Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.
Whether you're seated or lying down,
Join me for a few long,
Deep breaths.
Close your eyes,
And breathe in through the nose.
Fill the belly with air,
And now exhale.
Again,
Breathe in through the nose,
And exhale.
Breathe in,
Exhale.
Make your way into a Shavasana position,
Lying down on the back,
Preferably on the floor.
But if you'd like to lie on your bed,
Go ahead and just change positions,
Switch your head and foot position,
So that it's the opposite of your sleeping position.
If you're lying on the floor,
Or your yoga mat,
Or the ground,
Just allow your body to spread out naturally,
The spine lengthening,
Head heaving down,
Shoulder blades slightly tucked under the back,
Arms away from the body with the palms facing up.
And from the hip joints,
Feel your legs rolling outwards,
Thighs heaving down,
Feet loose.
Notice all of the points that are in contact with the surface below you,
Warming and melting down.
For a moment,
Become aware of any areas of your physical body where you may feel tension,
Discomfort,
Or even pain.
This practice of Yoga Nidra is going to help restore physical health to your body.
The deeper you can relax into this session,
The more healing will take place.
From a cellular level,
Transforming and shifting the DNA all the way outwards to your skin and the energy surrounding you.
Our intention with today's class is physical healing,
But you'll use your same Sankalpa that you've been using for every class.
We're just allowing an overhead intention of physical healing,
And you know what area needs the most attention.
Once we're in a state of Yoga Nidra,
The therapy and the healing will happen all by itself.
You won't need to think about the area of the body that requires healing.
It will be done for you.
So before we begin,
Recall your personal Sankalpa,
Your resolution,
And then shift your attention to your breath.
Notice the state of your breath right now as you're lying on your back,
Body continually relaxing more and more.
How is the breath moving in the body right now?
Is it slow?
Is it fast?
Is it shallow or full?
Is the breath extending down to the chest and ribs,
Into the side body or the back,
Perhaps even down into the belly?
How is it moving naturally right now?
And what does the air feel like?
Is it cooler as it comes into the body and warmer as it exits?
Try to take notice of all of the subtleties,
The subtle sensations of your breath right now.
Now begin to move your breath delicately down into your lower abdomen.
As you inhale,
Count to yourself six counts as you gently sip the air into the belly.
And then exhale slowly and smoothly for six counts,
Letting the belly drop back down.
Inhale for six counts into the belly.
Exhale for six counts,
Releasing the belly.
Continue just like this.
Breathing to belly,
Six counts.
Releasing from belly,
Six counts.
Unconcerned with anything else but this breath.
And now beginning to release your attention from the breath the next time you exhale.
Release the counting.
Let the breath come back to its normal rhythm,
Traveling wherever it wants to travel in the body.
Leave the breath alone.
It's time to rotate our attention around the physical body,
Momentarily placing all of our focus on the body part that I call out.
And then the next moment,
Moving the attention and leaving that body part completely by itself in stillness.
We'll begin at the left hand,
Placing the attention in the left thumb.
Immediately,
You may feel a response,
The thumb responding to your attention.
Now moving to left index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And pinky finger.
Palm of left hand,
Back of left hand,
Left forearm,
Elbow,
Left upper arm,
And left shoulder.
The left side of the chest and ribcage.
The left side of the waist.
Left hip joint and buttocks.
Left thigh.
Left knee.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And fifth toe.
Now the entire left side of the body.
Entire left side.
Move the attention to the right thumb.
Right index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Pinky finger.
Palm of right hand.
Back of right hand.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Right upper arm.
And right shoulder.
The right side of the chest and ribcage.
The right waist.
Right hip joint and buttocks.
The right thigh.
All of the attention at the right thigh.
Right knee joint.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Sole of right foot.
Top of right foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And fifth toe.
Entire right side of the body.
Entire right side of body.
The abdomen.
Solar plexus area.
And now the whole of the chest.
The whole entire chest.
Upper back and shoulder blades.
Middle back and ribs.
Lower back.
The whole of the back.
Focus on the entire back now.
Bring the awareness to the spinal cord.
The entire length of the spinal cord.
The spinal column.
Holding the cord.
Attention at the front of the throat.
Front of the throat and neck.
Right side of the neck.
Left side of the neck.
Both sides of the neck.
Back of the neck.
The place where the neck meets the head.
The chin.
The jaw.
The top teeth.
The bottom teeth.
All of the teeth together.
The upper palate.
Lower palate.
Upper and lower palate together.
The tongue.
Back of the tongue.
Middle of the tongue.
And tip of the tongue.
The entire top of the tongue.
And the underneath of the tongue.
Bottom lip.
Top lip.
Both lips together.
Left cheek.
Right cheek.
Left eye.
Right eye.
Left eyelid.
Right eyelid.
Both eyes and lids together.
The temples and forehead area.
Left ear.
Right ear.
Both ears together.
Top of the head.
The entire scalp.
Remain alert.
Bring the attention deeper inside.
Inside the chest and torso region.
