Welcome to your yoga nidra practice.
Traditionally,
Yoga nidra,
Also known as the yoga of sleep,
Is practiced lying down.
We can lie down on the floor,
On a couch,
Or even practice this meditation in bed.
We may want to add a cushion behind our head or a blanket to keep us warm.
This is a wonderful practice to prepare ourselves for sleep,
To encourage a deeper relaxation for our whole body and mind,
Or to use at any point in the day when we just want to find some quiet space.
So let's find a place where we can be most comfortable,
Quiet and relaxed.
Softening into our breath,
Feeling our body heavy on the floor,
Grounding our energy.
Let's close our eyes and allow our bodies to settle,
Setting the intention today to stay present through our practice.
Along this journey,
We may discover a deeper awareness beyond thought.
We may also fall asleep.
Please know that your body will take what it needs from this practice.
Use my voice as an anchor if you find your thoughts beginning to drift away.
Yoga Nidra is an empowering practice,
Allowing us to experience deep rest for our minds and bodies.
There is no way to do this wrong.
We simply relax and listen.
As we move into our practice,
Let's settle a little further into our breath.
Feeling our belly expand as we take a deep inhale,
Feeling our belly soften as we slowly exhale.
Moving into a three part breath,
Inhaling belly,
Rib cage,
Chest and then slowly exhaling chest,
Rib cage and belly.
Following the ebb and flow of our breath,
Slowly in,
Slowly back out again.
Let's feel ourselves settling and softening even further into the floor or mat beneath us.
Gently encouraging ourselves to relax,
To let go of tension.
It come deeply into the present moment as we continue to breathe.
Now finding our awareness settling into our heart center.
We can notice any sensations there right now,
Perhaps even noticing if it feels warm or cool.
And then let's begin to call up a longing from our heart,
A heartfelt wish or desire,
Something we are yearning for,
Something we wish to call into our life.
Imagine now this wish.
This desire is like a small seed we are planting,
A positive force to be culled and nurtured in the background of this yoga nidra experience.
More often we practice our yoga nidra,
The more we feed the small seed,
Cultivating it into fruition.
Continuing to build our inner resources.
Let's now call to mind a place where we feel relaxed,
At peace and most connected to ourself.
It can be anywhere or anything from an image that brings peace,
A place in nature,
A comfortable room or even a piece of furniture.
This is your unique sanctuary,
A space entirely and just for you.
A place you can call to mind whenever you need a little extra comfort in your day.
Your happy place if you will,
Your own inner sanctuary.
Hold this place in your mind just a little longer as we continue to deepen our breath,
Continuing on with our practice today.
Experience right now your whole body lying on the floor.
Feel the contours of your body lying on the floor.
Create an awareness of your whole body lying on the floor.
Settle back into your breath.
We will begin now to scan through the entire body,
Encouraging ourselves to relax deeper into the practice,
Cultivating a sense of peace from within.
Let's begin first with the sensations in our mouth,
Our tongue and the roof of our mouth.
The inner left and right cheek in our mouth.
Gently releasing our back teeth.
Our tongue heavy in our mouth.
Release the jaw.
Soften the cheekbones.
And then come to your nose.
Left nostril.
Right nostril.
Both nostrils together.
The bridge of the nose.
The space between your brow.
Settle here for a moment.
Soften here for a moment.
Notice your left eye.
Notice your right eye.
Softening into the space behind both eyes.
Your left ear.
Inside your left ear.
And across to the inside of your right ear.
Outer right ear.
Both ears together.
Come back to the sensation inside your mouth.
Awareness now of your face,
Jaw,
Nose,
Eyes and ears.
Come to the space between your brow.
Slide up your forehead across the top of your head.
The weight at the back of your head.
Aware of your whole body lying on the floor.
Aware of the left side of your body.
Your arm and hand.
Your left leg and foot.
Aware of the right side of your body.
Your right arm and hand.
Your leg and foot.
Aware of your whole body lying on the floor.
Once again,
Let's come back to our breath.
An easy flow,
Deep or shallow.
As a breath moves gently in and out.
Ebs and flows in and out.
Breathing in.
Belly.
Rib cage.
Chest.
Exhaling slowly.
Chest.
Rib cage.
Belly.
Coming back to the weighted sensation at the back of our head.
Down the back of our neck.
Our left shoulder.
Our right shoulder.
The small gully of space at the base of our throat.
Across the collarbone on our left side.
Across the collarbone on our right side.
Feel both shoulders together.
Come back to that space at the base of our throat.
Awareness now of our chest,
Rib cage,
And belly.
Softening again with our exhale.
Our left hip.
Our right hip.
Both hips.
The center point at our low back.
Finding that triangular bone of our sacrum just above our tailbone.
Heavy,
Weighted to the floor.
Feel the denseness in the space of the back of our pelvis.
Experience now a similar sensation at the back of our head.
From our sacrum to the back of our head.
Again grounded and supported by the floor.
Let's notice our spine.
Let's notice the muscle fibers that wrap around each vertebrae.
Let's notice the muscles of our back.
Upper back.
Mid back.
Low back.
Our torso continues to soften into the floor as we continue to relax into our practice.
Come back to the weighted point of our sacrum.
To the weight at the back of our head.
Now simultaneously feel the weight of both points heavy and supported on the floor.
Come back to that small gully of space at the base of our throat.
And then come back to our breath.
Inhale belly.
Rib cage.
Chest.
And then exhale chest.
Rib cage.
Belly.
The gentle rise and fall of our breath.
Connected to ourselves.
Connected to this moment.
Connected to our practice.
Become aware of our left fingers.
Our left hand and left wrist.
Softening our left forearm.
Left elbow.
And the back of our left arm.
Coming to the top of our left arm.
And our left shoulder.
Feeling the release of our entire left arm.
Heavy on our mat.
Relaxed and quiet.
Our right fingers.
Our right hand.
And right wrist.
Softening our right forearm.
And right elbow.
The back of our right arm.
The top of our right arm.
And coming to our right shoulder.
Feeling the release of our entire right arm into our mat.
And pause.
Come back to the weighted point of our sacrum.
Come back to the weight at the back of our head.
And now simultaneously feel the weight of both points heavy and supported on the floor.
Come back to that small gully of space at the base of our throat.
Bringing our attention now to our left toes.
Our foot.
And our ankle.
Feeling our left calf.
And left shin bone soften.
Our left knee.
The back of our left leg.
And our left hip.
Feeling our entire left leg heavy on the floor.
Our attention moves to our right toes,
Foot,
And ankle.
Softening into our right calf.
And right shin bone.
Our right knee.
The back of our right leg.
The top of our right leg.
And our right hip.
Feeling our entire right leg heavy on the floor.
Take a moment to feel both legs heavy on the floor.
Aware of your whole body lying on the floor.
Aware of the left side of your body.
Your arm and hand.
Your left leg and foot.
Aware of the right side of your body.
Your right arm and hand.
Your leg and foot.
Aware of your whole body lying on the floor.
The weight of your sacrum.
The weight at the back of your head.
Aware of the small gully of space at the base of your throat.
Aware of your whole body lying on the floor.
Slowly beginning to deepen our breath.
And once again,
Recalling to our mind our heartfelt wish or desire from our practice today.
Continuing to nurture the seed we have planted.
Let's gently bring our awareness back to the room.
In our own time,
Beginning to move our fingers and our toes.
Our wrists and our ankles.
Continuing to move any way that feels good.
As you slowly reawaken yourself to your day.
Or we may also continue to drift off to sleep.
Thank you for your practice of yoga nidra.
