25 Min Yoga Nidra To Cultivate Inner Balance

Hello,

This is Pavlina and welcome to Yoga Nidra to Embody Balance.

Whatever balance might mean for you in this moment in time,

Whether you might need more of something or maybe less of something else,

Know that you're welcome exactly as you are.

The intention for this practice is to move beyond this swinging of pendulum of life from one polarity to its opposite and instead resting in the sense of harmony.

So wherever you are,

Allow yourself to arrive into the comfort of your space,

Settling into your Yoga Nidra nest,

Either lying down on your back,

On your side,

Maybe on your belly or even sitting up fully supported.

Do whatever you need so that your body can release and be fully held without any unnecessary effort.

The whole body resting and I invite you to commit to staying gently present,

Effortlessly open to this guidance,

Allowing for my words to guide you.

Your ears open and listening,

My words becoming your words.

As you settle here,

Notice if there is anything that you might want to do in order to be that one little bit more comfortable.

And also know that while stillness is very welcome,

If at any point you need to adjust your position,

That's absolutely fine as well.

Starting to bring your awareness to your breath as it is right now.

No need to change it in any way,

Noticing what it feels like to inhale and exhale.

Feel into the rhythm of your breath.

Feeling into any parts of your body that might be responding to the air coming in and out.

It could be a movement of your belly,

Of your chest,

Maybe the sides of your body.

And allow for each exhale to release any tension.

As if each exhalation was your own permission to unhold.

Allow for the exhale to relax not just your physical body,

But also for your mind,

For your intellect to soften and unhold.

Knowing that being here is enough,

That you can't do this practice wrong.

Already being here with intention to be present,

That's enough.

Start bringing awareness now to your left nostril.

Without moving your body in any way or changing anything else.

Notice the air coming in and out through your left nostril.

And see if without physically closing the opposite nostril,

Can you imagine that there is the air entering simply in and out through the left nostril.

The reality is there is obviously breathing happening with both sides.

But by bringing your attention to the left side,

There might be a subtle shift happening.

And then shifting to the other side.

So allow for the left nostril to fade into the darkness of your awareness.

And imagine there is more breath coming in and out through your right nostril.

Inhaling and exhaling just through the right nostril.

And then release.

And now follow my guidance.

We'll be alternating simply in your imagination between the preference for each of the nostrils.

So imagine you're inhaling only through the left nostril.

And exhaling through the right nostril.

Inhale through the right nostril.

Exhale through the left.

Inhale through the left.

Exhale through the right.

Inhale through the right.

Exhale through the left.

Inhale left.

Exhale right.

Inhale right.

Exhale left.

Release.

Allow for your breath to become effortless and natural.

Resting in the aftermath of this short breath manipulation.

I invite you now to guide your awareness towards your heart.

And you might either want to simply rest in your heart's presence.

Or you might want to invite the Sankalpa,

Your heart's deepest desire,

Simply through the presence or by repeating words.

Words that are meaningful for you personally.

Sankalpa that might be familiar to you.

Or if you would like you can join me by repeating three times inside your mind.

Harmony fills me.

I move through life with grace.

Let's repeat your Sankalpa three times quietly inside your mind.

Either your own or harmony fills me.

I move through life with grace.

Allowing for the vibration of these words to move to every cell of your body.

Infusing this practice with deeper meaning.

As we start moving your awareness,

Rotating it through the individual body part.

As I call upon them.

Your physical body resting,

Supported still.

Your mind,

Your awareness flooding different parts of your body.

Bringing your awareness to the space between your eyebrows.

Your right eye,

Your left eye,

Your right nostril,

Your left nostril,

Your right cheek,

Left cheek,

Your right ear open and listening,

Left ear open and listening,

Your right cheek,

The bottom lip,

The tip of your chin,

The space between your collarbones,

Your right shoulder,

Right elbow,

Right wrist and the palm of your right hand with the five fingers,

The right thumb,

Index,

Middle,

Ring finger and the little finger.

All five fingers on the right hand.

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

The whole right side of your chest,

Your right waist,

Right hip and the right half of your pelvis,

Down to your right knee,

Ankle,

Foot and the five toes,

The first toe,

Second,

Third,

Fourth and fifth,

The whole right foot,

Ankle,

Knee,

Hip,

Right part of your pelvic ball,

Waist,

Right side of your chest,

Heart center.

Space between your collarbones,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow,

Wrist and the left hand with five fingers,

Your thumb,

Index,

Middle,

Ring finger and the little finger,

Right wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Collarbones,

The center of your chest and the left side of your chest,

Your left waist,

Left hip and the left half of your pelvic ball,

The left leg,

Knee,

Ankle,

Foot with the five toes,

The first,

Second,

Third,

Fourth and fifth,

The whole left foot,

Ankle,

Knee,

Hip,

Left side of your pelvic ball,

Waist,

Left half of your chest,

Your heart center,

Resting in the center of your heart.

