Yoga Nidra For Trusting Inner Wisdom

Yoga Nidra translates into English as “yogic sleep,” yet this does not tell us all that much. Yoga Nidra refers to both a state of consciousness - one that is different from the waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states - as well as different styles of guided meditations that allows us to begin to consciously gain access to this state.

These meditations themselves are a specific sequence of relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness techniques that help the body, mind, and emotions to slowly and gently become more still and silent.

This particular yoga nidra was guided through transmission, and it seeks to cultivate the trust in our inner wisdom. Through gentle self-observation and continued redirection of attention, we move away from reactive thinking and return to our true essence within.

Transcript

Welcome!

It's great to have you here.

My name is Stefano and I'll be guiding you through Yoga Nidra,

A meditation that mirrors the physiological process of sleep.

It will help you relax at the level of the physical body,

The breath,

The mind,

And through deeper aspects of your being.

Yoga Nidra is a form of NSDR,

Non-sleep deep rest.

There is nothing to do or achieve now.

Just follow along and allow all tensions and worries to melt away.

Find a comfortable position lying down in Shavasana,

The corpse pose,

Using a yoga mat or your bed or any comfortable surface with support under your knees and maybe a pillow for the back of your head.

For the corpse pose,

Simply lie down on your back.

Allow your legs to separate and let go of all holding in your legs.

You don't need to keep them straight.

Just allow your feet to fall open to either side.

Bring your arms alongside your body and slightly separate them from your torso at a 30 or 60 degree angle,

Whatever feels most comfortable,

And turn your palms to face the sky without trying to keep them open.

Maintain a position that allows your fingers to curl inward.

Tuck your shoulder blades onto your back for support without strain.

Once you have set up your limbs,

Release any effort from holding them in position.

Allow your whole body to relax,

Dropping any expression from the face,

And allow your whole body to feel heavy.

It's recommended that you have a blanket,

Maybe an eye pillow if it feels more comfortable.

Don't worry if you fall asleep or if your mind wanders.

Gently guide your attention back and follow the instructions to the best of your abilities.

If you can,

Remain as still as possible,

But if there's any discomfort or pain,

Notice it for a few moments,

And if it goes away,

Continue with the guidance,

And if it doesn't,

Gently readjust yourself so that you can be 5 or even 1% more comfortable.

Allow yourself to completely relax during the practice,

And if you need to,

You can always assume a comfortable meditative posture in the seated position,

Making sure that you have a straight spine,

Allowing your neck to be tall,

Keeping your chin tucked in,

Chest forward,

And making sure that your hands are going to be on your lap with palms facing upward,

Allowing yourself to maintain this posture with ease and without strain.

Typically,

We practice Yoga Nidra with the eyes closed,

But if for any reason this is not accessible to you,

Know that you can practice with your eyes open while maintaining a very soft gaze to the distance.

Just make sure you have enough space to practice comfortably.

Pick a setting where you won't be distracted or disturbed,

So a cool,

Dark,

Quiet room would be optimal.

See what is available to you in the moment and go with that.

The practice we'll do today is I Am Yoga Nidra,

The Integrated Amrit Method of Yoga Nidra.

Take a mental note of how you're feeling now in body and mind.

When you're done with the practice,

Notice any changes,

However subtle,

That you may experience.

Now,

We'll begin the practice.

Any sounds or music in the recording will gently fall away,

Taking a moment to scan the entire body from the tips of the toes to the soles of the feet,

Tops of the feet,

Ankles,

Shins and calves,

Knees and backs of the knees,

Thighs and hamstrings,

Pelvis and buttocks,

Lower back and lower abdomen,

Upper abdomen and chest,

Middle back,

Shoulder blades and upper back,

Entire spine,

The arms and hands,

Neck and throats,

The whole face,

The whole scalp,

The ears,

The whole head,

Becoming aware of the entire body at once and taking a deep breath in,

Filling up the lungs completely before exhaling with a deep sigh,

Releasing all tension trapped within the body and breath.

Taking another deep breath in before exhaling with a deep sigh,

Releasing worries and anticipations of the mind.

Taking one last deep breath in,

Holding the breath as you gently close the throat,

Releasing with a deep sigh as you feel the natural urge to breathe,

Noticing the sensations of breath and their impact on the whole body,

Allowing the mind to be quiet and still,

Inviting awareness to the heart space,

Vast open awareness,

Noticing the rich stillness at the center of the chest and calling forth your sankalpa,

Your resolute intention,

Sacred vow you make to yourself to connect more deeply with your heart's deepest desire,

A heartfelt longing that you wish to manifest more than anything else in this lifetime,

Be it for health,

Healing or awakening,

Taking this time now to connect with your sankalpa or even ask your heart,

Oh dear heart of mine,

What is your deepest and strongest desire?

