Yoga Nidra

This Yoga Nidra practice will support you in experincing wholeness, and effectively cooling the body. This practice includes a Sankalpa creation, a calming body scan, a soothing breath awareness practice, Chakra balancing, and a visual, guided journey, to tap into the depths of our inner wisdom.

Transcript

Yoga nidra practice written and recorded by Lindy Rivers.

This particular yoga nidra is good for cooling the body.

Allow yourself to come to lying down on your back.

Take a moment to get comfortable.

Maybe putting an eye bag over your eyes,

A blanket under your knees,

Or a blanket covering your entire body.

Doing whatever you need to do to feel comfortable and supported.

Once you are comfortable,

Allow your hands to rest on either side of your body.

Your legs are separated and your feet are splayed out to either side.

Allow your body to be heavy and notice the places your body touches the floor.

Feel your connection to the earth.

Allow yourself to feel safe and held by the earth.

Then tighten up all the muscles in your body.

Tighten and squeeze all the stress,

Tension,

Worry out of your body.

And then let go.

Release.

Soften more deeply into the earth.

Allow a wave of breath to move through your entire body.

As you inhale,

Feel your breath move up through your feet,

Legs,

Back,

Belly,

Chest,

Head.

And as you exhale,

Feel your breath move in the opposite direction.

Allow your breath to help you more deeply relax your body.

Repeat to yourself.

I will remain awake and alert in yoga nidra.

Awake and alert and yet also deeply relaxed.

Allow yourself to use my voice to keep you present and aware.

As we move through this practice,

Allow yourself to be aware of all the sensations,

Emotions,

And experiences that come up.

Observe them without judgment or explanation.

Now take a moment to think of one of your heart's deepest longings.

Then take that longing and turn it into a present moment affirmation,

Otherwise known as a sankalpa.

Examples could be,

I am peaceful.

I am flexible.

I am healthy.

Anything at all.

You create your own reality,

So as you create this affirmation,

You are planting a seed to make this desire into reality.

Once you have created your affirmation,

Repeat it to yourself three times.

Breathe it into every cell of your body,

Giving it permission to grow and blossom.

We are now going to move quickly through your body,

Moving your awareness to each part of the body.

As I say a body part,

Visualize it in your mind's eye.

Allow the awareness to flow from one body part to the next,

And bring a sense of deep relaxation to that body part.

We'll begin with the right foot.

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the right foot,

Whole right foot,

Right ankle,

Calf,

Right knee,

Thigh,

Right hip,

Entire right leg,

Hips to heels.

Now move to the left foot.

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the left foot,

Whole left foot,

Left ankle,

Calf,

Left knee,

Thigh,

Left hip,

Entire left leg,

Hip to heel.

Now feeling both legs,

Entire legs alive with sensation.

Feel both legs relax and melt down to the floor.

Now sense the connection of the legs to the pelvis.

Bring your awareness to your pelvic bowl.

Move that awareness up to your belly,

To the organs inside your belly,

Low back,

Mid back,

Upper back,

Spinal column,

Shoulder blades.

Feel your whole back melt into the floor.

Move your awareness to your rib cage,

Upper chest,

Shoulders.

Move your awareness to your right hand,

Thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Palm of the right hand,

Back of the right hand,

Whole right hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Right elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder.

Feel your whole right arm,

Fingers to shoulder.

Move your awareness to your left hand,

Thumb of the left hand,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Back of the left hand,

Whole left hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Left elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder.

Feel your whole left arm,

Fingers to shoulder.

Now feel both arms,

Entire arms alive with sensation.

Feel both arms melt into the floor.

Now move your awareness to the neck,

Back of the neck,

Sides of the neck,

Throat.

Moving your awareness to the jaw,

Lower lip,

Upper lip,

Roof of the mouth,

Floor of the mouth,

Tongue,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Forehead,

Crown of the head,

Back of the head.

Feel your whole body alive with sensation.

Feel your whole body melt down to the floor.

Now feel the whole right side of your body from head to heels.

Feel it alive with vibrating energy,

Prana.

Then feel the whole left side of the body,

Head to heels.

Feel it alive with vibrating energy,

Prana.

Now feel the midline of the body where the two sides meet.

Feel the integration of both sides of the body merging.

Feel your whole body alive with sensation.

Then feel all the parts of the body that are touching the earth,

Heels,

Calves,

Thighs,

Buttocks,

Low back,

Upper back,

Shoulder blades,

Elbows,

Back of the hands,

Back of the head.

Feel the whole back body heavy and dense.

Feel your whole back body melting into the earth.

Then move your awareness to all parts of the body that is facing the heavens,

Tops of the feet,

Shins,

Knees,

Belly,

Chest,

Palms of the hand,

Throat,

Face.

Feel the cool lightness and weightlessness of the whole top body.

And then feel the top body melt into the back body.

Begin to notice your breath.

Feel the way the air enters your lungs through your nostrils,

Cooling as it moves the back of the throat and gently enters the lungs.

