Nourishing New Year Yoga Nidra

I designed this Yoga Nidra meditation to assist in navigating a world that can feel unfamiliar, unsteady, and unpredictable. Using body scan, guided breathing, and visualizations, we will go on a cellular journey through our physical form to find nourishment and ease, restore calm, and cultivate gratitude.

Transcript

I designed this yoga nidra with the current season in mind.

How we tend to ourselves when everything feels in flux.

You don't have to make anything happen during this practice.

Simply listen to my voice and resolve to stay aware.

Find a spot to lay down either on a yoga mat,

A couch,

Anywhere you'll be able to find comfort but won't immediately fall asleep.

Use props that make your body feel at ease.

Maybe a pillow under your knees and head,

A blanket or something covering your eyes.

Rest your arms down by your side with your palms facing up.

Get any last-minute squirms out and come to stillness.

Feel your body,

All parts of you heavy.

Take a full belly breath and find 10% more heaviness in your limbs.

Start drawing your attention to the space you're in.

If you are hearing things,

Smelling things,

Sensing things,

That's okay.

Let life exist around you.

As much as you can,

Let your awareness of those things fade.

Here we'll begin the practice of yoga nidra.

Find your heart space.

Here we will place a sankalpa which serves as an intention.

Tune in and ask how you desire to feel.

If you've been feeling flighty or unmured,

Maybe it's I am present or I am safe.

If you've been feeling defeated,

Maybe it's something like I am worthy or I am love.

Whatever feeling you want to cultivate,

Phrase it as a positive I statement,

Like it's already happening.

Repeat your sankalpa three times to yourself.

Take a deep belly breath and feel your heart swell.

Begin to notice the outline of your body,

Your skin,

This beautiful barrier that wraps around every inch of you.

Dissolve your awareness down through its layers.

Sense your fatty tissue.

Sense your connective tissue,

Your muscles and tendons,

Your nerves and blood vessels.

Now begin to sense your individual cells.

Shift awareness to the cells that make up your right thumb,

The cells of your right index finger,

Your right middle finger,

Your right ring finger,

And your right pinky finger.

Feel the cells that make up your whole right hand.

Feel into the cells of your right forearm,

Your right elbow,

Your right upper arm,

And your right shoulder.

Feel the cells of your whole right arm.

Feel the cells that make up your right armpit,

Your right ribcage,

Your right hip,

Your right thigh,

Your right lower leg.

Feel the cells that make up your right big toe,

Your right second toe,

Your right third toe,

Your right fourth toe,

And your right pinky toe.

Feel the sole of your right foot.

Now feel all the cells that make up the right side of your body.

Shift your awareness to cells that make up your left thumb,

The cells of your left index finger,

Your left middle finger,

Your left ring finger,

And your left pinky finger.

Feel the cells that make up your whole left hand.

Feel into the cells of your left forearm,

Your left elbow,

Your left upper arm,

And your left shoulder.

Feel the cells of your whole left arm.

Feel the cells that make up your left armpit,

Your left ribcage,

Your left hip,

Your left thigh,

Your left lower leg.

Feel the cells that make up your left big toe,

Your left second toe,

Your left third toe,

Your left fourth toe,

And your pinky toe.

Feel the sole of your left foot.

Now feel all the cells that make up the left side of your body.

Feel the cells of the back of your skull and your neck.

Feel the cells that make up your right shoulder blade,

Your left shoulder blade,

And now both shoulder blades together.

Feel the cells of your spinal column of your sacrum.

Feel the cells of your right glutes,

Your left glutes,

And both glutes together.

Feel the cells of the back of your right leg,

The cells of the back of your left leg,

And both legs together.

Feel your right heel,

Your left heel,

And both heels together.

Now feel into the cells of your entire back body.

Feel into the cells that make up the top of your head,

Your forehead.

Feel the cells of your right eye socket,

Your right cheek,

And your right jaw.

Feel the cells of your left eye socket,

Your left cheek,

And your left jaw.

