Yoga Nidra For Peace And Grounded Connection

This is a classical, eight-stage Yoga Nidra practice, without an introduction. The practice begins in Shavasana, the resting pose, lying down on the back. It progresses through settling the body and establishing an intention (called a Sankalpa), sound awareness, rotating awareness around the body, breath awareness, feelings and sensations, symbols, a guided journey, and observing Chittakasha, the mind space. The themes explored in this Yoga Nidra may be helpful for experiencing peace and grounding.

Transcript

Please come to lie down on your back in Shavasana,

The resting pose.

Allow the spine to be in one straight line,

Including the head,

Feeling length through the back of the neck.

Have the arms slightly away from the body,

The palms facing upwards.

Allow the feet to comfortably roll out to the sides and feel for an even weight across both sides of the body.

Take this time now to make any necessary adjustments so that the body is comfortable and settled.

Begin to feel into the contact points between the back of the body and the surface below.

Feel the back of the head,

The shoulder blades,

Elbows and hands,

The hips,

Thighs,

Calves and heels pressing into the floor and connecting to the earth.

And now bring your awareness to the flow of air in the room and feel for the flow of air across the front of the body.

Feel for the touch of air on all the points of exposed skin across the front of the body.

Letting go of feeling for the flow of air,

We'll take this time now to formulate your sankalpa.

This is a precise,

Positive phrase of something you wish to have,

Change or achieve in your life.

Take a few moments now to formulate this phrase and say it to yourself so that it may be repeated at the end of the practice.

Now move your awareness to the sounds outside the room.

Push your awareness further and further outside the room to find and notice sounds,

Loud sounds,

Soft sounds,

Close sounds and sounds in the distance.

Keep moving your awareness from sound to sound,

Always listening for a new one.

We're not analyzing sounds,

We're just hearing them.

Keep moving your awareness from sound to sound.

Now move your awareness to the sounds just outside the room.

Find and notice the sounds just outside the room.

And now move your awareness to the sounds inside the room.

Find and notice all the subtle sounds within the room,

Including the sounds of the body.

And now letting go of the sound awareness,

Letting it go,

And move your awareness to the body,

The whole body lying across your space.

I'll now invite you to rotate your awareness around different parts of the body.

As I name a part,

Try to picture it in your mind and listen for the next that is named.

And keep following my voice with full awareness,

Beginning with the right-hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Right upper abdomen,

Right lower abdomen,

Front of the right thigh,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe.

Keep following my voice with full awareness,

Moving to the left-hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Collarbone,

Left side of the chest,

Left upper abdomen,

Left lower abdomen,

Front of the left thigh,

Kneecap,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe.

Bring your awareness to both heels as they press into the surface below,

Both calf muscles,

Backs of both knees,

Backs of thighs,

The buttocks,

Lower back,

Middle of the back,

Upper back,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Space between shoulder blades.

Feel into the whole spine from the tailbone to the top between the ears,

The whole spine,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Crown of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Space between eyebrows,

The eyebrow center,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right cheekbone,

Left cheekbone,

Bridge of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Right side of the jaw,

Left side of the jaw,

Chin.

Feel into the whole right arm from shoulder to fingertips.

Feel into the whole left arm from shoulder to fingertips.

Feel into the whole right leg from hip to toes.

Feel into the whole left leg from hip to toes.

Feel into the whole torso,

The whole head.

Feel into the whole right side of the body,

Whole right side of the body.

Feel into the whole left side of the body,

Whole left side of the body.

Now all at once,

Feel into the whole body,

Whole body,

Whole body.

And now bring your awareness to the natural flow of breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils.

On your next inhale,

Bring your awareness down to the soles of the feet and palms of the hands.

As you breathe in,

Feel as though the breath flows in through the soles of feet and palms of hands up to the top of the spine between the ears.

And as you breathe out,

The breath flows back down and out through the soles of the feet and palms of the hands.

You may wish to visualize the breath as streams of white light flowing up from the soles of feet and palms of the hands on the inhale,

Meeting at the top of the spine,

And then flowing back out through the soles of feet and palms of the hands.

Keep on practicing with this awareness.

Be aware of what you're doing,

Breathing in from the soles of feet and palms of hands to the top of the spine and breathing back out from top of spine through the hands and feet.

And now letting this go,

Letting go of breathing in and out from the soles of feet and palms of hands and let the breath return to its natural,

Spontaneous rhythm in the nostrils.

I will now name some feelings and sensations.

These are all things you've felt before.

They can be felt and then let go.

As I name each one,

Try to feel it throughout the whole body,

Beginning with the feeling of cold,

Feeling cold throughout the whole body,

Cold.

And now bring about the feeling of warmth,

Feeling warmth throughout the whole body,

Warmth.

And now feeling heaviness,

Feeling heaviness throughout the whole body,

Heaviness.

Now bring about the feeling of lightness,

Feeling lightness throughout the whole body,

Lightness.

And now the feeling of agitation,

Feeling agitation throughout the whole body,

Agitation.

Now bring about the feeling of calm,

Feeling calm throughout the whole body,

Calm.

And now the feeling of confinement,

Feeling confinement throughout the whole body,

Confinement.

And now bring about the feeling of liberation,

Feeling liberation throughout the whole body,

Liberation.

And now the feeling of separateness,

Feeling separateness throughout the whole body,

Separateness.

Now bring about the feeling of unity,

Feeling unity throughout the whole body,

Unity.

