Yoga Nidra: Healing Family Connections
The focus of this practice is on healing family connections - connections through family and ancestry. As with other Yoga Nidra practices, you will be setting an intention both at the beginning and at the end. You can have one ready now or you can just let one come to you naturally in a little while when you're a little peaceful and mentally quiet and relaxed.
Transcript
Hello and welcome.
Thank you for joining me for Yoganidra.
The focus of our practice is on healing family connections,
Connections through family and ancestry.
As with other Yoganidra practices,
You will be setting an intention both at the beginning and at the end.
You can have one ready now or you can just let one come to you naturally in a little while when you're very peaceful and mentally quiet and relaxed.
This practice is best done lying down.
If you're not able,
You can sit upright or find some comfortable position for your body.
But if you are able,
Then find a comfortable firm surface to lie down flat on your back in some space where you won't be disturbed.
And you can really be quiet and peaceful and very focused.
You might find as you become very relaxed with this practice that your body temperature drops.
So you might be more comfortable covering up with a blanket,
At least a light covering of some kind.
And it's okay to have a small cushion under your head,
But not a great big thick pillow,
Just something thin,
Just to cushion underneath your head.
Take some time to make any adjustments that you need.
Taking your legs out slightly apart,
Your arms out just a little distance from your hips,
With the palms of your hands turned up.
Slide your shoulders down away from your ears so that your neck is nice and long.
And you might just tuck your chin down a little closer to your chest to lengthen out the back of your neck parallel to the floor.
This is the time to make any last little fine tuning adjustments that you need to be perfectly comfortable.
Adjust the position of your body,
Your clothing,
Your blanket,
Whatever you need,
So that you can lie perfectly still for the rest of the practice.
You'll find the most effective practice,
The deepest relaxation,
If you can lie very still,
But stay comfortable and relaxed throughout the practice.
And do your best to stay awake.
There might be times when you drift in and out a little,
But just do the best you can to remain aware.
Once you get situated,
Comfortable and relaxed,
Close your eyes.
Begin your relaxation practice by taking six very slow,
Deep breaths in and out through your nose.
Soft,
Easy breath,
With each breath becoming more and more relaxed.
Feel your body becoming heavy,
Sinking down comfortably,
Melting into the cushion,
Releasing any remaining tension anywhere in your body.
Let go of any busyness in your mind,
Relaxed in your body,
Relaxed in your mind.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in,
A deep inhale.
As you exhale,
Release all tensions and worries.
As you take another deep breath in,
Feel your body expand with the breath,
Your lungs gently stretching,
Your body quietly energized.
And as you exhale slowly,
Imagine all worries,
Tensions,
Any dark clouds of energy that linger floating out of you with the exhale.
Those dark clouds drifting away like clouds on the wind.
Feel your body warm,
Comfortable and relaxed,
Lying flat in this safe space,
Surrounded by comfort and peace.
Allow yourself to rest comfortably in this safe space.
During yoga nidra,
You're functioning on the level of the subconscious mind.
You need only relax and absorb the vibration of my voice.
Don't worry if you don't hear everything I say.
It's common to drift in and out a bit.
Your deepest level of consciousness will still hear and absorb my words.
Do your best to remain still and to stay awake,
But do not concentrate too intensely.
Concentrating and analyzing will disturb your relaxation.
Allow the experience to be exactly what it was meant to be.
Come back to breath awareness now and feel the natural flow of the breath in and out.
Breathing softly through your nostrils.
The breath is natural and effortless,
Soft and smooth.
You are not doing the breath.
The breath does itself.
You are the one who watches the body breathing.
In your mind,
Repeat after me.
I'm going to practice yoga nidra.
I will remain awake,
But completely relaxed.
I will not sleep.
Now is the time to create your intention,
To plant a seed of intention for your practice.
We call this sankalpa.
Think of a brief phrase of intention or just one single word,
Some positive intention with deep meaning,
Something you would like to develop in your heart,
In your mind,
And in your life.
Repeat it three times with deep feeling and intention and with absolute faith that it is true.
This sankalpa you create in yoga nidra will become reality.
We now create a deeper sense of relaxation and restful awareness through a process called rotation of consciousness by mentally mapping the body.
There's no need to move any part of your body.
Try to remain completely still.
Only move your awareness from part to part as it is named.
If you'd like,
You can mentally repeat each part after me as you become aware of that part of the body.
We start with the right side of the body.
Go to the right hand.
Go to the right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
The palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Underarm,
Right side of the ribcage,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Buttock,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Right ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now go to the left hand,
Left thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Left palm,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Underarm,
Left ribcage,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Left buttock,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Take your awareness to the right hand,
Left hand,
Right hand thumb,
Left hand thumb,
Right second finger,
Left second finger,
Right third finger,
Left third finger,
Right fourth finger,
Left fourth finger,
Right pinky finger,
Left pinky finger,
Right palm,
Left palm,
Back of the right hand,
Back of the left hand,
Right wrist,
Left wrist,
Right forearm,
Left forearm,
Right elbow,
Left elbow,
Right upper arm,
Left upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Right ribcage,
Left ribcage,
Right waist,
Left waist,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Right knee,
Left knee,
Right shin,
Left shin,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the right foot,
Top of the left foot,
Right big toe,
Left big toe,
Right second toe,
Left second toe,
Right third toe,
Left third toe,
Right fourth toe,
Left fourth toe,
Right fifth toe,
Left fifth toe.