Allow for your awareness to spread evenly through the entire body,

The whole body,

Resting and present,

The entire body,

Aware and alive,

Returning back to the sensations of your breath coming and going,

Without trying to change your breath in any way.

Connect to each inhalation as it fills your body with fresh air and each exhalation as it releases stagnation.

Now imagine that each inhalation is coming through your right nostril,

Fully through your right nostril and through the inhalation the right side of your body gets completely filled up,

Enlivened with your awareness.

The left side of your body falls into darkness and as you inhale the right side of your body becomes alive,

Lit up with awareness.

And as you exhale you soften any effort,

Take a couple of breaths.

Inhalation allows for your awareness to spread through the right side of your body all the way from the top of your head to the bottom of your right foot.

And then you shift.

Allow for the next inhalation to come purely through your left nostril,

Filling up the left side of your body with your enlivened awareness,

While the right side falls into darkness.

The rhythm of your breath your own,

Unhurried.

Each inhalation awakens the left side of your body,

The entire left side.

And with the next breath allow for both nostrils to be active at the same time.

So breath fills the entire body,

The right and left,

The left and right at the same time.

Can you now bring to your awareness a sensation of heaviness,

Physical heaviness,

Groundedness.

There could be a specific body part that feels pulled by gravity,

Maybe the back of your head,

Maybe your buttocks.

It could be the entire body feeling like it's resting deeply,

Pulled towards the center of the earth.

Feel the heaviness.

And then feel into the lightness in your body.

It could be a specific part like a hair on your head or the top of your skin.

Any part of your body that feels particularly light,

Unweighted.

Or it could be perhaps the whole body floating in air.

Feel light and weightless.

And then return back to the sense of heaviness,

Heavy,

Weighted,

Grounded.

And then back to the lightness,

The floating.

Can you now embody both the lightness and heaviness simultaneously without trying to understand,

Being with both in your body.

Release.

Can you imagine or bring yourself a memory of feeling energized,

Fully alive,

Sparkling with energy and motivation?

Can you feel yourself filled with energy and aliveness?

That could be a physical sensation.

That could be a specific memory.

Feel the energy flowing through your body.

Now feel into a sense of tiredness.

That could be a memory or an imagined state of being drained and tired.

What does it feel like in your body?

Where do you feel it in your body?

Back to the sense of energy,

Aliveness,

Motivation.

Feel yourself filled with spark.

And back to feeling the tiredness and weariness.

Can you now feel both the energized aliveness and the heavy tiredness?

Both felt simultaneously.

Soften into this.

There is no need to get it right.

Inviting both sensations to be present,

At the same time.

Release any effort.

And stay for a little moment in this receptive space.

Inviting my words as they bring perhaps certain images to your mind.

Let them wash over you without attaching any deep meaning.

Simply allowing for these images to come and go.

Calm sea.

Clear mirror.

A raindrop.

A green leaf.

Sun shining brightly on all directions.

Sounds of morning birdsong.

Mountain reflected in a clear lake.

Symmetry of a snowflake.

Allowing for imagery to dissolve.

And resting in this moment as is.

In this space of all possibilities.

With nothing else to do,

Nowhere else to go.

Resting in the beauty of the quiet.

Of the ultimate harmony.

And you might want to return your awareness back to your heart center.

Being with your own heart.

Perhaps,

Replanting the sankalpa.

Your own words,

Deep with meaning.

Or with me,

Reminding yourself.

Harmony fills me.

I move through life with grace.

And as you allow for these words,

Or for your own sense of heartfelt presence,

To wash through you,

You might want to start by turning back to the rhythm of your breath.

This coming and going.

This rhythmic action that your body takes.

And feel the breath in your physical body.

If you would like,

You might want to make it now a little bit more obvious to yourself.

Maybe by deepening each inhale and extending each exhale.

You might even want to take an audible sigh through your mouth.

And then starting to feel into the touch points between your physical body and the earth beneath you that has been holding you.

Leaning into the earth as the earth rises to hold you.

Maybe even pressing into the earth.

And starting to bring a bit of movement to your body.

That could be a full body stretch.

Maybe a little movement of your head or your fingers and your toes.

And eventually,

When you feel ready,

You might want to open your eyes.

Looking around to take in the space,

The environment that you're in.

Reconnecting with the world.

And even as you start engaging with your life around,

I hope that you're able to move through the day with this renewed sense of inner harmony.

Thank you for your practice.

And I hope to see you soon again.