Yoga Nidra 25 Minutes - Relax And Absolve Anxiety (W/ Music)

It's time to prepare for your yoga nidra class.

If possible,

Bring yourself down into a lying position on the back.

But if that's not comfortable,

Feel free to find a comfortable space to hold throughout this practice.

Make sure you're warm enough and using any props to ensure comfort for the remainder of this practice.

So you're trying to find somewhere that we can stay still,

Somewhere we're nice and cozy.

And once you've found the space,

I invite you to close down the eyes and keep them closed until the end of this practice.

Yoga nidra is the practice of yogic sleep.

It encourages a state between waking and sleeping.

Yet,

I want you to try to remain awake by staying tuned in to the sound of my voice,

Using that sound as an anchor while your thoughts try to run into your attention or you feel yourself dozing off.

Furthermore,

This anchor is something you can just keep coming back to time and again when you suffer from some scars or distractions from your true nature,

Your true being.

During this practice,

You'll be asked to move your awareness to various sensations,

Emotions and images.

While you do so,

Don't concentrate too intently.

It's a very light focus we draw to these cues without straining ourselves during this practice.

Just take what is useful today,

Right now,

Within this practice and leave the rest behind sinking in to this moment.

We now start to relax the body,

Becoming aware of our environment and the sounds that are occupying the space we're in right now,

Whatever they may be.

Start radiating outwards from your body to tune into the most distant sound you can hear.

Moving your attention from sound to sound as it manifests and try to avoid labelling the sounds here but accepting them as an audible motion in your scape of awareness.

Gradually pull your attention closer and closer,

Staying with the sounds,

Tuning into the sounds within these walls and now staying within this room.

See if you can visualise the space you are occupying while keeping your eyes closed.

The floor,

The ceiling,

The walls,

Your body occupying the space on the floor,

Your clothes,

The hair and your face.

Just visualising that in your mind's eye.

Our attention now comes to watch our breath,

Your natural breath.

No control here,

Just watching how it is today in this moment.

Feel the sensations the breath allows,

Drawing attention to the flow of breath through both nostrils with no effort.

Notice the coolness of the air as you inhale and the heat as you exhale upon your upper lip.

Staying with the sensations of the breath,

Allow it now to become longer and slower.

A deeper inhale and a deeper exhale.

Once again,

A deeper inhale and this time as you exhale,

Thinly press your lips and exhale even slower.

One more deep inhale and then exhale as if blowing through a straw very slowly.

Continue this breathing longer and slower and notice the slight pauses between the inhale and exhale.

What is the experience in these moments between breath cycles?

Feel the urge to breathe in after the exhale and let it simmer before you inhale again.

Just tune into that moment.

One more cycle of breath here,

Making it the deepest round yet.

And after a nice long exhale,

You can return to your natural easy breath with no control.

Now bringing your attention to your heart space,

We prepare a sankalpa or an intention that will guide us through this practice.

Sankalpa is a simple yet positive statement,

Something that will often arise naturally if you just tune into your heart space.

Don't think about it too much,

Just let it appear.

Whatever phrase catches you today,

Let it be your sankalpa.

Once you've found it,

Silently repeat the phrase from your heart three times,

Planting the seed of growth to blossom during this practice.

Once you've planted your sankalpa deep into your heart,

Also say to yourself silently,

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I am awake and relaxed.

The practice of yoga nidra will commence now.

Starting with the rotation of consciousness,

Moving of awareness to various sensations over the body.

As we scan over the body,

Silently name the part to yourself as I call them out,

While drawing your attention to that specific part without moving the body.

Remembering we are in stillness for this practice.

