Yoga Nidra - Short Form
by Tina Langdok
YOGA NIDRA is a systematic method of inducing physical, energetic, and psycho-emotional relaxation. The practice has many benefits including resetting the nervous system, reducing stress, creating mental clarity and opening the doorway to creativity. The vehicle for the journey of Yoga Nidra is Prana. The energy matrix that supports healing and awareness – from the inside.
Transcript
Welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra.
Yoga Nidra is a systematic method of inducing physical,
Energetic and psycho-emotional relaxation.
The practice has many benefits including resetting the nervous system,
Reducing stress,
Creating mental clarity and opening the doorway to creativity.
The vehicle for this journey of Yoga Nidra is Prana,
The energy matrix that supports healing and awareness from the inside.
The only way to know Prana is to feel it.
Prana is the vibration of energy in the body,
Mind and heart.
It is tingliness,
Heaviness,
Softness,
Hardness,
Movement.
Prana is the feeling of presence.
We only need to turn toward it to know it and then we recognize that it was there all along.
Cultivating a willingness to relax the body and mind from the striving of our everyday life as we open to receive this Yoga Nidra practice.
There may be moments of drift during the practice of Yoga Nidra and that's okay.
The practice is one of coming and going,
Allowing the drifting and returning to be part of the experience.
Cultivating acceptance,
Compassion and kindness.
Let's begin this short form Yoga Nidra practice by coming into a comfortable position,
Lying on the earth or relaxed and supported in a chair,
Taking a moment to settle in.
Using whatever will support our presence for the experience of Yoga Nidra,
Perhaps placing a blanket under the knees,
An eye pillow over the eyes,
Maybe choosing to cover ourselves with a blanket so we feel warm and safe.
Whatever we need to feel comfortable and supported for the next 20 minutes or so.
Taking a moment to adjust the body,
Creating a posture to receive Yoga Nidra that is relaxed yet open and present,
Comfortable,
Available and awake.
Finding a supportive and relaxed position for the hands,
Softening the palms of the hands and the spaces between the fingers.
Perhaps softening the shoulders away from the ears and widening the collarbones,
Allowing the lungs to open and close more freely.
Adjusting the chin to lengthen the neck.
Mindfully relaxing and opening the throat.
Balancing the ears right and left.
Relaxing the jaw.
Relaxing the tongue in the bottom of the mouth and allowing the roof of the mouth to feel spacious.
Feeling now into the contrasting heaviness of the pelvic bowl,
Legs and feet.
Mindfully relaxing the toes,
The space between the toes and the soles of the feet.
As we open the body to receive Yoga Nidra.
Perhaps becoming aware of the sounds around us in the room where we are practicing.
Noticing how some sounds are far away,
Some are close by.
Opening to the sense of hearing and to listening with ears and whole body.
Aware now of the sound of my voice and cultivating a willingness to participate in this journey of awareness.
The journey of Yoga Nidra is one of feeling into ourselves with kindness and acceptance.
A willingness to tune in and let go.
Accessing our feeling nature through the energy body.
Opening to our life force as a portal to healing and restoration.
Without an agenda.
Nothing to fix or figure out.
Healing into the present moment just as we are.
Opening now to the feelings and sensations at the back of the body in whatever position we've chosen.
Feeling into the back of the body,
The parts of the body that are touching the earth or the chair.
As we feel into the back of the body,
Encouraging these areas of awareness to feel heavier and heavier as if we were sinking into the earth's warm embrace.
Allowing tension to slide away and be released as the back body becomes heavier and heavier.
Healing into the moment,
Grounding into our experience of Yoga Nidra.
And now in this relaxed and open state,
Let's set our healing intention or sankalpa.
Taking a moment to open the heart to the power of prana to heal.
Realizing that our kind attention is a powerful healing advocate.
And when we feel ready allowing awareness to gently rest on an area of body,
Mind or heart that is in need of healing and balance.
We often push away our wounds,
Ignoring them and wishing they were different or would go away.
What if tuning in changes everything?
Feeling into our vulnerability with tenderness and kindness like we would an old friend.
Holding ourselves with compassionate awareness that allows for growth and discovery.
Creating space as we open to acceptance,
Patience and presence.
Healing is wholeness,
A willingness to let in and be with what is already here.
And now with our healing intention in place,
Repeating this positive affirmation silently to ourselves three times.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember wholeness and balance as my true nature.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember wholeness and balance as my true nature.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember wholeness and balance as my true nature.
And when we have finished our affirmations,
Once again bringing awareness into the whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body practicing Yoga Nidra.
