Hello,
This is a Christian Yoga Nidra in the style of I am Yoga Nidra.
It is important to know that you cannot do this meditation incorrectly.
There's no right and no wrong.
You might be invited to feel things or imagine things,
And if you don't,
That's okay.
Just be in the moment,
Notice and observe.
Now you want to find a quiet place free from distraction where you can just relax for the duration of this meditation.
You might want to find a blanket,
It's not uncommon for the body temperature to drop.
You can do this meditation sitting up or lying down,
But you want to be supremely comfortable.
You can also practice this with your eyes closed to shut out external stimulation,
But if that doesn't feel safe to you,
Then you can just look forward with a soft gaze,
Not really focusing on anything in particular.
So take a moment to find that place where you will be extremely comfortable and cozy for this next little bit.
One of the techniques that we will use in this Yoga Nidra is the bumblebee breath.
So I want to set it up before we begin the meditation.
With the bumblebee breath,
You use your thumbs to close the ear flaps,
The part of your ear that's in front that you close when you want to shut out noise.
So you're going to put your thumbs on the ear flaps and then your fingertips can rest on your forehead or on the top of your head.
You will have your lips softly closed,
The tip of your tongue resting softly on the top of the roof of your mouth,
And you'll take a deep breath in and then exhale,
Making the buzzing sound inside of your mouth that you imagine a bumblebee does.
So it goes something like this.
You can play around with the sound going up or making the tone deeper.
You can vibrate back and forth between a high pitch and a low pitch as you hum the sound of a bumblebee.
We will also use intention in this practice.
Intention is a short positive statement,
Stated in faith,
Something that we claim will be that is true in this moment.
I will invite you to think of something.
It might be a word,
It might be a sense of something,
Or it might be a phrase.
A common intention would be,
I can be relaxed in this moment.
I will suggest that one to you if you don't have something else.
I think with that,
You can go ahead and just make any final adjustments to be supremely comfortable as we go ahead and get started.
Close your eyes and allow your attention to turn inward.
Bring your attention to your breath and just notice how you're breathing.
Feel the body beginning to relax with each progressive exhalation.
Let's take a deep breath in together and chant the sound of Shalom.
Breathing in together now,
Shalom.
Allow the vibrational impact of the sound to bring outwardly focused attention inward.
Keep your eyes closed and quiet your mind.
Be still.
Be still and know that I am God.
From that place,
Let go of all thoughts,
Worry,
And tension.
Give yourself fully to the Holy Spirit.
Relax in Him,
Trust,
And let go.
Breathe in fully and exhale with a deep sigh.
And again,
Breathe in fully and exhale with a deep sigh and let go even more.
Feel a deep sense of contentment and God's peace in your heart.
Now bring your intention into your awareness in the form of words,
Images,
Or a felt sense.
If you are unclear about your intention,
Just see what appears in your field of awareness.
You can use the one I suggested.
I can be relaxed in this moment.
Or choose one of your own.
Repeat your intention silently three times.
I will guide you in the next phase to enter into deeper and subtler levels of relaxation through the bumblebee sound and breath.
You will do this repetition four times.
You will use your thumbs to gently close your ears just tight enough so that you can still hear me.
Rest the remaining fingers on either side of the forehead.
In a moment we will take a deep breath in and with closed lips we will begin to hum the sound of the bumblebee.
Change the pitch of the buzzing sound to maximize the vibratory sensation felt in your skull.
Take a deep breath in and follow me.
Bring your arms by your sides.
Cover your arms if you are using a blanket.
Be still.
Bring your total undivided attention into the vibrations flowing throughout your body.
Feel the stimulating impact of those vibrations extending throughout your entire body.
Notice how your attention feeds your energy.
Observe this energy expand and grow,
Extending everywhere and filling every nerve and cell of your body.
Bring your attention to the eyebrow center,
The point in the center of your forehead between your eyebrows and about two inches into your brain,
The center of all the activity of your brain and the nervous system.
Empty your mind into this flood of energy.
Let it melt and merge into the experience of the energy expanding beyond all boundaries.
Feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit drop into complete silence and deep stillness.
As we enter this next phase of Yoga Nidra,
You'll want to remain as motionless as possible,
But if you do need to move or make an adjustment,
There's no problem.
You can do so mindfully and just return to stillness as soon as you are able.
Resolve to remain awake,
Staying in touch with the sound of my voice and allow your entire body to respond to my words directly and non-mentally in the same way that you listen to music or hear a poem and get goosebumps or have an involuntary reaction.
Now,
Shift from thinking and doing to feeling and being.
Just follow sensations that are in your body without needing to analyze or label them.
Just notice them and start observing what's happening in your mind,
With your emotions and the sensations in your body.
