Welcome to Yoga Nidra for Self-Care.
This practice is designed to help you relax at the deepest levels,
To nurture yourself and emerge refreshed and inspired,
To continue taking wonderful care of yourself each and every day,
Whether you have two minutes or two hours.
You need this and you're worth it.
We all deserve delicious self-care for our well-being,
Our optimal health and vitality.
I invite you to find a comfortable position lying down on your yoga mat,
Couch,
Bed or sitting back in a chair.
Place a pillow to cradle your head,
A bolster under your knees for support and maybe a blanket over your body if you're feeling chilly.
Your only focus during this practice is to simply welcome,
Recognize and witness any thoughts,
Emotions and sensations that arise.
There's nothing you need to do about them.
Just let them come into your awareness.
Your goal is to be supremely relaxed.
Your only job is to close your eyes,
Breathe and sink into a deeper state of rest and calm.
Don't need to worry if you fall asleep.
The part of you I'm speaking to can still hear me and you will benefit just as comprehensively as you will if you're awake.
So just take a few deep breaths right now.
Inhale deeply through the nose.
Let your breath expand your belly and release your breath out your mouth.
Do this again.
Inhale,
Fill your belly with breath and release through your mouth.
Now I invite you to get even more comfortable.
Is there anything you can do to become even 10% more relaxed?
Allow your breath to find a natural rhythm with your mouth closed.
Remember that your entire work during this practice is to simply welcome,
Recognize and witness anything and everything that comes into your awareness.
Think about what you're needing in your life right now in terms of taking great care of yourself.
How can you be cared for more fully with more kindness,
Understanding and love?
I want you to create a statement,
A phrase that is positive,
Specific and present.
This phrase,
This intention is called a Sankalpa.
An example of a self-care Sankalpa could be,
I'm giving myself permission to accept and receive the juiciest self-care every day.
Or I am worthy of self-love and self-care.
Or I invite you to create your own Sankalpa,
A phrase that's positive and present.
Repeat this phrase in your mind a few times.
This anchors a seed of intention deep into your awareness.
This seed will continue to grow and bloom,
Even if you forget that you planted it.
This yoga nidra practice is creating the optimal conditions for that seed to bloom and grow.
Now I'd like you to create your ideal sanctuary,
A perfect place that makes you feel safe,
Comfortable,
Happy and at ease.
This place can be real or imagined.
Choose a place where you love to be and begin to fill in the details using your senses.
What does your sanctuary look like?
Are you indoors or outside?
Is it day or night?
What do you smell?
How does the temperature feel on your skin?
Notice the objects around you and see their shapes and textures.
What colors do you see?
What do you hear in your sanctuary?
Choose a few different sounds.
Are they close or far?
Loud or faint?
As you breathe in,
Allow the scent of your sanctuary to fill your nostrils and your entire being.
What are the tastes in your sanctuary?
Are you alone or are there people or animals around?
What emotion do you feel in your sanctuary?
How does this make you feel?
Invite this emotion to come to the surface.
Notice where you feel this emotion in your body.
You can come back to the sanctuary anytime you wish.
This is a safe and nurturing space that is always here for you.
As you sit or lie down,
Feel the sensation of your body.
Feel your entire body.
Feel the entire front side of your body.
Feel the entire back side of your body.
Now feel your entire body,
Front and back.
Simply welcome,
Recognize,
And witness the feeling of body on the floor.
Now bring your attention to the sensation of your mouth.
Feel your teeth,
Tongue,
Lips,
Insides of your cheeks.
Feel your entire mouth as sensation.
Bring your attention to your eyes.
Feel your eyeballs resting in their sockets.
Feel the place where your eyelids touch.
Now feel your ears.
Notice the inside of your ears.
Notice the outside of your ears.
Feel your entire face.
Your forehead,
Eyebrows,
Eyes,
Bridge of your nose and nostrils,
Cheekbones,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin,
And jaw.
Feel your entire face.
Now notice the sensation of the crown of your head.
Feel the back of your head.
Feel your entire scalp,
Your crown,
And back of your head.
Now feel your entire face.
Scalp.
Face.
Scalp.
Now feel your entire head at the same time.
Adopt the feeling of largeness in your head.
Your entire head is large.
Now your head is small.
Large.
Small.
This doesn't need to make sense,
But in the moment,
Your head is both small and large.
Feel your head as both small and large simultaneously.
What are you aware of in this moment?
What you're aware of changes,
But awareness stays the same.
Changing sensations illuminate your unchanging awareness.
Be the unchanging awareness.
As awareness,
Bring your attention to the sensation of your arms,
From shoulders to fingertips.
Feel both arms.
Now feel your left hand.
Feel only your left thumb.
All of your attention is simply witnessing the sensation of your left thumb.
Now feel your right hand.
