Hello and welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra.
My name is Kumari and I'll be your guide today.
Yoga Nidra is a wonderful way to regulate your nervous system.
This practice offers you deep rest in a short amount of time.
It's like a power nap,
But it can also be used as a way to lull you into a deep sound sleep.
So whatever you're using this practice for today,
I hope it's amazing and you come out of it filled with a sense of peace and ease.
Take time now to feather your nest,
Getting yourself as comfortable as possible in whatever position you choose.
Be sure that your head and neck feel really supported,
That your lower back feels comfortable,
Maybe even placing something under the knees.
Ensure that you're going to be warm enough as your body temperature naturally drops during this practice.
I also like covering the eyes just as an added layer to facilitate this inward journey.
Yoga Nidra is a meditative practice that can guide you into a deeper state of union with your true nature,
Which is peace.
And it's effortless,
So there's nothing you need to do except receive my voice,
Receive my guidance,
And allow yourself to let go on every level.
Bringing your awareness to your whole body.
I'm just trying to notice the position of the body,
The way your arms and hands are resting,
A sense of the legs and the feet,
Head resting heavily,
Allowed to completely let go.
Feeling the whole body easing into stillness.
This is your time.
There's nothing to do.
There's no place to go.
Allow yourself this deep,
Deep rest.
Feeling the breath flowing in and out.
Noticing where you feel your breath.
Noticing the quality of your breath.
And as you continue to breathe,
Noticing that subtle space at the top of the inhale before the exhale.
And then after the exhale,
Before the next inhale,
There's this ever so slight pause.
As you breathe here for the next several breaths,
Without changing your breath,
See if you could observe that little pause.
Tuning into this liminal space or this void of breath.
And now lengthen this pause by three counts.
So not a hard holding your breath,
But more like a pause of the breath at the top of the inhale and the bottom of the exhale.
Healing into the smoothness of your breath.
Being drawn into stillness of the pauses of that liminal space.
Using the breath as a way to connect even deeper with our own beings,
With our bodies,
With the mind.
And with this endeavor of taking the body into a deeply relaxed state.
Letting go now of the pause.
And coming back to just observe the fullness of your breath as it naturally happens.
Noticing how the whole body has already shifted into a state of stillness.
And it's in this space that we might create a sankalpa for the practice.
Many of you may already be working with a sankalpa from practice to practice.
But you can also create one just for this time.
Your sankalpa is like your heart's true knowing.
It's an intention in the positive,
Present tense.
An example would be,
I allow myself deep rest on a daily basis or I trust in my body's innate healing capacity.
Take another moment here to connect with your sankalpa.
And now repeat that sankalpa three times in your mind.
Our intentions are powerful,
Especially when spoken in these quiet,
Relaxed states.
Next on our journey is the rotation of consciousness.
I'll guide you around the body and you'll place your attention on each area I mentioned.
Beginning with the crown of the head.
Sensing and feeling the space at the top of the head.
To the center of the forehead.
The point between the eyebrows.
The right eye.
The left eye.
The right ear.
Left ear.
And now both ears simultaneously.
Both ears listening.
To the nostrils.
Feeling how the breath moves in and out of the nostrils.
The upper lip.
The lower lip.
To the inside of the mouth.
Could you sense the subtle sensation on the surface of the tongue?
And the roof of the mouth?
The gums and the teeth?
To the hollow of the throat.
The right shoulder.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
All five fingers.
And the palm of the hand.
Searching for subtle sensations of warmth in the palm of the right hand.
The whole right hand.
The whole right arm.
Left shoulder.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Lower arm.
Wrist.
All five fingers.
And now a felt sense of the palm.
The whole left hand.
The whole left arm.
The left arm and hand as one.
The center of the chest.
And the right side of the chest.
Left side of the chest.
The whole chest.
The solar plexus.
The abdomen.
Right hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
All five toes.
And now a felt sense of the sole of the right foot.
And the whole right foot.
And the whole right leg.
Right foot and leg as one.
Left hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
All five toes.
And the sole of the left foot.
The whole left foot.
And the whole left leg.
Left leg and foot as one.
Sensing the whole lower half of the body.
The upper half of the body.
The entire head.
And now a felt sense of the back side of the body.
The front side of the body.
The whole body.
Trillions of cells.
Body.
Radiant.
Feeling the sacred breath that effortlessly flows.
Tuning into that flow.
Feeling the energy of the breath in the whole body.
Seeing these points of light.
The very crown of the head.
Imagining a beautiful white light.
The right shoulder,
A beautiful shining white light.
The left shoulder,
Light.
The center of the chest,
Light.
The right hip,
Filled with light.
And the left hip,
White light.
The right knee,
Filled with light.
And the left knee,
Filled with light.
Right foot,
Beaming this white light.
Foot,
Beaming white light.
And the right hand,
Emanating this vibrant light.
Filled with light.
Seeing these points vibrant on the body.
Glowing.
Come back to the point at the center of the chest.
Feeling the breath here.
You imagine that the breath expands upward as a pillar of white light.
And then exhales back to fill the whole body with light.
Inhaling that pillar of white light from the chest expands.
Exhaling the pillar of light fills the whole body.
Vibrant,
Glowing white light.
Visualize and breathe like this.
Imagining the whole body filled with light.
As if the body were filled with millions of stars.
Now come to imagine breathing this pillar of light from the center of the chest to the crown of the head.
And exhaling the light down the body to the toes and then up again.
Sweeping this sparkling,
Shimmering light up and down the body now.
However you're imagining all of this is perfect.
Washing your body with white light down the body.
Flowing,
Enlivening your trillions of intelligent cells.
Whole body a shimmering vessel of light.
Releasing the focus on the breath.
Feeling into pure presence.
The body filled with light.
Flowing,
Receptive.
Whole body deeply resting.
Cocooned in this healing white light as pure presence.
Dissolved into oneness of all.
Nourished by the very essence of your beingness.
Call back the sankalpa now.
Healing it in every fiber of your being.
Repeating three more times.
Now it's time to deepen your own breath.
Come back to the sensation of your expansive breath.
Now taking two sips of breath in.
And a nice long exhale.
Again.
Starting to notice the feeling of your body.
Start to wiggle the fingers and the toes.
Becoming aware of the body in this time and space.
Perhaps allowing these little movements to become bigger.
Maybe stretching the arms and the legs.
If you're lying on your back,
Rolling to your side or switching positions.
I'm just taking all the time that you need here to reemerge from this deep breath.
Taking note of the peace and relaxation that you feel.
Knowing that this practice,
This time you've carved out,
Has deeply nourished your nervous system,
Your brain,
Your heart.
Again,
Take your time moving on with your day or your evening.
Wishing you a wonderful day.
