Awakening Through Body and Emotions

Deeply relax as you source senses and emotions, identify as Awareness through Yoga Nidra. I've recorded soft background music making this particularly relaxing.

Transcript

As a beginner of yoga and idrotinate,

I invite you to adopt a curious awareness about everything and yet let go of all sense of valuing or analyzing.

For the next several moments,

It's all just information.

Nothing is good and nothing is bad.

Let everything simply be information.

We have a three-part mission in our yoga nidra and that is to welcome,

To recognize,

And witness.

So I invite you to open up your attention to everything that feels outside of you.

We're going to create a binary so that we can see beyond the binary.

So feel everything that feels outside.

What feels outside is maybe sounds,

Including my voice,

But maybe also including sounds in the room or in the building.

Smells,

Temperature,

And with that curious awareness where nothing is good and nothing is bad,

Just be aware.

Recognize,

Witness.

Welcome to sound.

Recognize it as sound.

Just be the witness of the sound.

You don't have to do anything about it.

Do the same thing with smell,

Temperature,

Whatever.

Now change your attention inside,

Change everything that feels inside.

By inside I'm talking internal sensations,

Thoughts,

And emotions.

And in this moment,

Have that practiced curious awareness.

Even if there's an emotion that may not be your favorite emotion,

Welcome it in.

Recognize it simply as an emotion and then just witness it.

Don't do anything about it.

Don't try to fix it or change it.

Same thing with thoughts or sensation or whatever.

Now go back to everything that feels external.

Welcome,

Recognize,

And witness.

And then go back to everything that feels internal.

And again,

Welcome,

Recognize,

And witness.

And in this moment now I invite you to feel both,

Internal and external,

Simultaneously.

And imagine yourself as porous or translucent where information could sort of pass through you.

Yeah,

There's some substance that is you,

But what extends,

Or what your true nature is extends beyond the perimeter of your body.

I invite you to feel into the space to your left.

And feel into the space to your right.

Feel the space above you and below you.

And feel into the being part of you that is larger than just your body.

And as we go through this process,

You may realize that in one moment you're aware of this thing,

And the next moment you're aware of that thing.

And while sensations are changing,

What isn't changing is awareness.

We're going to tap into and indeed identify as awareness.

Now we do our best work when we can be relaxed,

Whether that work is in a relationship,

In school,

In work.

We do our best stuff when we are relaxed.

So let's find a resource that is within us,

That is always there.

We're going to hone that resource by remembering or imagining a sanctuary.

So where is a place that you love to be?

Where you feel like you can be your best?

Is it lying on the beach?

Is it hiking through the woods?

Is it hanging out in your grandmother's front room with fresh bread cooking in the other room?

Where do you feel like for you is a place that is so special you can really feel alive there?

And again,

You can imagine a place.

This doesn't have to even be a literal place you've ever been to.

But as you picture this place,

I invite you to become acutely aware of the details.

What are the shapes and the colors?

Some things you would see in your sanctuary.

Use five or six different things you would see in your sanctuary.

And then bring the smells to the surface.

What does it smell like in your sanctuary?

Maybe there's incense there.

Maybe you smell the salt ocean,

The sand,

Or maybe you smell pine trees.

Let that smell come into your nostrils.

With that smell,

Notice how your body starts to respond in this moment.

If you're right there,

Literally in this place,

And indeed we're putting ourselves in this sanctuary by turning on all these centers in our brain,

Hear the sounds in your sanctuary.

What are the tastes in your sanctuary?

Now what about emotions?

What are the emotions that you feel in your sanctuary?

And allow those emotions to rise to the surface in this moment.

Welcome those emotions,

Recognize them as emotions,

And witness the emotion.

Notice where you feel the emotion.

How you feel it.

Is it a pressure?

Is it a burning?

Is it a tingling?

Now hopefully it didn't take us long to get there.

For some of us it's more effective than others.

Nonetheless,

This is a resource that never diminishes,

That is always there.

And you can do this every day.

You can visit the beach every day.

You don't need to have a time share in San Diego.

