Yoga Nidra To Calm The Mind

This Yoga Nidra meditation invites you to practice disengaging from thoughts (and emotions) by guiding you into the space of a neutral witness. As a neutral observer, it becomes more clear that you are not your thoughts, you are not your emotions. Rather, you are the part of you that is aware you're thinking, aware you're experiencing an emotion. Through this awareness, you can create space between you and your thoughts, between you and your emotions. In this space, there is choice, quiet, and calm.

Transcript

Hi and welcome.

This meditation is based on the Amrit Institute I Am method of Yoga Nidra.

Please get comfortable.

As you settle in,

Allow your eyes to close or just soften your gaze.

Take a nice slow breath in through your nose and exhale gently through an open mouth.

Nice and easy.

And we'll do that again.

Slow breath in through the nose,

Exhaling gently through an open mouth.

In this moment,

Simply arrive.

Allow your awareness to shift into this experience away from where you've already been,

Away from what comes next.

And allow yourself to be fully here in this moment,

In this experience.

Begin to feel that inner stillness as though it was just waiting there for you.

And just for now,

Let go of any worries,

Tensions or thoughts.

Allow your awareness to come to your feet and let go of any holding in the feet.

Allow the heels to get heavy.

Release any holding through the lower legs.

Allow the backs of the knees to soften.

Release holding through the thighs and hips.

Hips heavy.

And with your next natural exhale,

Let go of any holding through the belly and abdomen.

Whole belly softens.

Observe the backs of the ribs,

The shoulder blades.

Allow them to just melt heavy.

Feel the shoulders softening.

Arms and hands heavy,

Perhaps noticing that natural curl of the fingers when the arms and hands relax.

Invite gentle softening through the neck.

And allow all of your awareness to come to your face,

No right or wrong,

Simply noticing the face.

And with your next natural exhale,

Release any expression on the face.

The tiny muscles around the eyes soften.

Eyeballs rest heavy in their sockets.

Softening those tiny muscles around the mouth.

Jaw opens slightly.

Cheeks are heavy,

Sinking towards the floor.

And gently expand your awareness to become aware of sensation throughout your whole body,

No right or wrong.

Simply sensing your whole body from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head.

Simply being in this experience undistorted by what you like or don't like.

Resting here.

Feel a sense of calm and peace wash over you.

And in this moment,

I invite you to receive this intention for our meditation.

No need to think about it or analyze it,

Just receiving it.

I am the non-participative observer,

Separate from my thoughts and emotions that come and go.

Allow your inner gaze to come to rest at the eyebrow center,

The third eye.

And gently observe how this point guides your awareness toward it,

Holding it there.

And guiding you deeper within.

Feel your awareness sinking beneath the mind.

Make a shift here from thinking and doing to just feeling and being.

From now on,

Just feeling and being.

Allow your attention to come to your breath nice and easy.

With the breath flowing in and out of the nose to the extent it's comfortable,

Begin to lengthen your inhales and exhales.

As you inhale,

Allow the lungs to fill fully,

Nice and easy,

No straining.

And as you exhale,

So patient as the lungs empty completely,

Keep going.

Allow the mind to be fully engaged in these slow,

Full breaths.

And now as you continue with these long,

Slow breaths,

Follow my guidance as we transition into the shitali breath.

Let your next inhale come through the nose,

Nice and easy,

Lungs fill.

As you exhale,

Softly purse your lips and blow the breath through the lips like you were blowing it through a small straw.

Continuing in that pattern,

Slow inhale through the nose.

Prolonged,

Steady breath out through pursed lips,

Emptying the lungs completely.

Keep going in that pattern until your ass to stop.

Each time you exhale,

Empty your mind of all anticipations and empty your body of all tension.

As you inhale,

Fill your heart with joy.

Every round of breath guiding you deeper into that inner world of stillness and calm.

Body is relaxed,

Breath is calm,

Mind quiet,

Heart unconditionally open.

And now gently return to your normal pattern of breathing.

Let go of any guiding of the breath and allow all of your attention to drift inward.

Attend to all sensation present in the body,

A pulsing,

A tingling.

Let your detached awareness embrace all experiences unconditionally and let your mind merge and melt into it,

Simply bathing in sensation.

And now bring your undivided attention to the eyebrow center.

And here,

Drop into an even deeper level of silence,

Stillness,

Peace and harmony.

Just feeling and being.

Experience a silence extending everywhere.

Awareness sinking deeper and deeper below the mind.

And now follow my guidance as we move awareness through the body.

Let your attention rest on each body part as I name it,

Inviting no comment or judgment.