Now feel the cells of your whole face together.

Feel the cells of the front of your neck,

Your diaphragm,

Your navel,

And your pelvis.

Feel the cells of your entire front body.

Feel the cells of your whole head.

Feel the cells of your entire right side.

Feel the cells of your entire left side.

Now feel both sides together.

Feel all the cells in your body throughout your whole body.

As you feel the cells throughout your body,

Draw attention to your breath,

How each inhalation and exhalation affects your cells.

Moves them,

Infuses them,

Transforms them.

We're going to take 20 breaths,

Focusing on the cellular makeup of different systems in the body,

Noticing and honoring how breath and cells work together within those systems.

For the next five breaths,

Focus on your circulatory system.

On every inhale,

Feeling your blood vessels become rich in oxygen.

On every exhale,

Feeling waste being let go.

Now draw your awareness to your immune system.

On every inhale,

Supplying strength to support your health.

On every exhale,

Filtering out what's not needed.

For the next five breaths,

Focus on your digestive system.

On every inhale,

You support processing and absorption.

On every exhale,

Letting go of what needs to be let go.

Now draw awareness to your endocrine system.

On every inhale,

Supporting your hormonal balance.

On every exhale,

Releasing control.

For the final five breaths,

Focus on your muscular system.

On every inhale,

Sending thanks to your body for expansion.

On every exhale,

Freeing yourself from contraction.

Now release control of your breath completely.

Let it flow as it wants to flow.

Here we'll consider opposites.

There's no good or bad or right or wrong to these words.

Just feel whatever you feel.

Feel permanence.

Notice what arises when you hear the word permanence.

What qualities does something permanent have?

What emotions arise when you think of something being permanent?

Now let it go.

Feel temporary.

What arises when you hear the word temporary?

What sights or sounds or thoughts emerge when you know that something or someone is temporary?

Now let it go.

Feel joy.

What does joy do in your body?

Where does it find itself?

To experience joy,

To witness joy.

What's that like?

Now let it go.

Feel grief.

Where does grief land?

What stories or sensations accompany grief?

Now let it go.

Feel refusal.

To refuse something.

To have someone refuse you.

What comes up?

What's attached to that word?

Now let it go.

Feel acceptance.

What arises when you feel accepted?

Accept others?

Accept your circumstances?

Where does acceptance find itself in your body?

Now let it go.

You find yourself standing in front of a giant white screen.

Images begin to flash.

You see them vibrantly as they appear on the screen and they just as quickly disappear.

A toddler taking their first steps.

A pink sunset.

A table set for holiday dinner.

Strangers celebrating.

A snow day.

An old person holding a newborn baby.

A wedding.

Someone you love laughing.

The screen returns to white and you watch for a bit longer,

Hoping something dear to your heart will appear.

It's a photograph from your past that's been lost to time.

You wait and wait and wait.

You feel impatience growing but a person you love approaches you,

Puts their hand on your shoulder,

And sits down beside you.

You rest your head on them feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude that you have them to wait with.

As you wait together,

The photograph appears.

It's so much more beautiful than you remember.

You begin to tell your loved one the story of the photo and they smile wide,

Watching you light up as you recall the memories of that moment.

You lay back and close your eyes,

A sense of satisfaction and gratitude washing over you.

Hold that gratitude in your heart as you conjure your Senkalpa.

Repeat it three times in your head and feel it to be true right now.

Draw awareness back into your physical form.

From your cells,

Move outward towards your nerves,

Your muscles and tendons,

Your connective tissue,

And your skin.

Feel welcomed back into your body as we complete the practice of yoga nidra.

Feel what's touching your skin.

Take three deep belly breaths.

Slowly wiggle your fingers and your toes.

Roll your ankles and wrists if that feels good and if you want a big overhead stretch,

Roll over into a fetal position.

And if you want to sit upright,

Do so if it feels good,

Keeping your eyes closed.

Take your time getting up.

I hope this felt nourishing.

Thank you for being here.

Take good care of yourself.