Welcome to your practice of yoga nidra Please gather any props that you need to support your body so that it may relax completely I prefer a bolster under the knees to support the lower back In a small pillow under the base of the skull you can use a folded blanket As we progress through the practice your body temperature will drop Some prefer a blanket over the body for warmth The weight of the blanket can be comforting too Some like an eye pillow to cover the eyes And as you support your form take the shape of shavasana,
Corpse pose Toes fall open,
Feet hip width or mount width apart Arms alongside the body,
Palms up Allow there to be space from your pinky fingers from the side body so your arms can relax fully Breathe in from the soles of the feet,
Breath rising through the body to the crown of the head And your mouth ha as the breath moves back down the body Inviting any and all tension to exit through the soles of the feet with the exhale Again inhale breath rises from soles to crown Exhale out the mouth ha maybe a sigh Any all stress,
Cares,
Worries exit out the soles of the feet Again inhale from soles to crown,
Ha or sigh Let the bones drop into the earth and feel the support of the earth We'll do a few actions to allow the body to rest more fully So the first action will go in sequence You can choose to hold the breath at the top of the inhale or keep moving the breath It's up to you,
Do what feels natural So first inhale create a ball,
Hug your knees into your chest,
Forehead to knees As you wrap your arms around your legs flex the feet,
Breathing Exhale now stretch the body as far as you can stretch the eyes and the tongue Spread the fingers and toes and now shake the whole body Breathe in the feet and legs shake the head bounce the tailbone breathing Now let the body be still and hover the glutes the heels or the arms off of the earth breathing Now exhale drop,
Drop the body and bring the arms back to the side body feeling We'll do that sequence one more time I like to reach my arms overhead and keep them overhead until we drop the last action Inhale knees to chest,
Forehead to knees wrap the arms around Flex the feet,
Hold,
Scrunch,
Crunch Exhale stretch the body Stretch the eyes from the fingers and toes,
Breathe in And shake,
Shake the body,
Bounce it into the floor,
Breathe in And now be still hovering the hands,
The feet,
The glutes any part of the spine off the body Be still,
Breathe Now exhale drop completely and bring the arms the body back into the shape of corpse pose Feeling Now adjust any part of your form so you can become two to ten percent more comfortable Than be completely still This yoga ninja practice is to facilitate balance in the form of mental,
Emotional,
Physical health And balancing the earth element in the body A quote to begin from Pliny the Elder,
It is the earth that like a kind mother receives you at birth and sustains us when born It is this alone of all the elements around us that has never found an enemy of man Now there may be distractions in your practice as distractions are always present in life You may find internal thoughts or sensations,
Distracting or external sounds,
Disturbances And right now let any distraction that you notice choose that it will only deepen your ninja practice Whenever you notice your awareness being pulled by any distraction Draw your focus back as soon as you notice no matter how many times you have to bring your attention back Commit to this practice by remaining alert,
Present in mind Relaxed in body,
Relaxation progresses till the body as if sleeps,
Nidra You may find that the mind wants to sleep as well If that happens that's what you need,
Honor that You might find that you transverse in between awake and asleep However the practice unfolds it's completely natural,
Honor it All you have to do is come back to my voice,
Listening,
Deep listening Feeling Deep feeling That's all that you need to do,
That's all that's necessary So in this moment take a big breath and let go of all trying and doing Rest into feeling,
Being Your mind,
Your body,
Your breath is right here Your heart,
Your spirit is right now You're receiving my words,
Witnessing sensations Experiencing this experience Undistorted by what you like or don't like,
Simply experiencing As you drop into deeper sensation Pure sensation This is your connection to your source Feel a sense of peace and contentment in your heart For your life as is and for you,
Exactly as you are As you rest in the heart bring your attention to the sweetness that resides there From the sweetness of your heart allow a statement to arise in intention,
No need to force it,
Just feel A positive present tense affirmative statement,
A statement that it exclaims a place of being that you desire within or without A statement that exclaims something you are letting go of or bringing in Let your intention be full of enthusiasm,
Excitement as you repeat the word silently to yourself three times with an inherent knowing That your words are your truth and as you say the words it is your reality now Now for rotation of consciousness,
Follow my guidance as your awareness moves to the points I name Releasing trapped energy throughout the body,
Feeling the area rather than thinking about it Bring your attention to the tailbone resting on the earth,
Base of skull Feel the vertebra of the lower back from the tailbone moving up Mid-back As your attention moves to the upper back,
Following the spine with your awareness to the neck vertebra Attention to top of head Eyebrow center Feel the hollow of the throat,
The center of the throat And the center of the chest The space in between the ribs Navel point Pelvic floor Attention moves back through the spine from tip of tailbone up to base of skull To tip of tongue Feel the space in between the lips so soft Jaw Right inner ear Right whole ear Left inner ear Left whole ear Tip of nose Both eyeballs Both eyelids Both eyebrows Eyebrow center Whole head and face Back of torso And front of torso Feel both upper arms at once Both forearms Hands Together both thumbs on both hands Index fingers Right and left middle fingers Left and right ring fingers Both pinky fingers together Feel both arms And fingers together Be effortless as your attention moves to both thighs Feet Both big toes Both second toes Both third toes Right and left fourth toes Left and right pinky toes Both legs,
Feet and toes all at once Now feel the whole body together The whole body,
An effortless breath Keep your breath so soft,
No need to change the breath You'll watch the breath naturally take this course.
