Yoga Nidra For Connection

In a time where we may feel disconnected or very separate from others,

It can be helpful to remember how interconnected we all truly are.

This yoga nidra practice will guide you to a space intended for greater connection within and with the world around us.

While there is zero expectation of what you experience or do not experience,

The opportunity is there to sit with whatever arises.

As we explore the layers of consciousness between sleep and awake,

The deeper layers of the self,

There is an opportunity to venture into the unknown and to explore our collective consciousness.

Know that you will only see what you are ready to.

The invitation is there to completely relax,

Experience rest,

And participate in the journey.

Prepare the body for yoga nidra.

Lay down on your back in a comfortable space where you can experience undisturbed quiet.

You may choose to ensure physical comfort by using props or pillows under the head and the knees,

By placing an eye pillow over the eyes,

Or by using a blanket to stay warm.

Use whatever you need to be comfortable so that you are able to commit to stillness for the entire practice.

Take a couple of releasing breaths.

As you inhale,

Fill up through the belly,

Up all the way through the torso,

And all the way to the top of the throat.

And exhale out through the mouth,

Feeling every part of the diaphragm deflate.

Taking your fullest breath available,

Inhale from the bottom of the pelvis.

Expand through the ribs,

Full breath in,

And audible exhale,

Total release.

Inhale,

Feel the belly float up,

Fill up the chest,

Exhale,

Completely empty the lungs.

Inhale and exhale.

Complete a couple more rounds of cleansing breath if you need.

Then allow your natural rhythm of breathing to come back.

Begin over your body from head to toe,

Make any final adjustments to your props or clothing or your body for comfort.

Moving now into complete stillness.

The practice of yoga nidra begins now.

As you begin to journey the landscape within,

The concept of time begins to fade away.

The awareness of your surroundings shifts from the external to the internal.

Notice your breath.

Feeling the sensation of the movement of breath in and out of the body.

Inhale and exhale.

Inhale and exhale.

Feel how your breath touches the internal landscape of the body.

How the filling of the lungs branches out to touch the rest of the body.

How it moves through the muscles,

The skeleton,

The skin.

Let the breath,

Prana,

The life force fill you.

Explore the sensation of relaxation in the body.

Feeling the muscles of the face.

Feeling the weight of your limbs ground down into the earth beneath you.

Sense the weight of the head.

How the back of the head becomes heavier and pulls its weight into the floor.

Move from the back of the head down the entire backside of the body,

Noting along the way every part of the body that touches the earth.

As each of these spaces grow softer and more connected to the earth,

Imagine them growing roots,

Tethering each space directly to the floor.

The roots are growing out from the body and deep into the ground.

The body is relaxed and steady,

Providing a trunk from which to expand into the space above you.

Feeling branches from the boundary of your skin towards the sky above.

The branches reach out in all directions,

Opening up to nourishment and energetic connection.

From the space of total ease,

Connect to the space of the heart.

It is here in the space of intuition that your heart's deepest longing presents itself.

San Calpa is the seed of inner truth coming to awareness.

This may be a subtle sensation or may present as a statement.

Plant your awareness at the heart,

Allowing any feelings or messages to arise as you are San Calpa.

Align with what feels true to you in this moment.

Root your San Calpa within by repeating it to yourself three times now.

We will now begin a systematic journey of sensory awareness throughout the physical body.

You will move your awareness to different parts of your body as soon as you hear them named.

Please say the name of the part to yourself and feel that part of your body,

But do not move any part.

The practice begins on the right side.

Bring your sense of awareness to your right palm.

Sense the feeling of energy swirling around in your right palm.

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

The whole right hand together,

Right wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Right shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

The whole right foot together.

Now bring your sense of awareness to your left palm.

Sense the feeling of energy swirling around in your left palm.

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Whole left hand together,

Left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Left shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

Whole left foot together.

Now shift your awareness to the back of the body.

Right heel,

Left heel,

Right calf,

Left calf,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

The entire spine together,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Crown of the head,

Crown of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Middle of the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

Chin,

Jaw,

Tongue,

Throat,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Upper abdomen,

Navel,

Lower abdomen,

Right groin,

Left groin,

The pelvic floor,

The whole right leg together,

The whole left leg together,

Whole right arm,

Whole left arm,

The whole face,

The whole head,

The whole torso,

The whole lower body,

The whole body together,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Notice the sensation of your breath as it moves in and out of the body,

Following the inhalation and the exhalation.

Observe the natural pause at the top of the inhale and the pause at the bottom of the exhale.

