Before we begin,
Make sure to have a pillow underneath the knees and a pillow to support the head and neck.
You may want to use a blanket or a throw blanket as the body temperature may drop during the practice.
When you are ready,
Go ahead and get comfortable in a lying down position in Shavasana with the feet hip distance apart with a pillow underneath the knees.
Have the arms a few inches away from the body and have the hands resting with the palms facing down or facing up,
Whichever feels more comfortable for you.
Now make any final adjustments to the clothes,
The blanket,
The pillows,
Your body positioning.
Adjust them in a way that is the most comfortable for you in Shavasana.
You want to be as comfortable as possible.
Welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra.
Use this time to connect with yourself,
Connect with the body,
Mind,
Heart and spirit just by simply letting go completely into this practice.
During this time,
You may experience parts of your body releasing stuck emotions and stuck energy due to chronic illnesses,
Chronic pain and stress.
You may feel parts of the body shaking,
Twitching or vibrating.
You may even feel dizziness.
And there is no need to try to control it or worry about it.
It is simply part of the process of the Yoga Nidra practice.
So allow it to happen and allow the practice to help you release what is no longer serving you.
Allow yourself to be open,
To rest,
To relax or even to sleep at this time.
Your body will do exactly what it needs to do during this practice.
This is a safe space for you to let go of any worries,
Stress,
Tensions.
This is the time to be still,
To trust in yourself and in a higher power,
To surrender and to let go.
If you haven't done so already,
You may close your eyes at this time.
Stay with my voice and guidance at all times throughout this practice.
As we prepare for this practice,
Begin first by feeling the contact of your body being supported like in a cloud.
Feel the head being supported by the pillow.
Feel the arms and hands resting on the bed or on the floor.
Feel the backs of your knees being supported by the pillow.
Now feel the back,
The glutes and the back of your legs and heels being supported by the bed or the floor.
Now feel every contact of the whole body with its surroundings on the bed or the floor and the pillows.
Feel the body being supported by the pillow,
By the pillow and by the pillow.
Feel the body being supported by the pillow and by the pillow.
The nose,
Fill up the belly,
Fill up the chest and hold it at the top.
And gently sigh it out of the mouth.
Feel the face muscles,
Neck and shoulders melting into relaxation.
When you get to the bottom of the breath,
Inhale again through the belly and through the chest and hold it.
And sigh it out of the mouth.
Feeling the chest,
Arms,
Hands and back melting even more into relaxation.
One last time,
Inhale through the nose,
Expanding the belly,
The chest and holding it at the top.
And sigh it out.
Feeling the glutes,
Legs and feet melting into deep relaxation.
Let go even further and fully release into Shavasana.
If thoughts come in,
Observe them and let them go with kindness.
Now is the time to let go of labels and roles.
It is the time to be in deep rest.
Now is the time to be aware and to be awake,
To be present fully in this moment by being still.
Silently say to yourself,
I am aware.
I am awake.
I am still.
Now let's begin a gentle body scan starting from the top of the head.
Release any tension in the scalp,
In the ears,
In the eyebrows,
The eyes,
Cheeks,
Lips,
Tongue,
Jaw,
Chin.
Let go of all tension.
Now the neck,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
All the way to the tips of the fingers.
Release any and all tension there.
Upper back,
Chest,
Abs,
Mid back,
Lower back,
Glutes,
Thighs,
Calves,
Feet.
All the way to the tips of the toes.
Release and let go.
Feel the whole body relaxed.
Now notice the air on the skin.
Notice the sounds in the room.
When you hear one sound,
Witness it and let it go and move on to another sound.
Without labeling and with curiosity,
See how far the ears can hear outside of this room.
Now bring the awareness to the sounds in the body.
The sound of the heart beating.
Perhaps the sounds in the belly.
Now notice the sound of your breath.
Notice the gentle pull of air as you inhale and the gentle flow as you exhale through the nose.
Notice in the inhale,
Cool temperature coming in the nostrils and warm temperature in the exhale coming out of the nostrils.
