Transitions Yoga Nidra

Let's get ready to practice Yoga Nidra.

Make your way down onto your back.

Straighten out your legs.

Let your feet fall to the sides.

Place a bolster or rolled up blanket underneath your knees.

In order to keep your low back happy.

Let your hands fall to your sides.

Take a few moments to wiggle and adjust.

Try to find a nice comfortable position.

Bring your shoulders up to your ears.

As you exhale,

Feel your shoulders melting down to the ground.

Place a small pillow or just fold your yoga mat underneath your head.

Add a little bit more cushion.

Make sure you're completely comfortable.

Scan your whole body.

Checking that you're as comfortable as you can be.

That there's nothing calling your attention.

During Yoga Nidra,

We want to be as still as possible.

Practice of Yoga Nidra happens on the levels of awareness and consciousness.

Make sure you're completely comfortable.

Resolve yourself to be still.

Take a deep breath in.

And a nice long breath out.

You can do that again.

One more full breath in.

As you exhale,

Feel yourself settling into stillness.

Set aside anything that may be on your mind at this moment.

Allow your awareness to move inward.

We spend most of our waking life with our awareness pointed out into the external world.

Trying to figure out what it is we should do.

For the next hour,

Allow yourself to just simply be.

Let go of the urge to do anything.

Start to feel a deep sense of stillness washing over your body.

Rest in that stillness.

Become aware of sound.

Allow your sense of hearing to range out,

Noticing the most distant sounds.

Simply receiving all sounds with effortless awareness.

Start to move your awareness closer.

The sounds may be just outside of the building.

Not the sounds inside of the room.

Notice any and all sounds inside the room that you're in.

Now listen for the sound of your breath.

Notice the sound that your breath makes.

Feel the body resting effortlessly on the floor.

Be aware of your breath in your body.

Notice the body breathing.

Body filling up with each inhale and releasing with each exhale.

No need for concentration.

Just effortless awareness.

Now say to yourself,

I'm going to practice yoga nidra.

I will not sleep.

I will remain awake and aware.

With a focus on shifting into the summer season.

Know in your mind that summer is on its way.

There's pollen in the air.

The weather's becoming warmer.

Rainstorms take over our days.

Summer's right around the corner.

All of nature is in bloom.

And at the height of full potential.

Animals are playing.

The air is sweet.

The sun is radiant and energizing.

It's the perfect time for you to play.

Time to dance with the summer rhythm.

Full of life.

Playful and productive.

Test out your shiny new wings.

See what you can do.

The sun's soaring to new heights.

Flying off to explore.

The sky is the limit.

The sky is all clear for takeoff.

Without any fear or any self doubt.

Allow yourself to take flight.

To take action on your dreams.

There's no better time than the summer.

The sun is energizing your every move.

Casting you in gorgeous radiant light.

The birds are singing your song.

The air is fresh.

All of nature is pulsing with life.

All of nature is conspiring to help you fully bloom into your highest expression of potential.

Take a moment and set your summer intention.

It should be a positive statement made in the present tense as if it's already a reality.

When you allow one to come into your mind,

Repeat it to yourself three times with full intention and full awareness.

Now it's time for rotation of consciousness.

Allow your awareness to follow my voice on a little journey through the body.

Allow your awareness to hop from one body part to the next.

There's no need to think physically try to relax.

As I name a part,

Move your awareness to that part.

You repeat it to yourself.

And then move on to the next part.

Start bringing our awareness to the point in between the eyebrows.

Awareness at the spot between the eyebrows.

Down to the hollow of the throat.

The right shoulder.

Right elbow.

Down to the right wrist.

The tip of the thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Pinky finger.

Back up to the right wrist.

The elbow.

Shoulder.

Allow your awareness to flow over to your left shoulder.

Your left elbow.

The left wrist.

The tip of the left thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Pinky finger.

Back to the left wrist.

The elbow.

Shoulder.

The hollow of the throat.

The heart center.

Right chest.

Heart center.

Left chest.

The heart center.

Upper abdomen.

Lower abdomen.

Tip of the tailbone.

The right hip joint.

Right knee joint.

Right ankle joint.

The right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Back up to the right ankle.

Knee.

Right hip.

The tip of the tailbone.

Left hip joint.

Left knee.

Ankle joint.

The left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Now back up to the left ankle joint.

The knee.

Left hip.

The tip of the tailbone.

The lower abdomen.

The upper abdomen.

The spotted heart center.

Hollow of the throat.

The spot in between the two eyebrows.

Your third eye.

Your third eye.

Your third eye.

Now bring your awareness to your breath.

Notice the natural effortless flow of the breath as it moves into and then back out of the body.

Come aware of your breath at your navel.

Notice the belly gently rising and falling with each breath.

Notice the body itself breathing.

There's nothing for you to do here.

No need to use any effort.

Just simply witness,

Experience the breath in the body.

The navel is your center for vitality,

For personal fire.

As you bring awareness to the navel center,

You feel it with life force.

Where your awareness goes,

Energy flows.

Keep your awareness at your navel.

Without making any changes to the breath,

Feel as if the breath is being pulled in down to the navel center.

Fresh new energy,

New prana coming into the body with each breath.

Fueling your inner fire.

