Hello,
My name is Gabriela and today we are practicing a yoga nidra meditation for sleep,
Deep relaxation and to activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
I hope you enjoy.
Yoga nidra can be translated as yogic sleep.
One hour's practice of deep yoga nidra is the equivalent of four hours sleep,
Making it a great practice to develop if you suffer from or have a tendency towards insomnia or stress-related issues.
This practice is best performed lying down.
You may choose to meditate on a mat and under a blanket as your temperature can drop during meditation,
Or on your bed.
For the latter,
However,
It is important to set your intention to remain completely awake and aware for the duration of the practice.
You will be surprised how many people fall asleep during yoga nidra.
But if you want to get the most benefit from it,
The key is to remain in a wakeful sleep state.
Yoga nidra is best practiced away from bright light to avoid distraction.
If you have an eye mask,
I recommend using that.
Not only does it help to block out any light,
It will help you to draw your focus inside the body.
In terms of posture,
You should lie in the Shavasana yoga pose,
The one that you do at the end of each yoga class,
On your back with arms either side of the body,
Palms facing up,
Legs spread either side,
With your feet turned out.
The key is for none of your limbs to be touching each other in order to limit your sensations of touch.
With yoga nidra,
The trick is to start slowing down the use of some of the five senses,
Which works to heighten our awareness of other senses such as touch and hearing.
The aim is to switch off the critical thinking mind and allow the parasympathetic nervous system to come alive,
Which is the state of rest and digest.
When we are thinking,
We are in a state of high alert.
For example,
We can be focused on one thing or simply talking with a friend,
But our senses are constantly alerting us to external events.
By giving the mind something to focus on,
Such as a body scan,
We essentially distract it from doing its main job,
Which in turn helps to promote relaxation.
If we're in a state of high alert for long periods of time,
It can lead to sleep problems and eventually ill health.
This is because when our nervous system is too activated,
It denies us the opportunity to rest.
Yoga nidra is amazingly helpful with this.
So let's get started.
Yoga nidra guided meditation.
Lying down in a comfortable position with palms facing up and eyes closed.
I would like you to focus on your breath.
Inhaling with a count of four through the nose and exhaling with a count of eight through the nose.
Inhaling for the count of four and exhaling for the count of eight.
Inhaling through the nose,
Exhaling through the nose.
Now bring your focus of attention to your third eye chakra,
Which is located in the center of your forehead directly between your eyebrows.
I would like you to now chant the mantra om silently to yourself for about a minute or so.
Om,
Om,
Om and so on.
Then bring your attention to the room you're in.
Become aware of any sounds in the room.
Become aware of the surface that you're lying on and how your body feels in contact with the surface.
Feel the weight of your body on the surface beneath you.
Notice any initial sensations in your body,
Any heat or vibrations,
Tingles or pain.
There is no right or wrong here.
Simply bring your awareness there.
No need to judge.
Now bring your focus of attention to the space outside the room.
Become aware of any sounds outside the room.
Now extend your focus of attention far off into the distance.
Become aware of any sounds as far away as you can hear.
Maybe you can hear a car or a plane.
Now return to your body,
Becoming aware of the sensations in your body.
Notice any areas of tension and breathe into those areas.
Imagining healing golden light traveling to those places as you inhale and that golden light leaving those areas as you exhale.
Continue that breath for a minute or so,
Creating a circuit of golden light.
Before we begin the body scan,
You now have an opportunity to work with an affirmation.
Something that you can recite silently to yourself three times.
This is what we call a sankalpa and is something that you can repeat every time you practice yoga nidra.
An example of a sankalpa could be,
I am happy,
I am healthy,
I am wealthy,
I am wise.
Once you've completed reciting your sankalpa,
Bring your attention to your right hand.
I would like you to imagine,
Sense or feel your right hand.
You don't need to touch any body parts,
Just imagine or sense them as we work our way around the body.
It is important that you remain completely still and relaxed,
While setting the intention to remain awake throughout the practice.
Become aware of the palm of the right hand.
Become aware of the back of the right hand,
Right wrist,
Right forearm,
Right elbow,
Right upper arm,
Armpits,
Right shoulder,
The whole right arm,
The whole right arm,
The whole right arm.
Becoming aware and relaxed.
Now bring your focus of attention to your left hand.
Become aware of the palm of the left hand.