Just notice,
Feel,
And be.
Do absolutely nothing from now on.
Simply relax and drop into the deepest state of tranquility,
Stillness,
And peace in the presence of God.
Now,
Direct your full attention to your breath.
Create no struggle around breathing.
Use the breath to release any tensions.
Slowly deepen your inhalations and your exhalations.
Let your breath flow in a steady,
Uniform,
Unbroken stream.
Let your attention be totally connected to your breath as it flows in and out.
Bring all of your attention to the expansion and contraction of your abdomen as you breathe deeply in and out.
With each exhalation,
Release all tension held in your body.
Invite the tension to let go.
Breathe out any holdings in the body.
Use your breath to progressively enter a deeper level of stillness and silence.
Now,
We will silently breathe in the word peace.
We'll say God's peace,
And we'll say it three times to yourself until your lungs are full,
Like this,
God's peace,
Peace,
Peace,
But say it to yourself.
And on the next breath out,
Repeat the word until the exhalation is complete.
On the exhalation,
God's peace,
Peace,
Peace.
Three times in,
And three times on the exhalation.
Breathe in God's peace,
Peace,
Peace,
God's peace,
And breathe out God's peace,
Peace,
Peace,
Until I ask you to stop.
Breathe in easily and naturally as you repeat.
Deeply engaged and completely absorbed.
Feel every cell of your body deeply hearing and receiving God's peace.
Now allow your breath to return to normal,
And feel the energetic impact of the words in the form of pulsations in the body.
Your tension allows the power of the Holy Spirit in the body to grow and expand as you are filled with His presence,
Experience it.
Energy follows attention.
Let your mind melt and merge in the river of energy flowing throughout your body.
Experience silence extending everywhere,
And enter into an effortless state of being.
To the degree that you are able,
Visualize and bring a sensation of cold to each body part as I name it.
Both feet,
Imagine an icy,
Wet,
Both knees,
Biting cold,
Piercing the skin,
Thighs,
And hips,
Ice cold,
Penetrating,
Wet.
Abdomen,
Chest,
And back,
Chilled to the very bone,
Shoulders,
Arms,
And palms,
Frigid,
Shaking,
Whole body,
Cold,
Chilled to the bone,
Wind howling,
Swirling snow,
Shivering,
Chattering.
Now shift your attention and bring a sense of warmth to the whole body,
As if you are sitting in front of a fire.
Both feet,
Warm,
Dry,
Both knees,
Glowing with heat from the closeness to the fire,
Thighs and hips,
Warm,
Toasty,
Abdomen,
Chest,
And back,
Radiating heat,
Shoulders,
Arms,
And palms,
Filled with heat,
The whole body radiating heat,
Sun beating down,
Skin prickling with perspiration,
Whole body warm,
Lying in the sun.
Now rest back in neutral awareness and just witness the whole body filled in absolute stillness.
In this deep state of awareness,
Allow the following polar experiences and their associations to arise and dissolve.
Simply allowing all of the experiences to move through without preference.
Think about them as clouds floating in the sky.
You see them and they travel on.
No judgments,
No preference,
No labels.
The remaining witness,
You are releasing your identification with pre-programmed thoughts and feelings,
Sadness and joy,
Agitation and calmness,
Helpless and powerful,
Disgusted and delighted.
Gradually allow visualization and accompanying sensations to fade as you bring your attention back to the center of your brain,
The point between your eyebrows.
From here,
Drop into the deepest level of relaxation.
Here there remains nothing to do or achieve.
You have entered the domain of grace.
In this domain of integration,
You are witness of all that is happening but doing nothing to make it happen.
As God carries out his will in your life,
You can know that all that is happening that can never be done by your doing can only happen in this place,
In the presence of God,
In the non-doing presence of your being.
God says he is with us always.
He abides in us and we are to abide in him.
When we truly abide,
We feel his peace,
We feel joy,
We feel love and all of the fruits of the spirit.
Feel completely safe and comfortable as you hand yourself over to the power and the protection of God.
You feel it,
You experience it.
You can hand over all fear,
Apprehension and anxiety about all that you want to change and control and manage.
You place it with trust and faith in God and his power in your life.
Let your mind merge and melt into this presence and enter this sanctuary of silence.
Remain empty and free from all doing.
Here your intention and your affirmations are actualized and fulfilled with effortless ease.
If you have an intention,
Bring it into your awareness three times in the form of words,
Images or a felt sense.
If you do not have an intention that resonates,
Just remain silent and let the Holy Spirit who knows what is best do it for you,
In essence praying on your behalf.
Option,
I can be relaxed in the moment.
Allow this intention to go to the deepest levels of recognition with no hesitation.
