Yoga Nidra for Joy and Peace
This Yoga Nidra practice promotes feelings of deep peace, joy, and wellbeing. It instills a sense of equanimity as the practitioners experience themselves as a vast field of awareness. SevaRam's peaceful facilitation is backed with soothing and beautiful royalty-free music by Roseblue (Your Quiet Breath).
Transcript
Hello,
My name is Sevaram Sprong.
Welcome.
Thank you for joining me for a practice of Yoga Nidra.
And the theme of today's practice is peace and joy.
So let's begin the practice by finding a comfortable lying position,
Preferably on your back or on a recliner.
Find a position where you feel really supported,
Where you can remain motionless for the duration of the practice.
So if you need to use any blankets,
Pillows underneath your knees to support your lower back,
Do so.
Your body temperature will drop as you deeply,
Deeply relax.
So if you feel a little cool right now,
Do grab a blanket.
Allow your body to relax.
There is nothing you need to do during this practice other than to follow my voice.
During Yoga Nidra practice,
You will be guided to notice and feel physical sensations,
Your breath,
Emotions,
Feelings,
And sensations of well-being or joy.
And to experience yourself as a witness to all of that.
And any experiences,
Any thoughts and feelings,
However pleasant or maybe unpleasant they might be,
They are the messengers.
They are the messengers who invite you to explore those feelings.
Knowing that you are safe,
That you are supported,
And this is a good time to experience all the emotions and all the sensations.
In this practice,
You are discovering that part of you that always,
No matter what,
No matter what,
Remains peaceful.
You are experiencing yourself as never-changing well-being.
You are someone who is witnessing presence that is welcoming everything.
So allow yourself to experience everything that might come with this practice.
And allow your body to settle into stillness.
And as deep relaxation comes,
There might be an urge to fall asleep.
So say this to yourself now and throughout this practice if you need,
I will not fall asleep during my Yoga Nidra practice.
During this practice,
You will be straddling the line between wakefulness and sleep.
Which is a very,
Very healing state.
And now,
Bring your awareness to your senses.
Notice the taste in your mouth.
Notice any smells.
Notice any sounds.
Notice any colors or images.
Notice any sounds.
And your mind's eye or on the lids of your eyes.
And notice any sensations on your skin.
And now,
Let's bring up the intention of today's practice.
Your intention will support you throughout this practice and throughout your everyday life.
So allow that intention to come up naturally.
It might be something like how you want to feel during this practice and afterwards.
Or it might be a sense of inner peace and joy.
Or maybe you would like a relief from physical discomfort.
Or relief from patterns or emotional pain.
Whatever that is,
State it to yourself.
And now,
Affirm that intention with all of your body and all of your mind and all of your heart.
Feel that intention with all of your senses.
And keep noticing how this intention supports you throughout this practice and in your daily life.
And now,
Allow your heart's deepest desire to arise within.
What is it that you want more than anything in this life?
Maybe it's something that you want for yourself.
Or it's something that you want for somebody else.
Or something for the entire world.
Whatever it is,
Allow it to come up.
Welcome and affirm that heartfelt desire with all of your body,
All of your spirit,
All of your mind and heart.
And feel it as if it's already happening.
Allow yourself to feel these sensations.
And now,
Set that heartfelt desire aside and notice how it will continue coming up for you during this practice and during your life outside of this practice.
And now,
We will allow our inner resource to emerge.
The inner resource is a special place or a special state where you always feel secure and at ease.
So it might be a physical place and imaginary place.
It might be an image,
A symbol or even a piece of music.
Maybe it's a book.
Whatever it is,
You know that you are safe and supported over there.
So whatever it is,
Immerse yourself in that scene and imagine it using all of your senses.
Feel it as if you really are there physically.
And notice any sounds,
Tastes,
Smells,
Any colors,
Any sensations,
Any shapes.
Maybe there's anybody else with you.
And experience the feelings of security within you.
Because your inner resource is in you.
And you know you can always access it.
And it is always available for you.
Either in this practice or outside of this practice.
So when things become a little bit too much,
You have your inner sanctuary.
You have your inner resource always available to you.
