Yoga Nidra For Inner Peace

Welcome,

Inner Space Journeyers.

This is the Yoga Nidra for Inner Peace.

Let's prepare now to relax deeply by swaddling yourself in pillows and blankets to get to your optimal comfort level.

Next,

Making sure you're in Savasana,

Lying flat on the back,

Palms of the hands facing up while your arms are by the sides,

Feet gently opening,

Settling into a rhythmic breath.

Now,

Feel into the length of the spine from the head all the way to the pelvis,

Feeling that lengthening of the neck and then noticing the weight of the body and feeling it become distributed evenly across both sides,

Left and right.

Make any last adjustments for your comfort in these next few moments and then close the eyes and the mouth as you settle in and start to feel the connection between the body and the ground below,

Feeling into every point of the body point of the body that touches the surface beneath you.

That could be the heels,

It could be the back of the head or the arms.

Feel into every touch point at the back and then do the same with any point of the body at the front,

Touching the air or the clothing and blankets around you,

Noticing that feeling on the toes or the knees,

Anywhere at the front of the body.

And at this time,

Bring to mind your sankalpa for the session.

This is also known as an intention or a personal resolve,

A vow for aligning your actions with highest truth,

A deep commitment around anything you wish to have,

Change or achieve.

And remember to formulate the sankalpa in the positive.

Make it very precise and clear with a strong emotional charge.

Once you've formatted that in the present tense,

Repeat it to yourself now.

We'll recall it later in the practice.

Then begin moving your awareness to sounds outside of the room that you're in,

Letting your awareness wander far away or closer.

Just noticing any sounds that are loud or quiet outside of your space.

Continue moving your awareness from sound to sound without analyzing them,

Simply observing every sound and continue this practice on your own,

Continuing this awareness of sounds around your space and slowly shifting your awareness to sounds within the space that you're in,

Noticing any subtle sounds within the room or within the body.

And now letting go of the sound awareness,

Letting go,

Letting it go and moving your awareness to the body,

The whole body as it lies within your space.

I will ask you to rotate your awareness around parts of the body.

Every time I name a part,

Picture it in the mind and continue to follow my voice with full awareness,

Beginning with the right hand thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

Right palm of the hand,

Right back of the hand,

The wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Right upper abdomen,

Navel center,

Right lower abdomen,

Hip bone,

Front of the thigh,

Kneecap,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the right foot,

The right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

And little toe.

Continuing to follow my voice with full awareness as we continue 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,

Armpit,

Shoulder,

Collarbone,

Left side of the chest,

Left upper abdomen,

Navel center,

Left lower abdomen,

Hip bone,

Front of the thigh,

Kneecap,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the left foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe.

Now feeling into the heels,

Feeling into both calf muscles,

Backs of the knees,

Backs of the thighs,

The buttocks,

The lower back,

Middle of the back,

Upper back,

The entire spine from the tailbone to the top of the head between the ears,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Space between shoulder blades,

Back of the neck,

Back of the neck,

Back of the head,

Then the crown of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Middle of the eyebrows,

The eyebrow center,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Bridge of the nose,

Nose tip,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Chin,

Jaw,

The whole head,

The whole of the torso,

Then the whole right side,

The whole left side,

And then the whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Take your awareness now to the natural flow of the breath entering and leaving the nostrils and begin following the pathways of the breath.

Follow where the breath travels up and down the nostrils and on the next inhale visualize the breath reaching a point at the eyebrow center and on the next exhale visualize that breath flowing down and out of both nostrils.

Continue this on your own with every inhale visualizing the breath reaching a point at the eyebrow center,

Holding it there,

And then visualizing the breath flowing out of the nostrils.

On the next exhale let go of this breath,

Let go of the awareness of the breath,

Let it go and return to a natural rhythm in the nostrils.

We'll begin to start feelings and sensations in the body.

As I name each feeling or sensation,

Feel it and then let it go.

We'll start with the sensation of coldness throughout the whole body.

Feeling that sensation of coldness throughout the whole body,

Coldness,

And let it go and feel the sensation of warmth next throughout the whole body.

Feeling warmth throughout the whole body,

Warmth.

Next bring in the sensation of tension throughout the whole body,

Tension.

Next bring in the sensation of release throughout the whole body,

Feeling release throughout the whole body,

Release.

Next bring in the sensation of apathy throughout the whole body,

Feeling apathy throughout the whole body,

Apathy.