We start on the right side of the body,

Bringing your attention to your right thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Pinky finger,

Coming to the palm of a hand,

The back of the right hand,

The wrist,

Moving up to the forearm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The right shoulder,

The armpit,

Coming down the side body to the waist,

Into the hip,

The right thigh,

Knee,

Cup,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the right foot,

The big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Moving to the left side of the body,

Our attention comes to our left thumb,

The first finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Pinky finger,

The palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

The wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Left shoulder,

Armpit,

Down the side body to the waist,

And then into the hip,

Thigh,

Left knee,

Cup,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Moving to the back of the body now,

We go to the right heel,

The left heel,

The right calf,

Left calf,

The right thigh,

Then the left thigh,

The right buttocks,

The left buttocks,

Lower back,

Mid back,

Upper back,

The entire spine,

From bottom to top,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Coming onto the crown of the head,

The top of the head,

And moving over onto the forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

In between the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

Chin,

Jaw,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

The right side of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

Upper abdomen,

Navel center,

Lower abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

The pelvic floor,

The whole right leg as one field of sensation,

The whole left leg,

The whole right arm,

And the whole left arm from shoulder to fingertips,

The entire face,

The entire head,

The torso,

Back and front together,

The whole body as one field of sensation,

The whole body.

We're now going to consciously activate certain sensations in our body,

Working with parallels,

Opposite sensations from one moment to the next.

So awaken the experience of coldness in the body as though you're in the winter mountains wearing no jacket,

Feel the chill permeating your entire body.

Now allow the sensation of warmth to spread through you,

Recalling the summer sun kissing your skin as the heat radiates all around your body.

Recollect the experience of anxiety and worry,

Feel the stress infect your mind,

But don't concentrate on its source,

Just tune into the sensations.

Tune into this experience as clearly as possible.

Now allow a calmness to envelop you.

Your mind relaxes as a wave of calm evaporates the anxiety.

You are relaxed,

Aware,

And completely calm.

I want you to now concentrate on the visual darkness behind your closed eyes.

Gaze into the endless screen of your closed eyes.

Watch this mind screen and notice any manifestations,

Colors,

Patterns,

Lights,

It doesn't matter.

Just watch the space in a detached manner.

If thoughts interfere,

Just allow them to come and go with awareness and then tune back into this indirect visual experience where you are allowing everything to unfold naturally.

While staying present with your mind screen,

I will name different images.

Just take note of your response visually and emotionally and ask,

Is it in memory or imagination?

Jump from image to image as soon as you hear it,

Without holding on to any one image I mention.

Red sand desert.

A peacock feather.

Buddha meditating.

A doctor's waiting room.

A good night's rest.

The full moon.

Your reflection.

A hazy morning.

Waiting for test results.

The sun shining.

A vase of flowers.

A tall tree.

Receiving help from others.

Cool blue water.

Making an appointment.

A lazy afternoon.

Laughing with friends.

A warm embrace.

A flickering candle.

A temple on top of a mountain.

A pleasant path in the forest.

A radiant sunset.

A deep breath.

A cat stretching.

A beautiful garden.

Your current favorite song.

The sound of my voice.

Your body lying on the floor.

Stay with the image of your body lying on the floor.

As you repeat your Sankalpa three times.

Come back into your body.

Feel the breath flowing through you.

In and out through the nostrils.

Hold your attention here as you spread the awareness across your entire body.

Notice that your body is in fact lying on the floor.

Feel your skin containing that form and the clothes pressing up against the skin.

Notice the heaviness of your body resting still.

Take your awareness to the points where your body is supported.

The feet,

Buttocks,

Back,

Wherever else calls your attention.

Keep your eyes closed.

Visualize the room you are in once again.

See yourself in the room and the objects surrounding you.

Stay here in this awareness until you feel ready to move.

And as you move,

Do so slowly,

Limb by limb,

With no rush.

After some movement,

And when you are sure your body is fully awake,

Gently blink the eyes open.

Let the light re-enter your visual field while you stay lying down and adjust to this new visual sensation.

There's no hurry to come out of the space.

But when you are ready,

Roll on to your right side and take a few more cycles of breath in your final moments in the fetal position.

Then gently use your hands to rise up from the floor to a seated position.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.