Feel only your right thumb.
All of your attention is simply witnessing the sensation of your right thumb.
Left.
Right thumb.
Now feel both thumbs.
Feel both thumbs as two ends of one thing.
Bring your attention to the sensation of your chest and collarbones.
Feel your belly and notice it as it breathes.
Feel the sensation of your back on the floor.
Feel your entire back.
Now feel the front of your torso,
Your chest and belly.
Feel the back of your torso,
Your entire back.
Front.
Back.
Now feel your entire torso.
Notice how changing sensations illuminate your unchanging awareness.
Be awareness itself,
Experiencing itself as body on the floor.
You are awareness experiencing itself as a body lying on the floor.
As awareness,
Bring your attention to the sensation of your pelvis.
Welcome any thoughts,
Sensations or emotions that may be associated with your pelvis.
Recognize anything that arises for what it is and simply be the witness.
Feel your entire pelvis as sensation.
Now feel your legs from hips to toes.
Feel both legs from hips to toes.
Feel only the left leg.
Feel only the right leg.
Left.
Right.
Feel both legs.
Now feel the entire left side of your entire body as sensation.
Feel the entire right side of your body as sensation.
Left side.
Right side.
Feel both sides of your body.
Now feel your entire body lying on the floor.
What's aware of the body lying on the floor?
Notice what is observing the body lying on the floor.
Be unchanging awareness.
Without trying to control or do anything,
Simply notice your level of relaxation.
If there's any way you could relax more,
And if there is,
Please do so.
As awareness,
Notice your breath moving in and out of your lungs.
There's nothing to change.
Simply witness your breath moving in and out of your body.
Notice how you feel energy in your body at this moment.
Choose a part of your body that feels alive with vitality.
Which part of your body feels energy?
Does it have a color?
Describe it to yourself.
Feel the part of your body with a vital energy,
And remember the color if that helps.
Now bring your attention to only the part of the body that feels low energy,
And remember the color if that helps.
Now feel both energies at the same time.
Feel both at the same time.
Energy is always changing.
Your awareness is constantly aware as energy changes.
As awareness,
Notice which emotion you have in this moment,
Or which emotion you've been working with lately in your life.
You are simply welcoming,
Recognizing,
And witnessing the emotion.
You don't need to fix or change it.
You are only witnessing.
If ever an emotion gets too difficult to work with,
Go back to your sanctuary by using your senses.
If you feel okay witnessing the emotion that you feel in this moment,
Be curious about the emotion.
Where do you feel it?
Does it have a color or texture?
Are there any images that spontaneously arise as you feel this emotion?
If this emotion could speak,
What would it say to you?
What is the opposite emotion?
What does that feel like?
Either remember or imagine what it feels like.
Again,
You can go to your sanctuary if that doesn't feel comfortable to work with the opposite emotion.
Otherwise,
What does that emotion feel like?
Notice what arises spontaneously and simply welcome,
Recognize,
And witness everything about that emotion.
Now let go of the emotion and go back to the first emotion.
Now let go of the first emotion and go back to the opposite emotion.
Now feel both emotions.
What is the part of you that is large enough to hold both emotions simultaneously?
Emotions are constantly coming and going.
Be the thing that can simply witness emotions.
Though you have emotions,
You are much larger than emotions.
Be awareness itself.
As awareness,
Notice your thoughts.
You are not trying to control or change your thoughts.
Merely be curious about your thoughts.
Are your thoughts moving fast or slow?
What is the subject of your thoughts?
Notice if your thoughts evoke memories,
Other thoughts,
Words,
Or emotions.
Simply notice your thoughts as they come and go.
You are witnessing thoughts.
Allow your thoughts to be unrestrained as you watch them as they stay fixed on one thing or move around,
Like a bee in a garden of thoughts.
Now remember what it feels like to be sharp and focused in your thoughts.
Now remember what it feels like to be cloudy or confused in your thoughts.
Sharp and focused.
Cloudy.
Now feel both.
Like you could think very clearly about one thing and be very cloudy and confused about another.
Notice your thinking mind.
Be the awareness that can watch your thinking mind at work.
Though you have thoughts,
You are much larger than thoughts.
Now visualize yourself walking down a path in a forest.
You are all alone on a small path.
You can see the light filter through the trees and land on the underbrush.
You hear the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and the sounds of birds chirping happily.
There's a small stream running by that you can see and hear.
Your feet are connecting to the soft earth.
You feel the sun on your skin and can smell the pine trees and wildflowers.
There are a few messengers you will see on your journey.
As you round a corner,
There's a large deer standing in your path.
Notice what the deer looks like.
Notice how you feel as you look at the deer.
The deer can either speak to you or communicate directly with your mind.
And the deer has a message for you.
What does the deer say?