Aware of the whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body and then narrowing awareness to the right hand.
Feeling into the right hand without looking at it.
Perhaps saying to ourselves right hand and feeling into the presence of prana in the right hand,
Tingliness,
Groundedness,
Sweatiness,
Coolness or warmth.
Now moving awareness to the right hand thumb.
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
The space between the fingers,
The tips of the fingers,
The entire right hand.
Then releasing the right hand and moving awareness to the wrist and from the wrist to the right lower arm.
Feeling into the sensations of prana that are already present in the right forearm.
Then moving to the elbow,
The upper right arm,
The entire right shoulder,
Right side of the neck,
Right side of the ribs.
Bringing awareness to the right hip and then moving to the right thigh.
Feeling into the heaviness of the thigh bone and then moving to the right knee.
Feeling into the front of the knee,
The back of the knee,
Right lower leg and then down through the ankle.
Feeling into the entire right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The space between the toes,
The tips of the toes,
The entire right foot.
Then expanding awareness to include the entire right side of the body,
Holding the entire right side of the body in our kind awareness,
Allowing awareness to rest on the right side of the body,
The right side of the body,
The right side of the body.
And then when we feel ready,
Moving awareness over to the left side of the body and feeling into the left hand.
Perhaps saying to ourselves left hand and feeling into the presence of prana in the left hand.
Tingliness,
Groundedness,
Sweatiness,
Coolness or warmth.
Now moving awareness to the left hand thumb.
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
The space between the fingers,
The tips of the fingers,
The entire left hand.
Then releasing the left hand and moving awareness to the wrist and from the wrist to the lower left arm.
Feeling into the sensations of prana that are already present in the left forearm,
Then moving to the elbow,
The upper arm,
The entire left shoulder,
Left side of the neck,
Left side of the ribs.
Bringing awareness to the left hip and then moving to the left thigh.
Feeling into the heaviness of the thigh bone and then moving to the left knee.
Back of the knee,
Front of the knee.
Moving awareness to the left lower leg and then down through the ankle.
Feeling into the entire left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Feeling into the space between the toes,
The tips of the toes,
The entire left foot.
Then expanding our awareness to include the entire left side of the body,
Holding the entire left side of the body in awareness,
Awareness resting on the left side of the body,
The left side of the body,
The left side of the body.
And then shifting awareness now to the back of the body,
Aware of the parts of the body that are shining toward the earth.
Right heel,
Left heel,
Both heels together.
Back of the right knee,
Back of the left knee,
Both knees together.
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
The entire back of the pelvis together.
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The entire back of the rib cage together.
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
The upper back all together.
Right elbow,
Left elbow,
Both elbows together.
Back of the right hand,
Back of the left hand,
Both hands together.
Bringing awareness now to the back of the head,
The crown of the head,
The forehead,
And allowing awareness to rest here in the third eye.
Bringing awareness to the eye sockets,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Both eyes together.
Right inner ear,
Left inner ear,
Both ears together.
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The entire nose together.
Bringing awareness now to the mouth,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Right side of the jaw,
Left side of the jaw.
Growing awareness to include the entire mouth,
Expanding awareness again to include the entire head,
And then growing awareness to hold the entire body,
The whole body practicing yoga nidra,
Aware of the whole body from soles to crown and palms to heart.
Bringing awareness to hold the entire body,
The entire body,
The entire body.
And when we feel ready bringing awareness just to the right side of the body,
As if there was a line down the midline and pranic awareness is held only on the right side,
The right side of the body held completely in awareness,
Right foot and leg,
Right side of the torso,
Right arm and hand,
The right side of the neck and throat,
Head and face.
And then when we are ready pouring awareness from the right side to the left side of the body,
Holding awareness in the left side of the body,
The left side of the body held completely in awareness,
Left foot and leg,
Left side of the torso,
Left arm and hand,
The left side of the neck and throat,
Head and face.
Holding awareness in the left side of the body,
The left side of the body,
The left side of the body.
And then opening pranic awareness again to the whole body,
The whole body practicing yoga nidra.
Bringing awareness now to the back of the body,
The parts of the body that are shining toward the earth,
The heels,
The back of the knees and pelvis,
The shoulder blades,
The back of the arms and hands,
The back of the head.
Holding a plane of awareness at the back of the body and then shifting that plane of awareness from the back of the body right through the body to the front of the body.
Taking a moment to feel into the plane of awareness at the front of the body,
The tops of the feet,
The kneecaps,
The front of the torso,
The front of the arms and hands,
The delicate skin and bones of the face.
