Yoga Nidra - Sankalpa

For this guided meditation you will be lying on your back.

If it is more comfortable for you to have your knees bent,

Roll up a blanket or put a bolster under your knees.

You may also want to get a light blanket to cover up.

If you are wearing glasses,

Take them off and set them in a safe place.

And now lie down.

Close your eyes.

Let's begin.

Let your body sink down into the floor.

Get comfortable.

Shift and move a little to let your body settle deeper into the ground.

Be comforted that at this time everything is okay.

Nothing else matters right now.

There is nowhere to go and there is nothing to do.

Simply feel your body and listen.

Do not worry or become agitated.

If you do not hear everything I say,

It is natural to flow in and out of conscious hearing.

The deepest part of you,

Your core self,

Is always listening.

Whatever your experience today,

This practice will still work.

There is no way to do this incorrectly.

Simply listen.

Focus on my voice without trying too hard.

You are in a safe,

Loving environment,

A protected space.

Come into stillness now and remain still for deep rest,

Deep nourishment.

Feel your natural breath.

Allow your bones to become heavy.

Feel your bones heavy and sinking down into the earth.

Release,

Relax,

Let go.

Go deep inside now,

Deep inside to notice your heart's longest and deepest desire.

What does your heart desire?

Create a sankopa,

An intention,

Affirmation based on your heart's longing.

This is a positive statement in the present tense as though it's already happened.

For example,

I flow through life with ease and peace.

I am relaxed.

Create your own intention,

Your sankopa for your practice.

And now state your intention three times as though it is already happening.

Allow your awareness to travel through your body now on a journey of sensation.

Simply feel each part as it is mentioned without moving,

Remaining still,

Listening and focusing on my voice.

You will welcome all sensation just as it is.

Bring all your attention to the crown of your head.

All your attention to the crown of your head.

And on your next exhalation.

And now on your next exhalation.

Move the attention to the middle of the forehead.

The third eye.

All your attention to the middle of your forehead.

Take a nice deep inhalation.

And as you exhale,

Move the attention to the tip of the nose.

All of your attention to the tip of your nose.

And on your next exhalation,

Send your attention to the right cheek.

All your attention to the right cheek.

And now moving your attention to the left cheek.

Take a nice deep breath in.

And as you exhale,

Moving the attention to the right ear.

All your attention on the right ear.

And now sending all your attention to the left ear.

All your attention on the left ear.

Feeling any sensations as they arise.

And on your next exhalation,

Moving all your attention to the mouth.

All your attention to the mouth.

And now moving that attention to the chin.

All your attention on the chin.

On your next exhalation,

Move the attention to the pit of the throat.

Pit of the throat.

Feeling any sensations as they arise.

Remaining completely still and relaxed.

On your next exhalation,

Moving all your attention to the middle of the chest.

Your heart center.

All your attention on the heart center.

And on your next exhalation,

Moving your attention to the right breast.

And then to the right shoulder.

Sending the attention down the right arm.

To the right elbow.

To the wrist.

Moving the attention to the tip of the right thumb.

Tip of the right index finger.

Tip of the middle finger.

Tip of the ring finger.

Tip of the little finger.

And then moving the attention back to the right wrist.

Allowing the energy to flow up the body to the elbow.

To the shoulder.

And back to the right breast.

And on your next exhalation,

Sending all your attention back to the heart center.

Middle of the chest.

You are relaxed.

Remaining still.

Listening to my voice.

On your next exhalation,

Move the attention to the left chest.

And then sending the energy to the left shoulder.

And down the left arm.

To the elbow.

To the wrist.

To the tip of the left thumb.

Tip of the index finger.

Tip of the middle finger.

Tip of the left ring finger.

Tip of the little finger.

And then sending the energy back to the wrist.

Up the arm to the elbow.

To the shoulder.

To the left breast.

And on your next exhalation,

Sending all the energy to your heart center.

Middle of the chest.

And now moving the attention to the solar plexus.

Base of the rib cage.

All your attention on the solar plexus.

And on your next exhalation,

Moving the energy down to the navel center.

The center of your navel.

All your attention on the navel center.

And on your next exhalation,

Moving the energy to the lower abdominal area.

And as you exhale,

Move the energy to the right hip.

And then moving and flowing the energy down the right leg.

To the knee.

To the ankle.

And now to the tip of the right big toe.

Tip of the second toe.

Tip of the middle toe.

Tip of the fourth toe.

And tip of the little toe.

And then sending the energy back to the ankle.

And moving the energy up the leg to the knee.

To the hip.

And then back to the abdomen.

You are relaxed.

Remaining still.

Listening to my voice.

