Welcome to Yoga Nidra.
Yoga Nidra is a deep relaxation practice which you can take lying down on a mat with props
To make you comfortable or lying down in your bed or sitting if lying down is not available.
Sitting is always a possibility and as for the time of the practice,
This Yoga Nidra
Can be taken either in the middle of the day for a regain of energy or at the end of the
Day before sleep to have a peaceful night of sleep.
So Yoga Nidra works with two concepts.
The first one is called Pratyahara and it's a state between awake and asleep and it's
A stage which is acquired gradually and it's acquired gradually by the body not moving.
It happens without thinking when the body doesn't move and when we are in that stage,
There is a deep relaxation of the muscles of the nervous system,
The body gets realigned
And the nervous system gets pacified,
Relaxes which allows the energy to flow.
So the second concept is called Sankalpa.
Sankalpa is a deep wish,
A desire for transformation and it's a positive sentence starting with
I am.
So for instance,
If we are working on health,
I am healthy,
If you are working on being
Present in the moment,
I am grounded,
I am here,
If you are working with your emotions,
I am happy,
I am content.
So if you don't have a Sankalpa,
Sometimes having a Sankalpa takes a long time to acquire,
Sometimes very quick,
The suggestion or invitation is to work with the sound Aum instead.
I will call for the Sankalpa to be brought to your consciousness at the beginning and
At the end of the practice.
The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.
Take the time you need to make yourself as comfortable as possible.
Make a body scan starting with your feet,
Your legs,
Your hips,
Upper body and if there
Are any shifts necessary to make yourself even more comfortable,
Feel free or allow
Yourself to move in a position where you feel even more comfortable,
So you can if
Possible not move during the practice.
You've taken the necessary steps not to be disturbed.
Should you be disturbed during the practice,
You will come back quietly and focused to
The practice.
With your closed eyes,
Visualize the room where you are now,
Visualize the four walls
Of the room where you are,
The ceiling,
The floor,
Visualize or imagine the body in the
Space and now feel the space between the arms and the sides of the body,
Become aware
Of that space and now the space between the legs,
Feel that space,
Become aware of the
Point of contact between the back body and the support underneath,
Feel the plane of
Contact between the body and the floor,
It is neither the body nor the floor,
It is the
Plane of contact between the body and the floor,
Between the whole body and the floor,
No part of the body is omitted,
It is the whole body and the floor.
Now bring your awareness to your lips,
Upper lip,
Lower lip and feel the plane of contact
Between the lips,
Become aware of the plane of contact between the lips and now bring
Your awareness to the plane of contact between the body and the floor,
Bring your awareness
Again to your lips,
Feel the contact of your lips,
The plane of contact and now bring your
Awareness to your eyelids,
Upper eyelid,
Lower eyelid,
The plane of contact between the eyelids,
Become aware of the plane of contact between the eyelids and now the body and the floor,
The plane of contact between the lips,
The plane of contact between the eyelids,
Body,
Floor,
Lips,
Eyelids,
Body,
Floor.
Bring your awareness to the point between the eyebrows,
Feel the point between the eyebrows and bring to your awareness your sankalpa,
Desired wish or if you don't have yet a sankalpa,
The sound OM.
With faith and conviction,
Repeat three times your sankalpa or the sound OM.
Begin now.
Release your sankalpa.
I will
Guide you through a rotation of awareness.
Parts of the body will be mentioned.
When each part is
Mentioned,
Visualize that part,
Feel it,
Bring your awareness to it.
We will start from the right side
And the left side,
Back of the body,
Front of the body.
The rotation will go quite swiftly from
Parts to parts.
We begin now with the thumb from the right hand,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Instep,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The five
Toes together,
The whole right side of the body,
The whole right side of the body,
The whole right
Side of the body.
Now the left side,
Thumb from the left hand,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring
Finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Instep,
Sole of
The foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The five toes together,
The
Whole left side of the body,
The whole left side of the body,
The whole left side of the body.
Now
Back of the body,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Right lower back,
Left lower back,
Right shoulder
Blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The spinal cord,
The whole back,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
The whole back of the body,
The whole back of the body,
The whole back of the
Body,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The
Point between the eyebrows,
Right eye,
Left eye,
The nose,
Tip of the nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Both
Lips together,
Chin,
The whole face,
Right chest,
Left chest,
The space between the chest,
Diaphragm,
Navel center,
Abdomen,
Groin,
The whole front of the body,
The whole front of the body,
The whole
Front of the body.