You can just lay down on the mat,

Close your eyes,

And put yourself there.

Now if I could ask you to somehow get 10% more relaxed than you are right now,

Do whatever it takes to get just 10% more relaxed.

If you find yourself starting to slip in and out of consciousness,

Just let it happen.

Just let things be the way they are.

Bring attention to the sensation of your mouth.

Feel your lips,

Your teeth,

Your tongue,

Welcome the sensation,

Recognize it as sensation,

And simply witness the sensation of your mouth.

Nothing to do.

Notice your mouth's presence.

Be aware of your ears,

Your eyes,

Be aware of the sensation in your forehead,

The bridge of your nose,

Cheekbones,

Your lips,

Your chin.

Now feel the entire left side of your head,

Starting with the left side of your face,

Over to your left ear and the left back side of your head.

Feel into the right side of your head,

The right side of your face,

Ear,

And the right side of your head.

Feel the left side again,

The right side again,

And now feel your entire head.

Feel the sensation of your entire head.

And we're going to feel your head is large,

With how periphery expands in all directions.

And feel now as if your head is very small,

Infinitely small,

No center.

And again,

Large and small.

Now feel both large and small.

It's not supposed to be logical.

It overrides logic into that experience that is beyond any binary.

Be both small and large in your head.

Then notice anything and everything that you're aware of in this moment,

Internally,

Externally.

We may start to notice all the changeability,

The fact that you're aware of this thing in that moment and that other thing in this moment.

And through all the changeability,

We start to uncover that underlying unchangeability.

Through changing sensations,

We reveal the unchanging awareness.

Feel your collarbones and your shoulders.

Trace the sensation of your left arm from shoulder to elbow and elbow to wrist,

Left palm,

Left fingers.

Feel your right arm,

Shoulder to elbow,

Elbow to wrist,

Right hand all the way down to your fingers.

Feel your left arm is heavy.

Right arm is heavy.

Left arm is light,

So that it could practically float off the ground.

Right arm is light.

Feel your left arm is heavy,

Right arm is light.

Feel your right arm is heavy and your left arm is light.

Feel both arms as both heavy and light.

Feel your arms are both heavy and light simultaneously.

Change your awareness to the movement in your chest.

Feel your breath move your chest without any effort.

You're simply watching your breathing happen.

Feel your belly lift and lower with your breath.

Nothing to do,

Just paying attention.

Feel your back.

As you go through this process,

Spontaneous things sometimes arise.

The memory just percolates into your awareness or sensation or an emotion.

Remember,

Your job is always welcome,

Recognize,

And witness.

Now bring attention to the sensations of your pelvis.

Bring attention to the sensations of your legs,

Hips to knees and knees to calves,

Ankles all the way down to your toes.

Feel the sensation of your entire body simultaneously.

Feel your whole body.

And again,

Feel into the space around your body.

Suddenly,

The periphery of your body dissolves.

You start to move out into space.

The space itself,

Experience yourself as awareness.

Awareness which manifests to the different things it can be aware of.

Awareness doesn't manifest through sensation of your body.

So in this moment,

I invite you to adopt the feeling of excitement.

Can you remember a time when you felt very excited about something?

You're excited about meeting with somebody or it's your birthday,

You're a little kid and you couldn't wait for the holidays.

Invite excitement to the surface.

And notice where you feel excitement.

Is it in your belly?

Is it in your chest?

And if you were to give that feeling a color,

What color would excitement be?

In your own head,

Think what color would this be?

What are the images that spontaneously move in your mind as you think excitement?

Now,

You don't have to choose the worst thing ever,

But remember a time when you felt disappointed.

Can you remember a time when you felt disappointment?

Remember a time when you just felt let down.

And in this moment,

Welcome that feeling,

Recognize it as a feeling,

Just witness where you feel it,

How you feel it,

The memories and images that spontaneously occur as you bring to the surface disappointment.

Now,

Bring back to the surface excitement.

Feel excited again.

Then bring back to your awareness disappointment.

Welcome it in.

Recognize it for what it is,

A feeling.

