Welcome to the practice of yoga nidra.
Yoga nidra means sleep with awareness.
It's the practice of deep relaxation,
Tranquility and most important,
It's the practice of letting go.
It's letting go of all thoughts,
Letting go of all tension and letting go of all worries.
Allow my voice to guide you and allow yourself to trust.
Make sure you are lying down.
It can be on a yoga mat or even the bed,
Whichever is most comfortable.
I highly suggest a blanket,
A thin cushion to support your head,
Making sure that the head isn't propped too high and even an eye mask if that sounds good to you.
I'll give you some time to settle in.
As you lay down,
Make sure the body is straight,
Legs or hip length apart,
Feet falling naturally to the side,
Arms are at your side not touching the body and the palms are face up or down,
Whichever feels most natural.
Make a conscious effort to remain still.
Of course,
Feel free to adjust the body if you are uncomfortable but the intent to stay still is key to this practice.
Now close your eyes and take in a deep breath,
Breathing in and exhale,
Breathing out with your mouth gently open.
Take in another big deep breath,
Breathing in and exhale,
Breathing out,
Releasing what no longer serves you.
And now another big deep breath,
Breathing in and exhale,
Breathing out,
Letting go and letting go even more.
Now slowly scan your body for any tension.
Slowly scan up and down the body,
Searching for the area in the body where you are holding all tension,
Where you are holding all stress and gently breathe into that area of the body and imagine melting it all away.
And as you breathe in,
Relax the body and as you breathe out,
Feel into the body,
Letting all of the tension and stress melt away.
As you breathe,
Feel the ground underneath you.
Feel the earth underneath you.
Notice how it feels to be supported.
Feel the sensation of clothes on your body.
Feel the air on your skin.
Know that you are embraced.
Know that you are safe.
And notice the sounds around you.
Become aware of the sounds around you.
And pick one sound and allow yourself to listen and notice your feeling toward that sound.
Don't create a story or get lost in emotions.
Just notice what your feeling tone is in this present moment.
Notice what is arising in you.
What is your feeling tone?
Is it pleasant?
Unpleasant?
Neutral?
Just notice what is coming up for you in this moment and let it be.
Now listen to the sounds inward.
Try and listen to the sounds in your body.
Try and listen to your breath.
Listen and feel your breath.
Fall into the serenity of your breath.
Follow the flow as air enters the body.
Expanding the body,
Feeling the creation of energy,
Your life force,
Your true self.
This awareness will now be rotated throughout the body.
Please visualize and mentally repeat each body part as it is being named.
Imagine the body part lighting up as you silently repeat the body part.
Beginning with the right side of the body and the right hand.
Visualize the right hand thumb as you repeat right hand thumb.
See and feel the right hand thumb.
Next is the index finger.
Mentally repeat and visualize the index finger and carry on like this as we move on to the middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the chest,
Right side of the hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole right side of the body.
Guiding awareness to the left side of the body beginning with the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Left side of the hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole left side of the body.
Guiding awareness to the back of the body,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Back of the right knee,
Back of the left knee,
Back of the right thigh,
Back of the left thigh,
Right glute,
Left glute,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Space between,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
The whole nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Both lips,
Tongue,
Teeth,
Gums,
Right side of the jaw,
Left side of the jaw,
Chin,
The whole face,
The whole right side of the body,
The whole left side of the body,
The whole front side of the body,
The whole back side of the body,
The whole body,
The whole body,
Sensing awareness of the whole body.
Feel the body in a sea of tranquility,
Feeling the breath fluid and serene.
Slowly count down the breath backwards from the number 27 as if counting down waves in the sea.
Breathing in 27,
Breathing out 27,
Breathing in 26,
Breathing out 26,
And so on mentally.
If the count gets lost,
It's okay.
Breathing again at 27 and count down the breath again.
Now shift the attention from breath to creating sensations and awaken the feeling of warmth in the body.
Warm like a sunny day.
Feel the whole body radiating and becoming warmer.
Feel the rays of sun on the face,
Feeling warmth in the cheeks.
The whole body is warm.
Now evoke the feeling of coolness in the body.
Cool like a night breeze.
Feel the whole body becoming cool.
Sense the drop in temperature.
Feel the coolness in the hands,
Coolness in the fingers.
Feel the cool on the tip of your nose.
The whole body is now cool.
Now awaken the feeling of heaviness.
Heavy as if gravity has increased.
The entire body is becoming increasingly heavy.
Heaviness in the shoulders,
Heaviness in the legs.
The whole body is very heavy.
Now feel the sensation of light.
Light like a buoy in the water.
Zero gravity.
The whole body is becoming incredibly light.
Light as if resting on a cloud.
The eyelids are light.
The head feels light.
The entire body is incredibly light.
Now release these sensations and rest the awareness in the space in front of the closed eyes,
The mind's eye.
Relax in the space of the mind's eye.
And visualize the following images as they are called from either memory or by imagining.
In the mind's eye,
Visualize.
Walking in the rain.
Walking in the rain.
Walking in the rain.
A golden sunset.
A golden sunset.
A golden sunset.
Lighting a candle.
Lighting a candle.
Lighting a candle.
Exploring through a cave.
Exploring through a cave.
Exploring through a cave.
A red rose.
A red rose.
A red rose.
Gazing at stars in the night sky.
Gazing at stars in the night sky.
Gazing at stars in the night sky.
A harvest moon.
A harvest moon.
A harvest moon.
Now let these images fade and become aware of your breath.
Notice your breath.
Notice the tranquility of your breath.
Feel the flow of serenity throughout the body.
Notice of the shift within.
Feel your energy expanding and begin to deepen your breath.
Really feel into the air as it passes through the nostrils,
Down your chest,
Into the navel center.
And the rise and fall of the abdomen.
Now become aware of your body.
Become aware of your physical body and feel yourself returning to the surface.
Feel the ground underneath you.
Feel the earth underneath you.
Feel the clothes on your body.
Feel the air on your skin.
Listen to the sounds in the room.
Visualize the room.
Visualize the items inside of the room.
Visualize your place in the room.
Gently wiggle the fingers and toes.
Slowly stretch the body.
And when it feels right,
Roll on to the right side of your body.
Notice how relaxed the body is.
Notice how soft the breath is.
And when you feel ready,
Return to a seated position.
Take your time.
Once in a seated position,
Place your hands in prayer pose and thank yourself for taking the time to practice.
I thank you.
Namaste.