Inhale,
Cool temperature.
Exhale,
Warm temperature.
Now take a moment to introduce the sankalpa,
The intention for this practice.
Set the intention.
I am releasing physically and emotionally with love and kindness.
I am releasing physically and emotionally with love and kindness.
Now mentally say this three times with awareness from your heart.
When done,
Let it go.
Now start to shift the mind and get ready for the body rotation.
As each body part is named,
Bring awareness into it.
Feel it,
Visualize it,
And mentally repeat its name.
Beginning only on the right side of the body with the right hand thumb.
Visualize,
Feel,
And silently say right hand thumb.
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Top of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of chest,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Shift the awareness to the left side of the body starting with the left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Top of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of chest,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Shift the awareness to the back of the body starting with the right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Right back of knee,
Left back of knee,
Right back of thigh,
Left back of thigh,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Neck,
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
Nostrils,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Both lips together,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Jaw,
Chin,
Throat,
Throat pit,
Right chest,
Left chest,
Heart center,
Upper abdomen,
Lower abdomen,
Navel center,
Right side of pelvis,
Left side of pelvis,
Pelvic floor,
Whole right leg and foot together,
Whole left leg and foot together,
Whole right arm and hand together,
Whole left arm and hand together,
Torso,
Whole right side of the body,
Whole left side of the body,
Whole front of the body,
Whole back of the body,
Whole body,
The whole body.
Become aware of the whole body resting at this moment,
Lying still.
As the body is lying there completely still and in deep relaxation,
Become aware of the breath,
Witnessing how the natural breath flows effortlessly in and out of the body.
Notice the rise and fall of the belly.
Notice the rise and fall of the chest.
Notice the gentle pull and release in the throat.
Now bring the awareness to the navel,
Seeing how the navel rises and falls with every breath.
Begin counting with the breath starting from 18 to 1 like this.
18 the navel rises,
18 the navel falls,
17 the navel rises,
17 the navel falls,
16 the navel rises,
16 the navel falls and so on.
Silently and mentally say the number with each breath.
Continue counting like this down to 1.
If thoughts come in and the count is lost,
It's okay.
Observe the thoughts,
Let the thoughts go and bring the focus back to the count and restart the counting at 18 down to 1.
Let go of the counting and shift the awareness to the mind as visual images are presented.
See,
Feel,
Hear,
Smell.
Sense any of these images using the imagination and emotion.
Starting with the color white,
A white lily,
The color yellow,
Sunrays,
The color orange,
The color orange,
A sunflower moving with the Sun,
The color green,
Green rolling hills,
The color blue,
Fluffy clouds floating in a light blue sky,
The color indigo,
A crescent moon and stars emerging in a dark indigo blue sky.
Now let go of the visual images and bring the awareness back to the sankalpa,
The intention from the beginning of this practice.
Remember the sankalpa and repeat it again silently and mentally three times with kindness.
I am releasing physically and emotionally with love and kindness.
Feel the joy,
Confidence,
Love and gratitude arising in your heart each time you repeat this intention silently to yourself.
Now let it go with gratitude.
Notice the breath in your body,
Feeling the rise and fall of the belly with each inhale and exhale.
Observe the sound of your breath in your body.
Notice the sounds in the room recognizing one sound and moving on to the next sound.
Notice the sounds outside of the room.
Feel the air on your skin,
Feel the clothes on your body,
Feel the blanket over your body.
Feel your body on the bed on the floor,
Feel the pillows beneath your knees and head.
Start to wiggle your fingers and toes.
When you're ready you can roll over to one side.
Take your time.
You can gently open your eyes.
Welcome back.
Place your hands over your heart and send love and kindness to yourself.
Feel the gratitude.
The practice of yoga nidra has now come to an end.
You may stretch your body where it needs to be stretched and you may take your time getting up or you may continue to fall back asleep and take a nap.
Just know that this practice has now ended and you may go about your day more relaxed.
Thank you.
May we all heal.
May we all be well.
