Welcome to your Why Am I?
Affirmation Yoga Nidra.
As opposed to the more traditional I am affirmations,
Which can be interfered with by the logical brain not believing,
The Why Am I?
Affirmations allow for the brain to look for and search for confirmation of why these affirmations are true in your waking life.
To begin with,
As always,
Please make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Perhaps you're lying down on the floor with a pillow under your neck or on a mattress.
You may require some pillows under your knees.
And if lying down on your back is not available to you,
Please just be comfortable in whatever way that may be for you.
Perhaps it's on your side or in a chair.
Once you are as comfortable as possible,
I'd like you to focus on the sense of touch.
Notice where the parts of your body meet the surface underneath you.
Also become aware of where your clothing touches your skin and where the air touches your skin.
Awareness of touch.
Drawing your attention to the right ear.
Being aware of the shape of the ear,
The folds and the inner ear canal.
And notice what you can hear predominantly through the right ear.
Shifting your attention to the left ear.
Awareness of the shape and the folds and the inner ear canal.
What can you hear mostly through the left ear?
Draw your awareness to the space between both ears.
Listening to sounds through both ears.
Near and far.
Listening to sounds.
And drawing your awareness to your eyes.
If your eyes are open,
You can close them now and become aware of what you can see behind your eyelids.
However,
If it feels safer to keep your eyes open,
Please feel free to do so.
Just keep your gaze soft and focused on the one point.
With eyes opened or closed,
Seeing what are the patterns,
The shapes,
The colours that you can see with your sight.
Perhaps it's all black,
Grey,
Multicoloured,
Kaleidoscope images.
Nothing.
Then draw your attention down to the edges of your nostrils and feel the air coming in and out of your nostrils.
As you follow the flow of air,
Slightly cooler as you breathe in,
Slightly warmer as you breathe out.
Notice if you can,
Sense smell.
Is there a scent in the air?
And if not,
What is your favourite smell?
Awareness of scent.
Follow that breath down the back of the nostrils to the back of the throat and become aware of the root of the tongue,
Sides of the tongue,
Top of the tongue,
Tip of the tongue.
With awareness around the tongue you may begin to salivate and notice what can you taste in your mouth.
Awareness of taste.
And again,
If there isn't a taste,
Imagine your favourite taste.
And if possible,
Becoming aware of all five senses simultaneously.
Awareness of touch,
Sound,
Smell,
Taste and sight at the same time.
And now we will begin the practice of yoga nidra.
At this point,
If you have a sankalpa,
A goal that you would like to bring to fruition,
Focus at the heart centre and feel what it is that you would like to bring more of into your life.
Keep this sankalpa brief and in the present moment.
Repeat it to yourself three times.
Now bring your attention to each body part as I mention it.
You can also repeat that body part in your mind or imagine that the body part is filled with an electric pulse or it's enlarged or warm or cool or full of colour.
Just choosing whichever form of concentration works best for you.
Repeating the words,
Feeling,
Imagining or even hearing a sound at each point.
And we'll begin with the right thumb,
Right first finger,
Second,
Third,
Fourth finger.
Awareness of all four fingers and thumb on the right hand.
Right palm,
Back of the right hand,
The whole right hand.
Awareness of the whole right hand.
Right wrist,
Right forearm,
Right elbow,
Right upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Right armpit,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right shin,
Right ankle,
Heel of the right foot,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Awareness of all five toes on the right foot.
Awareness of the whole right foot,
Whole right foot.
Drawing your awareness up to the left thumb,
Left first finger,
Second,
Third,
Fourth finger.
Awareness of all four fingers and thumb on the left hand.
Left palm,
Back of the left hand,
The whole left hand.
Awareness of the whole left hand.
Left wrist,
Left forearm,
Left elbow,
Left upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Left knee,
Left shin,
Ankle,
Heel of the left foot,
Arch of the left foot,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Awareness of all five toes on the left foot.
Awareness of the whole left foot,
Whole left foot.
Coming to the back of the body,
Back of both heels,
Back of both ankles,
Both calf muscles,
The back of both thighs,
The buttocks,
The lower back,
Mid back,
Upper back,
Both shoulder blades,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Right side of the forehead,
Left side of the forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow centre,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Tip of the nose,
Top lip,
Bottom lip,
Both lips together,
Inside the mouth,
Inner gums,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Chin,
Front of the throat,
Both collar bones,
Breast bone,
Abdomen,
Pelvis,
Whole right arm,
Whole left arm,
Both arms together,
Whole right leg,
Whole left leg,
Both legs together,
The whole right side of the body,
The whole left side of the body,
The whole back of the body,
Whole front of the body,
Awareness of the whole body,
Whole body.
And as you feel the air coming in and out of the nostrils and the expansion and contraction of the ribs,
Rise and fall of the belly,
Begin to count your breath backwards from 27.
Awareness of all the mechanisms involved in breathing,
Nostrils,
Chest,
Belly,
Breathing in 27,
Out 27,
In 26,
Out 26,
Following the natural rhythm of your breath.
If you lose count,
Never mind,
Just start again.
And if you get to zero,
Return back to 27.
Keep counting backwards from 27,
Staying awake and counting the breath.
You can stop counting the breath and bring your attention to behind your mind's eye.
Gazing into the vast,
Empty space of the mind's eye.
Vast,
Empty space.
Floating,
Safe space.
Your subconscious to feel and respond to the following questions.
Why am I lovable?
Why am I strong?
Why am I healthy?
Why am I abundant?
Why do I remain calm in stressful situations?
Why do I love growing?
Why am I love?
Begin to focus again on all the mechanisms of your breath.
The air around the edges of the nostrils,
The expansion and contraction of the ribs,
Rise and fall of the belly.
Begin to take some more deliberate breaths,
A little slower,
A little deeper,
A little fuller,
As you begin to awaken the breath.
And as you do this,
Recalling your sankalpa,
Your positive goal,
And repeat that to yourself again,
Three times and let it sink deep down inside.
And then becoming aware of your whole body,
Your whole body here,
Lying or sitting in your space.
Awareness of sound,
Smell,
Taste.
Breathing more deeply and bringing yourself out of this beautiful relaxed state.
As we come to the close of the yoga nidra,
Begin to slowly and gently move the body.
Perhaps starting just with wiggling your fingers,
Wiggling your toes.
And then maybe you want to open and close your hands and circle through your wrists and circle through your ankles.
And perhaps you need to stretch,
Wiggle,
Wobble,
Twist,
Move the way your body needs to move.
And then depending on your position,
Rolling onto your side,
You can pause there,
Give yourself a bit of a hug.
Gently blinking the eyes open,
Fluttering the eyes,
And slowly coming up into a upright position.
If you're already seated,
Then just bringing yourself more upright,
Holding yourself up.
Place one hand on your heart and the other hand on your forehead,
Or perhaps both hands over your heart.
And thank yourself for taking this time for yourself.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings be happy.
