Hello,
My name is Amy Ruthy,
And this is a birthday yoga nidra.
This practice can be used any day of the year,
But is designed to celebrate you on your birthday.
Start by settling into a really comfy space.
If you need to pause the recording to gather props,
Pillows,
Or blankets to make you feel more comfortable,
Please do so.
Allow your whole body to let go and to trust the surface beneath you to hold you up and support you.
Softly close your eyes.
Inhale and exhale through your nostrils.
For a few rounds of breath,
Feel the flow of air as it moves in and out of your nostrils.
Now tune into your body and sense the feeling of being alive.
Body breathing with life on your special day.
It's time to celebrate you and your life.
Inhale through your nose.
Exhale with an open mouth and sigh.
Inhale through your nose.
Exhale audible sigh.
Two more times like that.
Resume inhaling and exhaling through your nose.
And connect with your heart,
Your beautiful heart that's full of life.
And come up with your sankalpa,
Your heart's resolve for your birthday.
Use the next few breaths in silence to ask your heart what it desires.
Use that response from your heart and formulate a positive statement in the present tense.
For example,
I am grateful for my body.
Or I am excited to be alive.
Or I am proud of myself.
Really feel and believe that statement as you repeat it three times to yourself.
Now the body scan.
I'll name different parts of the body in a sequence.
For this part,
Keep your body still and resting while keeping your mind aware and awake.
If your mind drifts off to other thoughts,
Gently bring your attention back to the sound of my voice.
We'll start with the mouth.
Bring your full awareness to the roof of your mouth,
The back of your mouth,
Tip of your tongue,
Base of your tongue,
Inside the right cheek,
Inside the left cheek,
Upper gums and teeth,
Lower gums and teeth,
Upper lip,
Tip of your nose,
Inside the right nostril,
Inside the left nostril,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The right eye and eyelid,
Right temple,
Eyebrow,
The space between your eyebrows,
The left eye and eyelid,
Left temple,
Eyebrow,
Sensation of both of the eyes,
The right earlobe,
Right ear canal,
Middle ear,
Deep inside the inner ear,
Left earlobe,
Left ear canal,
Middle ear,
Deep inside the inner ear,
The scalp and hair,
Top of the head,
Back of the head,
The whole face and head,
Along with the neck and throat,
The base of your neck,
Right collarbone,
Right upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Center of the right palm,
Right thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Back to the base of your neck,
Left collarbone,
Left upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Wrist,
Center of the left palm,
Left thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Back to the base of your neck,
Front of the chest,
Front of the ribs,
Navel,
Lower belly,
Center of the pelvis,
Right hip,
Right upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Back to the center of the pelvis,
Left hip,
Left upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole body,
Right and left,
Front and back,
The whole body,
Breathing with sensation and with life.
Now,
Take a deep breath and observe your body breathing effortlessly.
Watch your natural breath.
Now,
Count your next few breaths,
Starting with the number nine and counting down to one.
Start by inhaling and exhaling for nine and count each breath down to one.
Keep your body and breath the same and imagine the sensation of heaviness within your body.
Heavy as if your whole body is full of sand Now,
The sensation of lightness in your body.
Light as if your whole body is full of cotton.
Back to heavy,
Body heavy,
And light at the same time.
Flow your attention to the area between your eyebrows,
Your mind's eye,
And your inner refuge,
Which is a place that you've been to before or a place that you can imagine where you feel very comfortable and where you get to fully be yourself.
Where you get to connect to your true self,
The essence of who you truly are,
That started the day that you were born.
Imagine your inner refuge now.
What does it look like all around you?
What sounds do you hear?
What do you smell?
Allow your body to fully sense and feel being in your inner refuge and return to watching your body breathing effortlessly.
Watch your body breathing as you feel grateful for your life and for your body.
For the next few rounds of breath and I'll guide you back in this state of pure awareness.
Circle back to your sankalpa and feel it in your body as if it's already happening as you repeat it three more times.
It's time to come back to the present moment on your special day and allow your body to be in a state of pure awareness.
Notice the breath in your body.
Notice the support beneath you and where it's making contact with your body.
Notice the temperature of the air in the environment that you're in.
Tune in to the sounds in your environment.
Inhale deeply through your nose.
Exhale with an open mouth,
Gently.
Inhale through your nose.
Exhale,
Sigh.
Exhale,
Sigh.
Start to make small movements with your body.
If you'd like,
You can take a full body stretch.
Arms stretching over the crown of your head.
Legs reaching out in the opposite direction.
And relax your body back down.
Softly open your eyes.
Thank you for trusting me to guide you on this yoga nidra journey on your birthday.
Happy birthday.
You are an amazing human.
You are an amazing human being,
Doing great things.
I hope you have an awesome day,
Full of joy and laughter.
Namaste.
Happy birthday.