Know that as you abide in Christ and he abides in you,
Your intention is recognized,
Honored and accepted.
Ask and it will be given unto you.
Seek and you will find.
Knock and the door will be open.
Have faith and trust that it has been heard and is being acted on by the Holy Spirit.
There is no need for you to do anything about it.
Bring your attention back to the center between the eyebrows and feel all the energies of your body from all meridians activated,
Purified and balanced.
All channels are open.
All channels are open.
All channels are open.
The power of God is flowing freely,
Healing the body and calming the mind.
Open your heart and feel content.
I want you to imagine that you are in a beautiful place that feels very comforting and safe to you.
Imagine the scene and what it looks like.
What do you see?
What are the sounds in this place that you hear?
What do you feel?
What can you touch?
What smells do you smell?
Is there something you can taste?
Use your imagination and look around in a safe place as if you are protected in the middle of this deep bubble.
Nothing can harm you.
Nothing can threaten you or challenge you.
You are safe here.
This is your safe place.
Look around.
Is there anything with you?
Are there animals or people or beings of any kind?
Take a moment to notice.
If there are beings in this scene with you,
Feel free in your mind's eye to interact with them,
To greet them warmly.
If anything feels unsafe,
Send those pictures in your mind away.
From this very safe place,
I want you to imagine that your mind can see a movie screen.
On the movie screen is your body.
Scan your body for any place that has tension,
That feels uptight.
If there is any remaining place that feels uptight,
Then draw a circle around it.
Acknowledge that feeling of tightness.
It's just a reflection of something that you feel that you perhaps aren't even conscious of.
Draw a circle around it and imagine breathing in and out on this movie screen.
As you observe,
You can acknowledge that feeling and give it permission to be from this very safe,
Relaxed place.
Imagine drawing a circle around any area of tension that is a little bit bigger now and giving any anxiety or uptight feelings or any sensations of constriction space to move if it wants.
Breathing in and out,
Feeling it,
Acknowledging it.
As if to say,
It's okay that you are here because I am in the presence of God and God is big enough to hold me.
God can hold any feeling and any sensation that I have,
Any problem that I have.
In your minds,
I just ask this sensation if there is something that it wants to communicate to you.
Perhaps it's telling you to relax or take an action.
Sensations in our body are just our mind's way of telling us that we need to pay attention to something.
If you don't get anything back,
That's perfectly fine.
Now from this very safe place,
While observing your body on a screen,
Just imagine that point between your eyebrows,
Two inches back in the center of your brain,
Your body's hub of activity.
Imagine that it is pulling all of the energies up toward it and allowing those energies to reintegrate.
It's kind of like when you brush your hair and you get the tangles out.
Take a couple more minutes before we leave this very safe place,
Carrying the feeling but letting the images fade.
You can thank any beings for showing up if they did.
Establish yourself firmly in faith and trust to receive God's grace and his protection and guidance.
The more often you go to him and abide in him,
The easier it will be for you to return there and the longer you can stay there.
Feel the presence of God and the wisdom that he provides surrounding you and blessing you.
Accept the blessing and grace,
Embody it and spread it everywhere you go.
Now you have prepared the base from where you can carry out interactions with life and interpersonal relationships with that integrative power of love and the source within.
You are the emissary of light and love.
Carry it everywhere you go and to everyone you meet.
If you have an area that you feel needs healing,
Whether it's physical,
Mental or emotional,
Allow this light and love to flow into that area now.
Now begin to become aware of the rising and falling of the breath slowly.
Feel yourself beginning to rise to the surface of awareness.
You can sense the body resting on the floor,
The quality of the air as it touches the skin.
Gradually,
You can begin to move as if you're waking from a restful sleep.
Bend your knees and pull them closer to your chest,
Rocking sideways gently.
Just love yourself,
Love on yourself as you are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Take your time.
Do not hurry.
Turn on to your right side and curl into a fetal position,
Feeling the safety,
Comfort and protection of the presence of God.
You can bring your intention into your awareness again.
Change nothing.
Every time you find yourself in reaction,
You're empowered to replace it with your intention.
You can gradually move and begin to sit up with your eyes closed.
Continue to stay deep in this deep inner experience.
Regardless of what you consciously recognize that has or has not changed,
Know that something deep within has shifted to connect you with God and your intention.
Become aware of your body.
Bring a deep sense of peace and contentment with you as you bring attention back to the physical body.
Notice how relaxed the body is,
How soft the breath is,
How silent the mind is,
How quiet the heartbeat is.
Feel the breath.
Be still and be grateful.
Know that you can easily enter here again and again.
You may gradually open your eyes.
This ends the Christian Yoga Nidra.
You can feel free to move on with your day,
Drift off into sleep,
Or just stay in this moment until you are ready to move on.
