Transitions Of The Year Yoga Nidra

Settling into a position of rest.

Coming into final Savasana,

Laying flat on your back.

Perhaps you've placed a pillow or bolster behind the upper thighs.

Allow your body to come into complete relaxation here.

A true symbolic letting go,

Surrendering.

Release any to-do lists that may be filling your mind.

Any responsibilities that you may put on your own shoulders,

Or others may set there for you.

Let them all go.

All the burdens,

All the responsibilities,

Allowing them to set down beside you.

Know that anything you may need will be available to you to pick back up after our practice.

Everything else may be released.

Let it go.

Release it in a natural way that resonates with you most.

Perhaps you envision a cloudy fog moving off of your physical body,

Away from your energetic body.

The fog is moving off.

Down into Mother Earth below.

Mother Earth is able to take the fog and the energies and transmit them into the most beautiful,

Bright,

White light.

Feel the light coming up from the center of the core of the Earth surrounding you.

Enveloping you in a beautiful circle of light and never-ending love.

Tucking in the wings of your shoulder blades,

Allow your shoulders to move away from your ears.

Heart center opening towards the sky above.

Adjust any flesh of your buttocks,

Making room for yourself to settle into final savasana.

Allow your toes to splay out away from your body if they want to do so.

Allow your arms to come wide,

Palms facing up in a true gesture of receiving.

Allow your physical body to take up space in this room.

You are worthy of taking up space here on this Earth.

Allow your energy to fill the space that you are laying in.

Awareness of your jaw.

Releasing your tongue off the roof of your mouth,

Allowing it to rest into the lower palate.

Allow your upper and lower jaw to come away from each other,

Creating space in the mouth.

If your lips want to open,

Allow them to do so.

Awareness to your chin,

Throat.

Releasing any tension you may be holding in your chest.

Any weight you may be carrying on your shoulders.

Nice deep breath in,

Filling the lungs.

Verbal sigh on your exhale.

Once again,

Allow your throat,

Your lungs,

Ribs,

Belly to fill with the oxygen of the room.

Verbal sigh on your exhale.

Making any final adjustments now to your physical body to ensure your comfort for the duration of this practice.

As we move through the practice of Yoga Nidra,

Know when we are able to hold awareness for the duration of practice,

That is where the true transformation begins to settle in.

Knowing that if you do drift away and fall into a state of sleep,

That does not mean all is lost.

Perhaps that is exactly what your soul requires at this time.

Repeating silently to yourself now,

I will not fall asleep.

I am practicing Yoga Nidra.

Our Sankalpa is the agreement within ourselves that you are already whole.

It is the heart remembering.

Sankalpa is always said in the form of I am.

As you are not becoming,

You already are.

What is happening is that you are remembering you are whole and overriding the belief that you have downloaded to keep yourself safe and oftentimes small.

These limiting beliefs are also known as samskaras,

And they can hold us back from reaching our full potential in this life.

Perhaps there was a time in life that you did not feel safe to be fully who you are.

Using the Sankalpa of I am safe may resonate deep within you.

Perhaps in this life you have felt that you are not enough,

That you are not worthy of good and greatness.

Perhaps the Sankalpa of I am enough or I am worthy stirs something within your heart.

Maybe you have been feeling alone,

Like you just don't quite fit in anywhere.

Know that you are chosen.

You are meant to be here.

Perhaps the Sankalpa of I am chosen resonates within you.

Searching deep into your heart now for the words that you long to say to yourself.

A remembering that you are already whole.

The words can sound something like this.

I am healthy.

I am loved.

I am wild.

I am free.

I am whole.

Searching now for your I am statement.

By bringing your Sankalpa into your awareness,

We remember where attention goes,

Energy flows.

This remembering can truly shift and transform how you feel about yourself,

How you believe in yourself,

And how you show up in this world.

Repeating your Sankalpa silently to yourself now three times,

Believing it within your heart center with all of your being.

I am.

I am.

I am.

Feel the vibration of your words as it rolls through your physical body,

Deeply inhaling releasing your Sankalpa surrendering to trust and faith that your belief in yourself is true.

Here we practice the art of non attachment outcomes.

As we move through rotation of consciousness.

Allow me to guide you here.

As we move through the physical body,

Bringing our awareness to different points of the body as if they have been touched,

And then fully relaxing that point before we move on to the next.

Once again repeating silently to yourself,

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I will not fall asleep.

Awareness to the right hand thumb.

Right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

The palm of the right hand.

The back of the right hand.

The wrist.

Lower arm.

Elbow.

The inside of the right elbow.

Upper arm.

The top of the right shoulder.

Right collarbone.

The whole right side of the chest.

Right side ribs.

Whole right side of the abdomen.

Right side of the pelvis.

Hip.

Whole upper right leg.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Right ankle.

The top of the right foot.

The sole of the right foot.

First toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Awareness of the space in between your toes.