Listening for any whispers of the heart,

The heart space and inviting all other parts of your body and all aspects of your mind to chime in as well,

In turn,

To see what it is that you most deeply need and want in this moment,

In this lifetime,

Taking the time now to encapsulate this message in the form of a short positive affirmation stated in the present tense,

A single word,

A visual scene,

A psychic symbol or even a felt sense and if nothing comes into your awareness,

Know that you can borrow this intention for today's practice,

I trust my inner wisdom,

I trust my inner wisdom,

I trust my inner wisdom,

Knowing that your sankalpa will be revealed to you and until in time with continued practice,

Now taking the time now to plant your sankalpa like a seed in the vast spacious awareness of the heart space,

Repeating your sankalpa three times now,

Stating it with feeling and conviction,

Knowing it to be true in this present moment and as you breathe in,

Imbue your sankalpa with your vital life force energy and as you breathe out,

Allow your sankalpa to be everywhere,

Simultaneously breathing in and out imbuing your sankalpa with your vital life force energy and allowing it to be everywhere at once,

Now as we enter this next phase of yoga nidra,

Resolve to remain awake and alert and if you fall asleep,

Allow your body to get the rest that it deeply needs and follow along with my guidance as soon as you're able to,

Resolve to remain motionless and know that if you need to move or make an adjustment to be supremely comfortable,

You can do so mindfully and return to stillness as soon as you're able in yoga nidra,

We allow the mind to merge and melt with the subtle stillness and the rich silence within,

Now follow my guidance as we shift the awareness from body parts to body parts,

Allowing your neutral and compassionate awareness to concentrate,

Become potentized at the brow center,

Becoming aware of all the sensations at the brow center,

Now shifting the awareness to the throats,

Pits of the throats,

Shoulders,

Elbows,

Wrists,

All ten fingertips,

Palms of the hands,

The centers of the palms of the hands,

Backs of the hands,

The centers of the backs of the hands,

Wrists,

Elbows,

Shoulders,

Collarbones,

Pits of the throats,

Center of the chest,

Right side of the chest,

Center of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Center of the chest,

Upper abdomen,

Navel center,

Lower abdomen,

Center of the pubic bone,

Hips,

Tops of the thighs,

Centers of the thighs,

Knees,

Shins,

Centers of the shins,

Ankles,

Heels,

Soles of the feet,

Both soles of the feet,

Soles of the feet,

Tops of the feet,

All ten toes,

The tips of all ten toes,

The spaces between the toes,

Ankles,

Ankles,

Knees,

Hamstrings,

Calves,

Backs of the knees,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Tip of the tailbone,

Sacrum,

Center of the pubic bone,

The entire pelvic girdle,

The spine,

The whole right side of the back,

The whole left side of the back,

Entire back,

The small of the neck,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Scalp,

Crown of the head,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Center of the forehead,

The forehead,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Point between the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Right eyelid,

Right temple,

Right cheek,

Left eye,

Left eyelid,

Left temple,

Left cheek,

The nose,

Bridge of the nose,

Tip of the nose,

Right nostril,

Right sinus cavity,

Left nostril,

Left sinus cavity,

Upper lip,

Tip of the upper lip,

Lower lip,

Skin of the lower lip,

Tongue,

Tip of the tongue,

Tiny muscles within the tongue,

Teeth,

Gums,

Roof of the mouth,

Floor of the mouth,

Root of the tongue,

Back of the throat,

Center of the throat,

Pit of the throat,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms,

Together,

The whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

Both legs,

Together,

The front of the torso,

Back of the torso,

Of the front and back of the torso,

Together,

Shoulder blades,

Shoulders,

Collarbones,

Neck,

Throat,

Face,

Head,

Jaw,

Chin,

The whole head,

The whole face,

Together,

At once,

Entire body,

From the crown of the head to the tips of the toes,

The entire body,

The whole body,

At once,

Bringing awareness back to the eyebrow center,

Resting here in vast,

Spacious awareness,

Relax,

Let go,

Even more,

Letting go of all doing,

Letting go of all thinking,

Simply feeling and being.

Now observe the natural ebb and flow of the breath,

Moving in and out,

Noticing the sensations of breath in and out of the nostrils,

Allowing your awareness to flow with the outgoing breath to the furthest point,

Perhaps a foot away from you,

Where you can still detect the flow of the breath,

This point inside of your body,

In which the breath ends and begins,

Breathing in and out from the zeroth point,

Where the breath naturally terminates and begins,

Without changing or altering your breath in any way,

Breathing in and out from the zeroth point,

Breathing in and out,

Coming deeply absorbed with the flow of breath,

Terminating at the zeroth point,

And beginning once more,

Breath emerging from the zeroth point and terminating at the zeroth point,

Now noticing the breath at the nostrils,

Feeling the sensations of breath at the nostrils,

As you continue to breathe in and out in your own natural rhythm,

Breathing in and out,

Completely absorbed with the sensations of breath at the nostrils,

Noticing the coolness of the inhalation and the warmth of the exhalation,

Breathing in and out,

Now see if you can detect the sensations connected to the breath at the inner corners of the eyes,

Breathing in and out without changing the breath,

Noticing the sensations at the inner corners of the eyes,

And see if you can access feelings of radiant joy at the inner corners of the eyes,

Whatever you're experiencing now,

Is your own unique experience,

Allowing it to be just as it is,

And yourself,

Allowing yourself to be just as you are,

Observing the sensations of breath and their impact at the inner corners of the eyes,

