Thank you for joining me for Yoga Nidra Affirm.
Today I invite you to discover your Sankalpa.
Sankalpa is a Sanskrit term meaning a resolve,
Intention or affirmation.
It's a positive statement reflecting something of a higher nature that we wish to create and manifest into our life.
Using a Sankalpa during Yoga Nidra while the body is deeply relaxed is like planting a powerful seed in the subconscious mind.
We will use our Sankalpa,
Our positive affirmation twice during this practice and I will gently guide you through this process.
So there's no need to focus on it now.
So settle yourself in,
Laying down,
Legs slightly apart,
Arms by the sides of your body or on the belly,
Becoming as comfortable as you can be.
Gently close your eyes and know that this time is all yours.
No one needs you for anything and this is an opportunity to be by yourself and be with yourself.
Time where you can rest deeply and relax completely.
Spend a few moments making any final adjustments to your position so that you are comfortable and warm and so that you can remain still and allow your body to let go.
There's no need to carry any tension or to even hold your body in a particular way.
You're safe and fully supported in your position.
Give yourself permission to sink down a little further now.
Start to become heavy,
Settled and still.
And now we take a few deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose,
Out through the mouth with a big sigh.
Breathing in again and letting it go.
One more time,
Big breath,
Sigh it out and keep the breath slightly deeper for a few moments and imagine that with each out breath you descend slowly down a staircase,
One step at a time,
Stepping down gently with each out breath.
The staircase is leading you towards a warm,
Inviting and beautiful space where you can rest.
Breathing out,
Stepping down slowly and gently,
Step by step.
There's a knowing in your body that each out breath leads you deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation.
Allow your breath to return to its natural easy rhythm now and slide your awareness to the back of your body.
Noticing the points of contact between your body and the bed or the floor.
Feeling that thin layer of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
Feeling the heaviness of any blankets or coverings and feel the air in contact with your skin.
Noticing the weight of your head,
Allow your head to relax down.
Feel any tension in the face starting to dissolve,
Releasing any tension in your jaw.
Allow the cheeks to become slack.
If there is tightness or tension at the forehead,
It starts to melt away.
The eyes relax,
The whole face becomes softer now.
A feeling of softness radiates down your neck to your shoulders.
Let's pause for a few breaths at the shoulders to encourage them to relax.
The shoulders become warm and heavy.
Allow them to let go and drop down.
Arms and hands become heavy.
There's a sense of heaviness in your legs.
Your feet relax and float out to the sides and the belly is releasing and softening.
Giving up any tightness or anxious feelings held at the belly.
Let it all go now.
Spend a few quiet moments watching the rhythmic movement of the breath.
Breathing in,
Belly expands.
Breathing out,
Belly relaxes.
Watching each breath at the belly and your mind's eye.
Breathing in,
Breathing out and we watch.
Leave the breath and start to listen for sounds now.
Your hearing radiates out,
Listening and searching for any sounds outside your room.
Focus on the most distant sound you can hear.
Move your attention from sound to sound and listening for sounds that are closer now.
Sounds within the room.
There may just be the sound of my voice,
The sound of the words,
The background music.
Listen more closely and there may be the subtle sound of your breath as it flows in and out.
Leave the sounds behind now and silently say to yourself,
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I am awake and alert and use my voice and the instructions as an anchor to stay present and focused.
And there's also an acceptance that if you do drift off to sleep,
That this is what your body needs.
And we now welcome in our sankalpa,
A short,
Positive affirmation spoken in the present tense,
As if already manifested into our life.
It's an intention of how we would like to be in the world.
It could be something as simple as I am in peace,
Or there may be something of a deeper nature that is meaningful to you.
We weave this intention,
This affirmation into this practice to help rewire the subconscious mind.
So take a few moments now to formulate your sankalpa.
If a sankalpa doesn't easily arise for you,
Maybe use something like,
I am healthy and filled with positive energy.
And so repeat your affirmation silently now three times with feeling and sincerity.
We let the sankalpa go and we now rotate our awareness around the body.
We move fairly quickly,
Feeling the parts of the body as they're named,
And moving to the next part.
The body relaxes while the mind stays alert and focused on my voice.
We start on the right side of the body with the right hand thumb.
Picture your thumb in your mind,
Feel the thumb.
Moving now to the index finger of the right hand,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And little finger.
Palm of your right hand,
Top of the hand,
The right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
The whole right arm,
Whole right arm is relaxed.
Right side of your chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of your right foot,
Top of the foot,
Your right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth toe,
Whole of your right foot,
Your whole right leg,
Whole right leg is relaxed.