Holding awareness at the plane of awareness at the front of the body,
The front of the body held completely in awareness.
And then when we feel ready growing awareness to the whole body again,
The whole body held gently and kindly in our broad awareness,
Patient and present with ourselves exactly as we are.
Taking some time here to linger in the feeling experience of yoga nidra,
Relaxed and open,
Present,
Open to the deep restoration of this practice and allowing it all to be.
Familiarizing ourselves with this feeling of centeredness and peacefulness,
Continuing to breathe and enjoy the state of inner stillness.
And when we feel ready shifting awareness to the gentle movement of the breath in the body,
Prana coming and going,
Filling and emptying,
Feeling into the feeling of breathing,
Being with the breath just as it is and allowing awareness to flow with the breath,
Finding a rhythm of breath that is available and comfortable.
Knowing that if for some reason the breath doesn't feel comfortable today,
We can always shift awareness to the feet or the chair,
The feeling of the earth at any time,
Grounded in the moment in the most available and safe place possible,
Present and relaxed,
Feeling into the moment with acceptance and kindness,
Compassion and friendliness.
In a few moments we will begin counting backward.
As we count backward the mind may dart rapidly from one object of attention to another.
We may lose count.
None of this matters.
Yoga nidra isn't about being perfect or reaching nirvana.
There's nothing to do or strive for or figure out.
The practice is not about counting either.
The counting serves as a backdrop on which thoughts can arise and fall away on their own,
A centering device that brings us back again and again to the present moment.
Try not to judge where the mind goes or how many times we are distracted.
The most important part of the practice is to keep returning back to the task at hand,
Moving backward from ten and fully accepting how the counting unfolds.
And if it feels comfortable gently noticing the feeling of the body breathing or the groundedness of our foundation,
And as we exhale mentally saying to ourselves ten,
Inhaling gently and allowing the next exhalation to be nine.
Counting slowly backward toward eight and then seven.
Counting backward on the out-breath or simply finding a comfortable cadence for counting with awareness held in the foundation of the body.
If we lose count choosing the last number we remember and continuing on from there,
No judgment or comment,
Just counting backwards breathing and being with the process as it unfolds.
And when we get to zero stopping counting but staying aware of the natural flow of breath and awareness in exactly the same way as when we were counting,
Present as though we were going to count but don't count.
And when we feel ready once again bringing awareness into the whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body practicing yoga nidra,
Returning now to our healing intention and the positive affirmations that we set at the beginning of the practice.
Tuning into an area of body,
Mind or heart that is seeking balance with an attitude of openness and gentleness.
Healing is wholeness,
A willingness to let in and be with what is already here.
Repeating again our positive affirmation silently to ourselves.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember wholeness and balance as my true nature.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember wholeness and balance as my true nature.
May I be kind to myself.
May I remember wholeness and balance as my true nature.
And with our healing intention again in place,
Bringing awareness to the foundation of the body,
Feeling into the energy of rootedness and presence at the back of the body.
And now from this place of groundedness consciously bringing the body,
Mind and heart back into a space of wakeful and calm presence.
Tuning into the pranic sense of relaxation that is already present.
What is the vibration of relaxation?
Where do we feel it?
Does relaxation have a texture?
Broadness?
Settledness?
What does tranquility and peacefulness feel like?
Fresh,
Revived and awake to ourselves in this relaxed state.
Broadening the vibrations of calmness and presence into the whole body again.
Aware of the whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body having practiced yoga nidra and noticing how we feel.
Allowing awareness to feel the presence of the room in which we are practicing.
Opening the senses to the sounds around the room,
The sound of my voice,
The sounds of our body and breath.
If the eyes were closed,
We may want to gently open them,
Opening gradually to the images,
Shapes and textures of the present moment.
Taking our time,
No need to rush.
Releasing the practice of yoga nidra as we tune in and notice how we feel here at the end of the practice.
Feeling into the texture of now in body,
Mind and heart.
And when we feel ready,
Wiggling the fingers and toes,
Perhaps moving the head side to side.
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
4.7 (20)
Recent Reviews
Catherine
December 7, 2020
Thank you🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻And I like to work with my own sankalpa, and one in the form of an “I am” statement rather than “May”, so space for that would be appreciated. In the end, it’s all good...🙏🏻🙏🏻
Melanie
December 7, 2020
Thank you Tina. A lovely calming yoga nidra, a great way to start my day.
Eileen
December 6, 2020
Feel Very relaxed but slightly rushed. Thank you.