And just witness,

Just pay attention to it.

Now,

Feel both excitement and disappointment at the same time.

Welcome both onto the stage simultaneously.

And that feels too challenging or abstract.

Again holding one in one hand and the other in the other hand,

But holding them simultaneously.

What is that part of you that is larger than either excitement or disappointment?

And from that place,

That grounded sense of being,

Of awareness,

Simply allow whatever is in this moment to be.

Knowing that it'll come and it'll go.

So whatever happens,

Whatever comes,

You can hold that,

This capacity larger than any single emotion or experience.

So imagine for a moment that your being expands beyond this body.

It's included in this body,

But expand into the part of you that is larger than emotion,

That is larger than body.

And imagine yourself getting larger than this room,

Larger than this building,

Larger than this city,

Into this formless,

Unending quality of being.

Picture yourself floating in space.

There's no up and no down.

There's no light or dark.

Some beautiful shade of gray somewhere in the middle or give it your favorite color.

Temperature is that perfect middle place.

And imagine yourself simply floating,

Simply being.

Full of awareness as awareness you have no needs.

There is no time.

There is nothing that you aren't.

Simply everything you are.

There's nothing to do.

Picture yourself floating in space as being.

There's nothing to prove.

There's nothing to know or not know.

Things just are.

Simply allow yourself to be.

Emotion can harm you here because you're bigger than any one thing.

Allow the world to be as it is.

Simply be everything.

So imagine yourself as this largeness of being.

Seeing your body lying on the floor.

Seeing our entire group as being.

Experience yourself as your body.

As being,

Experience the sensation of your body on the floor.

Experience yourself as the sounds you hear in this moment.

Experience yourself as this breath that moves in and out.

As awareness become acutely aware of the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet.

And briefly move through your sanctuary.

Remember those colors.

Those smells.

Those tastes.

Those emotions.

Bigger than all of that and yet comforted with joy in those sensations and emotions.

So in a moment I'm going to ring the bell and that will signal the end of our yoga nidra practice.

As we practice awareness we'll take this experience,

Indeed the experience of feeling us as larger than just our body.

Identifying as awareness.

We'll take that back out into that sort of waking conscious productive lives of ours.

And it'll feel like the colors have been turned up.

Our minds will be focused.

Our hearts will be open.

As if suddenly you're more aware of what's around you like some of the blinders have been taken off.

Remember you come back to the feeling of your whole body on the floor.

I'd like you to hear the sound of my voice in the room.

Be aware of all things.

Yoga Nidra is over.

Reviews

Brilliant exploration of ourselves as awareness. Blessings and thanks for sharing 🙏💐

Nidra was great but the crappy music is so unnecessary. Cheers

Wow, that was intense.. dropped liminal and was able to stay there, coming back to a body with somewhat less psysical pain..

Thanks🌺

So perfect! I loved the feeling of two things simultaneously — light & heavy, excitement & disappointment. Thank you 🙏🏻

Excellent meditation. Thank you.

Very nice profound inward and external journey, merging it all into one beautiful way of being. Thank you ✨🙏✨

Again & again Yoga Nidra, through the words and wisdom of Scott Moore are mind expanding.

Another awesome meditation Scottay! This practice can go in so many directions using contrasting feelings. Very cool

Such a unique and interesting yoga nidra. Really enjoyed this - bookmarked! Thank you 💗

Beautiful and love the integration into our awake productive lives as well. Thank you

Wonderful! Thank you!!

Excellent Nidra practice. Clear and well paced.

Wonderful, music was a perfect level not to loud or to soft

Soooo yummy and relaxing! Definitely bookmarking this

Bookmarked. So beautiful.

Excellent - I thoroughly enjoyed this meditation and found it extremely beneficial.

Amazing n mind blowing meditation. Loved the sanctuary, the encompassing of excitement n disappointment at the same time, which came after preparing the mind to be aware of different sides etc... Loved the background music, will do it again n again.

Wow. Thank you so much. That was deep.

Very relaxing, able to acknowledge and accept the thing around me and be able to relax with no stress