Yoga Nidra For Kids Of All Ages: Waves Of Breath

Emily Gretz - From the CD "Yoga Nidra for Kids of All Ages" at Awase Publishing.

Transcript

We are about to take a restful journey.

Before you lay down,

Get anything you may need to be comfortable.

You may like a pillow under your knees and a warm blanket on top of you.

Lay your head against the pillow and turn it from side to side until the cushion feels just right.

Spread your fingers wide and hold them for a count of three.

Now relax.

This will help your body slow down and enjoy the journey more fully.

Now stretch the toes wide.

Breathe in one,

Two,

Three and relax.

Squeeze your eyes shut and hold for three.

Let your eyelids relax completely.

Press the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth and hold there for three.

One,

Two,

Three and relax.

Now take a deep breath in and let it go.

Again,

Breathe in and let it go.

Let your body find its own easy breathing pattern and with each exhale,

Let your body sink deeply into the bed.

Lay back and listen as we practice Yoga Nidra.

As you breathe and rest,

Think of an affirmation.

An affirmation is a positive message about yourself,

Something you believe to be true about you.

You might think,

I'm a good friend or I treat others with respect.

In your mind,

Repeat your message three times and picture it clearly as you say it just like this.

I am a good friend.

I am a good friend.

I am a good friend.

Repeat your own message now.

Let's begin our imaginary journey as we go to the beach on a beautiful day.

You are reminded of happy times spent at the ocean.

If you haven't been to the ocean,

You can draw a picture in your mind of what you might experience.

How does the sand feel as you step with bare feet onto it?

Picture it in your mind as though you were really there.

Can you feel the sun's warmth on your skin?

See the sand,

The ocean,

The blue sky,

And smell the salt air.

Maybe you can even hear the seagulls off in the distance.

There's a ship way out on the horizon.

It looks small so far from shore.

Now imagine that you are resting on a blanket in the sand and you're looking up at the soft clouds floating above in the blue sky.

The whole back of your body,

From your head to your heels,

Are supported as you settle back sinking into the softness of the sand.

Feel your wrist and the back of your right hand resting on the warmth of the sand.

Now notice your right thumb.

What do you feel there?

Notice your pointer finger and middle finger,

Your right ring finger and pinky.

Focus on the whole of your hand.

Bring your attention to the palm and then the back of the hand and now the wrist.

Notice the right forearm,

Elbow,

And upper arm.

The thoughts move to the armpit,

Your right chest,

Side,

And waist.

Feel your right hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

And lower leg.

Notice your right ankle,

Heel,

The sole and top of the foot.

Move your attention to the right big toe,

The second toe,

Third toe on your right foot,

Fourth toe,

And right pinky toe.

Think about all the toes on your right foot,

All the toes together.

Now shift your attention to your left side and notice your left thumb and how it feels.

Your pointer finger and middle finger,

Your left ring finger and pinky.

Focus now on what you're feeling in the whole hand together.

Bring your attention to the palm of the hand,

The back of the hand,

And the wrist.

Focus the left forearm,

Elbow,

And upper arm.

Your thoughts move to your armpit,

Your left chest,

Side,

And waist.

Notice any sensations in your left hip,

Your thigh,

Knee,

And calf.

Notice your ankle,

Heel of your foot,

Sole and top of the foot.

Move your attention to the left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And pinky toe.

Now think of all the toes of your left foot together.

Move your thoughts to the top of your head,

Your forehead,

Now your right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

And left cheek.

Feel your upper lip and lower lip,

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

And the collarbones.

You are now aware of your right chest,

Left chest,

Center of your chest,

And your belly.

Be aware of your right thigh,

Left thigh.

Right knee,

Left knee,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Your right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right toes,

And left toes.

Bring your thoughts to the sole of the right foot,

The sole of the left foot,

The right heel,

And the left heel,

The right calf muscle,

The left calf muscle,

The back of the right knee,

The back of the left knee.

Feel the back of your right thigh,

The back of your left thigh,

Right hip,

Left hip.

Bring attention to your whole spine,

Your whole spine together.

Now just your lower back,

Middle back,

And upper back.

Your right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

And back of the head.

Notice your whole physical self as you rest deeply.

Notice how the sand cradles you snugly,

Enough to feel safe,

But loosely enough that you can move if you need to.

