Welcome to Day 14 of Insight Timer's Strategies for Stress Challenge.
Let's take a moment to get settled.
Close your eyes,
Take a deep breath in,
And exhale out.
Let's dive in to today's Strategy for Stress.
Welcome to Yoga Nidra for Stress.
My name is Tracey Stanley,
And I will be your guide.
Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice,
But modern research has shown that Yoga Nidra helps to reduce stress and increase ease.
It is effective to reduce levels of anxiety and depression.
It also improves the quality of sleep when practiced consistently over time.
Yoga Nidra gives us access to beta,
Alpha,
And delta brainwave states,
As well as improving our memory and cognitive function.
Yoga Nidra is usually practiced in a supine resting position,
But for our practice today,
Find the comfortable resting shape for you.
Allow yourself to be supported by pillows,
Or props,
Or lying on your bed.
Take a few moments now to find the perfect resting shape for your body.
As you find this resting shape,
Slowly begin to become aware that your body is breathing.
Let your kind attention rest at the nostrils,
And just notice the flow of breath as it moves into the nose,
Riding across the roof of the nostrils,
Moving into the lungs,
And slowly dissolving.
Begin to notice the pause between the inhale and the exhale,
And then notice the impulse to exhale,
And follow the flow of the exhale as it moves out of the nostrils and moves into the space outside of the body,
Where the breath dissolves.
For the next five breaths,
Just follow the flow in and out,
Noticing the breath as it travels into the body and releases out from the body.
Now continue to let that flow of breath continue in the background,
And let your awareness now rest on the navel center.
Just notice how the navel rises as the body inhales,
And falls as the body exhales.
For the next five breaths,
Just notice the navel rising as the body inhales,
And falling as the body exhales.
Now just become aware of the space that your body occupies,
From the tip of the toes to the top of the head,
Be aware of the space that the body is occupying.
Now be aware of the space outside of the body,
The space that is surrounding the body,
And imagine that you can draw a circle of protective light around the body.
That circle of protective light can be made of fire,
Of sunlight,
Moonlight,
Whatever you choose.
Feel,
Sense,
And trust that all sounds,
All worries or concerns are outside of this circle,
And you are in the center of the circle,
Resting on the Earth.
So notice the parts of your body that are connected to the support beneath you.
Feel the support beneath your body.
Notice all of the parts of your body that are touching the support beneath you.
Feel and sense the layer of support beneath the support directly beneath your body,
And continue moving through the layers until you reach the layer of the Earth.
Notice and remember that the body is breathing.
And notice how when the body breathes in,
The Earth and the support beneath you rises up to hold and greet the body.
As the body breathes out,
Notice the possibility for softening into that hold of the Earth.
Body breathes in,
Earth rises up to hold and cradle the body.
Body breathes out and allows for softening into the Earth.
For the next five breaths,
Just notice the Earth rising,
And allow the body to soften as the body exhales.
Now let your awareness rest at the forehead,
At the center of the forehead,
And feel and sense that the forehead is softening.
You might even sense that the next few breaths are moving in and out from the center of the forehead three or four times.
Feel the forehead softening deeper and deeper into the forehead.
Feel as though the wrinkles of the mind are being smoothed away as the forehead continues to soften.
Allow the eyes and eyebrows to soften.
Temples and cheeks soften.
Jaw softens.
Throat softens.
Shoulders,
Upper arms,
Elbows,
Lower arms,
Wrists,
Hands,
Fingertips.
Feel as though the breath is moving in and out from the fingertips three times.
Palms of the hands soften.
Wrists,
Elbows,
Shoulders,
Throat center,
Both sides of the chest,
Center of the chest,
Solar plexus,
Navel center,
Pelvic center,
Base of the spine,
Hips,
Upper legs,
Knees,
Lower legs,
Ankles,
Heels,
Soles of the feet,
Toes,
Tips of the toes.
Feel as though the breath is moving in and out from the tips of the toes three times.
Ankles soften.
Knees,
Hips,
Base of the spine,
Pelvic center,
Navel center,
Heart center.
Feel as though the breath is moving in and out from the heart center three times.
Throat center.
Breath moves in and out from the throat center three times.
Midway point between the eyebrows softens.
Feel as though the breath is moving in and out through that midway point between the eyebrows three times.
Feel the center of the forehead softening.
And feel as though the whole body is breathing.
From the tip of the toes to the top of the head,
The whole body is breathing.
Just allow yourself to receive and release the breath.
Let go of all doing,
And just rest.
You will hear my voice again in two minutes.
When you feel ready to come back,
Please begin to deepen your breath.
Begin to bring intuitive movement into the body,
Perhaps wiggling the toes or the fingers,
Or taking a long,
Deep stretch.
You can begin to imagine the energetic circle of protection around you dissolving,
And then slowly begin to place your hands on your body,
And begin to massage yourself awake.
The practice is now complete.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide.