Banning the flames of your vitality.

Continue to breathe in this way.

And count down from 16 to 1.

And count using your breath,

Just like this.

Inhaling into the navel 16.

Exhale.

16.

Inhale into the navel 15.

Exhale navel 15.

Inhale into the navel 14.

Exhale navel 14.

And so on.

All the way down to 1.

And if you lose track,

You can start again at 16.

And if you finish,

Start again.

And count down from 16 to 1.

And release awareness of the breath and of counting.

It doesn't matter which number you got to or if you lost track.

Allow the awareness of counting to leave your mind and awaken to sensations in the body.

Allow each sensation to fully arise within your being.

Allow the feeling of heaviness to arise within you.

Each part of your body becoming heavier and heavier.

You're so heavy.

It's almost as if you are made out of lead.

Feel the right leg heavy like lead.

And sinking into the surface beneath you.

Left leg becoming heavier and heavier.

Sinking down so heavy that you couldn't lift it.

Feel the sense of heaviness expanding into your hips,

Your back,

Chest.

Feel the whole torso sinking into the surface beneath you.

So heavy.

The shoulders sinking down.

Heaviness extending down the arms to the hands.

Hands heavy like lead.

The head heavy.

Sinking down into the surface beneath you.

Allow the sensation of heaviness to manifest in the whole body.

The entire body is heavy like lead.

Now release the sensation of heaviness.

Release heaviness from every part of the body and awaken to the sensation of lightness in the body.

Feel lightness filling the body up like a helium balloon.

Experience the body becoming lighter and lighter.

The right leg becoming light,

Lifting off the ground.

The left leg,

Filled up with lightness,

Floating right up.

The right arm becoming lighter and lighter,

Floating away.

The left arm becoming light.

The hips and torso becoming light like a helium balloon,

Floating away.

The head filling with lightness.

The entire body floating up in the air,

Light as a feather.

Experience lightness arising throughout your entire body.

Absolute lightness.

Now release the sensation of lightness and allow your body to gently release the feelings of floating.

Completely let go of the sensation of lightness.

Notice that you can manifest or let go of these sensations.

Sensation of heaviness and lightness anytime that you need.

Now check in with yourself.

Make sure you're not sleeping.

You can repeat to yourself mentally.

I'm practicing yoga nidra.

I will remain awake and aware.

Bring your awareness to the dark space just behind your eyes.

We in yoga call the Chittakas.

Let's begin the process of accessing the subconscious,

Allowing the doors of creativity to open.

I will name a series of symbols.

These symbols will elicit images,

Thoughts and feelings in your mind.

Continue to witness.

So accept and welcome.

Any thoughts,

Feelings,

Any patterns or images that might arise.

Simply watching with a detached awareness.

As if you're watching a movie on a screen.

A burning candle.

Burning candle.

Burning candle.

Egyptian pyramids.

Egyptian pyramids.

Egyptian pyramids.

A white hat.

A white hat.

A white hat.

The tip of a needle.

Tip of a needle.

The tip of a needle.

A calm lake.

A calm lake.

Bowl of cherries.

Bowl of cherries.

Bowl of cherries.

A burning fire.

Burning fire.

A burning fire.

Ice cubes melting.

Ice cubes melting.

Ice cubes melting.

Light reflecting on water.

Light reflecting on water.

Light reflecting on water.

A vast open desert.

A vast open desert.

A vast open desert.

A starry night sky.

A starry night sky.

Starry night sky.

Hot blazing sun.

Hot blazing sun.

Hot blazing sun.

A colorful rainbow.

Colorful rainbow.

A colorful rainbow.

Stormy weather.

Stormy weather.

Stormy weather.

And release any images that the visualization might have brought.

And once again become aware of your breath.

Notice the natural flow as the air comes into your body.

And leads your body.

Notice how effortless.

And easy it is to breath.

Now bring your Sankalpa that you created in the beginning of your practice back into your mind.

Perfect time to repeat your intention for the summer.

With full awareness,

Full intention.

Repeat to yourself your Sankalpa three more times.

Know that your intention has been received deep in your subconscious.

Is already beginning to manifest.

Become aware of your body resting on the floor.

Notice your body effortlessly breathing.

Hear the sound of your body breathing.

Feel the sensation of your body breathing.

Externalize your awareness.

Become aware of the room that you're in.

The floor.

The walls.

The ceiling.

Listen for sounds within the room.

And develop an awareness of your body and the place that you're in.

Feel your awareness coming back into the body.

Begin to externalize your awareness.

The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

You're welcome to stay where you are for as long as you'd like.

This relaxing,

Enjoying sense of rejuvenation that this practice brings.

When you're ready to get up.

Start with tiny gentle movements.

Wiggling your fingers and toes.

Circles with your wrists and ankles.

And bring your hands over your head for a good morning stretch.

And bend your knees roll over onto your right side.

Use your hands as a pillow for your head.

One more inhale.

Exhale,

Sigh out through your mouth.

And slowly press yourself up to a comfortable seated position.

Take a few breaths here.

Just noticing how you feel after your practice.

When you're ready you can open your eyes.

And reenter the world with a refreshed perspective.

Thank you for practicing with me.

The light in me honors the light in you.

Namaste.