Now bringing in the sensation of excitement throughout the whole body,

Feeling excitement throughout the whole body,

Excitement.

Bringing in next the sensation of discomfort throughout the whole body,

Feeling discomfort throughout the whole body,

Discomfort.

Next bringing in the sensation of comfort throughout the whole body,

Feeling comfort throughout the whole body,

Comfort.

Bring in the sensation of disappointment now throughout the whole body,

Feeling disappointment throughout the whole body,

Disappointment.

Now bringing in the sensation of delight throughout the whole body,

Feeling delight throughout the whole body,

Delight.

Bringing in the sensation now of worry throughout the whole body,

Feeling worry throughout the whole body,

Worry.

Now let this go,

Let go of worry and bring in the sensation of peace throughout the whole body,

Feeling peace throughout the whole body,

Peace.

Now let go of all feelings and sensations,

Let them go and listen for symbols that I will name one by one.

As I name each symbol,

Picture it in the mind and then wait for the next one.

A traffic jam,

A traffic jam,

A traffic jam,

Strangers in a park,

Strangers in a park,

Strangers in a park,

A sign on a door,

A sign on a door,

A sign on a door,

A bright screen,

A bright screen,

A bright screen,

A kitchen sink,

A kitchen sink,

A kitchen sink.

And now visualize yourself in the center of a prairie.

It's a coastal prairie and the morning light streams through tall trees scattered throughout a soft grassy landscape.

It's on the edge of an unseen ocean.

You can hear the waves but you don't see them.

Bright orange poppies are sprinkled across the pasture,

Swaying in a slow dance with the gentle breeze and you take your time to take it in and get acquainted with your surroundings.

As you listen,

You notice that the sound of the waves are distant but powerful.

They sound as if the water is crashing rhythmically against the cliffside.

There is no path to this ocean but you guide your exploration by connecting your feet to the earth.

In each step,

You notice the texture of the ground and the grass and use this quiet practice of sensing as a way to guide each of your steps forward as you follow the sound.

Every few feet you travel,

The elevation becomes slightly higher and the sound of the waves becomes slightly louder.

As you climb this gentle slope,

It takes a bit more effort to find your footing.

Soon you find yourself at the edge of a grove of sequoia trees that shields the meadow from the ocean winds.

You enter the grove and see that the outer trees circle and surround a massive great sequoia that shoots high into the sky,

Its grounded roots knotted like boulders on a fissured trunk.

You place your hand upon one of the tree's knots and guide your fingers around its diameter,

Feeling into every groove and vibration as you walk.

When you reach the other side of the sequoia,

You come upon an opening that nature has carved out naturally into the tree's roots.

You enter the small sequoia cave and the floor is just a soft patch of dirt.

It's dark but some sunlight streams in from above.

You sit in the center of this tree.

As you rest,

You notice that a tiny ray of sunlight from outside finds itself directly on the center of your brows and you close your eyes.

The sound of small wings awakens you from your rest.

You open your eyes and notice a bright red butterfly fluttering in the soft light.

As it exits the sequoia,

You follow and this butterfly leads you through the grove and disappears into some low brush where the sound of the waves becomes more crisp.

You're at the edge of a slight green slope that flourishes with bright flowers.

The greenery in the slope trails into a vast ocean below where the waves crash rhythmically on rocks.

You look out toward the horizon and take your time to perceive the full breadth of this ocean as it merges into a boundless blue sky.

And now let go of this visualization.

Let it go and bring your awareness up to Chittakash,

The mind space,

As it is known in yoga.

This is the deep,

Dark,

Infinite space of the mind located behind the forehead.

Look deeply into this space and make any observations on thoughts,

Patterns,

Feelings,

Just remaining as a witness.

And now begin to withdraw from the mind space.

Keep withdrawing your awareness from the mind space.

Withdraw from the mind space to bring your awareness back to the breath and feel the breath on the nostrils.

Deepen the breath.

At this point,

You can bring to mind your sankalpa.

Be sure to repeat it to yourself three times.

And now bringing your awareness back to your body,

Back to the whole body,

The whole physical body.

Start to stretch your arms and bring movement back into the body,

Making sure you are aware of your whole physical body now and your environment.

Moving the fingers,

The toes,

And slowly coming back to center in a seated position.

Whenever you're ready.

Whenever you're ready.

This now completes the yoga nidra.