And now let the sound of my voice guide you and support you in bringing awareness to different parts of your body.
As I name each area,
You may feel sensations that are present or nothing in particular.
But whatever you experience is just as it is in this moment.
Let's start.
Bring your awareness to your mouth.
You are aware of the roof of your mouth,
Your tongue,
The floor of your mouth,
The inside of your left cheek,
Inside of your right cheek,
And now your whole entire mouth as one field of sensation.
Bring your awareness to your left ear,
And your right ear,
And now sensing both of your ears at the same time.
Bring your awareness to your nose,
The left side of your nose,
Left nostril,
Right nostril,
Both nostrils at the same time.
And now the eyes.
Left eye,
Right eye,
Both of the eyes at the same time.
Bring awareness to your forehead,
And now your scalp,
Your neck,
Back of the head,
And your neck,
Left shoulder,
Left upper arm,
Forearm,
Left wrist,
The palm of the left hand,
The fingers of the left hand,
Your entire left arm,
Right shoulder,
Right upper arm,
Forearm,
Your right wrist,
Right palm,
And fingers,
The entire right arm,
Both arms together,
Both arms together as one field of sensation.
Now bring your awareness to your entire upper chest,
Upper back,
Middle of your chest,
Middle of your back,
The abdomen,
The abdomen,
The lower back,
And now the entire torso.
Your whole torso as one field of sensation.
Your left buttock,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Left shin and calf,
Left foot,
Left foot and toes,
And now your entire left leg as one field of a sensation.
Bring your awareness to your right buttock,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right calf and shin,
The foot,
The toes,
And now the entire right leg,
Entire right leg as one field of sensation.
And now sensing both of the legs at the same time.
Sensing the entire front of your body,
Sensing the entire front of your body,
The entire back of your body,
The entire left side,
The entire right side.
And now sensing the entire body,
The entire body as one field of sensation.
Notice what is present in your awareness,
Experiencing yourself as the one who is aware of everything that is present.
Experiencing yourself as the one who is witnessing everything that's coming and going.
And now become aware of your breath.
There is nothing you need to change.
Simply notice the breath coming and going.
Notice the breath flowing through your nostrils,
The sensations in your nasal passages,
Down your throat,
Notice the movement of the belly and chest as the breath comes and goes.
Remind yourself that you are not sleeping,
You keep focusing on my voice as it continues to guide you.
You are staying awake.
Now start counting like so.
Inhale 21,
Exhale 21,
Inhale 20,
Exhale 20,
Inhale 19,
Exhale 19.
Continue going at your own pace,
Counting down from 21.
If you lose your count,
That's okay.
Begin at 21 again and continue.
Please stop counting and remind yourself that you are staying awake.
Be aware of what is present in the field of your awareness.
Experiencing yourself as the one who is present to everything that's coming and going.
Now we will experience the opposites of feelings.
This is the time that you might want to remember that your inner resource is always available for you if the sensations become overwhelming.
Allow yourself to experience these sensations and the emotions as they arise.
No judgment is needed.
All you are is pure awareness.
Let's start.
Bring your awareness to the sensation of cold.
Feel yourself being very very cold,
Freezing and shivering.
And now bring your awareness to feeling warm.
You're feeling warm,
You're feeling hot.
Feel the temperature rising.
And now let that go.
Bring your awareness to a sensation of heaviness.
Feel as if your body is made out of bricks or bronze,
Really heavy.
And now let that go and bring your awareness to feeling light like a feather.
Like a whisper of wind.
Let that go.
And now bring your awareness to a sensation of feeling energized.
Energized like you want to do everything.
You want to run and scream and dance.
Allow yourself to experience that.
And let that go.
And bring your awareness to feeling lazy.
You really don't want to do anything.
And now let that go.
Now bring your awareness to an emotion of being sad.
If you can't bring the awareness,
The feeling,
Then think about the situation where you experienced feeling sad.
And allow yourself to re-experience that sadness.
Your inner resource is here.
You always have that place.
Allow yourself to experience that sadness.
You are in a safe place.
And now let that go.
Bring your awareness to the sensation of extreme happiness.
