Yoga Nidra - Deep Rest
In this relaxing meditation, Rob guides you through the practice of Yoga Nidra. This type of meditation is done lying down and is well-documented to help lower stress, improve sleep, and reduce chronic pain. This practice includes an introduction with some suggestions for setting up at the beginning. Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for at least 23 minutes. Give yourself the gift of deep rest.
Transcript
Welcome to your practice of Yoga Nidra.
Take a moment to set your space,
Silence all devices,
Make sure that the room temperature is comfortable,
And gather any props you may need such as a blanket,
Bolster,
Or eye pillow.
Feel free to pause this recording to get yourself set up.
To begin,
Please lie down on your back and support yourself with any props that you like.
It can be nice to place a bolster under the back of your knees or a blanket under your head for support.
Cover your eyes with an eye pillow or a soft scarf.
As you settle in,
Slightly tuck the chin to lengthen the back of your neck and relax the weight of your head down into the support.
With your arms resting at your sides,
Turn your palms to face up.
Allow the feet and legs to rest apart at a comfortable width and make any other adjustments with your body or clothing so that you can completely let go into this position.
Yoga Nidra is a systematic method for deep relaxation and healing.
Acknowledge to yourself that you are carving out this time for you and allow whatever may be pending or on your mind to be just as it is for right now.
Keep in mind that this is your practice and the instructions are suggestions designed to help guide you through your inner exploration.
Feel free to embrace or disregard any of the instructions as you see fit.
The following practice can be done at any time and as often as you like.
Making any final adjustments to your body,
Begin to settle in to a relative stillness for the duration of the meditation.
And while it is natural to fall in and out of wakeful consciousness,
Do your best to remain awake and aware.
We are gently inviting the body to sleep while the mind remains alert.
Bring your awareness fully into your body.
Get a sense for how you feel physically.
Notice any sensations that are present.
Without changing it in any way,
Notice the natural breath as it flows in and out.
Get a felt sense for your level of energy in this moment.
Notice your more subtle layers of mind and emotion.
Without getting caught up in the content of your mind,
Simply observe.
Are there any thoughts or feelings present?
Lastly,
Can you notice the part of you that is observing the other parts?
The witness or observer to your experience.
From this place,
Gently exhale all of the air out of your body and then draw in a long,
Smooth,
Deep breath in through your nose and let it out very slowly through your mouth.
And again,
Drawing in a long,
Smooth,
Deep,
Easy breath in through the nose and letting it go out through your mouth.
One more time,
Taking in a nice,
Big inhale and releasing all the way out.
Now,
Letting go the effort of your breath,
Bring to mind an intention you have for your life,
Perhaps for peace of mind,
Healing,
A quality that you would like to cultivate or something else.
As you reflect on your intention,
Consider what is your heart's deepest desire?
What is something that you would like to manifest for yourself?
Letting go of the analytical mind,
Letting go of what we may think we should want or what our culture tells us we should want,
See if you can feel into what's really important to you.
Then form a short,
Positive,
One-sentence statement in the present tense.
For example,
I am secure and at ease in who I am.
Or I relax into and trust the process of life.
Or my body is healthy and whole.
I am well.
It's important that your intention is authentic to you,
So take a moment to create an intention that is relevant to your life today.
Create a one-sentence statement that is positive and in the present tense,
Imagining that it is true right here and right now.
Now,
Silently affirm your intention to yourself three times while feeling into the realization of that desire.
Letting your intention go,
We will now move your awareness throughout your body.
As we do,
Without any movement,
Notice any sensations that you can perceive.
Listen to the sound of my voice and welcome anything that arises in your awareness as a messenger to your inner exploration.
Do your best to remain still,
Yet awake and aware.
We will begin with the focus on the left hand side of your body.
Become aware of your left hand thumb,
Your left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And pinky finger,
The palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
Your left wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
And shoulder,
Your entire left arm,
Hand,
And fingers alive with sensation,
The left side of your chest,
The left side of your ribs,
And your left waistline,
Your left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
And lower leg.
Become aware of your left ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
And toes,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe,
Your entire left leg,
Foot,
And toes alive with sensation.
Remaining awake,
Gently guide your awareness to your right hand thumb,
Your right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And pinky finger,
The palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Your right wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
And shoulder,
Your entire right arm,
Hand,
And fingers alive with sensation,
The right side of your chest,
The right side of your ribs,
And your right waistline,
Your right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
And lower leg.
Become aware of your right ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
And toes,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe,
Back of the body,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Right hamstring,
Left hamstring,
Right glute,
Left glute,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Your entire spine,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head.
With awareness at the crown of your head,
Relax the scalp,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The eyebrow center point,
Right eye,
Eyelid,
Left eye,
And eyelid.
Awareness of both eyes at the same time.
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Both ears at the same time.
Right side of face,
Left side of face,
Right nostril,
Left nostril.
Sensation of air in both nostrils,
Both lips,
Space inside the mouth,
Upper row of teeth and gums,
Lower row of teeth and gums,
Tongue,
Throat,
Jaw,
Front of the neck,
Center of the chest,
Center of the belly,
Pelvis,
Pelvic floor,
Right leg,
Left leg,
Both legs at the same time.
Right arm,
Left arm,
Both arms at the same time.
Right side of the body,
Left side of the body,
Front of the body,
Back of the body,
Face,
Your entire body.
Awareness of your entire body resting,
Completely supported by the ground beneath you.
Feeling feelings within the body,
Perhaps warmth,
Feeling warmth,
Locate coolness,
Heaviness,
And lightness.
Feeling a sense of being grounded,
Feel a sense of spaciousness,
And observing all of these feelings arising and falling in and out of awareness.
Bringing your mind back to the sensation of air moving in and out through the nose,
The natural rise and fall of your inhale and exhale,
And counting backwards from 11 down to zero.
Like this,
11,
Breathing in,
Feeling the air move into the body,
11,
Breathing out,
Feel the air flowing out,
10,
Breathing in,
10,
Breathing out,
And so on,
All the way down to zero.
If you lose count,
Simply begin again,
Counting your breath backwards from 11 all the way down to zero.
Take your time.
Please discontinue counting your breath with the eyes relaxed and closed.
Picture,
Visualize,
Or imagine an expansive landscape,
Perhaps a mountain range,
The vast ocean,
Or even the sky,
Welcoming the colors,
Textures,
And spaciousness of your experience.
Picturing yourself in a familiar place,
In nature,
Somewhere where you feel secure and at ease,
And welcoming this feeling of ease throughout your entire body and mind.
Note where do you feel the feeling of ease,
And from this relaxed state of awareness,
Call to mind the intention you set for yourself at the beginning,
Affirming your intention With a felt sense of its realization as though it were happening right here and right now,
Silently affirm your intention to yourself three times.
Wonderful.
Now bringing your awareness back and sensing your body,
Your entire physical body,
Resting on the floor,
Visualizing the space that you're in,
And beginning to deepen the breath gently,
Drawing in a more wakeful state of mind,
A bigger,
Brighter inhale,
Bringing vitality and energy into your mind and body,
And as you feel ready,
Begin to awaken movement through your fingers and toes,
Rotate your wrists and ankles,
And with a nice deep breath in,
Reach your arms overhead behind you,
And exhale to stretch out your whole body,
Rolling to one side,
Pausing for a moment,
And as you feel ready,
Press yourself up to a comfortable and upright seated position,
And giving yourself a moment to settle in,
Bringing your hands in front of the heart center,
Take a nice deep breath as if you can breathe right into your heart,
And on your exhale,
Bowing your head in,
Acknowledge yourself for taking this time.
Thank you for practicing.
Namaste.