Whole right side of the body.

Maintain awareness of the whole right side of the body.

Left hand thumb now.

Left hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

The palm of the left hand.

The back of the left hand.

Wrist.

Lower arm.

Left elbow.

The inside of the left elbow.

Upper arm.

Top of the left shoulder.

Left collarbone.

Whole left side of the chest.

Left side of the ribs.

Whole left side of the abdomen.

Pelvis.

Right,

Left hip.

Upper leg.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Left ankle.

The top of the left foot.

Sole of the left foot.

First toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

The space in between the toes.

Awareness of the whole left side of the body.

Whole left side.

Laying beside the whole right side of the body.

Awareness to the top of the head now.

Top of the head.

The scalp.

The skull.

Forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Right eyeball.

Left eyeball.

Right eyelashes.

Left eyelashes.

Right cheekbone.

Left cheekbone.

Right ear.

Left ear.

The nose.

The tip of the nose.

Upper lip.

Upper teeth.

Lower lip.

Lower teeth.

The jaw.

The chin.

Throat.

Center of the chest.

Belly button.

The tips of your big toes.

Awareness now of the whole front side of your body.

Whole front side.

Moving now to the back of the head.

Awareness to the back of the head.

Back of the neck.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Middle of the back.

Lower back.

Whole spine.

Whole spine.

Tailbone.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

The back of the right knee.

Back of the left knee.

Right heel.

Left heel.

Awareness now of the whole back side of the body.

Whole back side.

Connected to the whole front side of the body.

Whole right side.

Whole left side.

Whole body.

Maintain awareness of the whole body laying in this room.

Release awareness of your physical body now.

As we move on to pranamaya kosha.

Bring your awareness to the natural rhythm of your breath now.

Become aware that you are breathing.

Notice how unconsciously your breath moves in and out of your body.

Filling and emptying the rhythm similar to the waves of the ocean.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Repeating silently to yourself once again.

I am practicing yoga nidra.

I will not fall asleep.

Maintain your awareness of breath and begin counting backwards from 24 to 1.

It will sound something like this.

Inhale 24.

Exhale 24.

Inhale 23.

Exhale 23.

Inhale 22.

Exhale 22.

And so on.

Continue counting your breath backwards from 24 to 1.

If you lose your place with your counting.

Begin again at 24.

Counting and awareness.

Awareness and counting.

No sleeping please.

Just counting of breath from 24 to 1.

Release the counting of breath now.

Release the counting of breath.

As we move to Vajrayana.

Imagine in your mind that your body is becoming very heavy.

The body is slowly becoming heavier and heavier.

The head is heavy.

Arms heavy.

Hips and pelvis are heavy.

Both legs heavy.

Sinking into the ground heavy.

Just keep on feeling your physical body getting heavier and heavier.

Pause in this moment of heaviness.

Your body feels heavier than it has ever felt before.

Begin releasing the feeling of heaviness.

The body begins to relax part by part.

Releasing heaviness.

The body is becoming lighter and lighter.

The head is light.

The head is so light it could even begin to float off the floor.

Both arms are lightening lighter and lighter.

Hips light.

Pelvis light.

Both legs lighter.

The whole body is weightless and light.

You begin to feel your body slowly float off the floor.

As your whole body is a mass of cotton.

Cotton represents lightness and steel represents heaviness.

Now practicing these two experiences.

The whole body is steel.

Bones steel.

Muscles steel.

Sinking into the floor.

The whole body is steel.

Now changing the idea.

The whole body is cotton.

The whole body is as light as cotton.

Cotton bones.

Cotton muscles.

Lightness.

The whole body is as light as cotton.

Again switching the idea.

The whole body is heavy like steel.

The whole body is steel once again.

Heavy body.

Changing the idea again.

The whole body is as light as cotton.

Feel as if the body was made up of nothing but cotton.

Cotton is so light that it can rise up from the floor.

Now changing the idea to heat.

Imagine you're standing near a wood stove and you are consumed in intense heat.

The whole body is hot.

Experiencing the heat of a blazing wood stove.

You can smell heat.

The whole body is burning from heat.

Hot.

Awaken the experience of heat.

Changing the experience to cold.

The whole body is so cold.

Cold feet.

Cold hands.

Coldness on the tip of your nose.

The wind from a winter's day blowing through you.

Coldness.

Awaken the experience of cold.

Paying your attention to the space in between your eyebrows now.

Space in between your eyebrows.

I will name a few objects.

As I name them,

Try to visualize them quickly in your mind's eye.

Allow the images to shine by themselves.

Moving on to the next.

Alongside me.

Bring your awareness to the space in between your eyebrows.

Darkness.

A flower.

Waves in the ocean.

Pink sky in the evening.

Dark night.

Twinkling stars.

Mountains.

Sailing ships in the ocean.

Sand.

A dense forest.

An eagle.

Wild horses.