Bring your attention to all ten toes,

Both ankles,

Both knees,

Pelvis,

Abdomen,

Chest.

Arms.

Throat.

Face.

Back of the head.

Shoulder blades.

Spine.

Buttocks.

Calves.

Heels.

Soles of the feet.

Sense the whole body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

Whole body.

Whole body held in awareness.

Whole body pulsing,

Buzzing.

With awareness resting on sensation,

Begin to experience the body more as energy than density,

As though you were filled with bright white light.

Resolving into sensation,

Just feeling and being.

In this deep state of awareness,

Allow the following polar experiences and their associations to arise and dissolve.

Simply allowing the experiences to move through without preference,

Labels,

Or judgment.

By remaining witness,

The observer,

You're releasing your identification with pre-programmed thoughts and feelings.

Receiving these experiences.

Anger and peace.

Crying and laughter.

Maintain detached awareness as though dispassionately watching a movie.

Hate and love.

Helpless and powerful.

And gradually allow any visualization and accompanying sensations to fade as you bring your attention back to the third eye.

Here,

Give yourself permission to enter an even deeper level of relaxation.

There's nothing to do or achieve here.

Simply dissolve and disappear into the stillness.

Open,

Empty of all doing,

All past,

All future.

Merge into this space and be empty.

Any thoughts,

Images,

Sensations floating by like clouds on a clear blue sky.

Allowing it to all gather and dissipate,

Come and go.

Be the space in which it's all happening.

Resting back as though you are the sky.

Here,

In this still,

Quiet space beneath the mind,

More closely connected to the higher self within you,

We plant the seed of intention.

Please receive this intention,

No need to think about it.

I'll repeat it three times.

I am the non-participative observer separate from my thoughts and emotions that come and go.

I am the non-participative observer separate from my thoughts and emotions that come and go.

Allow this intention to go to the deepest levels of recognition without hesitation.

Know that your higher self recognizes,

Honors and accepts your intention.

Have faith and trust that it's been heard and is being acted upon by a higher power of the higher self within you.

And bring your awareness back to the eyebrow center.

Simply linger here in this calm,

Peaceful place in deeper connection to the true self,

The higher self.

Allow yourself to simply feel that connection.

Have faith and trust that the higher self within you is always present,

Guiding you and blessing you.

And now,

Begin to become aware of the rising and falling of your breath change nothing.

And slowly,

Feel yourself beginning to rise toward the surface of awareness so slowly.

Sense your body resting on the floor.

Notice the quality of the air as it touches your skin.

And gradually,

You can move as though you're waking from a really restful sleep.

And if your inner guidance is saying to remain still,

Honor that.

Only as you're ready,

Let that slow,

Gentle movement in.

If you're resting on your back and it's comfortable,

You can bend your knees,

Gently guiding them closer to your chest.

And rocking sideways gently.

Take your time,

No hurry.

And as it feels right,

You can gently turn onto your right side,

Taking the left side if that's better for you in this moment.

Wherever you are,

Finding a little stillness.

Head supported,

Body supported.

Awareness inward,

Linger in the stillness.

Allow your inner gaze to rest at your heart center.

And here I invite you to receive this intention.

I am the non-participative observer,

Separate from my thoughts and emotions that come and go.

Every time you find yourself reacting,

You're empowered to replace it with your intention.

And now,

You can gradually move.

And if you're not already seated,

Sitting up,

Make your way to a sitting up position,

No hurry.

Awareness still deeply within.

Know that regardless of what you consciously recognize that has or has not changed,

Know that something deep within has shifted to connect you to your intention.

Become aware of your body and bring a deep sense of peace and contentment as you bring attention back to the body.

Notice here how relaxed the body is,

How soft the breath is,

How silent the mind is,

How quiet the heartbeat is.

Be still and be grateful.

Know that this sense of calm and peace is accessible to you at any time it exists within you.

And now,

Only as you're ready,

You may gradually open your eyes.

Jai Bhagwan.

Reviews

Another grounding and calming way to start the day. Thank you!

Lovely yoga nidra- good pace - calm voice and very soothing - thank you

Soooo good! Perfect for slowing down my racing mind. I felt so much better after this meditation 🙏

Beautiful pace and calm voice. I’ll be coming back to this one.

Incredible uplifting, peaceful nidra, I was in such a cloud of negative emotions and now I feel true peace from within. Thank you so much xx

Thank you for another beautiful Yoga Nidra Pam 🙏. I really love your meditations and hope you will do more on Insight Timer. ❤️

Pam, such a beautiful practice. Your calming, peaceful voice is a balm along with wonderful words and pacing. Thank you so very much.