Welcome to Yoga Nidra.
To begin,
Make sure you are comfortable in your posture lying down.
Feel the weight of the body releasing down and allow the breath to flow easily.
Observe and feel the places where the body makes contact to the surface you are resting on.
And be aware of the physical sensations you are feeling there.
Touch.
Pressure.
Heaviness.
Guide your awareness deeper into the feel of sensations that we call the body.
And try to keep the mind interested and focused inwardly.
Move the attention to the soles of the feet.
Relax the feet.
And be aware of the physical sensations of the soles of your feet.
Keep the mind quiet and the body still.
Just feel the sensations that arise naturally as you bring awareness to the soles of the feet.
Touch.
Pressure.
Energy tingling.
Pulsating.
Or maybe just a sense of warmth.
Or coolness.
It can be anything.
Just relax and feel the soles of the feet.
The heels.
The arches.
The balls of the feet.
The toes.
See if you can feel the big toes,
The little toes,
And the toes in between.
Letting go of the toes,
Guide the attention to the tops of the feet and the ankles.
Observing and feeling whatever sensations arise there.
Observe the tops of the feet,
The ankles,
The space inside the ankles.
Allowing awareness to reflect whatever sensation arises naturally.
Not forcing anything.
Some sensations may be distinct.
Others may be faint or cloudy.
Trust your experience.
Release the feet and guide the attention up the lower legs.
Feeling and observing the lower legs with your mind's eye.
At the level of touch.
Sensing experience.
From the ankles up to the knees.
And all around the shins and calves.
Feel the weight of the legs.
Sensations of pressure,
Heaviness,
Density.
Or more subtle sensations like tingling or pulsating.
Just bring power to the feet.
Just being present with whatever arises naturally in awareness as you scan your lower legs.
Slowly,
Move the attention up to the knees.
Feel the top of the knees and a soft surface on the back of the knees.
Inside of the knees.
Feeling,
Observing various sensations in the knees.
You can use the breath as a tool,
Inhaling through any body part to awaken the awareness sensation.
Or you can exhale into any region where the attention seems to get stuck.
To help it move to the next place.
And from the knees,
Move up to the thighs.
Relax the thighs and feel the thick thigh muscles releasing and melting away from the bones.
Slowly moving the attention throughout your thighs.
Observing.
Expansion.
Contraction.
Numbness.
Some sensations may be experienced on the surface of the skin.
Others deep inside the body.
Feel various sensations in your thighs.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
No need to change or control anything.
Try and hold every sensation equally in pure awareness.
The mind remains calm like a distant observer,
Allowing the body to manifest as it will.
And from the thighs,
Moving the attention to feel the weight of the buttocks on the ground.
Relaxing and releasing any holding you may become aware of in that region.
Observing the sensations that are present as you relax the buttocks.
Pressure,
Numbness,
Tingling,
Heaviness.
Broaden the awareness to include the pelvic region and lower abdomen.
Releasing and relaxing this region.
Awareness illuminates and reveals sensations that were already present there.
Density,
Expansion,
Contraction,
Tightness.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
Some sensations are big,
Others are small.
Notice their changing nature.
Awareness observes it all without judgment.
Guiding the attention to the belly and feel sensations inside as well.
Release the belly.
What is happening there on a level of body sensation?
Piece by piece,
Part by part.
Sensations or lack of sensations throughout your belly.
Gentle,
Soft awareness,
Soothing quality of attention.
Moving around the belly.
And from the belly,
Guide the attention around to the back,
The lower back area.
Relax your lower back into the ground,
Observing and feeling sensations there.
Heaviness,
Tingling,
Pressure.
At times you can notice the tendency to react.
Try to let that go and experience as it is.
Keeping the body still and relaxed,
The mind quiet and calm.
Guiding the attention,
The awareness around the lower back.
Like a soft warm sunlight that illuminates and dissolves tension.
Embrace each and every experience as it is.
Move the awareness to the middle back,
The kidney area.
Tingling,
Numbness,
Warmth.
Feel whatever sensations you encounter there.
Relax and feel.
Gently bring the mind back when it drifts off.
From the middle back,
Move up to the upper back.
Feel the shoulder blades and the area in between and all around the spine.
Warmth,
Pressure,
Touch,
Tingling,
Moisture.
Keeping the body still and the mind calm.
Guide the awareness around to the front chest,
Rib cage,
Awareness at the area of the diaphragm.
Sensations of rising and falling as a breath moves in and out.
Include any and all sensations in your observation.
Tightness,
Expansion,
Pulsation,
Numbness,
Lightness,
Whatever it may be.
Relaxing and softening,
Breathing all around the heart area.
Embracing sensations of feelings as they manifest from time to time,
Moment to moment.
Let go of the chest and direct the attention to the shoulders.
Relax and feel what sensations are present in your shoulders.
They may be pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
Relax with the experience.
Body sensations arise and subside in continuous flow of change.
And from the shoulders,
Move the attention down through the upper arms,
Including the underarm area.
Various sensations arising and passing as you scan your upper arms front and back.
All around down to the elbows.
Keeping the mind calm,
Body still.
Feeling the weight,
The pressure as you relax your arms.
Observing various sensations there.
From the elbows down to the wrists.
Palms of the hands.
Top of the hands.
Fingers.
Fingertips.
Warmth,
Tingling,
Vibration,
Moisture.
Sensations in your hands.
Sense the energy and vitality that pulsates.
And from the hands,
Sweep your attention back up the arms and shoulders.
And settle your attention in your neck region with soft awareness.
Relax the neck.
Quietly observing bodily sensations in your neck.
Tightness,
Tingling,
Pulsation,
Vibration.
Whatever it may be.
And gently move the awareness around to the throat.
Soften your throat.
Relax your jaw.
And relax the chin.
Relax the corners of the mouth.
Feel the contact of the lips touching.
Feel and relax the tongue and the back of the throat.
Soften and feel the cheeks.
Tingling,
Warmth,
Softness.
Soften and relax your face.
Feeling the touch of the atmosphere.
The air against the skin of the face.
Guide the attention to the upper lip and tip of the nose.
Becoming aware of any sensation around the nostril area.
Coolness of the breath or warmth.
Move the attention up the ridge of the nose and towards the ears.
Fear the earlobes and relax the inside of the ears.
Relax the forehead from the hairline down to the eyebrows.
Feel the space in between the eyebrows.
And allow it to widen and deepen.
Relax the soft eyelids.
Relax the eyes and let the eyeballs drop deeper into the eye sockets.
Relax the brain behind the forehead and let it rest into the back of the skull.
Feel the back of the skull from the base of the neck up to the top of the head.
And move the awareness through the entire scalp area.
The top,
The sides,
The back,
All around the head.
Observing different sensations that you encounter as you survey the entire head.
And now,
Bring your entire attention to the top of the head,
Crown of the head.
A small area that remained soft when we were infants.
Let everything else go and try to settle down the attention there.
Observing any sensations arising in the small area at the top of your head.
Warmth,
Lightness,
Pressure,
Tingling,
Expansion,
Contraction.
It can be anything.
You can try breathing in through this area a few times to awaken the awareness sensations there.
Keeping the body still and the mind calm.
Heart soft,
Deeply relaxed and fully aware.
When you feel ready,
You can continue this meditation on your own.
Guiding the attention back down to the tips of the toes and even through several rounds up and down your full body.
Try it a couple of times and play.
Slowly,
Allow your consciousness to come back.
And feel the entire body.
Allow your breath to deepen.
Observe how you feel.
Namaste.