A fort in the woods.

Burning wildfire.

Stormy night.

Full moon.

Mountain stream.

Rocks.

Blooming flowers.

Sunrise.

Awareness focused on the space in between your eyebrows.

Visualizing a large lake with thousands of lily pads.

A canoe.

People laughing.

A cabin in the mountains.

An empty valley.

Snow-capped mountains.

A quiet evening at home.

Peaceful sunset.

Singing birds.

A wolf in the forest.

A fish jumping.

A running deer.

Symbol of Aum.

Sound of a bell ringing.

Waves on the ocean.

Ship at sail.

Full moon.

Calm and quiet evening in the moonlit valley.

Mountain stream.

Refreshing cold bath in the mountain stream.

Experience of awakening.

Visualize yourself inside of the mountain cottage.

You are kept warm by the wooden stove.

Kept cradled safe and nurtured in the fire's warmth.

Perhaps you have a blanket wrapped around you as you sit and look out into the darkness of the night.

The full moon lights the outside.

The stars are blinking effortlessly above you.

Taking a moment and grounding down into the earth below.

Connecting your roots all the way down into the earth's core.

Grounding.

Connecting.

You begin to reflect over this last year.

What gifts has this time shared with you?

What hardships have you traveled through to get here?

Feeling into all those moments and emotions that are rising.

Hold yourself so sacredly in this moment knowing that everything is exactly as it is meant to be.

Taking a moment to visualize yourself.

Writing down all that you want to leave behind from this year.

Is there anything that you no longer need to carry with you?

Any feelings of sadness or grief?

Any feelings of loneliness,

Unworthiness or unbelonging?

Any pain,

Hurt or lessons that you don't want to carry with you into next year?

Visualize them appearing on a piece of paper in front of you.

All of the words,

Feelings appearing on the paper as quickly as they appear in your mind.

What can be left behind?

When you're ready,

Taking that piece of paper in your hands and gifting it to the fire in the wooden stove beside you.

Allowing all of the things to burn away.

Bowing your head in a moment of gratitude for all of the lessons.

All of the gifts that this year has given you,

That you have given to yourself.

Gratitude.

Releasing.

Surrender.

Visualize yourself a brand new notebook in your lap.

The spine is so fresh it crackles as you open to the first page.

Begin to visualize all of the things that you want to take with you into the new year.

Visualize all the ways that you want to feel.

Connected.

Exhilarated.

Joyful.

Allow the words to appear on the paper in front of you.

Remembering all of the ways you want to feel in your life in those everyday moments.

Present.

Present for the simple moments.

All the way up to those extravagant life altering path changing moments.

How do you want to feel?

The words all appear.

All the words being spoken from your heart.

From your core.

Breathing in deeply all of the feelings that you are taking with you into the brand new year.

Allowing yourself to feel safe and secure.

Allow your creativity and joy to flow.

A year of standing strong in your power and confidence in ways that you have not stood before.

Allowing yourself to love deeply this year exactly as you are.

And to share that love with yourself and with this world.

Remembering to speak your truth in ways that have not yet been spoken.

Allowing yourself to trust that inner voice,

Your intuition.

And being open to know and learn in new ways that have not yet been experienced.

You are so worthy of all that is bright.

You are all that is closest to the truest version of yourself.

You are supported.

Knowing you never have to be alone again.

Allow your page to fill with all the words of the new year.

Remember these words in times of challenge.

In times of pain and celebration.

Carry your words with you as you transition into the new year and beyond.

Carry them with you as you embark on new journeys.

Everything you desire already exists within.

Taking a moment and visualizing yourself,

Wrapping your arms around you,

Giving yourself a loving hug,

A loving hold.

As you move through this time of transition.

Know there is support for you.

You are worthy and great.

Become aware of your breath once again.

The unconscious breath moving in and out of you.

Always with you.

Your life force.

Remembering the sankalpa that you spoke at the beginning of this practice.

Calling it back into the forefront of your mind.

Repeating it silently to yourself now.

I am.

I am.

I am.

Allow your inner eye to see your physical body laying on the floor of the room.

Utterly relaxed.

Bring your awareness to the sound of breath.

Bring your awareness to the sound of the room.

Awareness to the floor beneath you.

To the sky above.

Bringing gentle wiggling movement into your fingertips and toes.

Moving ever so slowly.

There is no rush.

No speed at which to move.

Allow the movements of the wiggling of the fingertips to move into your hands.

Into the feet.

What does your physical body want to do now?

If your arms want to come above your head in a full body stretch,

Allow them to do so.

With eyes remaining closed,

Slowly awakening the physical body.

In your own time.

Rolling on to your right hand side.

Into fetal position.

Noticing Mother Earth here holding you.

Supporting you.

Accepting you.

Exactly as you are.

Nice deep breath.

When you are ready,

Carrying on with the rest of your day.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Haryam tatsat.