Now go to the back side of the body.
Starting from the bottom,
Become aware of the sole of the right foot,
Sole of the left foot,
Back of the right heel,
Back of the left heel,
The right ankle,
Left ankle,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Back of the right thigh,
Back of the left thigh,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Sacrum,
The lower back,
Middle of the back,
The space between the shoulder blades,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The back of the neck,
The whole spine,
Back of the right arm,
Back of the left arm,
Back of the right hand,
Back of the left hand,
The base of the head,
The back of the head,
Crown of the head.
Now to the front side of the body,
Beginning with the feet,
Top of the right foot,
Top of the left foot,
Right ankle,
Left ankle,
Right shin,
Left shin,
Right knee,
Left knee,
Right thigh,
Left thigh,
Right hip bone,
Left hip bone,
The lower abdomen,
Navel,
Upper abdomen,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Center of the chest,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Throat,
Front of the right arm,
Front of the left arm,
Palm of the right hand,
Palm of the left hand,
Tips of the right fingers,
Tips of the left fingers.
Now to the face,
The right jaw,
Left jaw,
Chin,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
Tongue,
Teeth,
Roof of the mouth,
Soft palate,
Base of the tongue,
Tip of the tongue,
Inside of the right cheek,
Inside of the left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Tip of the nose,
Bridge of the nose,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Space between the eyebrows,
Forehead,
Right side of the head,
Left side of the head,
The crown of the head.
Become aware of the whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
And now both legs simultaneously,
Both legs.
Become aware of the whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Both arms,
Both arms.
Become aware of the whole back,
The whole back,
The whole front,
The whole front,
The whole head,
The whole head,
Both legs,
Both arms,
Back,
Front,
Head.
Now the whole body.
Become aware of the whole body.
Develop awareness of the whole body.
Become aware of the space occupied by the body.
Body and space.
Body and space.
Now become aware of your breath.
No need to change the breath.
Notice it just as it is.
The soft,
Natural breath.
Notice the soft flow of the air through your nostrils.
A soft breath flowing in and out through your nostrils.
Feel the breath passing back and forth through your throat.
The easy,
Natural flow of the breath back and forth through the throat.
Now go to the chest.
Feel the movement of the breath in the chest.
A very soft,
Rising of your chest with each inhale.
A gentle falling of the chest with each exhale.
The soft,
Easy expansion of the rib cage as you inhale.
A soft contraction of the rib cage with each exhale.
Feel the body breathing.
Now go to the stomach.
Feel your belly rise and fall with each breath.
Belly softly rising and expanding with each inhale and falling and contracting with each exhale.
Feel the movement of the breath in all directions.
The feel of the breath flowing from the tip of the nose to the navel and back again.
Just notice the homogenous movement of the breath in and out.
Tip of the nose to the navel and back again.
No effort,
Natural breath.
The body breathing.
Keep watching the body breathing.
Watch the breath flow in and out and begin counting with each breath backwards from 27 to 1.
Breathing in 27,
Breathing out 27,
Breathing in 26,
Breathing out 26,
Breathing in 25,
Breathing out 25.
Continue.
Be certain you are not sleeping.
Breathing and counting,
Counting and breathing.
If you lose count,
Begin again at 27.
Continue.
Continue counting breaths,
27 to 1.
If you get to 1,
Begin again at 27.
Now leave your counting of breaths.
Wherever you are,
Stop counting.
We will begin to awaken sensations in the body,
Beginning with the sensation of heaviness,
The feeling of heaviness in the body.
Cultivate a sense of heaviness throughout the entire body.
Legs heavy,
Arms heavy,
Head heavy,
The whole body heavy.
Feel the whole body heavy.
Be completely aware of the sensation of heaviness in the entire body.
Notice that heaviness subside now as you bring in the feeling of lightness in the body.
The feeling of lightness.
Awaken the feeling of lightness in the legs,
Arms light,
Head light,
Lightness in the whole body.
A feeling of spaciousness and weightlessness in the whole body.
Feeling as though you're lifting,
Floating above the floor.
Lightness in the whole body.
Cold.
Awaken the feeling of coldness in the body.
The whole body cold.
Imagine lying on a cold concrete floor.
The heat from your body draining into the floor.
The whole body cold.
Feet cold.
Hands cold.
The whole body cold.
Now warm your body back up.
Start to bring heat back into the body.
Begin to heat your body from the inside out.
Imagine lying on a warm sunny beach,
On warm sand.
