Yoga Nidra: Become The Ocean

Yoga Nidra is a deeply relaxing meditation technique, aimed at relieving physical, emotional, and mental tension to access open awareness. This is best performed resting comfortably on your back but can be done in a chair. This practice begins with an affirmation of your choice and a guided relaxation, followed by a few minutes of even-breathing. Visualizations in this recording include the experience of Cold/Hot and Worry/Equanimity and a long contemplation on the nature of the Ocean. Enjoy!

Transcript

All right,

All right.

And make sure that you are comfortable laying down on your back,

Your feet out wide,

Arms resting by your side,

Palms face up.

Take a few moments to really just relax.

We have not begun the practice yet.

But you want to really situate yourself so that there is no discomfort in your body.

Finding an appropriate position so that once we start,

You won't have to move.

Whether that means a pillow underneath your knees or a blanket over your eyes.

Settling in.

Getting to invite in just a little heaviness.

Feeling your legs supported by the floor or your bed or your couch.

Whole body resting.

It's very important that you do not sleep.

Repeat to yourself,

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I will not sleep.

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I will remain awake.

Taking a few deep breaths as we begin the practice.

Breathing in through your nose.

And out through your mouth.

Really long,

Complete breaths.

Each time you breathe out,

Really feel into the sense of letting go.

Letting go of effort in your body.

Letting go of mental formations.

Letting go of expectations.

Letting go of expectations.

Coming to concentrate on yoga nidra.

For a few moments,

Become aware of sound.

Giving your attention to sounds that are distant.

Without identifying the source of the sound.

Allow all sounds to come to you.

As separate wave forms.

Moving through the air.

Bring your attention to the room just beyond yours.

Hearing sounds there.

Opening your hearing to take in sounds outside of your building.

As far away as you can detect.

Without opening your eyes.

Develop an awareness of the room that you are in.

Visualize the walls,

The ceiling,

The floor,

The ceiling.

Visualize the walls,

The ceiling,

The floor.

Visualize your body on the floor.

Seeing yourself resting.

Totally at ease.

Become aware of the sensations that come with breathing.

Moving your attention to air moving into your nostrils.

Moving out of your nostrils without manipulating your breath.

Becoming aware of breathing.

Totally relaxed.

I am going to practice yoga nidra.

I will not sleep.

Relaxing all the senses.

Only two doors of perception are open.

Feeling and hearing.

Begin the practice of yoga nidra by stating your resolve.

Repeating your goal with determination and confidence three times to yourself.

Making a short,

Powerful,

Concise statement.

Set your intention for this practice.

For your life.

For your path.

Repeat your resolve three times to yourself.

Let your attention soften.

Relaxing your brain and your head.

Resting just a little layer deeper.

We will begin our rotation of consciousness.

Shifting awareness to different parts of your body.

Moving quickly.

Letting your mind jump from point to point without conceptualizing or moving that part of your body.

Begin with the right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

And your pinky finger.

Awareness of your palm.

The back of your right hand.

Your right wrist.

Your right forearm.

Right elbow.

Right upper arm.

Right shoulder.

Right armpit.

And your side.

Right waist.

Right hip.

Right hamstring.

Right thigh.

Right kneecap.

And calf muscle.

Your ankle.

Your heel.

The sole of your right foot.

Top of your right foot.

Noticing your right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

All your toes at one.

Noticing your whole right foot.

Your whole right leg.

The whole right side of your body.

There's one field of sensation.

Shifting to your left hand thumb.

Hold your attention on your left thumb.

Shift to your second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

The palm of your left hand.

The back of your hand.

Your wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Left armpit.

Your side.

Waist.

Hip.

Hamstring.

Left thigh.

Left knee.

Left calf muscle.

Ankle.

Heel.

The sole of your left foot.

The top of your left foot.

Each of your toes.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Going to the top of your head.

Notice the top of your head.

Forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The space between the eyebrows.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Left cheek.

I'm just saying your upper lip.

Lower lip.

Your chin.

Your jaw.

Your throat.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

The right side of your chest.

Left side of your chest.

The very center of your chest.

Shifting down to your navel.

Your upper abdomen.

Lower abdomen.

Your right thigh.

Left thigh.

Right knee.

Left knee.

Right ankle.

Left ankle.

Right toes.

And left toes.

Feeling the entire front of your body.

On top of your head.

Through your face.

Your chest.

Your abdomen.

Your toes.

The entire front of your body.

Now go to the back.

Noticing your right toes.

Your left toes.

Feel the bottom of your right foot.

And the sole of your left foot.

Right heel.

Left heel.

Right ankle.

Left ankle.

Right calf muscle.

Left calf muscle.

The back of your right knee.

The back of your left knee.

The back of your right thigh.

The back of your left thigh.

Relaxing your right glutes.

Left glute.

Right hip.

Left hip.

Feeling your whole spine.

The whole back of your body.

Your right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

The back of your neck.

The back of your head.

And the top of your head.

Feeling the whole back of your body from your heels to the back of your head.

The whole back of your body.

Relaxing truly from the inside out.

Bring awareness to your brain.

And your nasal passages between your nose and your throat.

Notice your tongue.

Your teeth.

The roof of your mouth.

Your right ear drum.

Left ear drum.

The throat where your air passes through.

The air that comes through your nose and your throat.

Noticing your right lung.

Your left lung.

Feeling your heart.