Imagine all of your organs there.
Resting.
Visualize whichever organs you can recall.
Focus on whichever internal organs pop into your mind.
Just observing.
Give them your full attention now.
Now bring your focus to the entire left leg.
Entire left leg by itself.
Entire right leg by itself.
Both legs together.
Left arm by itself.
Right arm by itself.
Both arms together.
Both legs and both arms together.
The torso all by itself.
Torso by itself.
The torso,
Legs and arms together.
And now the entire body.
Legs,
Torso,
Arms and head together.
Now allow your awareness to dissipate.
Leave the body all by itself.
With your mind,
I'll ask you to recall some strong sensations.
You can imagine a time when you felt these sensations.
If it produces an effect in your physical body now,
That's fine.
But try to imagine the details.
Exactly what it feels like.
Beginning with the sensation of heaviness.
Extreme heaviness.
Try to recall what it feels like to feel extremely heavy.
Now recall the sensation of lightness.
Weightlessness.
Remember the feeling of weightlessness in the body.
Now recall the feeling of cold.
Coldness.
Freezing cold.
And now remember the feeling of warmth and heat.
Being very,
Very hot.
Now remember the feeling of pain.
Physical pain in the body.
Remember exactly what it feels like for a moment.
And now find the feeling of physical comfort and pleasure.
Remember the feeling of pleasure in the body.
Now neutralize all of those sensations.
Become neutral.
A blank space.
Remember to stay awake.
Stay alert with your mind.
Follow the instructions.
Bring your attention now down towards the base of the spine.
Towards the tailbone.
And imagine a vibrant glowing globe of light.
Red light at the base of the spine.
See the color red.
What shade is it?
How bright or dark?
Notice its movement or stillness.
The size of the orb.
And all of the other details.
Keep focusing there at the base of the spine.
The red color.
And now moving the attention upwards.
Just below the navel.
See an orb of orange light.
Notice the details.
Moving up higher to the solar plexus area.
Notice a bright yellow light.
Bright yellow light at the solar plexus.
See the details of this yellow light.
And then moving to the center of the chest.
A green light vibrating there at the center of the chest.
Notice its details.
Green orb of light at the center of the chest.
The base of the throat now.
Light blue sky color.
Light sky blue at the base of the throat.
Move up between the eyebrows.
A few inches deep into the skull.
Indigo color light.
Indigo light at the third eye space.
Notice what it looks like.
Finally move the attention just above the top of your head.
That area around hovering over the top of the head.
And see a multifaceted rainbow light.
Shining outwards.
As far as you can imagine.
Rainbow light shining outwards.
As far as you can imagine from the top of the head now.
And now allow that rainbow light to dissipate as well.
Move your attention into the right side of your physical heart.
Find the right side of your physical heart.
There's a space there about the size of the tip of your thumb.
A hollow.
A space.
Enter into that space with your full attention.
Notice what it looks and feels like.
This seat of your soul.
Make yourself comfortable in this space.
In this room.
That is made just for you.
Once you feel completely comfortable and relaxed.
Recite your Sankalpa to yourself.
Three times.
Releasing all expectation.
And remaining awake in the state of Yoga Nidra consciousness.
Get the strong feeling that celestial healers are surrounding the physical body.
With care,
Kindness,
And attention.
And starting to work on all of the parts that may need healing.
All you have to do is rest and allow.
They know exactly what to do.
On their own.
Imagine and feel the support and the healing taking place rapidly.
Remain awake and alert.
And deeply relaxed as the healing is taking place.
Now very gradually.
Staying perfectly still.
Just notice the air coming in through the nostrils.
Notice the air coming in through the nostrils once again.
Lifting the chest.
And letting it fall.
The air lifting the belly.
And letting it fall.
The air pressing into the back body.
Pressing back against the ground.
And then releasing.
Notice the points of contact that the body has with the surface beneath it.
Notice all of the points of contact.
And the weight of the physical body.
Notice the air on the skin.
On the face.
Begin to breathe a little more deeply.
Start to make very small movements with the fingers and the toes.
Pointing and flexing the toes and feet.
Rotating the wrists.
Start to rock the head to the right and to the left just one inch.
Feel the spine lengthening out.
And the muscles around the spine engaging.
Begin to stretch your feet in one direction.
And your hands all the way above the head in the other.
Gather your knees.
Bring them in.
Hug them towards your belly or your chest.
And leaving the eyes closed.
Let your legs and body fall over to the side.
And staying very soft with your eyes closed.
Use your arms to help lift the body up to find a comfortable seat.
Where your spine is tall.
Your head balanced right on top.
An effortless,
Comfortable seat.
Connect your thumbs and index fingers gently at the tips.
Your palms facing upwards.
Bring your attention behind the brow bone to that third eye space.
Soften your jaw.
Lift the center of your heart.
And turn the corners of your mouth upwards slightly into a smile.
And know that a great deal of healing has just taken place.
And conclude with one om.
Om.
Namaste.
This concludes the practice of Yoga Nidra.