Now the right arm,
The left arm,
Both arms together,
Right leg,
The left leg,
Both
Legs together,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Bring your awareness to your whole body,
Breathe with your whole body,
The whole body is breathing as one.
Bring your awareness to the
Breath in the nose,
The breath moving through the nose,
Perhaps you notice a difference of
Temperature between the inhale and the exhale.
Cooler air in the inhale,
Warmer on the exhale.
And now your throat,
Feel the air coming from through your throat,
The lungs,
Feel the lungs
Being empty at the bottom of the exhale and full at the top of the inhale.
This is yoga nidra,
We are not trying to change the breath,
Just observing the breath.
As you feel that breath
In your lungs,
Perhaps you notice a slight pause at the top of the inhale and another
Pause at the bottom of the exhale.
Now bring your awareness to your abdomen,
Feel your abdomen
Rising on the inhale,
Exhaling,
Descending on the exhale.
Keep your awareness on the
Movement of the abdomen at the rhythm of your breath.
And for the next few breaths,
Decide
Where you want to focus your awareness or attention,
Either the nose or the throat,
The lungs,
The abdomen.
And once you've decided on which part of the body you feel the breath
The most and are going to keep your attention there,
For the next few breaths,
Keep your
Attention on that part of the body as it keeps moving at the rhythm of your breath.
Now release
That part,
Breathe with your whole body again,
And words will be mentioned.
When each word is
Mentioned,
Visualize or imagine each word.
Try to feel it as well,
Make it as vivid as you can.
A candle flame.
A candle flame.
A full moon.
A full moon.
Imagine a full moon reflecting on a lake
In the evening,
Midnight.
The lake is calm and tranquil.
The full moon is reflecting on its
Surface.
An atmosphere of peace and serenity.
And the sound of waves.
The sound of waves.
A sunset
By the beach.
A sunset by the beach.
Imagine yourself watching a sunset by the beach.
Your
Feet in the warm sand.
Feel the warmth of the sand on your feet,
Between your toes.
Feel the
Texture of the sand.
And you look around.
You have the beach for yourself.
The beach is in the shape
Of an alcove.
Blue sky.
Light is warm and gentle in the sunset.
A flock of birds is flying on the
Horizon.
A gentle breeze on your skin.
And you decide to take a walk along the beach.
And you
See a beautiful tree with shade underneath.
A bit tucked away from the beach.
And you decide to walk
Towards it.
Once you arrive in the cool shade of the tree,
You feel the coolness,
Gentle coolness,
On your feet.
The sand is cooler.
And you decide to sit down,
Leaning your back on the tree.
And
You sit.
You look around,
Listening to the sounds.
You can hear some birds singing.
You can hear the gentle
The gentle dance of the wind.
The waves.
And in this peaceful scenery,
You close your eyes.
Now,
Feel the point between the eyebrows.
And with faith and conviction,
Repeat your sankalpa or the sound
Om.
Begin now.
Release your sankalpa.
Become aware of the point of contact between the floor and the body.
Feel those points of
Contact between the back body and its support.
And bring your awareness to the sensation on the skin,
Different textiles,
The
Contact of the air on the skin,
The warmth of the blankets,
Their weight.
And bring your awareness now to the sound.
More distant
Sounds first.
Listen to the sounds outside of the room where you are.
And now more close sounds.
In the room,
But even closer,
The sound of your
Breath.
And you can start taking some bigger breaths now to externalize the body further.
And bring your awareness to your feet.
Start moving your
Legs.
Bring your awareness to your hands.
Start moving your arms.
Bring your awareness to your head.
Move it from side to side.
You can take a few big breaths.
Give
Yourself a stretch.
Waking gently the body.
Preparing the body to either rejoin this world with a regain of energy,
Or preparing your body and your mind for a very
Deep night's sleep.
The practice of yoga nidra is complete.
Aryom tatsat.
Aryom tatsat.
Take the time you need to bring yourself ready if you want to continue your
Day.
Otherwise,
Stay lying down.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Namaste.