Notice each part of the body that the breath touches,

The oxygen as it moves in and out of the body.

Feel your lungs fill up as you inhale.

Imagine the oxygen from this breath filling your veins and moving out away from the lungs to the rest of the body.

With every breath,

The nourishment from every breath grows stronger,

Moves farther,

And radiates into the entire body.

As you exhale,

The body releases what is no longer needed,

Making space to receive with every exchange of breath.

Notice how your breath moves out towards the boundaries of your skin,

Observing any tiny shift in sensation or awareness as you breathe,

As though the skin is breathing,

Matching your awareness to the energy outside of the body,

Becoming aware of the exchange and energy between your body and the space around you.

Feel the breath and energy moving together.

Imagine the whole body becoming light.

Invite into the body the sensation of lightness,

A lightness equal to joy and ease,

A golden energy surrounding you as though your body could lift away from the floor and up towards the clouds.

The head is light and weightless.

The limbs are light and weightless.

The torso is light and weightless.

The whole body light and weightless.

Weightless as cotton candy.

You are light as a feather floating gently in the wind.

Release the sensation of light as you come to focus on the sensation of heaviness.

Imagine your body becoming heavy as if your entire body was filled with sand,

So heavy,

A heaviness equal to sadness,

A darkness surrounding you.

Feel the heaviness in all parts of the body.

Each part is becoming heavier and heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy.

The limbs are heavy.

The torso is heavy.

The whole body is heavy,

Heavy like the weight of bricks on top of the body,

So heavy that the body is sinking down into the floor.

Maintain the connection to the sensation of heaviness as you re-invite the sensation of lightness,

Experiencing both lightness and heaviness at one time,

So light and so heavy together.

Release all sensation and shift back to optimal rest and relaxation.

Move into total balance,

Ease and wholeness.

Settle back into your body.

Now gaze upon the back of your eyelids.

Bring your focus onto the blank screen in front of you.

Remain awake as you follow the instruction of my voice,

Allowing the image described to land on the back of your eyelids before letting yourself move to the next visualization.

Trust what is revealed.

People embracing in a hug,

A place of worship,

Purple clouds,

The galaxy.

Eyes of someone you love,

Red table,

Pocket watch,

Birds flying in the sky,

Your grandmother's hands,

Yellow rabbit,

Ancient gate,

Birthday cake,

A wall.

You find yourself in a lush meadow of wildflowers.

The flowers are vibrant and in every color of the rainbow.

You hear a stream flowing in the distance.

The heat of the sun warms your skin.

The sky above is clear and bright blue.

The grass beneath your bare feet is soft.

As you take in your surroundings,

You begin to walk.

A path unfolding in front of you as you take each step.

You are walking to the edge of the meadow towards the forest.

You decide here to continue to journey forward,

Trusting that your feet know the way.

Deep in the forest,

Surrounded by rich greens,

The sound of chirping birds and the smell of soil,

You come across the biggest tree you have ever seen.

In awe of its endless height reaching towards the sky,

You walk around the tree,

Dragging your fingertips over the ancient bark.

Deciding to rest here,

You lay down under the tree and look above to see the sun peeking through the canopy of leaves flickering in the breeze.

As you become more relaxed,

Soaking in the beauty of the tree,

You begin to sink into the earth.

The separation between you and the soil is becoming less distinct.

Your physical form fades away as you become one with the soil.

The soil that nourishes the roots of the tree,

The tree that gives oxygen to the earth,

The earth that connects all beings.

Dissolving into the essence of the earth become nobody and nothing.

Nobody and no thing continue to fade into no body and no thing.

From the essence of the earth,

You come back to the tree,

To the roots,

To the time before the physical life of the tree,

To the seed.

The seed of the tree houses within it the entire blueprint to become the mighty tree.

Its truest essence was always in the seed.

Connecting to the inner seed of truth and infinite wisdom within you is your San Kelpa.

San Kelpa.

San Kelpa.

Invite your San Kelpa to touch every part of you.

Let it fill your entire being.

Feeling your San Kelpa expand throughout your body and into the space around you as you repeat it to yourself three times now.

Slowly bring your awareness into the walls of the room and back into your body.

Take notice of any shifts in awareness or sensation within and around the body.

Feel all of the spaces in which your body touches the floor.

Notice the temperature of your skin.

Listen to the sounds inside the room.

The sounds on either side of you.

The sound of your breath.

Allow the breath to increase inside the body.

The movement of breath gently easing the body awake.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Hadi Om Tutsut.

Hadi Om Tutsut.

Hadi Om Tutsut.