Yoga Nidra | 33 Minutes (Stress And Anxiety)

Welcome,

Welcome,

Welcome.

Begin to settle your body onto the mat in the posture of Shavasana or into another restful posture of your choice.

Take your time to make any adjustments to your position,

Grab props if you need so that you feel as comfortable as possible.

We will coax the body into being relatively still so that it and you can benefit from this time of non-doing.

So whether you're seated,

Lying in a recliner or in Shavasana,

Give the weight of your body over to gravity and lean into the earth.

Take a deep,

Full inhalation through the nose and sigh it out the mouth,

Exhaling completely.

Try that again,

Breathing in and let yourself enjoy an extended exhalation.

For this time,

Let go of any worries of the past or concerns about the future.

Make a commitment to be here now.

Feel your breath moving through the body,

Easy and natural.

And if it feels right for you,

Close your eyes.

Allow your mind to remain restful as your body lays still.

Take a moment to notice if there are any obvious tight spots or stress spots within the body that you can mentally release.

Using your gentle awareness,

Request any surface tensions of the body to relax.

Relax.

Release tension from the head,

The jaw,

Your shoulders and your arms.

Feel tensions draining from your hips,

Legs,

Feet,

Toes.

Let the tightness release from your temples,

Your brow and all the muscles of your face.

Feel your forehead and the space between your eyebrows relaxing and expanding.

And now place your awareness on the space at the center point of your eyebrows,

The third eye center.

You're bringing your awareness to the third eye in this way,

Changing the brain's activity and creating a receptive and healing wave pattern.

This wave pattern takes on the form of an alpha brainwave.

Alpha waves invoke relaxation and deeper breathing.

And this in turn allows insights of our inner vision to arise.

So feel your body relaxing more and more as you rest your attention lightly on the space between your eyebrows.

And feel your breath naturally growing fuller and deeper.

For the practice of yoga nidra,

You only need to listen to the instructions and remain alert.

Remain perceptive to your inner experience as you let your experience unfold without the weight of any requirements.

And if the practice feels uncomfortable at any point,

You can always shift your attention to a person,

A place or an experience that brings you comfort and safety.

And then disregard the instructions.

Know that it is you who oversees your practice.

Offer yourself this time to rest deeply and reconnect with yourself in the place of calmness and wisdom that resides within you.

The practice of yoga nidra begins now.

Say in your mind to yourself,

I am ready to practice yoga nidra.

Now it's time to call to mind your sankalpa,

Your intention for today's practice.

The sankalpa for your practice might represent the deepest authentic desires of the heart for your life.

Or you might choose an intention more specific to today's practice.

Examples of the sankalpa might be,

My energy is strong and harmonious.

I am healthy and whole.

I live in love.

Listen inwardly to what your spirit is whispering to you.

Now recite your sankalpa when you're ready,

Repeating it three times in your mind,

Having full faith in your sankalpa to manifest.

Now imagine a soft wave of golden energy at the top of your head.

Let this wave wash down slowly,

Scanning and soothing each part of your body.

As it passes,

Allow the tension to dissolve.

Notice each sensation without judgment,

Letting this wave of golden energy flow through your face,

Neck,

Shoulders,

Arms and chest.

Let it move into your belly and hold it here for a moment before continuing down your legs and all the way to your toes.

Each pass of the wave inviting you into deeper rest.

I will now name a body part.

Without moving your body,

Bring your attention and your awareness to each body part as it's named.

You simply have to bring your attention to the part without moving your body.

We begin at the right hand.

Feel the energy in your right hand,

Alive and present.

And now bring your attention into the right hand thumb.

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The palm of the hand,

The back of the hand,

The wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Right armpit,

Right waist,

Right hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf.

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now to the left side,

The left hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Left armpit,

Left waist,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf.

Left hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now bring your awareness to your face,

Soften your forehead,

Your jaw,

Your attention now on your left eye,

Right eye,

Both eyes together.

Your throat,

Your chest,

Your heart space,

The belly,

Hips,

Thighs,

Down both legs,

Both knees together.

Both calves,

Both ankles,

Both feet together.

Your awareness now at the soles of your feet,

Your awareness now on both legs,

On the whole torso,

The whole head,

And now the whole body.

The whole body.

Your attention now rests on the whole body.

Become aware of the breath as it flows in and out through the nose.

With your attention,

Trace the flow of the breath as it moves itself into and out of the nose.

Notice the sensations of the breath as it flows in and out,

Without any effort on your part.

Now feel or imagine the breath as it moves and flows from the nose down to the navel and from the navel back up to the nose.

You are tracing your awareness along this pathway,

From nose to navel as you breathe in,

From navel to nose as you breathe out.

Feel the breath as it flows naturally from nose to navel and navel to nose.

