Get ready for this practice of yoga nidra.
Lie down in shavasana.
Let your body sink into the floor,
Get comfortable.
Make any adjustments if you wish at this point.
Take your feet wider than your hips and allow your feet to flop to the sides.
The arms are a little away from your body,
Allowing your armpits to breathe.
Your hands show upwards.
Make sure you're warm enough and take a position that is comfortable for the entire duration of the practice.
Relax your shoulders.
Relax your arms.
Relax your hips,
Your back,
Your knees,
Your ankles.
Lift your head a couple of times to release any tight spot from the back of your neck.
Now allow your eyes to close and keep them closed for the entire duration of the practice.
If you feel any tension or tight spots in any part of your body,
Take your awareness to that body part and consciously relax that part.
It is best that you remain still during the practice of yoga nidra.
However,
If you feel uncomfortable,
Please feel free to make changes with very minimal movements.
It is natural to flow in and out of conscious hearing during this practice.
Understand that whatever you experience today is just fine.
There is no way to do this wrong.
Know that you are in a safe environment and protected space.
Stay awake by listening to the sound of my voice.
If your mind starts wondering which is natural,
Just come back to the sound of my voice.
Now say to yourself,
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I am awake and I will remain awake till the end of the practice.
And you will come out of the practice when I ask you to do so.
The practice of yoga nidra begins now.
Become aware of any sounds you can hear in this moment.
Nothing else but what you can hear without straining your ears.
Start by focusing on the most distant sounds.
Move your attention from sound to sound without labelling the source.
Now move your awareness to the sounds within this room.
To the sound of your breath.
The sound of your breath flowing freely between your nostrils.
Now visualize yourself within this room.
Visualize the four walls of the room without opening your eyes.
The ceiling,
The floor,
The walls.
Visualize your position in the room.
Your body lying on the mat.
The parts of your body touching the mat.
Your clothes,
Your hair,
Your face,
Your entire body lying on the mat.
Become aware of your natural breath.
Become aware of your natural and spontaneous breath that moves in and out of your body without any effort.
The natural breath flows in through both nostrils.
Notice the feeling of the breath as it comes in and out of your nostrils.
It is now time for you to make your sankalpa or resolution.
Say to yourself,
I love myself the way I am.
I am relaxed and I am happy.
Repeat your sankalpa three times to yourself mentally,
Clearly and with faith and focus.
We will now begin a systematic journey of awareness throughout the body.
You will move your awareness to different parts of your body as soon as you hear them named.
We begin with the right side.
Right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Right side of the chest,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
The right calf,
Right ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Small toe.
Moving to the left side.
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Small finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Now go to the back of the body,
The sole of your right foot,
The sole of your left foot,
The right heel,
The left heel,
The right calf,
The left calf,
The back of your right knee,
The back of your left knee,
The back of your right thigh,
The back of your left thigh,
Lower back,
The middle back,
Upper back,
The entire spine,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
The right ear,
Left ear,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between your eyebrows,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The right cheek,
The left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Your entire mouth,
Chin,
Jaw,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
The chest,
Upper abdomen,
Navel,
Lower abdomen,
The whole torso,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Slowly become aware of your breath.
Feel the flow of your natural breath in and out of your nostrils.
The breathing is normal and spontaneous without any effort.
Maintain awareness of your breath and continue to breathe through the belly.
With every inhalation,
The abdomen is expanding.
With every exhale,
The navel is drawn in towards the spine.
As you continue to breathe through the abdomen,
Begin to count your breaths starting from 9 to 1.
Start counting your breaths backwards from 9 to 1.
.
If you lose track of the count midway,
Then begin from 9 again.
Gradually,
Come back to the feeling of your breath flowing in and out of your nostrils.
Maintaining your awareness of breath.
Become aware of your physical body.
Your body is relaxed and laying on the floor.
Feel the different parts of your body laying on the floor and take your awareness into all the points that are touching the floor.
The back of your heels,
Thighs,
The back,
Shoulder blades,
Arms,
Hands and head.
Shift your attention to sound within the room.
The sound of your breath.
Sounds around your mat.
The sound of my voice.
Now,
Move your attention to sounds outside the room.
Sounds you can hear without strain.
Move your awareness back to the room inside and visualize the room.
Imagine where you are in the room and the other objects that are around you.
Lie down quietly until you feel ready to move.
Start by slowly moving your toes and fingertips.
Take your time.
You can start stretching yourself.
Take deeper breaths.
Slowly bring your knees to your chest and roll over to the right side.
Take a deep breath here.
Whenever you are ready,
Press into your left hand and with closed eyes come slowly into a seated position.
Take a deep inhalation and exhale completely through your mouth.
Take another deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Repeat this one last time.
Bring your palms to your heart center and drop your palms against each other.
Then softly put your warm palms over your eyes.
Blink your eyes open and look into your palms.
And whenever you are ready,
You can slowly remove your hands.
Thank you for joining me for this Yoga Nidra practice.