And again,
Think of a situation where you felt that extreme happiness.
And allow yourself to experience it fully.
Now bring your awareness to a sensation of feeling diminished or dismissed.
Visualize a situation where you experienced those feelings.
Where you felt dismissed,
Minimized.
And let that go.
And now bring to your awareness a sensation of being acknowledged.
Being given credit.
Bring to your mind a situation where you experienced a feeling of being acknowledged.
Where you were acknowledged.
Where you felt like what you did really mattered.
And it was recognized by others.
Allow yourself to experience that sensation fully,
Completely.
And let that go.
Now bring your awareness to a sensation of being rejected.
Not wanted.
Allow yourself to experience that moment.
You can be with those difficult sensations.
And now let that go.
And connect with an emotion,
A sensation of being loved.
Being loved and wanted.
Bring that situation up in your mind.
Where you really felt loved and wanted.
And even if you cannot connect with the situation in your own life.
Maybe you can connect with a situation in a movie or in a book.
That the characters experienced that.
And through them you also experienced that.
And allow yourself for that sensation to blossom fully in your consciousness.
And your emotions and your feelings.
And now let that go.
And become present to your awareness.
Become present to all the comings and goings of your mind.
Of your sensations.
Of your feelings.
Experience yourself as that in which all those.
Experience yourself as a field of awareness into which all those sensations arise.
And now bring your awareness back to your body.
Notice any sensations throughout your body.
Any sensation of happiness.
Sensations of wellness.
Joy.
Pleasure.
Or maybe there is an event that you would like to recall.
That brought all of these sensations up for you.
Recall that event.
And welcome whatever sensations are coming up with it.
And now be present to that sensation of joy.
Holding it at your heart.
Visualize it as golden white light.
And notice.
Be aware as the light of joy and pleasure is spreading throughout your body.
It flows throughout your torso.
Throughout your neck and head.
Throughout your shoulders and arms.
And hands.
And down both of the legs.
And your entire body is enveloped in this warmth,
Beautiful light.
The sensation of joy and pleasure.
You are radiant and alive.
You are just as you are now.
You are joy and well-being.
You are perfect just the way you are.
And again,
Be aware of all that is present right now.
Sensing what is present.
Being the field of awareness into which everything arises.
You are the awareness into which everything is coming and going.
Into which everything is welcome just as it is.
You are pure awareness.
And everything is just the way it is.
And now,
Come back to your inner resource.
Find yourself in that place where you can be at ease and safe.
Groundedness,
Security,
Safety,
Well-being.
Noticing your breath just the way it is.
Just the way it is.
Noticing your forehead.
Your forehead is cool and at ease.
Noticing the belly,
Hands and feet.
Warm and at ease.
Now,
Bring your mind to the intention of your practice.
And maybe even you are noticing a new intention forming for your next practice.
And now,
Connect with your heartfelt desire.
And all the sensations that it had in your body.
Experience your heartfelt desire as it is an accomplished fact in this very moment.
And as you are still lying here with your eyes closed,
Imagine yourself going about your daily life.
Imagine yourself going through your tasks.
And noticing sensations,
Emotions and thoughts.
Constantly coming and going while you yourself are remaining this unchanging space of awareness through which things come and go.
It's time to return to your physical body.
So take a deep,
Deep breath.
Connect all the physical sensations that come with your breath.
Wiggle your fingers and your toes.
And take a moment to notice any smells,
Tastes,
Sensations against your skin.
Mental pictures or maybe colors on the inside of your eyelids.
And continue to move your body,
Stretch,
Continue breathing deeply.
And before you open your eyes,
Take a moment to acknowledge,
To offer gratitude to yourself for taking this time for your Yoga Nidra practice.
Take that feeling with you,
That experience of yourself as timeless,
Open,
Spacious field of awareness.
And take that feeling of well-being.
And if there's anything else that you would like to take with you into your waking life,
Do that.
If there's an intention,
If there are any feelings you want to take with you,
Please do.
Thank you for today's practice.
My name is Sevaram Sprung.
And today's Yoga Nidra for joy and peace is complete.