And now bring about the feeling of anger,

Feeling anger throughout the whole body,

Anger.

And now letting go of anger,

Letting it go.

And bring about the feeling of peace,

Feeling peace throughout the whole body,

Peace.

I will now name some symbols.

When you hear each one,

Try to picture it in your mind.

It doesn't matter whether you can or can't.

Simply feel as though it is there.

Visualize a clock on a wall,

A clock on a wall,

A clock on a wall.

A wooden table,

A wooden table,

A wooden table.

White curtains blowing in the breeze,

White curtains blowing in the breeze,

White curtains blowing in the breeze.

A drop of dew on a blade of grass,

A drop of dew on a blade of grass,

Drop of dew on a blade of grass.

Freshly turned soil,

Freshly turned soil,

Fresh soil.

The sun rising behind tall mountains,

The sun rising behind tall mountains,

The sun rising behind tall mountains.

A bird flying in the sky,

A bird flying in the sky,

A bird flying in the sky.

Rain falling on pavement,

Rain falling on pavement,

Rain falling on pavement.

Busy city streets,

Busy city streets,

Busy city streets.

Cars driving,

Cars driving,

Cars driving.

Trees along a road,

Trees along a road,

Trees along a road.

Leaves unfurling,

Leaves unfurling,

Leaves unfurling.

A caterpillar crawling on a branch,

A caterpillar crawling on a branch,

Caterpillar crawling on a branch.

A speckled egg in a nest,

A speckled egg in a nest,

A speckled egg in a nest.

And now,

Picture yourself at the edge of a vast primordial forest.

Across the horizon,

You see thousands of ancient tall trees and many different varieties of plants.

The morning sun is shining through the trees,

Illuminating a fine mist along the ground.

Ahead of you is a pathway that leads into the forest.

You step forward and begin to walk along the winding path,

Feeling the soft earth beneath your feet.

You pause for a moment to notice the plants and animals around you,

Observing the energy of this ancient place.

As you continue to walk along the path,

You notice a tree ahead of you that is much wider and taller than the rest.

You continue walking along the path until you're standing in front of the tree.

You notice its large,

Broad branches dotted with vibrant leaves,

Which are giving off a soft,

Green glow.

You stand in front of the softly glowing tree and pause to experience its energy and the green light emanating from its leaves.

As you continue to stand before the tree,

You notice there are numerous flower buds along the branches,

Which spontaneously begin to bloom.

You watch the flowers as they unfurl,

Taking in their beauty.

A breeze begins to flow around you,

Causing some of the petals to float to the ground.

The petals float down towards the ground.

As you observe the falling petals,

You notice there is a large,

Tall opening in the trunk of the tree.

You step forward,

And through the opening you can see that there is an airy room within the tree.

You step through the opening and inside the tree.

The floor beneath your feet is made of soft,

Compacted earth.

Along the inner walls of the tree,

You see streams of light gently illuminating the space around you.

In the center,

There is a large daybed covered with cozy blankets.

You lie down on the daybed on your back,

Covering yourself with your favorite of the blankets.

And as you lie on the daybed within the tree,

You feel the grounding presence of the earth below and the streams of light around you.

And you enter a deeply meditative state,

Integrating the power of this experience.

As you are lying on the daybed within the tree,

You feel a breeze from the forest outside flow across your body,

And you sit up on the daybed.

You can see through the opening that the mist has lifted and birds are moving between the trees.

You stand up and walk towards the opening and step out of the tree and onto the path.

You walk back along the winding path through the forest.

You continue walking along the path further and further,

Passing by the plants you saw along the way until you are back at the place where you began,

At the edge of the forest.

The sun is shining brightly,

And you look out over the vast expanse of nature ahead of you.

And now,

Letting this go,

Letting go of the visualization,

Letting it go.

And bring your awareness up to Chittakash,

The mind space,

The deep,

Dark,

Infinite space of the mind behind the forehead.

It's like a viewing screen for the mind,

Yet it is infinite on the inside.

Look deeply into this space now,

Observing any thoughts or feelings,

Observing any colors,

Patterns,

Or pictures,

Without involvement and without judgment.

Simply be a witness of the space of the mind.

Where is your awareness?

Have you become lost in a thought,

Or are you the observer?

Keep cultivating a witness consciousness.

And now,

Withdraw your awareness from the inner space.

Withdraw your awareness from the inner space.

Keep on withdrawing your awareness now from the inner space,

And bring your awareness back to the breath.

Feel the breath in the nostrils,

And deepen the breath a little.

And now,

Bring to mind the resolve you made at the start of the practice,

Your sankalpa.

Bring it to mind now,

And repeat it to yourself three times,

Sending it deep into the system for manifestation.

And now,

Bring your awareness back to the body,

Whole body,

Whole physical body,

Lying across your space.

Bring your full awareness back to your whole body,

Your surroundings,

And your place within the room.

Make sure you are completely aware of your whole body,

Of who you are,

And where you are.

The yoga nidra practice is now complete.

Continue to deepen your breath,

And bring some gentle movement into the body by wiggling the fingers and the toes.

Rock the head gently from side to side,

And rotate the arms and legs in and out.

And take a deep breath in,

And raise the arms above your head,

Perhaps giving yourself a nice stretch,

And as you exhale,

Float the arms back down.

When you're ready,

You can roll onto one side,

Being mindful of the neck,

And come to sit up.

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Simple, but perfect nidra 👌🏼