Welcome to this short practice of yoga nidra.
Lie down comfortably on the floor,
Yoga mat,
Or on the bed.
Make sure you won't be disturbed.
As you lie down,
Allow your feet to naturally splay outward.
Bring your arms out from your hips a few inches from the sides,
Palms facing upward or inward.
When you are ready,
Allow your eyes to close.
Take a deep breath in.
As you exhale,
Settle your whole body into the ground beneath you.
As you breathe naturally,
Imagine yourself becoming soft.
Imagining your face softening,
Your throat,
Your shoulders softening,
The arms and hands becoming soft,
Your chest and belly letting go,
The hips,
Legs,
And feet coming into softness.
Come into stillness so that your body and mind can deeply rest and rejuvenate.
Begin to notice sounds.
Become aware of the most distant sound you can hear.
Now notice the sounds inside this room.
Now see if you can hear the sounds within your own body,
Perhaps your heartbeat,
Pulse,
And sound of your breath inside of you.
At this time we will create an intention for the practice,
A sankalpa.
Create a positive statement in the present tense which reflects your deep desire for growth and transformation.
Once you have created your intention,
State it to yourself three times.
Bringing awareness to the physical body now.
I will guide you through a systematic scan of the body.
As each body part is named,
Bring your attention to that body part and move on to the next one.
Feel the palms of both hands,
Both arms,
Both shoulders.
Notice the soles of both feet,
Both legs,
Both hips.
Awareness of the pelvis,
Belly,
And chest,
And the lower back,
Mid back,
And upper back.
Awareness of the throat center,
The neck,
The face,
Both lips,
The nose,
Both ears,
Both eyes.
Notice the space between the brows,
And the crown of the head.
Awareness of the whole right side of the body,
And the whole left side of the body,
Both sides together.
The whole back of the body,
And the whole front of the body,
Back and front together.
Whole body awareness.
Aware of the whole physical body resting peacefully.
Draw your attention to your breath now.
Observe yourself breathing naturally.
Notice the flow of the breath,
Like waves of the ocean,
Feeling the tide drawing inward,
The waves flowing to shore.
Breathing in,
The tide draws inward.
Breathing out,
The waves flowing to shore.
Continue breathing in this way.
Pointing attention now to the space in front of the closed eyes,
Gazing now into the space of the mind.
Use all of your senses to bring to mind the things that I will name.
Ancient redwood tree,
Ancient redwood tree,
Black river rocks,
Black river rocks,
A fresh ripe peach,
A fresh ripe peach,
A clear pond,
A clear pond,
A sunflower,
A sunflower,
A bonfire,
A bonfire,
A six-pointed star,
A six-pointed star,
A green lotus blossom,
A green lotus blossom,
Clear night sky,
Clear night sky,
The full moon,
The full moon,
A soaring eagle,
A soaring eagle,
Yourself in meditation,
Yourself in meditation,
Crystalline light,
Crystalline light.
See this light expanding,
Expansive,
Becoming one with the universe.
And see yourself as crystalline light,
Expanding,
Expansive,
Becoming one with the universe.
And returning the mind to your sun kalpa,
The intention you set at the beginning of your practice today.
With full faith and confidence,
Repeat it to yourself three times.
Know that the seed of your intention has been planted and it is already happening.
Begin to notice your breath again,
Drawing in a deeper breath as you begin to notice your body once more.
Repeat movement into the body.
And when you're ready,
Slowly bring yourself back up to a comfortable seat.
Meditation practice of yoga and idra has come to a close.
