Yoga Nidra On Experiencing Flow

Well,

Welcome everyone.

It's wonderful to see you this afternoon,

To see you virtually,

Which really means I just sort of imagine that you're there.

Thank you for showing up for Yoga Nidra.

Let's begin our practice of Yoga Nidra.

So find Shavasana on your mat.

It's also nice to have a blanket.

You can double up the blanket so that it'll be the length of the mat and about the width of the mat,

Assuming you have a blanket that's about that size.

That makes a nice base for the practice of Yoga Nidra.

So I'll give you another moment or two to make your way into Shavasana.

Remember your props.

So the rolled blankets under the knees and a much smaller roll of a blanket under the neck.

Sometimes I see people wanting to prop the back of their head up on a pillow or a blanket or a block even,

Something like that.

And most of the time,

I suggest that that not be done because it brings the whole spine out of alignment.

It's a difficult position to maintain for the whole duration of our Yoga Nidra.

All right.

Let's begin now with your eyes gently closed.

Bring awareness to your body,

Resting on your mat in whatever room you find yourself situated.

And begin to feel the body as it rests on the mat.

Visualize your body as if you were looking at it from the outside.

Maybe standing up and seeing your body resting on the mat or the floor or a blanket.

Now visualize the room where you're located.

Remember what it looks like.

Remember the walls and the ceiling and the floor.

And now say to yourself,

I am going to practice Yoga Nidra.

I will remain alert and awake.

We'll now begin a rotation of consciousness.

I will name parts of the body.

And as I name each part,

Let your awareness,

Your attention flow from part to part as I name it.

See if you can let go of everything other than my voice and whatever sensations may occur to you during this practice.

Let's begin with the thumb on your right hand.

Now let your awareness flow down the thumb and then back up to the fingertip of the right index finger.

Flow down the fingertip of the right index finger to the tip of the third finger.

Then down from the tip of the third finger and back up to the tip of the fourth finger.

Down the fourth finger and up to the tip of your pinky.

Let your awareness flow to the palm of your right hand.

Now imagine awareness flowing around to the back of the right hand.

From the back of the right hand,

Bring your attention up to the wrist and from the wrist to the elbow on the right arm.

Let your attention flow from the elbow on the right arm up past the bicep and tricep to the shoulder and around back of the right shoulder to the armpit.

Let your awareness flow down the right side of the body to the right hip and down the upper part of the right leg to the right knee.

Keep your awareness on your kneecap,

The patella.

Now allow your awareness to flow around to the back of the knee.

Now flowing down the calf of the right leg,

Find the right heel with your awareness and then the right ankle.

Awareness flows to the top of the right foot.

Now let your awareness flow to the bottom of the right foot and to the big toe on the right foot.

Let your awareness flow over to the second toe and the third toe and the fourth toe and the pinky toe on the right foot.

Let your awareness flow to the thumb on the right hand,

The very tip of the thumb.

Awareness flows down the thumb and back up the index finger to the tip of the index finger on the left hand and down from the tip of the index finger on the left hand to the third finger and the very tip of the third finger on the left hand.

Let your awareness flow down that finger and up to the tip of the fourth finger and then down from the tip of the fourth finger and all the way back up to the tip of the index finger on the left hand.

From there let your awareness flow to the palm of the left hand.

Then feel awareness flowing around to the back of the left hand.

Feeling awareness now to the wrist and then up to the elbow on the left arm.

Let your awareness flow up the upper part of the left arm to the shoulder.

Now awareness is flowing around to the armpit on the left side.

Let your awareness flow down the left side of your body to your left hip and from the left hip flowing down to the front of the left knee.

Let your awareness flow around to the back of the left knee.

Awareness flowing down the left leg,

The calf,

To the left ankle.

From the left ankle let your awareness flow to the heel on the left foot and then to the top of the left foot.

Awareness flowing now to the bottom of the left foot and then to the tip of the left big toe and then flowing over to the tip of the second toe on the left foot and flowing to the third toe on the left foot and to the fourth toe,

The very tip of the toe and then flowing to the very tip of the little toe on the left foot.