Pause for a moment and hear the deer.
You thank the deer and continue along your way.
You continue to move down your path and there is a log that has fallen long ago across the path.
As you're stepping over the log,
You see a beaver sitting on top of the log.
Notice how you feel looking at the beaver.
The beaver has a message for you.
Either in a voice or directly in your mind,
What does the beaver say?
Pause for a moment and hear the beaver.
You thank the beaver and continue along your way.
As you travel for a long time down the path,
You decide to rest by laying down in some soft grass and wildflowers to the side of the path.
You are so comfortable as you look up into the sky.
The sky is clear and blue with only a few clouds.
You see a large eagle soaring in the clouds with its wings spread wide,
Lazily riding the currents of the air and wind.
Soon the eagle flies toward you and lands on a branch not too far from you.
The eagle has a message for you.
Either by speaking or communicating directly to your mind,
The eagle shares its message with you.
Take a moment and hear the eagle.
You thank the eagle and it flies off.
Feeling rested,
You continue along your path and realize that you've made a large circle and you're back to where you started.
Give yourself a moment and repeat the messages of the deer,
The beaver,
And the eagle.
The visualization is finished.
Now remember a time when you felt very happy and love or sensual.
Using your senses,
Bring this scene of happiness,
Love,
Or sensuality to life in this moment.
Notice what you see,
Hear,
Smell,
Taste,
And feel.
What does happiness,
Love,
Or sensuality feel like in your body?
Is there a particular part of your body that feels that emotion or sensation?
Allow that feeling to spread into every part of your body and beyond,
As if your body wasn't large enough to contain all the happiness,
Love,
Or sensuality that you're feeling in this moment.
Let go of the memories and simply rest in how your body feels.
What is feeling experiencing and witnessing this feeling?
This feeling was there all along.
You uncovered it with your vision of what made you feel happy and love or sensual.
But even without the vision,
That feeling stays the same.
You don't need anything to feel this.
This is your natural way of being.
Feel free in this happiness,
Love,
Or sensuality.
This is you.
Similarly,
Remember a time when you took the very best care of yourself.
How did it feel to make yourself a priority?
To ensure that you are happy and well,
Physically,
Emotionally,
Mentally,
And spiritually.
Bring the sensations of how this felt into this moment now using your senses.
Notice what you hear,
Smell,
Taste,
And feel.
How does this ultimate sensation of wellness and thriving feel in your body now?
Is there a particular part of your body or soul that feels this emotion or sensation?
Allow this feeling to spread into every single part of your body and beyond.
Overflowing with the feelings and sensations of ultimate wellness.
Feeling rested,
Grateful,
Happy,
Nourished,
And content.
Now let go of the memories and simply rest in how your body feels.
What is feeling,
Experiencing,
And witnessing this feeling?
This feeling was there all along.
You uncovered it with your vision of what made you feel such love for yourself.
Making yourself a priority.
Taking great care of your body,
Mind,
And spirit.
And thriving.
You don't need anything to feel this.
This is your natural way of being.
Feel free in this blanket of self-care,
Wellness,
Feeling rested,
And thriving.
This is you.
As the truest part of yourself,
Observe yourself lying on the floor,
Having this yoga nidra experience.
Notice all the parts working together from body to energy,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
And all the rest.
You are simply witnessing yourself lying on the floor,
Having this experience.
Merely observe yourself lying on the floor,
Practicing awareness.
Feel yourself as the observer.
You are the observer watching all of this happen.
It's all happening in this moment.
This moment is always happening.
As the observer,
Notice yourself having the experience of practicing yoga nidra.
Remember the feelings of happiness,
Love,
Wellness,
Thriving,
And being fully rested that you feel.
Which is always very close to your surface.
Observe your thoughts without any opinion about them.
You are simply noticing thoughts.
Observe your emotions.
Simply observe emotions.
Now observe energy and breath in your body.
Notice this feeling of your body lying on the floor.
Pay particular attention to the feeling of the soles of your feet and the palms of your hands.
Notice the feeling of your belly.
Bring yourself to feel the sensation of your entire body.
For a brief moment,
Put yourself back into your sanctuary and feel all of your senses.
Repeat the messages from your messengers one more time.
Now repeat your sankalpa.
In a moment you'll hear me count down from five,
And that will finish your full yoga nidra practice.
Because of the work you've done today in your full yoga nidra practice,
You'll look back out into your life feeling more dedicated to your own self-care and feeling more alive,
Happy,
Rested,
And content.
You'll feel in touch with the deepest parts of yourself.
You'll be kinder,
More open,
And willing to love and be loved with yourself and others.
You'll move through your life with wisdom and wondering,
Remembering that you are worthy of dedicated time and effort to nourish your own care,
Wellness,
And vitality.
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Yoga Nidra is over.
