Yoga Nidra For Calm

Welcome.

Take some time now to make yourself comfortable.

Today we will begin by using various forms of bilateral stimulation,

And we will do so throughout our practice to invite a sense of calm into the nervous system.

Bilateral stimulation,

Whether through sensation,

Sound,

Or otherwise,

Helps to stimulate one hemisphere of the brain and then the other,

Ultimately helping to create new neural networks in the brain.

Ideally,

This creates more integration between the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

As Dr.

Dan Siegel says,

More integration in the brain means more regulation throughout the system.

This increased regulation can help us to feel more calm and resilient.

We will begin with an optional butterfly hug.

This can be used at any time during your practice,

Or even outside of your practice,

To help instill a sense of calm.

I invite you to give yourself a big hug,

Noticing the sensation of your hands making contact with your arms,

And your arms making contact with your hands,

Noticing temperature,

Texture,

Pressure.

You may alternate squeezing,

Tapping,

Or patting one side and then the other.

Find what pressure and pacing feels right for you.

Perhaps a deep pressure squeeze or some light tapping.

Notice your preference and observe any shifts in your body or your breath with a sense of curiosity as you explore this.

When you feel ready,

Let your arms find a comfortable position to rest in,

Knowing you can come back to the butterfly hug at any point.

Allow your body to be supported by the surface beneath you,

Making any adjustments,

Adding any props,

Pillows,

Blankets,

So that you may release any unnecessary tension you are holding.

You may close your eyes or keep them open with a soft gaze.

Notice any sounds being received by your right ear,

Perhaps far away,

And then moving closer,

Noticing any sounds being received by your left ear,

Starting from a distance,

And then moving your awareness to sounds closer and closer.

Now see if you can alternate,

At your own pace,

Sounds being heard from the left and then the right ear.

There's no need to try hard to grab the sound,

But rather see if you can let your ears just gently receive any sounds on either side of your head.

And now bringing both ears into awareness and all of the sounds around you.

Just letting your ears softly receive,

Letting your awareness soften,

The muscles around your face,

Your forehead,

Soften,

Inviting the jaw to open,

Perhaps finding some movement so that it may find a nice place to rest,

So that it may support the tongue,

Lips,

And surrounding muscles with a sense of ease.

Seeing if bringing the shoulder blades slightly closer together helps you to find an opening in the heart,

A deeper breath,

Inviting the stomach to release any unnecessary tension it may be holding,

Seeing if you can release with each exhale.

Just checking in with the body to see if there's any micro movements or adjustments that could bring a sense of more support or comfort.

Now bringing awareness to the heart.

Take a moment to check in with yourself to see if an intention or a sankalpa arises to the surface for today's practice.

This may arise as a word,

An image.

Just the wisdom that arises from within.

I invite you to frame your intention as a simple present tense statement.

You may also borrow a general sankalpa such as,

I am at ease and open to insight.

I am at ease and open to insight.

You may state your sankalpa to yourself three times now.

Using my guidance,

We will now rotate our awareness bilaterally throughout the body.

Inside of the right cheek,

Inside of the left cheek,

Right side of the tongue,

Left side of the tongue,

Roof of the mouth,

The gums,

The teeth,

The whole mouth,

Corner of the right eye,

Corner of the left eye,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Right forehead,

Left forehead,

Right side of the head,

Left side of the head,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right jaw,

Left jaw,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Awareness of the right side of the face,

Awareness of the left side of the face,

The whole face,

The whole head,

Right shoulder,

Left shoulder,

Right upper arm,

Left upper arm,

Right lower arm,

Left lower arm,

Right wrist,

Left wrist,

Palm of the right hand,

Palm of the left hand,

Top of the right hand,

Top of the left hand,

Right thumb,

Left thumb,

Right second finger,

Left second finger,

Right third finger,

Left third finger,

Right fourth finger,

Left fourth finger,

Right fifth finger,

Left fifth finger,

Right side of the body,

Left side of the body,

Right hip,

Left hip,

Right thigh,

Left thigh,

Right lower leg,

Left lower leg,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Right top of the foot,

