Yoga nidra,
Otherwise known as psychic sleep by the yogis,
Is a guided meditation to help alleviate physical,
Mental,
And emotional tension caused from stress.
It also can help alleviate insomnia.
And I find it particularly helpful for creating what's called a sankalpa.
This is the yogi's version of our deepest heart's desire or a vow to our highest truth.
Yoga nidra is traditionally done lying down on the ground,
Using any props to make you as comfortable as possible.
However,
If lying down is not accessible to you,
Please feel free to remain seated during this meditation.
Once you find yourself comfortable,
Let's begin by taking three deep inhales and exhales.
On the inhale into the nose,
Breathing in,
And an open mouth exhale to release.
And again,
On the inhale,
Breathing in through the nose,
Open mouth exhale to release and let go.
Final time,
Breathing it in and exhaling out.
And we will begin with a simple intention to let go.
So on your inhale,
Saying the word let,
On the exhale,
Go.
Two more times,
Inhaling,
Let go.
Final time,
Let go.
And then continuing to listen to my voice as we go through a body scan.
Starting at the focal point of our heart,
Drawing awareness to our heart center.
Then drawing awareness to the whole body,
The whole body.
Drawing awareness to the left side of the body,
And then the right side of the body.
And then coming back to the heart center,
From the heart center,
Drawing awareness to the right shoulder,
Down the right arm to the elbow,
Down the forearm to the right wrist,
The top of the hand,
And the palm of the hand.
The right thumb,
Index,
Middle,
Fourth,
And pinky finger.
Then coming back to the heart center,
From the heart drawing awareness to the left shoulder,
Down the left arm to the elbow,
Down the forearm to the wrist,
The top of the hand,
Palm of the hand,
Left thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
And pinky finger.
Coming back to the heart space,
Drawing awareness to the right rib cage,
The right waist,
Right hip,
Down the thigh to the knee,
Down the lower leg to the ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
And fifth toe.
Drawing the awareness back to the heart space,
To the left rib cage,
The left waist,
To the left hip,
Down the thigh to the knee,
Lower leg to the ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe.
Drawing the awareness again back to the heart,
And then up into the throat,
To the back of the neck,
Traveling up to the back of the head,
To the right side of the head,
To the left side of the head,
To the front of the whole face.
Drawing awareness to the chin,
Jaw,
The lips,
Nose,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The right eye,
And the left eye,
Up to the forehead,
To finally the top of the head,
And then drawing awareness hovering just above the crown of the head,
Breathing there for a moment,
Remembering to let go.
Drawing awareness to your whole body,
And the left side of the body,
The right side of the body,
And finally back to the heart.
Begin to notice your breath at your heart,
And placing a color,
A color of your choice at your heart space,
And on the inhale,
Seeing that color brighten at your heart.
On the exhale,
Seeing that color expand outside of your heart,
And filling your whole body.
Again,
On the inhale,
Seeing that color brighten at your heart.
On the exhale,
The color expands from your heart throughout your whole body,
And even outside of your body.
Inhaling color brightens,
Exhaling color expands and fills the whole room that you are in.
Begin continuing to listen to my voice as we move through polar opposites of sensation,
Where we hold space for both of these opposites.
Begin by feeling heaviness in the body,
And then noticing sensations of lightness in the body.
Again,
Noticing heaviness in the body,
And then noticing lightness in the body,
And then moving to feeling coolness in the body,
And sensations of warmth in the body.
Once again,
Sensations of coolness,
And sensations of warmth,
And then noticing sensations of contraction or tenseness in the body,
And then becoming aware of its opposite,
Of expansion or ease in the body.
Again,
Noticing contraction or tenseness in the body,
And noticing expansion or ease,
And holding space for both opposites,
And continuing to listen to my voice as we move through opposites of feeling.
Again,
Holding space for both.
Noticing feelings of peace.
Noticing feelings of frustration,
And noticing feelings of calm.
Noticing feelings of fear,
And noticing the opposite,
The feeling of love.
Again,
Holding space for both fear and love,
And continuing to listen to my voice as I call out different images,
And try not to think about them for too long,
Just whatever pops up in the mind.
Seeing an image of a bright radiating sun,
Of flowers blooming,
Of birds singing,
Your smile,
A loved one's smile,
Ocean waves,
Snowflakes falling,
A quiet path in the woods,
A full moon,
Your inhale and exhale,
Your heart beating,
Giving help to someone,
And receiving help to someone,
Your reflection in a lake.
Now choose one of those images,
One that really stuck with you,
And hold that image in your mind as you breathe in and out.
And then place that image on a screen in front of you.
See it as an audience member looking at a screen,
Gazing at that image that shows you.
And then choose one word of how that image makes you feel,
Just whatever pops up in the mind.
And say that feeling three times to yourself or out loud.
Offer that feeling out into the world as an extension of who you really are.
Again,
Holding that image in your mind,
Placing it on a screen in front of you,
And saying that feeling word from the image three times,
Acknowledging your heart's deepest desire,
Your personal sankalpa.
And then finally,
Taking that feeling word and placing it in the sentence of I am.
And place your feeling word after the I am.
And allow this I am statement to carry you through your day.
Using your yoga nidra practice out into the world to every person you encounter,
And always remembering I am.
It has been my honor to guide you through this yoga nidra practice.
I would encourage you to write down your sankalpa statement of I am with the feeling word,
Possibly even drawing out your image or describing it in your journal,
Writing it out.
The light within me honors the light within you.
Namaste.
Namaste.
