with your day Thank you for sharing your practice Namaste