Now bringing the awareness to the points between the eyebrows,

Now feeling the breath moving from the zeroth points all the way to the point between the eyebrows of each inhalation,

And moving downwards and out from the eyebrow center back out towards the zero point of the exhalation,

Breathing in and out,

Connecting deeply with the sensations of breath and the sensations at the eyebrow center,

Breathing in and out,

And now becoming aware of the center of the forehead,

Breathing in and out all the way up to the center of the forehead,

Noticing the complete flow of breath from the zero point to the nostrils,

To the inner corners of the eyes,

To the brow center,

All the way up to the center of the forehead,

Breathing in and out,

Following the flow of the breath all the way down from the center of the forehead to the brow center,

To the inner corners of the eyes,

To the nostrils,

All the way back out to the zeroth point,

Noticing the sweeping motions of breath in and out,

Feeling your awareness carried by the breath as the breath flows in and out,

Allowing the awareness to gently concentrate in the center of the forehead,

Allowing all thoughts,

All judgments,

All tensions,

All worries to be released with the outgoing breath as you breathe in vital life force energy,

Breathing in and out,

Not trying to make anything happen,

Deeply engaged with the process of respiration and the sensations from the zeroth points to the nostrils,

To the inner corners of the eyes,

To the brow center,

To the center of the forehead and back,

Breathing in and out,

Noticing the wave-like motions of breath carrying your awareness and sweeping and purifying the mind's eye as you breathe in and out,

Resting here,

Silent stillness,

Extending everywhere,

Breathing in and out,

Connecting deeply with the sensations of the mind's eye,

Entering the deepest levels of relaxation and Agnya chakra,

The two petal lotus of the mind's eye,

Connecting with the seat of your intellect and intuition as you breathe in and out,

Letting go of all doing,

Letting go of all thinking,

Breathing in and out,

Visualizing a symbol of Aum,

A golden symbol of Aum,

Surrounded by a sphere of indigo light at the mind's eye,

Silently repeating to yourself the mantra Aum with each inhalation and each exhalation,

Releasing the mantra now,

Connecting deeply within the areas of the brain,

A couple of inches behind the center of the forehead as you continue to breathe in and out,

Welcoming your sankalpa,

Your resolute intention,

Repeating it three times in the seat of the mind's eye and allow yourself to non-mentally receive the following words,

I trust my inner wisdom,

I trust my inner wisdom,

I trust my inner wisdom,

Knowing that your intention has been received,

Fully acknowledged,

Has been acted upon by the non-doing presence of your being,

Connect with your sankalpa deeply now,

Feeling it to be true in this very moment,

Now take a moment to reflect on all that you have experienced,

Any thoughts,

Sensations,

Images,

Or memories that are or have been present,

Simply notice them,

Simply witness,

Allow them to arise,

To arise,

Unfold,

And pass away in your neutral awareness in their own time,

Without the influence of your likes or dislikes,

Simply observing everything just as it is,

And yourself just as you are,

Now returning to your natural breath,

Taking a moment to take a deep breath in,

As we prepare to chant the mantra OM three times together,

Fully filling up the lungs,

And chanting OM OM Come to silence,

Allowing sound to dissolve into silence,

As you notice the vibratory impacts of the mantra OM on the physical body,

Allowing awareness to return to the physical body,

Noticing the touch of air on your skin,

Inviting gentle movements into the body,

Opening and closing the hands,

Rotating the wrists,

Curling and uncurling the toes,

Twirling the feet,

Moving the head from side to side,

Nodding up and down,

Beginning to stretch,

As if waking from a restful sleep,

And when you're ready,

Begin to sit up in a comfortable meditative posture,

Continuing to stay deep in this deep inner experience,

Placing your hands on your heart,

Right hand on top of the heart,

Left hand on top of right,

And calling forth your sankalpa once more,

I trust my inner wisdom,

And OM now bringing the hands into prayer position with the sternum,

And gently bowing down,

In namaste,

Enjoy bhagwan,

May the spirit be victorious,

When you're ready,

Gently opening the eyes,

Namaste.

Thank you for practicing yoga nidra with me today,

If you found today's practice beneficial,

Please consider following me here on insight timer,

If the meditation provided you with an experience that allowed you to go deeper within,

I would greatly welcome your review,

And if you feel compelled,

Your contributions would greatly help me continue to produce yoga nidras to share the benefits of these guided meditations with others,

If you have any questions or if you would like to share your intention for your practice,

Please share below,

Also it would be nice to know where and when you started your practice today,

You can check the description of the video for additional information about the practice of yoga nidra,

As well as this individual recording,

And you're invited to also check out other yoga nidras,

Depending on what you need most right now,

If you've enjoyed this practice today,

Please consider sharing the video with others who would benefit from it,

As the community grows,

I'll include more and more styles of nidra for people to explore the different benefits that can be obtained from this practice,

Not just for sleep,

Not just to reduce stress and anxiety,

But also for developing equanimity and self-realization,

As well as many practical applications to increase focus and energy and vitality,

Thank you again for practicing with me too.

Reviews

Really good…thank you