Yoga Nidra | Grounding, Healing Journey

Welcome beautiful souls to the Shogunidra practice.

I wrote this script for a dear friend who has been practicing with me since I became certified and started guiding.

It focuses on grounding,

Healing,

And her personal refuge based on an actual place that she visited.

The memory of this place brings her joy.

It is her safe haven she brings in as she goes about her daily living.

Prepare for Shogunidra.

Settle into your nest.

Make yourself comfortable with blankets,

Props,

Pillows.

Can you make yourself so comfortable that you feel like you are wrapped up in a cocoon?

Is there anything you can do to make yourself even a little bit more comfortable?

This Shogunidra practice is based on an ancient yoga wisdom infused with western neuroscience.

Your body will relax into a deep yogic sleep while your mind stays active.

As you relax,

Your parasympathetic nervous system will relax also.

Your brainwaves will slow down and you may even drop into the delta brainwaves which is the same as deep sleep.

Can you bring your attention to the natural breath?

Inhaling in 1 2 3 4.

Exhaling out 1 2 3 4.

The natural breath.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

Can you focus on the sounds around you?

Can you hear five different sounds both outside,

Inside,

Maybe even your own breathing?

Can you sense or feel four things?

Maybe the blanket touching your skin or your clothes.

Maybe the air touching your face,

Your lips touching each other.

And can you focus on seeing three things?

Maybe things you see with your eyes open or three things you visually see through your memory.

Can you focus on two things you can smell?

Maybe the air in the room you are settled in.

Maybe the smell of rain outside.

And now focus on one thing you can taste.

And now maybe you can imagine a green healing glow that completely surrounds you.

It might fill the whole room but concentrate more above you.

Can you sense this green healing glow all around?

Maybe you can breathe it in.

It might saturate your skin,

Your whole body,

Your whole body.

Might you bring in your life's intention now?

The Sanskrit word for this intention is sankalpa.

This intention is heart,

Felt and the anchor for the direction you want for your life.

If you don't have your own sankalpa or intention determined yet,

You might use I am okay.

I am enough just as I am.

I am whole.

Repeat this intention three times,

Planting the seed deep into your heart's desire.

Your subconscious.

This is where it will grow and manifest to yourself.

Lord sacredness and the cosmic energy.

And now we'll move into the body scan or rotation of consciousness.

All you need to do is listen to my voice and move your attention to the body part as I speak it.

Maybe you could repeat the body part silently to yourself to help you stay focused and alert.

Might you imagine a green healing orb that settles on each body part as it is spoken and heals as it continues along through the body.

Bring your attention to the body.

Bring your attention to the right hand thumb.

Could you visualize the green healing orb at the tip of your thumb?

Now move to the first finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Top of the hand,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder joint,

Right side,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Sole of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Top of the foot,

Ankle,

Knee,

Hip,

Right chest,

Heart center,

Left hand thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Little finger,

Palm of the hand,

Top of the hand,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder joint,

Left side,

Waist,

Hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Sole of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth,

Little toe,

Top of the foot,

Ankle,

Knee,

Hip,

Left chest,

Heart center,

Right eyebrow,

Right temple,

Right cheek,

Right ear,

Right ear,

Down around the jaw,

Left jaw,

Temple,

Left eye,

Left eyebrow,

Mind's eye,

Or the center of the eyebrows,

Top of the head,

To the crown center.

Might you bring your attention to your breath,

The sacred breath that keeps you alive,

Your body breathes without you even thinking about it.

Might you notice it now.

Might you feel it filling your belly,

Your ribs,

Your lungs,

Into your shoulders,

The wings of the heart,

And all around your collarbone.

Long exhale,

Breathe in,

Breathe in,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Longer exhale,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Big breath in,

Longer exhale out.

Continue at your own pace for the next few minutes.

Might you focus on your body now,

Lying heavily on the ground,

Feel the heaviness,

Focus on the root chakra,

The first chakra located at the base of your spine.

Can you imagine your root chakra sending down roots into the ground?

Feel your body heavy as though it is sinking into the ground.

Imagine roots growing down deep into the ground,

Pulling your heavy body down,

Down into the ground.