And on your next exhalation,

Moving the energy to the left hip.

And moving the energy down the left leg.

To the knee.

To the ankle.

To the tip of the left big toe.

Tip of the second toe.

Tip of the middle toe.

Tip of the fourth toe.

Tip of the little toe.

And then bringing all your attention and moving the energy back to the left ankle.

And flowing the energy up the left leg to the knee.

And back to the left hip.

And on your next exhalation,

Sending all the energy and all your attention to the lower abdominal area.

All your attention on the lower abdomen.

Take a nice deep breath in and as you exhale,

Moving the energy up to the navel center.

Bringing all your attention to the navel center.

And now moving the energy up to the solar plexus.

All your attention to the solar plexus.

And on your next exhalation,

Sending all the energy to the middle of the chest.

Your heart center.

All your attention on your heart center.

Paying attention to any sensations that arise.

Staying in the present moment.

And on your next exhalation,

Moving all the energy to the pit of the throat.

All your energy and attention is now at the pit of the throat.

And on your next exhalation,

Sending the energy back to the third eye.

Middle of the forehead.

Bringing all your attention to the third eye.

And on your next exhalation,

Sending all the energy back to the crown of the head.

All your attention to the crown of the head.

Remaining still,

Relaxed.

And begin to notice your breath.

Not controlling,

But simply watching the breath.

The natural breath as it flows in and out.

Feel the sensation of the inhalation.

And feel the exhalation as you breathe out.

Knowing the body to breathe naturally.

And now as you inhale,

Visualize the breath coming in from the top of the head.

Moving down to the base of the spine.

And as you exhale,

Visualize the breath moving from the base of the spine up to the top of the head.

Visualize this in your mind's eye.

Each breath in.

And each breath flowing like water down the spine.

And as you exhale,

Moving back up the spine to the top of the head.

Visualize the breath as water flowing down the body and back up.

And with each breath,

This wave of energy passing down through your body,

Carrying away tensions.

As you inhale,

Fresh waves of energy move through the body.

Bringing a sense of calm and peace to every cell.

And with each exhalation,

Waves of energy carrying away any fears,

Any worries.

Inhalation bringing in a fresh wave of energy bringing serenity,

Love,

Harmony and inner peace.

Now remembering your heart's longing statement,

Your sankopa,

Your intention for your practice.

That statement that you created at the beginning of your practice.

Repeat it again to yourself three times as the present truth.

Visualize your heart's longing statement,

Your sankopa.

Visualizing it in your mind's eye.

What does it look like?

And feel your heart's longing statement,

Your intention.

What does it feel like?

Continue to visualize and feel your heart's longing statement remaining in a calm,

Blissful,

Peaceful state.

As your mind wanders,

Simply come back to your intention.

Feeling it calmly to yourself,

Visualizing that intention in your mind's eye.

Feeling relaxed,

Remaining still,

Remaining in the present moment.

Feeling being at peace with who you are and the world as it is.

And now become aware of your back body.

Feel all the places where your body is touching the ground.

Notice any sensations,

Not moving,

Just noticing any sensations on the back body.

And now notice the front body.

Notice all the space surrounding you.

And let your body expand wider into the space that surrounds you.

And bringing the attention back to your breath without controlling or changing.

Simply notice the rhythm and the pace of the breath.

Without moving completely still.

Feel your fingers.

Feel your toes.

Feel the different parts of your body.

And now very slowly begin to wiggle your fingers,

Feeling every sensation as you do.

And now begin to wiggle the toes and begin to feel the sensations as you move the toes.

Gently rock your head from side to side.

And slowly begin to feel the slow awakening.

And draw in a deeper breath,

A breath that moves into the belly.

Moving into the chest.

The sensations that arise on the inhalation and the exhalation.

And begin to move your body in any way that is comfortable and natural for you.

Feeling the different sensations.

Eventually moving yourself over to your right side into a fetal position.

Drawing the attention to your breath.

And now very slowly pressing your left palm into the floor.

Eyes remaining closed,

Coming up into a comfortable seated position.

Bringing the crown of the head up towards the sky.

As you take a full breath in,

Imagine filling your body with divine light of love,

Peace,

And harmony.

Feeling the calmness that you've cultivated from your practice.

Feeling the hands out,

Resting the palms on the knees or the thighs.

Palms facing up towards the heavens.

Noticing how you feel.

Noticing the calmness,

The inner peace.

Slowly you can raise the hands up,

Gathering energy in the palm of the hands,

Bringing the hands together overhead.

And as you exhale,

Sending that energy down into the heart center.

May all beings find health,

Happiness,

And inner peace.

Begin to open your eyes.

Namaste.

Thank you.