Begin right below the belly button in the front of the body The inhale will move from under the navel down through the pelvic floor up the back of the spine over top of head to the tongue,
That's all one natural inhale The exhale moves down the front line of the spine ending back below the navel where it started Breath so soft,
Inhale below the navel,
Pelvic floor up spine over top of head to tip of tongue Exhale down the front line of the spine from tip of tongue to below the navel Continue Watching the breath effortlessly trace this pattern of what the Taoists call the microcosmic orbit inside the body Awareness moving with effortless breath Body still Inhale from navel point,
Pelvic floor up spine overhead to tip of tongue Exhale tip of tongue down the front line of the spine back to navel center Breathing in and out Exhale tip of tongue down the front line of the spine Now releasing that technique,
Breath softens but notice the natural movement of the microcosmic orbit within Breathing in and out Now bring your attention to the eyebrow center Rest in tranquility and peace at the third eye You can see dark space there like gazing at a blank screen behind the forehead eyes or right in front of forehead eyes Use your imagination to its potential,
To feeling with emotion the scenes that I name at the eyebrow center You're standing in a valley of rolling hills,
So green The grass is soft under your feet and moist with morning dew There's a babbling brook filled with smooth pebbles and rocks of various shapes,
Sizes and colors You step in the brook,
Let the water cool the stones surprisingly comforting under your bare feet You walk in the stream for some time and when the stream comes to an end you see a well The well is gray brick and you peer into this cylindrical hole gazing into utter darkness As you look closer you see a light shining at the bottom and your curiosity deepens There's a bucket hanging from the well You see that your body can fit in the bucket and you climb it with a rope you begin to slowly lower yourself down into the well It becomes darker and quieter Now as you descend you can hear sounds near the bottom of the well,
Crickets,
Bugs As you hear the creaking of the rope lowering the bucket to get closer and closer to the dim light at the bottom And as the bucket reaches the bottom of the well there is a small hole in the side of the wall,
You step out of the bucket and crawl through the hole As you enter the light there is a huge garden,
The biggest you've ever seen Butterflies fill the air As you walk this stone pathway you see all your favorite flowers,
What are the flowers to your right?
What colors are they?
Take a moment to smell their fragrance Are the flowers the same to the left?
You're surrounded by your favorite flowers and a ray of colors,
The sweet fragrance fills the air The sky is buzzing with bumblebees and butterflies Some land on your skin,
You watch them move on your body and flap their wings You lie on your back in the field of flowers until they slowly begin to cover you completely like a blanket And as you rest feeling the flowers around you They support you,
Hold you and ground you Contemplate what brings balance in your life Or where is your sweetness?
What emotions are you willing to release that are blocking your balance?
Whatever insights arise they arise from your highest self Trust the insight Let your mind merge and melt into the presence and enter the sanctuary of silence In this silence you have entered the domain of grace You are the emissary of light and love Carry it with you wherever you go and to everyone you meet Come back to the contentment in your heart and the non-doing awareness Moving through effortless breath Feel grateful for all that has come to pass as you repeat your intention that you stated at the beginning of practice Silently three times now Same words,
Same feeling Here your intention is actualized and fulfilled with effortless ease Feel your body lying on the floor Allow your senses to slowly externalize As your breath begins to deepen Your body will move slowly Movement into fingers,
Toes,
Ankles,
Wrists Stretching the body or hugging the knees into the chest,
Breathe in And as you exhale bend knees,
Roll right,
Fetal position With very little effort make your way up to seated Gather your hands at your heart and we'll chant the sound of Aum one time As you exhale,
Breathe in Bring your thumbs into your eyebrow center and we honor the space shared by closing saying Namaste And now eagle mudra,
Raise the head,
Cross the thumbs,
Place the palms on your chest,
Your fingers spread like wings Bow your head to your own heart which is praising your own heart's flow As you're life praising the flow of your journey,
We say Jayo flow,
So praise your practice Thank you so much.