Now can you imagine your body being light,

Light as a feather,

Lifting up to the sky,

Floating with the clouds,

The whole body being light and feathery,

Lifting up,

Lifting,

And now can you bring your attention back to the heavy body,

So heavy,

Being rooted into the ground,

Now light and feathery,

Floating away,

And now might you experience your body being both heavy and light simultaneously,

Heavy and light at the same time,

Heavy and light,

Heavy and light.

Might you focus on breathing,

Breathing a natural breath,

Natural breath,

Inhale,

Exhale.

Now bring your attention to breathing in through the right foot,

All the way up the right leg and into the pelvic bowl,

And exhale down through the left leg and out the sole of the left foot,

And reverse.

Inhale in through the left foot,

Up through the whole left leg,

Into the pelvic floor and pelvic bowl,

And exhale down through the right leg and out the sole of the right foot.

Repeat the cycle one more time.

Breathe in through the sole of the right foot,

Up the length of the right leg,

Into the pelvic bowl,

Exhale down the left leg and out the sole of the left foot.

Inhale through the sole of the left foot,

Up the whole left leg to the pelvic bowl,

Exhale down the whole of the right leg and out of the right foot.

And now might you imagine going on a journey,

A journey to a place imagined or real,

Which brings you happiness,

Where you feel safe,

A calming soothing place that you can bring in whenever you need as you go through your day,

A place that will help you relax and breathe.

Maybe this place is somewhere that you visited in the past and that you have fond memories of.

Might you visualize a beautiful wilderness state park that is by a lake in the northern hemisphere of the United States.

One that comes to mind is the Lake of the Clouds in the Porcupine in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness in northern Michigan on the edge of Lake Superior.

Maybe you are there with a loved one setting up your tent so you may spend the night in this peaceful calming atmosphere.

You're the only ones camping in the area.

Listen to the quiet,

Maybe you can hear the wind rustling through the pine trees,

Birds chirping,

The sound of wildlife rustling through the brush.

After camp is set up,

You go for a walk down to the beach.

You notice a large flat rock jutting out over the lake.

You picture this rock as the perfect place to come back to at night to watch the stars.

You and your loved one make your way to the rock right at dusk.

You notice that the sky is darkening but has a green and blue hue about it.

As the sky darkens the stars become bright since there is no light to disturb the black night.

The Milky Way is splashed across the sky.

You notice the sky,

The green lights in the northern sky getting brighter and brighter and you realize it is the northern lights,

The aurora borealis shining down on you.

After a few hours of watching this cosmic show,

You make your way carefully back to your tent and fall asleep feeling blessed,

Feeling full of cosmic energy,

Feeling protected by the heavenly spirit.

Maybe take the next few minutes reveling in the joy and peace you feel from this journey,

The safety.

Imagine the smells of the forest and lake.

What sounds can you remember hearing?

What sensations on the skin?

What do you remember seeing,

Tasting?

It's time to bring in your senkalpa.

Repeat it three times to yourself.

Plant it deep within your heart as though it were a seed that will sprout and blossom out to the universe.

Your heart's desire for direction in your life,

Your sacredness.

Come back to your body and settle in.

Feel the ground surrounding you and welcoming you.

Feel your body letting itself back down.

Feel the room around you.

Listen to the sounds outside,

Closer in.

Can you hear yourself breathing?

Can you feel sensations in your body?

The air,

Your clothing,

Perhaps the blanket that may be covering you.

In your own time you might keep your eyes closed,

But move your eyes back and forth behind the closed lids.

Make gentle movements with your head,

Your fingers,

Your toes.

You might crack your eyelids barely open and notice the light in the room.

Start noticing the objects in the room.

In your own time you might roll to one side,

Use your arm for a pillow,

Become more alert to your surroundings.

And when you are ready,

Use one arm to push yourself up to a sitting position.

Rub your hands together to create warm energy.

Cup them over your eyes.

Tap your fingers gently on your forehead,

Down around your head,

Down around your ears and jaws.

Maybe rub your arms to awaken your body from this journey.

Thank you for joining me.

This practice of yoga nidra is complete.

Namaste.