Yoga Nidra - Moving Into Stillness

The deep relaxation experienced during Yoga Nidra is an effective and safe way to begin to release held tensions in the body. Dwelling in stillness allows suppressed elements to surface without reactivity.

Transcript

So thank you for making the time to join today and thank you in advance for your donations to support this teaching.

So today I'll be guiding you through a full 60 minute yoga nidra session and you'll probably be in a very deeply relaxed state.

So it's important to set aside the whole block of time without being interrupted,

So turn off your devices,

Make sure that the area you are lying down is safe and secure.

Sometimes if we are called to give a response during yoga nidra and we're in a very deep state it can be quite a shock to suddenly have to come out of that,

So let's try to avoid that as much as possible.

So during yoga nidra,

If you haven't experienced this before,

I will guide you through a deeper series of levels of awareness,

Of consciousness,

And you may find yourself entering a very very deeply silent space.

I call this our shared ground in a sense,

I believe that we're all aware of that once we are aware of how to get there,

The path we beat becomes more readily obvious to us as we do this.

Okay,

So let's begin,

Get yourself comfortable.

I'll start with the gong and we shall begin after that.

Lie on your back in shavasana pose,

As flat as possible.

If you need to,

You can place a thin pillow under your head for support,

Or a bolster under your knees to take away any strain on your lower back.

Leave your head,

Your neck and your back in alignment,

Your hips parallel to the floor.

Cover your body with a light blanket to keep warm and to add security and safety.

If you have an eye pillow,

Pop it gently on your eyes right now.

Place your arms lightly at your sides,

Away from your ribs,

Palms open and receptive to the ceiling,

Fingers relaxed.

Stretch your legs through to your heels,

Push your heels out and feel the stretch along the back of your legs.

Relax and let the feet flop naturally out to the sides.

Carefully scan your entire body and note any areas of tension.

If you remember,

You might be able to compare before and after session to see if the tensions have resolved themselves.

Begin to feel your entire body relaxing.

Take a few deep breaths with a long,

Sighing out breath,

And as you breathe out,

Feel your body becoming heavier,

More connected to the earth.

So determine to stay in this pose for the duration of the practice today,

And very importantly,

Make the determination to stay awake.

Turn your attention to the environment and the sounds that you can hear.

Become aware of the overall soundscape,

The distant sounds arising and passing.

Do not label them or react to them.

Simply be aware of the sounds that arise and pass.

Step your perceptions closer so that now you are hearing the sounds in your immediate area,

And then step to the sounds that happen in your being,

The breathing,

The swallowing,

The body digesting food,

Maybe some ringing sensations in the ear.

Switch briefly between inside sounds and outside sounds,

Inside sounds and outside sounds.

Note that the experience of hearing happens without boundaries.

Consider your breath,

And be aware of the exhalations and inhalations.

Just note the natural rhythms of the falling and rising.

Note the coolness of the air as you inhale,

And then the warmth of the breath as it's being touched by the body.

Let your breath flow in and out naturally,

Without any hindrance from the mind.

Note that breathing happens at its own pace.

Notice your body now.

Bring your attention to your head.

Slightly let go of any tensions that you feel in your forehead.

Soften your temples,

Soften your eyes,

Draw your eyes further back into their sockets.

Let gravity pull back your cheeks as you relax them.

Relax your lips and dissolve any tension in your jaws.

Gently open the jaws and then relax them.

With each cycle of the breath,

Feel your body getting heavier and releasing into the earth.

Notice the thin sheath of sensation where your body is touching the floor,

From the back of your head,

To the shoulders,

The torso,

The back of the arms,

Hips and legs.

Slowly scan this paper-thin interface where the body meets the floor.

Surrender yourself to the earth.

Let's take some time now to create our Sankalpa for this session.

The Sankalpa is a short,

Positive,

I am statement that reflects our being,

Our intent,

Our desire,

Our truth for ourself.

For example,

It could be I am seen,

I am creative,

I am aware,

I am sensitive,

I am loving.

Construct a Sankalpa statement for yourself.

Repeat it mentally three times with focus and conviction and then release it.

Let's get ready now for a 61-point rotation around the body.

Focus your awareness at the point between your eyes,

At the third eye,

And then sink your awareness to the midbrain area.

Create a point of intense concentration.

If you can visualize a bright star,

Or the symbol Aum,

Or some other sacred symbol to yourself,

Please do so.

Move this point of awareness upon direction.

As it moves from point to point,

Become aware of your consciousness moving in space,

Outlining the body.

If you can,

Try to make the light a pulsating one,

So that the waves pulsate out and cover the entire body.

Be intently focused on one point and do not let your attention waver to any other task.

Let's begin.