As you lay there,

Feeling the sun on your skin,

Again smell the salty air blowing in from the ocean.

Listen to the waves crash as they approach the shore.

Your breath is like the waves rolling in and out.

As you breathe in,

The waves roll up the beach,

And as you breathe out,

It flows back to sea.

In out,

In out.

In the distance,

You hear the laughter and splashing of children as they run along the edge of the water.

And you can even hear the seagulls squawking while they search for their lunch.

Again feel the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the breeze.

In your mind's eye,

You sit up and watch for a few minutes as children play.

Watch them swim and ride the waves.

Now you walk to the water's edge and let the water run over your toes.

The coolness of the water startles you at first.

You jump back and then make your way forward again,

Soon forgetting that the water ever felt cool.

You're ready to swim and chase the waves.

Notice the feeling of joy and excitement that you have as you play in the water.

You run back and forth until finally you are ready for a rest.

Step out of the water and walk across the warm,

Dry sand to wrap yourself in the warmth of your towel.

Let the sun absorb the rest of the water droplets on your skin.

In your mind's eye,

Sit down with a bucket and shovel and begin to dig into the sand and scoop out piles around the hole that you create.

Shovel in,

Scoop out.

Let the sand piles grow into small,

Shapeless castles.

When the hole is big enough,

Use your bucket to fetch water and fill the pool you have created.

Save the last bucket of water from the ocean and use it to shape your castles.

Dip your hand in the bucket and pat your hand gently against the sides of the castle until you are satisfied with the shape.

Move to the next pile of sand and shape it.

Continue around the pond,

Giving attention to each of the piles before you.

When you have given all of them shape,

You decide to take a walk to collect shells and sticks.

As you rise to go on your walk,

You notice again how your breath moves in just as the waves move in and the breath moves out as the waves move out.

Walk down the beach and pick up any shells you might find.

Find sticks and seaweed and bring them back to your creation.

Use these treasures to decorate your castle,

Giving it shell windows and seaweed bushes.

Press a stick into the top of each castle shape to represent a flag.

You have finished your project and you look at it with a smile,

Proud of what you have made,

Aware of the talents that you have.

You feel grateful to be here.

The hard work has made you tired and you decide to lie back on your towel and close your eyes.

Gently move your head side to side as the sand takes the shape of a cradle holding your head.

Wiggle your shoulders and let them sink in.

Feel the warmth of the towel and the sand on your back.

It feels good.

Shift your hips from side to side,

Shaping the sand around you.

Wiggle your feet until your heels dig a small hole and your legs feel like the sand is holding them.

Press your elbows and the backs of your hands.

Let them become heavy as you soften them by your sides.

The sand is soft and warm beneath you.

You feel safe and protected.

Overhead the sky is clear with wisps of white clouds.

With an inhale,

Your thoughts become light like those clouds.

And as you exhale,

Your body becomes heavy.

Inhale and feel lighter.

Exhale heavier.

Again,

Breathe in light.

Without heavy.

You are completely still.

You are at rest here.

Your body and mind are happy.

Hear the ocean as it ebbs and flows,

Just as your breath moves in and out.

You smile and listen.

This is your special place and you can come back here whenever you need to.

Reviews

Thank you for this relaxing practice 🙏

Five year old loves it. Thanks for having a boat on your cover 😊

Amazing 👌 got me to sleep straight away.💤💤💤 Perfect for any age's. 😃😃

Beautiful x thank you x

Fantastic for kids our young daughter loves drifting off to it.

I love this!!! Deeply relaxing & joyful

My son, 10, never falls asleep without me,with you, he did... thank you...❤️

My 7 year old Loved it

This was great. Thanks!

My sun asked for a meditation and we started this one and he was out like a light in less than five minutes. ❤ Thank you.

Young daughters favorite ❤️

Nice and relaxing!!!

This was beautiful!

Excellent guidance and nice even voice. My kids are kind of creeped out by narrators that get too cutesy or sticky sweet. They are currently fast asleep-- thanks!

Both my kids fell asleep to this in the car!! very soothing!

Very relaxing. Thank you!

Worked for my almost 7 year old daughter, too much for my 4.5 year old. 🐬💖🏵

My son loves it.😃