In order to create neuroplastic changes in our brains,
We have to slow down the mind,
Which means in order for us to learn to live as our true self,
Our authentic self,
And re-learn how to come back to who we truly are,
You have to slow down.
Right now,
As you try and find the right meditation for you on YouTube,
You are in a beta-wavelength brain state,
But in order to heal,
Create change,
And connect to your authentic self,
You have to slow down the brain.
This meditation is an invitation to explore slowing down the brain,
Slowing down the mind,
From beta to alpha,
And maybe even into a theta brainwavelength state.
The brainwave states that are most helpful in reducing your stress,
In a way that lasts and allows you to access the subconscious mind,
Are the brainwaves that are slower.
The more you practice being in a calmer state,
The easier it is to access during your day.
What this creates is a resilient nervous system and improved self-efficacy.
If this meditation feels right for you today,
Begin to get really comfortable.
This is an invitation for you to lay down for this yoga nidra,
And find a position that works best for you today.
You might decide that today is the day you lay on your side,
Or sit in a recliner.
Honoring yourself as you decide how you can most support your body is a way to move towards trusting your true self.
As you settle in,
See if there are any even microscopic changes that you can make that will allow you to settle in even deeper.
And once you've found that position of comfort,
You can close the eyes or take a soft gaze,
And let's just find our breath,
Taking in a really big,
Slow,
Intentional inhale through the nose,
Filling the lungs really slowly,
Feeling everything expanding 360 degrees,
And then I would like to invite you to exhale even slower,
Slowly out the nose,
And on your next breath in,
I'd like to invite you to do the same thing,
But inhale for a count of 4,
At your own pace,
Slowly exhale letting it out the nose,
For a count of 7,
Or even longer if that feels right,
And continue this breathing pattern for 5 breaths,
And see if you can encourage yourself to find a place of peace with moving slowly,
And each breath,
Feel the body become a little less tense,
Unwinding one step at a time,
And now let's soften the face,
Intentionally creating a sense of tension,
And you can do this by actually tensing the face,
Or imagining that your face is really tense,
And then letting the tension go,
Feeling that amazing feeling of the tension dissipating from the face,
And move your awareness now down to your shoulders,
And imagine between the shoulders and the hips,
That you are tensing every muscle of the body,
And you can imagine,
Or you can actually tense all of the muscles,
But making it as tight as possible,
Even in your imagination,
And then let the tension go,
Feeling the lines of the body dissolve as you exhale,
And then move your awareness from the hips to the toes,
And mentally or physically tense the entire lower body,
And then when you're ready to feel the release of tension,
Let it all go,
Sinking even deeper,
And deeper,
And dissolving even more,
If you are working with a Sankalpa,
You may welcome that to the practice now,
Mentally repeating one time,
Or might you borrow the intention,
I allow myself to slow down,
So that I can create positive change,
As I guide you through different body parts,
Allow your awareness to be placed at each body part,
And then move along to the next,
Move all of your awareness to the tip of your tongue,
And the teeth,
The whole mouth,
The saliva in your mouth,
The lips,
Tip of the nose,
The air moving in and out the right nostril,
And the air moving in and out the left nostril,
Third eye center,
The right eyebrow,
Right eye,
Behind the right eye,
Moving deeper to the right hemisphere of the brain,
The left hemisphere of the brain,
Behind the left eye,
The left eye,
The left eyebrow,
Third eye center,
Hollow pit of the throat,
Center of the chest,
The right shoulder,
Inside of the right elbow,
Inside of the right wrist,
Palm of the hand,
All five fingers on the right hand,
Beginning with the thumb,
And the next finger,
And the next,
And the next finger,
And the little finger,
Back of the hand,
Back of the wrist,
Right elbow joint,
Back of the right shoulder,
Right shoulder blade,
Center of the chest,
Left shoulder,
Inside of the left elbow,
Inside of the left wrist,
Palm of the hand,
All five fingers on the left hand,
Starting with the thumb,
And the next finger,
And the next,
The next finger,
And the little finger,
Back of the hand,
Back of the wrist,
The elbow joint,
Back of the shoulder,
Left shoulder blade,
Center of the chest,
Navel center,
The right hip,
Right kneecap,
Front of the right ankle,
Top of the foot,
All five toes beginning with the big toe,
And the next toe,
And the next,
And the next toe,
And the little toe,
The bottom of the foot,
Back of the heel,
Behind the right knee,
The right buttock,
Left hip,
Left kneecap,
Front of the left ankle,
Top of the foot,
All five toes beginning with the big toe,
And the next toe,
And the next,
And the next toe,
And the little toe,
Bottom of the foot,
Back of the heel,
Behind the left knee,
The left buttock,
The tailbone,
Middle of the spine,
Top of the spine,
The back of the head,
Top of the head,
Gently allow your awareness to find your natural breath,
Follow your inhales and your exhales by watching and not changing,
And now start to count the breath backwards,
Counting down from 20 to 1,
Like this,
Inhale 20,
Exhale 20,
Inhale 19,
Exhale 19,
Moving down all the way to 1,
Starting over if you lose track,
Now move your awareness away from your breath and travel it back to behind the forehead and rest here for a few minutes,
If you would like to bring back your sankalpa or intention,
Now is the time to do so,
Mentally repeating three times,
I allow myself to slow down so that I may create positive change,
Take a deep breath in through the nose,
Exhale,
Sigh it out your mouth,
Repeating again,
Inhale through your nose,
Exhale,
Letting it go out the mouth,
Begin to sense the room around you with your eyes remaining closed or with a soft gaze,
Noticing the light in your room,
In your room or maybe the darkness,
Paying attention to how you feel,
Taking note,
Maybe even planning to write in your journal of how it feels to slow down and what positive changes you might be able to make in your life the more you do it,
And when it feels right,
Begin to awaken the body with really slow movements,
You might like to start with just moving fingers and toes and maybe moving into stretching the body in a way that feels really nourishing and your yoga nidra practice is now complete,
Before you move on with your day,
Take a moment to remind yourself or set the intention of how you're connecting with your authentic,
True self,
And if you haven't all day,
Let this be a reminder to do so and try and access that feeling and embodied experience as much as possible.