Let your awareness flow from there all the way to the very top of the head.

Feel your attention moving now from the top of the head to the whole forehead.

Let the awareness come now to the third eye,

Eyebrow center.

Feel awareness flowing now to the right eyebrow.

Let your awareness flow over to the left eyebrow.

Let your awareness flow to the right eye under the lid and then flowing over to the left eye again under the lid.

Bring your awareness to the bridge of the nose right between the eyes.

Feel your awareness now flowing down the nose to the very tip of the nose and then flowing into the right nostril.

Let your awareness flow out of the right nostril and flow in to the left nostril.

Now let your awareness flow out of the left nostril and to the upper lip.

Let your awareness flow over the whole upper lip from side to side.

Now the awareness moves to the inner part of the mouth,

Inside the mouth.

Let the awareness flow to the upper part of the mouth,

The palate,

And then to the back of the mouth and the upper part of the throat.

Now awareness flowing to the tongue and then the bottom of the mouth,

Beneath the tongue.

Let your awareness begin to flow out of the mouth and to the lower lip.

And now move side to side on the lower lip from one side to the other,

Just with your awareness.

Now feel your awareness flowing from the lower lip to the chin and feel the awareness spill over the chin and down to the throat.

From the throat,

Feel the awareness flow to the heart space and then down to the navel.

Let your awareness flow now all the way down to the right foot.

Now become aware of the whole right side of the body.

The awareness now flows over to the left foot.

And now become aware of the whole left side of the body.

Let your awareness flow now to the whole right leg.

Let it flow over now to the whole left leg.

Now feel both legs together.

Let your awareness come from both legs and flow over to the whole right arm.

And from the whole right arm over to the whole left arm.

Now become aware of both arms together.

Now let your awareness flow to the whole body.

Become deeply aware of your whole body all at once.

Just let your awareness rest on the whole body.

Bring your attention now to your breath.

Notice the breath flowing in and out through the nostrils.

Begin to tune in to the sense of flow of the breath.

Notice that the flowing breath never rests.

It's always in motion.

Follow that motion.

Follow the movement of the breath.

In and out.

And in and out.

On your own now.

Following the flow of the breath in and out equally through both nostrils.

Stay with the flow.

Notice the breath never rests.

Always in movement.

Only flowing.

Now bring awareness to the left nostril only.

And breathe in to the extent you can only through the left nostril.

Feel the breath flowing in from the left.

And now release the breath to the right.

Let it flow out through the right nostril.

Now breathe in from the right nostril.

And feel the breath flow over to the left.

Then breathe in from the left.

And breathe out to the right.

Feel the breath flowing in from the right.

And flowing over to and out of the left nostril.

Now continue on your own.

Breathing side to side.

Following the flow.

Noticing the breath in constant motion from side to side.

Never resting.

Now let that go.

And the next time you inhale,

Inhale equally through both nostrils.

And exhale out through both nostrils.

Now let your awareness flow down to your pubic bone.

And when we inhale,

Imagine energy flowing up from the pubic bone to the very top of your head through your spine.

And when you exhale,

Feel the energy moving from the top of the head back down through the spine to the pubic bone.

Just continue to follow the flow of energy up and down the spine in this way.

If you like,

You can visualize this energy as a ball of light or a ball of luminous energy.

Or in whatever way,

Allows you to feel the movement,

The flow of the energy up and down.

Stay with the flow,

Breathing in,

Feeling the energy rise from the pubic bone to the top of the head.

Breathing out,

Feeling the energy move from the top of the head,

Sliding back down to the pubic bone.

Energy flowing in the body,

Ceaseless in its movement.

Follow the flow.

The next time you exhale,

Release the awareness of the energy.

Now begin to cultivate a sensation of heaviness in your body.

Start to feel heavy everywhere.

Imagine your feet and your legs getting heavier.

Imagine your pelvis getting heavier.

Then the trunk of your body and shoulders,

Hands,

And even the head.

Feel heavier and heavier,

So you feel deeply weighed down.

Cultivate that sensation of heaviness in the body.