Third eye,

Throat,

Right shoulder,

Right elbow,

Middle of the wrist,

Back of the right hand,

Tip of the thumb,

Tip of the forefinger,

Tip of the middle finger,

Tip of the ring finger,

Tip of the little finger,

Center of the right palm,

Middle of the wrist,

Elbow,

Right shoulder,

Throat,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow,

Middle of the wrist,

Back of the left hand,

Tip of the left thumb,

Tip of the forefinger,

Tip of the middle finger,

Tip of the ring finger,

Tip of the little finger,

Palm of the left hand,

Middle of the wrist,

Left elbow,

Left shoulder,

Throat,

Heart,

Right chest,

Heart,

Left chest,

Heart,

Solar plexus,

Navel area,

Pubic area,

Right hip,

Right knee,

Right ankle,

Top of the foot,

Tip of the big toe,

Tip of the first toe,

Tip of the second toe,

Tip of the third toe,

Tip of the fourth toe,

The sole of the right foot,

Right ankle,

Right knee,

Right hip,

Pubic area,

Left hip,

Left knee,

Left ankle,

Top of the left foot,

Tip of the big toe,

Tip of the first toe,

Tip of the second toe,

Tip of the third toe,

Tip of the fourth toe,

Sole of the left foot,

Left ankle,

Left knee,

Left hip,

Pubic area,

Navel,

Solar plexus,

Heart,

Left chest,

Heart,

Right chest,

Heart,

Throat,

Third eye,

Top of the head.

Return your point of awareness to the center midbrain area and consciously dwell there.

Float in awareness.

Bring your awareness now to the feelings in your body.

Direct your body to feel as heavy as possible.

Imagine your body to be a heavy sack of potatoes sinking into the ground or imagine that there's a heavy weight pressing you into the earth.

Feel the pull of all of earth's gravity stretching you into the ground.

Even if you wanted to,

You simply could not move.

Enjoy this feeling of solidity or deep connection.

In contrast,

Direct your body now to be as light as air,

Weighing even less than a feather.

The only thing stopping your body from floating away is the blanket covering you.

Feel as light as helium in a balloon.

Feel the top layer of your body pressing against your body,

Your clothes being lifted up.

You're deeply sensitive to and aware of the breeze,

The breeze,

The air circulating around you.

Become part of that too.

Bring up the feeling of heat.

Think of your body as hot as possible.

Feel the sweat arise as your body temperature is turned up.

Be aware of the heat of your body.

Be aware of the fire of life.

Imagine now that you are coming out of a sauna.

The sauna's heat is turned up to 92 degrees Celsius.

You come out and you plunge straight into an ice bath.

You feel the cold wrapping around your body.

Your body shivers in the sudden cold.

You feel invigorated by the plunge into cold.

Imagine yourself coming out of that cold bath and experiencing balance coming back to your body,

Feeling deeply relaxed,

Completely alive in sensations.

Let's explore our emotional body now.

Remember that you are safe in your space.

Remember that you are secure in your space.

If during this time you feel strong emotions arising,

See if you can allow them to arise in your safe space.

Allow them to arise and open to space themselves.

Allow release if you can.

Bring to mind a period of your time in life when you felt emotionally low or sad,

Isolated,

Lonely,

Depressed.

Recall how you felt and note where these feelings arise in your body.

There could be a sudden tightening around the core of your being.

Your breath may suddenly become shallow as you remember the time.

Be aware of yourself in the present moment in your safe,

Secure environment,

And allow these feelings to express themselves without your reaction.

As you do this,

You may feel a release happening in your body,

The depth of your being at your core,

The lightness of being replacing the heaviness that was there.

Let the tensions arise and watch them fall away,

And watch yourself in the here and now in a great expansive silence on the ground of our being.

In contrast to sadness,

Bring the opposite polarity to mind.

We all feel happiness,

Times of great joy,

Contentment.

How does this express itself in your awareness?

Notice how light these feelings,

These memories,

Make us feel.

Note where these feelings arise.

Bring your attention now to your forebrain area.

This is the screen of our minds.

When we think our thoughts and we project our images,

We project them on the screen of our minds.

Let's see if we can project images onto our screens using our imagination.

Let them appear as defined as you can,

In full color if you can.

As one image appears,

Let it appear and disappear without attachment.

A crisp red apple red apple cut in half revealing its white inner.

A fountain of water sparkling in the summer sun.

An expansive stand of spring bamboo swaying in the wind.

Children playing and laughing on the green grass in a park.

The full moon on a clear cloudless night.

A family of dolphins jumping out of the water.

The sky at night full of stars.

The entire universe of galaxies stretching endlessly in all directions.

Our sun blazing forth on a cloudless summer day.

A sudden shower of cooling tropical rain.

Bring your attention now to your heart center.

Imagine your attention sinking deeply into the chamber of your heart.

Feel a strong connection here.

Rest here for a time.

Do not let your attention waver from this point.

Be here now.

Recall your sankalpa that you stated at the start of the session.

Recall it again three times and then let it go.

Bring your attention gradually back to your body.

Feel the tips of your toes,

The tips of your fingers,

The back of your head,

Your shoulders,

Back,

Legs and feet.

Be aware once again of that thin sheath of connection between you and the earth.

Breathe deeply and feel the cool connection to the air entering your body.

Stretch down to your heels.

Push your heels out and bring your hands together in front of your body and then stretch your arms above your head to give yourself a full stretch.

Enjoy the feeling of movement coming back to you.

When you're ready,

Take your eye pillow off your eyes and let light of day stream into your being.

This is the end of our yoga nidra session today.

Hari Om Tat Sat.

Take as much time as you need to come back slowly and fully.

After a yoga nidra session,

It's always a good idea to have a cup of mint tea for yourself and then to slowly rejoin the hive of activity that is our lives.

Reviews

I fell into a deep sleep. I was not able to stay awake long

Thanks! I found this to be deeply relaxing—especially within the mix of background rain noises & your calming voice.