Yoga Nidra For Deep Inner Peace

Welcome.

I'm Phyllis and I will be guiding you in your Yoga Nidra practice today.

Begin by getting yourself as comfortable as possible,

Using any props to support you,

Such as a pillow underneath your knees,

Maybe a pillow under your head,

A blanket for warmth,

And something over the eyes to block out any light.

Make any final adjustments for optimal comfort so your body may be still.

Invite yourself now to begin to sink into stillness and rest.

Take a deep inhale through the nose and an exhale out through the mouth.

Ah,

Repeat that two more times.

Inhaling,

Exhale,

Allow your body to sink further down.

One more time.

Inhale and exhale.

Ah,

Allow the cares of the world to flow out of the body on the exhale.

And now squeeze the right hand,

Make a fist and then the whole right arm.

Take an inhale,

So contracting the whole arm on the right side and then exhale,

Completely let go.

Ah,

And now tense up the whole right foot.

Curl the toes,

Maybe flexing or pointing the foot.

Squeeze the muscles of the leg and the buttock on that right side.

Inhale and then exhale,

Let go.

And now squeeze the whole right side of your face,

Curling up the right side of the mouth,

Squeezing the right eye.

Inhaling and then exhale,

Let go.

And now squeeze the whole right side of the body on the inhale.

And then let the whole right side of the body completely relax on the exhale.

Do that one more time.

Right side contracting on the inhale and right side relaxing on the exhale.

And now squeeze the left hand,

Contracting the left hand and the whole left arm.

Inhale and then exhale,

Completely relax the whole left arm.

And now inhaling as you tense up the whole right foot,

Curling the toes,

Pointing or flexing the leg and the buttock.

And then exhale,

Let go completely.

And now squeeze the left side of the face,

Curling up the left side of the mouth,

Squeezing the eye.

Inhaling,

Exhale,

Let go.

And now contract the whole left side of the body,

Foot,

Leg,

Arm,

Face.

Inhaling,

Exhaling,

Let go completely.

Do that one more time on the left side,

Contracting the whole left side of the body.

Exhale,

Completely relax the left side of the body.

Now contract the whole body together,

Both legs,

Both arms,

Squeeze both buttocks,

The face.

Inhaling and then exhale,

Let go.

One more time.

That way,

Inhale to contract the whole body.

Exhale,

Completely let go.

And now bring your awareness to your breath.

Watching the breath flowing in and flowing out.

Allow yourself to become a silent witness to the breath.

Feel the expansion of the whole body on the inhale.

And feel relaxation happening as you exhale.

Allow the breath to be natural.

Body expands on the inhale and relaxes on the exhale.

And now notice any sounds from far away.

Listening for the farthest sounds.

Allow each sound to arise and fade.

Between the sounds,

Sense the quiet.

Rest your attention in that quiet.

And let the sounds come and go.

And now listen for the closest sound.

Even hearing the sound of your breath.

Silence holds every sound and remains when they pass.

Feel this steady,

Spacious presence.

This quiet awareness.

There is nothing to fix.

Nothing to prefer.

Simply rest in the peace that is already there.

And now we will draw in our resolve or sankalpa.

To allow your awareness to settle to your heart space.

If you don't have a sankalpa or resolve,

You might use one of these that resonates with you.

I am at peace.

I am safe.

I am resting deeply.

Choose one and mentally repeat it three times.

Allowing this resolve to sink into the quiet mind.

Like a seed being planted into the subconscious.

We will now rotate our awareness throughout the body.

Just allow your awareness to settle on each part as you hear it mentioned.

The right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth finger.

Palm.

Back of the hand.

Right wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

Right side of the waist.

Hip.

Back of the thigh.

Kneecap.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Calf muscle.

Right ankle.

Heel.

Sole.

Toe.

Top of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth toe.

The whole right side of the body.

The whole right side of the body.

Draw your awareness to the left hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth finger.

Palm.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Armpit.

Left side of the waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Back of the thigh.

