Hello,
I'm Amy Ruthy,
And this is a yoga nidra to help ease anxiety.
Start by getting really comfortable so that all of the muscles in your body can release.
This will help you to be able to remain still throughout the practice.
Softly close your eyes and tune in to your own body.
Breathe in and out of your nose.
And as you inhale,
Feel the air as it moves in through your nose.
And as you exhale,
Feel the air as it moves back out of your nose.
Turn inward and notice your breath and how it feels as it moves in and out of your nose.
We'll practice a breathing technique to calm your nervous system before dropping in to the yoga nidra.
It's called the physiological sigh.
You'll inhale through your nose and then pause,
Then inhale more and exhale gently through your mouth.
So we'll try that together.
Inhale through your nose,
Pause,
Inhale more,
Exhale through your mouth.
Inhale through your nose,
Pause,
Inhale more,
Exhale through your mouth.
Three more times on your own using whatever rhythm works best for you.
It's time to come up with your sankalpa for your practice today.
A sankalpa is a heart's desire,
What your heart is needing for your practice today or for your life in general.
So move inward a bit more and go to your heart.
Go to your heart and ask your heart what it needs for your practice or for your life right now.
I'll give you some time to do that.
And use that answer from your heart and turn it into a positive statement in the present tense.
In case you didn't come up with an answer,
That's okay.
You can use the sankalpa I trust or I am going with the flow or I accept.
Use one of the examples or your own words and repeat that silently to yourself three times with full awareness.
Now it's time for the body scan phase of the meditation.
For this part,
All you have to do is listen to the guidance of my voice and bring your awareness to each of the body parts that I'll name.
You don't have to move that body part or think about or focus on that body part.
Just bring your full awareness to each of the body parts.
Starting with your mouth,
Bring your awareness to the roof of your mouth,
The back of your mouth,
The tip of your tongue,
Base of your tongue,
Inside the right cheek,
Inside the left cheek,
Upper gums and teeth,
Lower gums and teeth,
The space between your upper and lower teeth,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Space between the lips,
The 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,
The scalp and hair,
Top of the head,
Back of the head,
The whole face of the head,
The 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,
Left 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,
Top,
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 trust.
I'll leave you here for just a few moments to observe your body breathing with your natural rate of breath.
Now,
Sense the whole right side of your body,
The whole right side of your body.
Now,
The whole left side of your body,
Awareness filling up the whole left side of your body.
Now,
The whole right side of your body,
The front side of your body,
Awareness filling up the whole front side of your body.
Now,
The back of the body,
Awareness in the whole back of the body.
And feel your entire body,
Every part of your body.
Keep your body still and imagine the sensation of resistance in your body.
Sense and feel resistance within your body.
Now,
The feeling of acceptance in your body.
Body remains still and feel the sensation of acceptance in your body.
Back to resistance in your body.
Body feels resistance.
Now,
Acceptance,
Acceptance flowing through your whole body.
Without thinking about it,
Sense and feel both resistance and acceptance at the same time.
Now,
Bring your awareness to the point between your eyebrows,
Your mind's eye,
And imagine a place that you've been to before or a place that you'd like to imagine now,
A place where you feel very comfortable and at ease and where you feel like you can trust and go with the flow.
No resistance or anxiety in this place.
But full acceptance and going with the flow when you're in this place.
It could be a place in nature,
A place that you've been to on a trip or in a hammock in your backyard.
Whatever works for you right now,
Imagine that place.
Keep your eyes closed and notice what you see around you in that place.
What do you see all around you?
Really paint the picture.
And what do you feel underneath your body that's supporting you in that place?
And where do you feel that support touching your body?
And what do you hear around you in that place?
Really allow your body and mind to sense being there in that place.
And what do you smell around you in that comforting place?
For the next few cycles of breath,
Really allow yourself to sense being in that place as you watch your body breathing as naturally as can be.
No changing the breath.
Just watch your regular breath.
Now you might imagine a string connecting your heart to your mind.
And as you inhale,
Imagine your breath moving along that string from your heart up to your mind.
And as you exhale,
Imagine your breath moving down that string from your mind back to your heart.
Heart to mind.
Watch your breath in that way for a few more cycles of breath.
And if you'd like,
You can add in an affirmation.
Either I accept,
Or as you inhale from your heart to your mind,
Repeat I accept.
And as you exhale from your mind to your heart,
Repeat either trust or accept.
Whatever feels right for you.
And as you exhale from this place of peace and trust,
Return back to your sankalpa,
Your heart's desire.
And repeat that to yourself three more times with full awareness.
And release that.
And now it's time to come back to the present moment.
Keep your eyes closed and notice the surface beneath you,
How it feels beneath you,
And where it's touching your body.
Notice sounds in your current environment.
Notice any light that might be coming through your eyelids.
And gently begin to deepen your breath in and out through your nose.
Notice how your mind and your body feel right now.
You can softly open your eyes.
I'm Amy Ruthie,
And thank you for trusting me to guide you on this journey.
Namaste.