Feel it move into the upper chest,

Then deeper into your side ribs,

Then low into your belly.

Then as you exhale,

Feel the air move in the opposite direction,

Slowly emptying out the lungs.

Take nice slow breaths in that way for 10 breaths,

Counting to yourself,

Starting backwards from 10.

Allowing your awareness of your breath to drop.

Allowing your breath to be easy and peaceful.

We are now going to take a journey through the chakras.

Begin by bringing your awareness to the root chakra found at the base of the spine.

The color is red.

The element is earth.

The sound is lam.

This is the place of grounding,

Stability and connection to the physical world.

Picture a red inverted triangle and chant to yourself,

Lam.

Then move your awareness up to the sacral chakra found in your lower abdominal.

The color is orange.

The element is water.

The sound is vom.

This is the place of fluidity,

Creativity and relationship with others.

Picture a crescent moon within an orange sunset as you chant to yourself,

Vom.

Then move your awareness up to the solar plexus chakra found above your belly button.

The color is yellow.

The element is fire.

The sound is ram.

This is the place of personal power,

Self-discipline and self-respect.

Picture a radiant golden sun as you chant to yourself,

Ram.

Now move your awareness up to the heart chakra located in the center of the chest.

The color is green.

The element is air.

The sound is yam.

This is the center of our emotions,

Compassion,

Love and self-healing.

Picture a star of David with a flame in the middle as you chant to yourself,

Yam.

Move your awareness to the throat chakra.

The color is blue.

The element is space.

The sound is ham.

This is the center of communication,

Choices and consequences.

Picture a wide open blue sky as you chant to yourself,

Om.

Move your awareness to the third eye chakra located in the center of your forehead.

The color is violet.

The sound is om.

This is the place of wisdom,

Discrimination and clear vision.

Picture an all-seeing eye as you chant to yourself,

Om.

Move your awareness to the crown chakra located at the top of the head.

The color is white.

The sound is ng.

This is the place of your connection with the divine,

Prayer and internal awareness.

Picture a thousand-petaled lotus flower as you chant to yourself,

Om.

Now bring your awareness back to your body,

Noticing any areas of tightness or discomfort.

Notice those parts of the body.

Breathe into those parts of the body.

Do not judge or try to change it.

Just notice it.

Are there any emotions,

Colors or symbols that you associate with the parts of the body that are tight or uncomfortable?

Continue to be present with the discomfort and breathe into it.

Then move your awareness to the part of the body that feels completely comfortable,

Easy and relaxed.

Are there any emotions,

Colors or symbols associated with these parts of the body?

Breathe into that part of the body.

Then begin to bring into your mind a body of water of your choice,

A lake,

River,

Pond,

Ocean and allow yourself to slowly emerge yourself into its cool depths.

Allow the water to envelop you.

Allow yourself to feel weightless.

You are safe and you can breathe easily,

Even underwater if you so choose.

Your breath is free and easy.

You take a moment to dive down to explore the world below,

Taking in the vegetation and the various water animals.

In the water,

You feel joyful and playful.

You begin to notice that one water critter is playing with you.

And in the course of your playing,

You discover that they want you to follow them.

You follow this water critter for a while until you come to a field of lotus flowers resting on top of the water.

Some of the lotuses are so big you can climb up onto one to rest.

You feel the gentle warmth of the sun as it dries you off.

The temperature is perfect.

You maintain the feeling of weightlessness.

As you sit on this lotus flower,

You take in a deep sense of peacefulness.

As you are sitting there,

A question naturally arises in your mind.

Then you realize the lotus flowers around the one you are sitting on are beginning to rearrange themselves into a word or a symbol that has meaning for you or answers the question you just asked.

You take in the message of the lotus.

You thank the universe for the message and the beauty of the day.

You lay back down on the lotus and you begin to bring your awareness back into your body,

Feeling your connection to the earth.

Take five breaths,

Counting backwards from five.

And once you reach one,

Find yourself back in this room,

Bringing with you everything you learned or gained on this journey.

Take a moment to repeat the sankalpa,

Affirmation,

Intention you created at the beginning of this practice.

Repeat it three times to yourself.

Once again,

Breathe it into every cell of your body.

Become aware of your body touching the floor,

Noticing the way your chest rises on the inhale and falls on the exhale.

Begin to bring micro movements into your fingers and toes,

Then larger movements into your ankles and wrists.

Then moving in any way your body tells you to do,

Maybe moving your neck from side to side,

Reaching overhead to take a full body stretch or pulling your knees into your chest.

Moving in any way your body is calling.

And as you're ready,

Slowly rolling on to your right side and lying in a fetal position for a few breaths.

And as you're ready,

Slowly using your upper arm to push yourself into a seated position.

Once in a seated position,

Bring your hands together at prayer position at your heart,

Taking a moment to take a few breaths,

Holding the smudra and then bow to yourself,

Honoring yourself and your time in yoga nidra.

Reviews

Perfect. Just what I needed in the middle of a busy day.

That was wonderful thank you