Feel your heart by concentrating on your heartbeat.

Above your navel on the left side.

Your liver on the right.

Your right kidney.

And your left kidney.

Towards the back above your waist.

Relaxing from the inside out.

Inside.

Noticing your intestines.

Relaxing all the inner parts of your body.

Relaxing from the inside out.

And will not sleep.

Concentrate on your body lying on the floor.

Become aware of each place in your body.

The body and the floor meet.

Head floor.

Shoulders floor.

Arms floor.

Back floor.

Thighs floor.

Calves floor.

Heels floor.

The whole body and the floor.

Bring your awareness to your breath.

Become aware that you are breathing.

Becoming conscious that you are breathing and nothing else.

Breathing in.

I am aware that I'm breathing in.

Breathing out.

I am aware that I'm breathing out.

Begin to lengthen your inhales and exhales.

Consciously make the inhale and the exhale match in length.

You can start by counting to four.

The inhale and the exhale.

If that feels like too long,

You can shorten your count.

If it feels like not long enough,

You can extend the count.

Consciously breathing.

The evenness between the inhale and the exhale.

Bringing the exhale to match the inhale.

Breathing slow and deep and intentionally.

Without force or struggle.

Breathing slowly and intentionally.

Breathing slowly and intentionally.

Breathing slowly and intentionally.

Turning to a natural,

Steady rhythm.

Allowing the body to breathe on its own.

As we shift into awareness of sensations,

I invite you to awaken the feeling of cold.

Of coldness in your body.

Concentrate on your spinal cord and develop the feeling of coldness.

Concentrate on the breath in your left nostril.

Develop the feeling of cold in your entire body.

Every breath you take makes the body cooler and cooler.

Concentrate on your left nostril and the left side of breath.

Every breath takes in a new level of cold.

Concentrate on your right nostril and the left side of breath.

Setting down the experience of cold,

Begin to concentrate on creating heat around the body.

Concentrate on becoming enveloped in an atmosphere of heat from your head to your toes.

Awakening the experience of warmth.

Concentrate on the breath in your right nostril.

With each inhaled breath increase the experience of heat in your whole body.

With each breath the body feeling warmer and warmer.

Each inhale into the right nostril,

Heat distributing throughout the body.

Feeling the body only getting warmer breath by breath.

Concentrate on the experience of heat that you have created.

Concentrate on releasing the sensation of heat into the normal surroundings,

Breathing smoothly,

Relaxing any effort that came with that.

Feeling body comfortable and breathing easy,

Staying awake.

Bring to mind the experience of worry.

Recalling a time that you felt worry.

Bringing to mind something that you worry about.

Notice how worry feels in your body.

Is there tension in your belly or abdomen?

Is there compression or a sense of enclosure?

How does your breath change as you experience worry?

As an observer with curious eyes,

What does worry feel like in my body?

Is there tension in my body?

Gently setting down the feeling of worry,

Nurturing an experience of equanimity.

Remembering a time that came naturally to you.

Maybe nurturing a feeling you're having right now.

Letting that sense of even-minded level composure wash over you.

Noticing how does it feel in my body to be unbothered.

Notice any spaciousness,

A sense of tangling perhaps in the palms or in your cheeks.

Sitting with the experience of an equanimous mind.

How does it feel to be steady and unbothered?

How can I know that that is so?

Setting down that felt sense of composure.

Letting it dissolve.

Letting the mind be clear.

Letting it be clear that you're on a beach or a time that you visited the ocean.

And seeing the vastness,

The size,

The depth.

Seeing the ocean currents,

The waves,

All of the movement at the surface caused by wind,

Weather,

Boats,

Animals.

Seeing all that activity,

All the choppiness and turbulence of the surface of the ocean.

Gradually as you go deeper and deeper,

It becomes more and more still,

Less affected by the surface world.

Imagine that you are the ocean.

You cannot at the same time be busy,

Ruffled and active,

While also being vast and still and spacious.

Holding on to the ocean imagery.

Seeing the animals swimming,

Life happening.

Allow yourself to be the ocean,

Containing that life.

Holding the waves,

Being steady,

Vast and spacious.

Resting still,

Allowing weather to move as it does.

Resting in this awareness of being the ocean.

Finding ease and abiding in your own nature.

Resting still,

Allowing the ocean to move as it does.

Resting still,

Allowing the ocean to move as it does.

Resting still,

Allowing the ocean to move as it does.

Resting still,

Allowing the ocean to move as it does.

Resting still,

Allowing the ocean to move as it does.

Once again,

Become aware of your breathing.

Not changing it or controlling it.

Be aware of your breath.

Imagining your breath following the pattern of tide rolling in and tide rolling out on the beach.

Without any hurry,

Any rush.

One breath moves in,

And out breath moves out.

Remember your resolve,

Your intention,

Your sankalpa.

Repeat it to yourself three times.

Repeating in your mind your dedication,

Your affirmation.

Making it real,

Planting that seed.

Without opening your eyes just yet,

Become aware once again of your body.

Visualize with eyes closed the room that you are in.

Visualize all four walls,

The ceiling,

The floor,

Body resting on the floor.

Begin to move your body,

Wiggling your toes,

Your feet,

Moving your fingers,

Your wrists.

Rock your head side to side.

Begin to move your whole body,

Perhaps taking a big full body stretch.

Take your time to roll to one side.

Very slowly sit up.

Your yoga nidra is complete.