To support your awareness,

Count the breaths backward from 54 to 1 as they happen.

It will sound something like this.

Breathing in,

From the nose to navel,

54.

Breathing out,

From navel back to nose,

54.

Breathing in,

Nose to navel,

53.

Breathing out,

Navel to nose,

53.

Breathing in,

Nose to navel,

52.

Breathing out,

Navel to nose,

52.

Keep on breathing in this way,

Following the pathway that the breath makes from nose to navel and navel back to nose.

Continue to follow and count the breaths backward and if you lose track or you get to number 1,

Just start again at 54.

Your breath is natural.

It's time to stop counting now.

Let that breath practice go and allow the breath to soften again.

Become aware of yourself lying and at ease on the floor.

Feel your entire body heavy and solid like a stable and steady mountain.

Drop your awareness even deeper inside yourself now and then expand your attention into the inner landscape of your being.

Observe how many images,

Feelings,

Sensations and memories flow through you.

Let your awareness open to it all.

Remain steady with your attention.

Be a welcoming witness to whatever you discover happening inside you now.

Steady and solid as a mountain,

You are able to hold it all.

You watch the surface of a lake now.

Perhaps you see the image of a face forming.

Choose the image to be of someone you may have caused hurt to,

Knowingly or unknowingly.

Maybe you caused them hurt at a time when you were in pain or feeling fearful.

Look at their face and see how soft their eyes are as they look back at you.

Feel their aura open to you and hear them say to you with a tender voice,

I forgive you,

I forgive you,

I wish for you to receive this forgiveness.

See any negative energy caused by the hurt dissipate between you,

Dissolving and disappearing.

Allow this person's image to fade.

And now you feel a flower blooming within your heart.

Allow another image to form on the surface of the lake.

Choose for this image to be the face of someone who has caused hurt to you,

Whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Perhaps they were experiencing their own pain at this time.

See their image in the reflection of the lake.

Look into their eyes and let the steadiness of your breath steady as your heart meets their gaze.

Take your time,

Allow any emotions or sensations to arise.

Let your body relax,

Your mind relax,

Your breath relaxed.

And see if your heart can also remain relaxed in this moment.

Soften the muscles around your eyes and your mouth.

Speak softly to them,

I forgive you,

I forgive you,

I wish for you to receive this forgiveness.

See any negative energy between you caused by this pain dissipating,

Any hurt dissolving and disappearing.

Allow their image to fade into the surface of the lake.

Observe your heart blooming more and more.

And perhaps you allow one more image to appear on the mirror of this lake.

You see that it is your own reflection,

Your own face.

Look into your own eyes,

See them with love,

Sorrow,

Laughter,

Disappointment,

Confusion,

Generosity,

Regret,

Kindness,

Courage.

All flashing through this beautiful reflection that is you.

Your face,

Your eyes,

Holding all of these human experiences.

Your own aura now,

Your energy spreading wider and wider.

This is your heart opening to your heart.

And if you would like,

Say to yourself,

I love you,

I forgive you,

I release myself from my past and accept myself completely without condition.

If emotions or memories flood in or resistance arises,

Try to welcome all of that too.

With kindness and tenderness,

Look into your own eyes and say,

I forgive you,

I forgive you,

I love you.

In your mind's eye,

Bring your hands to rest on your heart space.

With tenderness,

Let your reflection fade away from the surface of the lake.

Let your breath return to its regular effortless rhythms.

Sense the infinite waves of energy flowing all around you,

All through you,

Connecting you to all.

Experience the infinite energy here in rest,

The infinite waves,

Infinite energy,

Infinite bliss,

Boundless connection.

In the tranquility of this place,

Remember the sankalpa you set at the beginning of your practice.

With complete trust and confidence,

Say your sankalpa to yourself three times now.

You feel inspired to share the beauty of your sankalpa with the world.

It is growing within you.

Sense your sankalpa blessing the world.

Allow your awareness to feel the natural flow of your breath.

Sense how the breath gently comes in and goes out of your body.

Notice the places that your body touches the floor,

The back of your head,

Your shoulder blades,

The backs of your legs,

Your heels.

Notice the place you're in.

Keeping your eyes closed,

Visualize the walls and the ceiling.

Bring life back to your body,

Making small movements with your legs,

Arms,

Toes and fingers.

Stretching your arms overhead,

Lengthening your legs and pointing your toes.

Taking your time,

There is no rush,

Bring yourself to a comfortable seated position.

As you find and follow a few breaths in and out,

Recall your experience.

Attune to any differences in how you feel now.

Know that you will bring any gifts that it has given to you as you leave this place.

Bring your hands together at your heart space.

Sense the great beauty that is blooming in your heart space.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Thank you for practicing with me today.

Until next time,

Bye for now.