Left top of the foot,

Right sole of the foot,

Left sole of the foot,

Right big toe,

Left big toe,

Right second toe,

Left second toe,

Right third toe,

Left third toe,

Right fourth toe,

Left fourth toe,

Right fifth toe,

Left fifth toe,

The space between the right toes,

The space between the left toes,

The whole right foot,

The whole left foot,

The whole right leg,

The whole left leg,

The whole right side of the body,

The whole left side of the body,

The whole front side of the body,

The whole back side of the body,

The whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Now bringing awareness to your breath,

Simply observing,

Allowing its natural rhythm,

Noticing any pauses,

Bringing awareness to the inhale and following the inhale from the nostril down the throat into the lungs,

Expanding through the belly and all the way out,

Observing how the breath leaves,

Pauses and returns like soft rolling waves.

I invite you to continue observing your breath from whichever anchor of attention feels best for you,

Perhaps the nostrils or the belly.

You may stay here just observing your breath or you may follow my guidance,

Not trying to change the breath,

Just moving your awareness.

On the next inhale,

Noticing the inhale through the left nostril and then bringing awareness to the exhale outside of the right nostril,

Noticing the inhale through the right nostril and then moving the awareness to the exhale through the left nostril,

Not trying to make anything happen,

Simply switching your awareness from nostril to nostril and observing each inhale and exhale.

Inhale coolness through the left,

Exhale warmth out the right,

Inhale coolness in through the right,

Exhale warmth through the left.

You may notice one side is more dominant than the other and that is perfectly normal.

Continuing at your own pace,

Either alternating where you place your attention or just finding a resting point for your awareness as you allow your breath to move through.

Now I invite you to find the sensation of cold in your body,

Snowflakes gently falling,

A cool winter's breeze,

Notice where it feels the most cold in your body.

How does the cold draw your awareness?

Now evoking the sensation of heat in your body,

The warmth of a warm summer's day,

The sun beaming bright,

Notice where you feel the most heat in your body.

How does the heat draw your attention?

Then moving back to the cold,

The sound of snow crunching beneath your feet,

The coolness of the air moving down your throat,

Watching your breath become air,

And back to the heat,

Skin glistening,

Skin soaking in the sun.

Now holding both the heat and the coolness together,

Where is the heat in your body?

Where is the coolness in your body?

Watching both the heat and the coolness in your awareness at the same time.

How does the cold draw your attention?

Now see and sense into the following,

Fog rising from a still lake,

Smooth pebbles on a beach,

A single feather,

Sounds of birds in the distance,

A sleeping baby,

Smooth rock,

Sun rising over the ocean,

Water running through your hands,

A still meadow in the morning,

The smell of freshly picked lavender,

Sound of soft ocean waves,

Endless ocean,

The ocean fades into an endless dark night sky,

Darkness as far as the eye can see in every direction,

Like a blank canvas of the mind,

Encapsulating all the different parts that comprise of yourself,

Including your vast subconscious mind.

There is nothing to do here,

Simply being rather than doing.

Perhaps something arises like shapes,

Colours,

Memories,

Emotions,

Sensations,

Perhaps nothing at all,

We simply notice what is with a sense of curiosity and compassion,

And now we'll have some brief unguided time to simply notice,

Simply be.

Wherewater.

.

.

Where?

You you you you From this depth of stillness please recall once again your intention or sankalpa state your sankalpa to yourself three times now gently inviting your awareness back to your physical body lying on the earth experiencing the breath as well as the breath of your body back to your physical body lying on the earth experiencing the breath as waves of an ocean sensation coming back arms legs torso head inviting small movement into the body wiggling fingers toes inviting the breath to deepen checking in to see if there's any movement or stretch that might feel good right now like stretching the hands overhead hugging the knees into the chest rocking or perhaps finding stillness see what feels right for you in your own time when you're ready rolling over onto your right side pausing for a breath or two before coming up to a seated position thank you for practicing with me today