Kneecap.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Calf.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second.

Third.

Fourth.

Fifth toe.

The whole left side of the body.

The whole left side of the body.

Awareness to the back of the body.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Right lower back.

Left lower back.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

The entire right side of the back.

The entire left side of the back.

The whole spine.

Back of the neck.

Back of the head.

The entire back body.

The entire back body.

And now awareness to the whole front of the body.

Forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

The brow center.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right ear.

Left ear.

The bridge of the nose.

Tip of the nose.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Upper lip.

Lower lip.

Gums.

Throat.

Front of the throat.

Chin.

Front of the neck.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Right chest.

Left chest.

Right abdomen.

Left abdomen.

Navel.

The whole front of the body.

The whole front of the body.

And sense the whole front and back of the body.

The whole front and back of the body.

And now the entire body.

The entire body.

Become aware of the entire body.

From the crown of the head to the tips of the fingers and the tips of the toes.

Observe the fully relaxed state of the physical body.

And now become aware of the ebb and flow of the natural breath.

Keeping the breath natural,

Inhale from the sacrum up to the base of the neck.

And then exhale from the base of the neck down to the sacrum.

Sacrum to neck and the inhalation.

Neck to sacrum and the exhalation.

Allow the breath to flow smoothly between these two points.

And letting the breath go,

We'll now focus on opposite sensations in the body.

Remain a witness.

Become aware of heaviness.

Feel the whole body heavy,

Sinking,

Dense.

Witness the heaviness of the body.

So heavy.

The body is sinking down.

And now feel the whole body light,

Like a cloud floating in the sky.

Effortless.

Witness lightness.

And now go between both heaviness and lightness.

And now begin to sense coolness in the body.

The whole body becoming cold.

Witness cold in the body.

And now sense warmth spreading through the body.

Gentle heat.

Witness warmth in the body.

And now go between coolness and warmth.

And now bring gentle awareness to a small area of discomfort or ache in the body.

Try to sense not reacting.

Witness the sensation.

And now rest your attention on a pleasant,

Easeful sensation.

Somewhere in the body comfortable,

Easeful.

Witness this pleasant sensation.

And now let both go.

And notice that you are still the witness in all the different states,

In all the different sensations.

And now allow your awareness to settle on each image that you hear.

A candle flame.

A candle flame.

A golden sunset.

A golden sunset.

A golden sunset.

The first few stars in the night sky.

The first few stars in the night sky.

A large and brilliant full moon.

A large and brilliant full moon.

Snowflakes gracefully falling from above.

Snowflakes gracefully falling from above.

The milky wave.

The milky wave.

A long and windy river.

A long and windy river.

A willow tree.

A willow tree.

Cascading waterfalls.

Cascading waterfalls.

Birds of prey.

Birds of prey.

An ancient temple.

An ancient temple.

A family of elephants moving through the tree line.

A family of elephants moving through the tree line.

The smiling face of Buddha.

The smiling face of Buddha.

A white tiger.

A white tiger.

A field of blooming wildflowers.

A field of blooming wildflowers.

A herd of wild horses.

A herd of wild horses.

The firm stability of the earth beneath you.

The firm stability of the earth beneath you.

Allow your awareness to settle in the firm stability of the earth beneath you.

Bring your awareness back to your heart space.

Recall your sankalpa,

Or resolve.

Repeat it mentally three times.

With feeling and emotion.

Now rest here in this quiet space for a few moments.

Become aware of the whole body resting.

Aware of the room that you are in.

Aware of any sounds around you.

Take a nice deep inhale through the nose.

Maybe an audible sigh through the mouth.

Start to invite small movements in the fingers and toes.

Maybe circling the wrists and the ankles.

Stretching the arms overhead.

When you're ready,

Roll to your right side and pause there.

Notice the effects of your practice here.

And whenever you're ready,

Bring yourself up to a seated position.

Carrying this peace that you've created within you along with you now throughout the day.

I'm so glad that you joined me.