Become aware of the back of the left hand,
Left wrist,
Left forearm,
Left elbow,
Left upper arm,
Armpits,
Left shoulder,
The whole left arm,
The whole left arm,
The whole left arm.
Becoming aware and relaxed.
Now become aware of your right thigh,
Right knee,
Right shin,
Right calf muscle,
Right ankle,
Right heel,
Top of the right foot,
Sole of the right foot,
The whole foot,
The whole right leg,
The whole right leg,
The whole right leg.
Becoming aware and relaxed.
Left thigh,
Left knee,
Left shin,
Left calf muscle,
Left ankle,
Left heel,
Top of the left foot,
Sole of the left foot,
The whole foot,
The whole left leg,
The whole left leg,
The whole left leg.
Becoming aware and relaxed.
Top of the head,
Back of the head,
Back of the neck,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Upper back,
Mid back,
Lower back,
Spinal cord,
The whole back,
Right glute muscle,
Left glute muscle,
Back of the right thigh,
Back of the left thigh,
Back of the right knee,
Back of the left knee,
Right calf muscle,
Left calf muscle,
Back of the right ankle,
Back of the left ankle,
Right heel,
Left heel,
The whole underside of the body,
The whole underside,
The whole underside.
Becoming aware and relaxed.
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Right eyeball,
Left eyeball,
Bridge of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Top lip,
Bottom lip,
Tongue,
Back of the throat,
Right side of jaw,
Left side of jaw,
Chin,
The whole face,
The whole face,
The whole face.
Becoming completely aware and relaxed.
Front of the neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Right ribcage,
Left ribcage,
Torso,
Abdomen,
Right hip,
Left hip,
Pelvis,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Right knee,
Left knee,
Right shin,
Left shin,
Front of the right ankle,
Front of the left ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Top of the left foot,
The whole front of the body,
The whole front of the body,
The whole front,
Becoming completely aware and relaxed,
The whole body,
The whole entire body,
The whole body,
Becoming aware and relaxed.
I would now like you to imagine your body is becoming heavy.
You feel the weight of gravity allowing your body to sink deep down into the earth beneath you.
Allow the weight of your bones and muscles to relax fully into the surface you are lying on.
Allow this sense of heaviness to affect your whole body.
I would now like you to imagine your body is becoming light.
Imagine your body is becoming as light as a feather.
Feel as if you could literally float away.
Allow this sense of lightness to affect your whole body.
I would now like to remind you of the sankalpa you recited earlier.
I invite you to recite this same mantra silently to yourself three times.
We're going to do a quick breathing exercise together.
Count down your breath from 21 to 0.
If you lose count along the way,
You can simply start from the beginning again.
If you finish before my count,
You can start from the beginning again.
Inhale through the nose.
Exhale through the nose.
Inhale while saying 21 to yourself.
Exhale while saying 21 to yourself silently.
Inhaling 20.
Exhaling 20.
And so on.
Once you have completed the exercise at zero,
I would like you to visualize a series of objects in your mind's eye.
Don't worry if you cannot visualize the images specifically.
Simply bring the object into your mind's eye,
Either from your memory or something you've made up.
Mountain.
River.
Ocean.
Sky.
Sky.
Sunset.
Shell.
Crystal.
Palm tree.
Turtle.
Frog.
Rain.
Diamond.
Candle.
Flower.
Painting.
Releasing the visualization,
Bring your focus of attention back to your body.
With eyes remaining closed,
Become aware of any sensations in your body.
Now bring your attention back to the room you are in.
Become aware of the floor beneath you and the space above you.
Become aware of any sounds in the room.
Now bring your focus of attention to the space outside the room.
Become aware of any sounds outside the room.
Now extend your focus of attention far into the distance.
Become aware of any sounds as far into the distance as you can hear.
Return to the body with the eyes remaining closed.
Bring your focus of attention back to your breath.
Inhale for the count of four.
Exhale for the count of eight.
If practicing this session with sleep in mind,
You may choose to stop the practice here and settle in bed.
If you have decided to end the practice,
You may start to move your fingers and toes before turning over to one side and lying there for a few moments.
With eyes closed,
You may come up to a seated position and bring your palms together at heart center.
Together we are going to close the practice with one om shanti shanti shanti.
Inhale to begin.
Shanti shanti shanti namaste