The warm sand heating your body from below.
The hot sun heating your body from above.
Feel your body warming,
Becoming hot.
The whole body hot.
Feel heat throughout the whole body and heat all around the body.
The whole body hot.
Now come back to the breath.
The soft,
Easy,
Natural breath.
Imagine now that you are walking through the woods.
Hiking alone through a lush green forest.
And you're following an easy trail along a riverbank,
Walking upstream.
It's a warm,
Sunny day and sunlight dances through the leaves on the trees,
Creating a play of light on the path.
You hear birds singing,
Squirrels and chipmunks scurrying about,
And other woodland noises.
All the sounds of the forest.
You continue down the path,
Following it as it winds and turns around corners,
Following the path of the river.
As you come around a bend in the path,
You discover that the path leads to the base of a peaceful flowing waterfall,
Which feeds into the river you've been walking beside.
You follow the path to the base of the waterfall and find that it leads directly under it at a clear entry point.
Follow the path and walk in behind the waterfall.
There's a very gentle spray from the waterfall as you walk behind it.
The water is cool and refreshing,
Energizing.
Stop for a moment and let the gentle mist spray your face.
Run your hands under the cool water.
It's very clean and safe to drink,
And you're thirsty from your hike.
Take some water in your hands and drink.
It's purifying and healing.
It nourishes and satisfies you,
Refreshing you.
You walk farther under the waterfall and find a dark cavern with a glowing light deep within.
The glow of the light entices you to walk into the cavern.
As you approach the light,
You realize it's coming from a fire within.
You walk closer to the fire and discover many of your ancestors sitting around a fire together,
Some young and some old,
Some living and some passed on.
All are peaceful and silent,
And some look up at you and smile,
Some nod.
There is a space open in the circle and it is understood that you are meant to sit there.
Go and take your place.
Sit in the circle and gaze into the fire.
Feel the warmth of the fire.
Feel the presence of those who love you surrounding you.
Feel the strength and connection of the circle.
You gaze into the fire as it begins to grow bigger and brighter and warmer.
In the flames and smoke of the fire,
You can see the past,
The present and the future.
Simply observe without seeking.
Let the images come and go.
Remain peaceful,
Quietly observing with detached awareness.
Nothing needs to be said.
All mistakes and offenses and the indiscretions that are part of the human condition have been purified by the fire.
Forgiveness is natural.
It simply happens.
And all that remains with these beings in the circle is the pure essence of love that is the underlying state of all beings.
You are surrounded by love.
You are part of a circle of love.
You know that all experiences have served a purpose in bringing you exactly to this place and point in your life.
And you feel comforted and safe now surrounded by these beings of light.
The ancestors are there to help guide and comfort you,
To reassure and protect you.
You realize that you have never been alone and you can never be alone.
Their loving guidance surrounds you at all times.
Love,
Pure and radiant,
Surrounds and infuses you every minute of every day.
You are a part of a circle of love.
You are a part of a circle of love.
You are a part of a circle of love.
You are a part of a circle of love.
Now remember your intention,
Your resolve that you set at the beginning of the practice.
Remember your sankalpa.
The same intention in the same words,
Focus,
Remember your resolve.
Repeat your resolve three times in your mind with clarity,
With focus and with absolute faith.
Come back to breath awareness.
Become aware of the natural breath.
Become aware of your body,
The whole body.
Notice the feel of the body,
The feel of the breath,
Body and breath.
Take a slow deep breath in and slowly let it out.
Start to become aware of your surroundings.
Take another deep breath in.
Slowly exhale.
Begin to gently move your body,
Moving fingers and toes.
Turning your head slowly side to side.
Moving your hands and feet.
Take a deep breath in.
Slowly exhale.
Gently move and stretch your body.
Begin to reawaken.
Start to come back.
Softly blink your eyes open.
Become aware of your surroundings.
You may remain lying down or make your way up to sitting.
And now fully awake and conscious,
Think of your resolve one last time.
Remember your sankalpa.
In your mind,
Repeat your resolve three times and as you do,
Envision it.
See yourself embodying it.
See this resolve come to fruition in your life.
And feel it.
Feel it.
And know it.
And know it.
May you have peace in your body,
Peace in your mind,
Peace in your heart.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Peace.
Peace.
Peace.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Peace.
4.8 (81)
Recent Reviews
Marcella
June 29, 2022
Thank you! I actually am not sure what happened during the mediation as I went into deep relaxation very quickly. But I have awoken refreshed and at peace. Thanks 😊
Valeria
May 9, 2022
This is so powerful and beautiful. Thank you! Perfect sinchronicity in ghe Universe. Thanks to my guides, angels, guides and ancestors. Mom, dad , sis, my children. We are here, we are okay. Thanks to my beloved Creator and thank you for such a powerful meditation.
Elizabeth
February 10, 2022
Thank you, that was very enjoyable
Assétou
August 11, 2021
Excellent practice. Love the visualization at the end