Release the sensation of heaviness and begin to cultivate a sensation of lightness.

Now imagine your body getting lighter and lighter.

The feet are feeling light.

The legs are feeling light.

The torso is feeling light.

Even the arms and the head,

Lighter and lighter.

Begin to feel so light that you almost experience the sensation of floating above your mat.

A deep and profound sense of lightness in the body.

Now return to the sensation of heaviness.

Remember what it felt like to feel heavy.

And then return to the sensation of lightness.

Now flow back to the sensation of heaviness.

And again flow back to the sensation of lightness.

Lightness and lightness.

Lightness and heaviness.

Now begin to cultivate the sensation of dryness.

Begin to feel drier and drier,

Starting in the mouth.

Notice that you're becoming more and more thirsty as all the moisture is drawn out of the mouth.

Feeling drier and drier.

You've felt this way before.

Remember the sensation of dryness.

Now call to mind the sensation of moistness.

Start to feel moisture in the moisture.

The sensation of moistness in the body.

Now return to the sensation of dryness.

And flow back to the sensation of moistness.

Feel dry.

Feel moist.

Feel moist.

Feel dry.

Now release all those sensations.

And begin to cultivate to remember a time when you felt deeply angry.

Livid.

Really,

Really angry.

Remember how it felt to feel angry in the body.

Remember how it felt to feel angry in your mind.

Cultivate the sensation,

The feeling,

The emotion of anger.

Deep,

Deep anger.

Now cultivate the sensation of peacefulness.

Remember a time when you felt deeply and profoundly peaceful and at ease.

The emotion of peacefulness.

Now return to the feeling of anger.

And let the anger flow into peacefulness.

Allow the peacefulness to flow back to the emotion of anger.

Allow the emotion of anger to flow to the sensation,

The emotion of peacefulness.

Now release the emotions.

Imagine that you're sitting on a beach.

A broad white beach.

This late afternoon,

See the ocean in front of you and see the beach,

Wide and white.

Now see a wave forming far off.

Watch the wave as it slowly makes its way towards the beach.

Now see the wave break and then flow towards the beach.

See the wave as it travels up the beach toward you,

But it doesn't quite reach you.

It stops right before your feet in the wet sand.

Now see the water pause and reverse direction as it flows back to the sea.

Now bring your gaze back out to the ocean.

Look off towards the horizon.

Notice the sun is getting lower in the sky.

See another wave forming out to sea.

Watch as the wave moves in towards you on the shore.

See the wave break and see it flow towards the beach.

See the wave as it travels up the beach towards you.

Now see the water pause and reverse direction as it flows back to the sea.

Bring your gaze one more time out to the sea.

Wait until you see a wave forming.

See the water rising and then moving towards you on the beach.

See the wave getting closer and closer and closer until the wave breaks and the water flows up onto the beach almost to your toes in the wet sand.

Now notice how the water reverses course as it flows down the beach back to the ocean.

Now notice that it's getting dark.

The sun is setting over the ocean.

Continue to visualize the waves breaking on the beach and the waves flowing out to the sea.

The waves breaking on the beach and flowing back out to the sea.

Waves flowing in and breaking on the beach and the wave flowing back to the endless sea.

Bring your awareness now to the rising and the falling of your breath.

Slowly feel yourself beginning to rise to the surface of awareness.

Slowly you can begin to move as if you're waking from a long and restful sleep.

If you like,

Bend your knees and pull them closer to your chest and then gently roll to your side.

Take your time.

There is no need to hurry.

There is no reason to rush.

Keep your eyes gently closed and remain in the deep inner experience of yoga nidra.

At the same time,

Become aware of your body and bring a deep sense of peace and contentment with you as you bring your awareness back to your body.

Draw a deep breath in through both nostrils and then let that breath flow out.

Let another breath flow in and then let it flow out.

Bring your hands to heart center.

Press your palms together.

Join me as we offer loving kindness.

May you be happy.

May you be well and safe.

May you be peaceful.

And may you be at ease.

Namaste.

Thank you so much for joining us this evening for our yoga nidra practice.

Take care.

See you again soon.