Right leg and right arm together,
Whole right side of the body,
Whole right side of the body,
Whole right side of the body.
All of your awareness is on the right side of your body,
Whole right side of your body is relaxed.
And rest the right side of your body as we shift the attention to the left side,
Checking in that you are still awake and aware.
The left hand thumb,
Bring all of your attention to the left hand thumb,
The index finger of the left hand,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Ring finger,
And little finger,
Palm of your left hand,
Top of the hand,
The left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Armpit,
Shoulder,
The whole left arm,
Whole left arm is relaxed.
Left side of your chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf muscle,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of your left foot,
Top of the foot,
Your left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth toe,
Whole of your left foot,
Your whole left leg,
Whole left leg is relaxed.
Left leg and left arm together,
Whole left side of the body,
Whole left side of the body,
Whole left side of the body.
All of your awareness is on the left side of your body,
Whole left side of the body is relaxed.
And now allow the left side of the body to rest.
Take your awareness to the back of your heels,
Back of the legs,
Glute muscles,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Back of your neck,
And the back of your head,
The crown of your head,
Forehead,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between the eyebrows,
Feel into the eyebrow centre,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Jaw,
Chin,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
The corners of the mouth,
The tip of your nose,
Bridge of your nose,
The whole of your nose,
The whole of your face,
Your whole face is relaxed,
Soft and free of tension.
Moving down to your neck,
Chest,
Heart centre,
Abdomen,
Navel,
Pelvis,
Thighs,
Knees,
Shins,
Tops of the feet,
Whole front of your body,
Whole back of your body,
Whole body,
Whole body,
Whole body is relaxed.
Repeat mentally,
My whole body is relaxed,
My whole body is relaxed.
Create an image in your mind of your entire beautiful body,
Lying still,
Rested and deeply relaxed.
Your muscles are so heavy,
So soft and so relaxed,
That even the smallest movement feels impossible.
Feel this sense of heaviness,
Deeper still,
Deeper still,
Feeling heavy right down to your bones.
Allow this feeling of heaviness to take over,
Feeling so heavy it feels like you're melting into the surface beneath you,
And you notice that you've never felt this heavy or this relaxed,
And leaving the sensation of heaviness.
Invite the feeling of lightness into your whole body,
Feeling lighter and softer than ever before.
There's a sense of weightlessness,
Feeling as light as a feather.
Imagine that your body is filled with air and you are light and free.
You feel so light that you naturally start to float upwards and you could easily drift up into the sky and float gently amongst the clouds.
Release the feeling of lightness,
Come back to feeling neutral,
Neither heavy or light,
And the awareness now rests at the chest,
At the heart center,
And we watch the breath here.
It's a nice easy gentle breath,
And we watch the movement of the lungs expanding and contracting,
No effort,
No forcing,
Forcing.
We're just watching the natural dance of the breath,
The breath ebbs and flows of its own accord.
Body breathes in,
Body breathes out,
And we are the witness.
Leaving the breath behind,
We once again recall our sankalpa,
The same affirmation we used earlier,
And again repeating it silently three times.
We're gently planting a positive seed within the mind,
A seed that can blossom and grow.
See your sankalpa,
Your intention,
Coming to fruition,
And take a moment to visualize what this looks like in your life.
Make this picture as clear as possible.
Notice where you are,
How you look,
How you feel when this affirmation has manifested.
As you lay here relaxed,
Rested,
And deeply nourished,
There's a sense of absolute well-being,
A feeling of being whole and complete,
Just as you are.
Start to deepen the breath ever so slightly now,
Watching the breath moving gently in your body,
Watching the breath wherever it feels comfortable for you.
Nice easy breaths,
And allow the following affirmations to wash over you.
My body is relaxed,
My mind is calm,
I'm filled with positive,
Vibrant energy,
I radiate and glow with good health,
I am perfect,
I am perfect,
Just as I am.
I treat myself with unconditional love,
I forgive myself,
And treat myself kindly,
I am enough,
I am loved.
As we near the end of the practice,
Check in with your body.
If there's a sense of tiredness or sleepiness,
And you wish to continue to rest,
Just snuggle down and luxuriate in this deeply relaxed state.
And if you are ready to wake the body now,
Gently stretch and move in any way that feels good for you,
Slowly and gently bringing the body back.
Take a few deeper breaths to connect the mind to the body,
Visualize your surroundings,
Remember where you are,
And maybe roll onto one side before slowly sitting up.
And finally,
Thank yourself for being here.
Know that you have lovingly planted the positive seed of your Sankalpa in your mind,
And you can now watch it start to develop and grow.
And I thank you for accompanying me on this journey today.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
