Yoga Nidra Practice For Body & Breath

Thank you for joining me in the practice of Yoga Nidra.

Allow yourself to find a location where distractions are minimized.

Take a moment to adjust your body so that you feel completely supported,

Releasing and letting go into the surface that your body is resting upon.

If you are lying on the floor,

Move your chin slightly below the level of your forehead.

Allow the torso and legs to be at ease,

Arms away from your sides,

And palms turned slightly upwards.

Let yourself be as comfortable as you can.

If it's helpful,

Take a deep breath in,

Hold at the top of the breath,

And let it out with a sigh.

One more time.

Take a breath in,

Hold at the top of the breath,

And let it go.

In the practice of Yoga Nidra,

We welcome every sensation,

Feeling,

Thought,

As a messenger that arrives to help you connect with what is.

What is just as it is.

Allow your senses to receive what is happening and let each perception unfold.

Dust organs open,

Receptive,

Mouth,

Ears,

Nose,

Eyes,

Skin,

Open and receptive.

Remember your intention.

Identify the motivation,

The pulsation that is bringing you to practice.

Perhaps to remain alert or to inquire into a particular emotion,

Feeling.

If words appear,

Then let the words be stated in the present as though the intention is an already accomplished fact.

I am complete just as I am.

I am at peace with the ups and downs of life.

I am everyday getting stronger and healthier.

Let your intention be repeated three times or simply feel the pulsation.

Let it sink deeply into your bones.

Let's establish an inner resource,

A safe haven.

Let yourself recall a time when you felt very safe,

Secure and at ease.

It could be in the recent past or long ago or this location may exist only in your mind.

Notice if you're indoors or outdoors,

By yourself or with others.

Recognize the temperature of the air,

The taste in your mouth.

Allow your whole body to experience this quality,

A safe haven.

And know that this safe haven is available at any time in the practice.

You may choose to return to the safe haven and spend as much time as you'd like during the practice.

Now attune to my words and let my words be your words as we rotate attention through the body.

Bring your attention to the inside of your mouth and recognize the tongue as sensation.

Feel the tongue.

Feel the tip of the tongue,

The root of the tongue,

Recognizing the top of the tongue and the underbelly.

Feeling into the front of the mouth where the teeth reside,

Noticing the upper teeth,

Lower teeth and feeling the cheeks from the inside.

Recognizing the little tube that runs from the mouth into the ears themselves and follow these tubes.

Feel the flow of sensation as you connect with the valleys and folds,

The uniqueness of your own ears.

Stream sensation inward once more and recognize the nose,

The insides of the nostrils left and right,

Feeling the flow of breath as it moves in and out of the nostrils and feeling into the eyes.

Noticing the left eye,

The right eye,

Both eyes,

Both eyes as sensation.

Sensing the eyelids that rest in front of the eyes.

Feeling the difference between remembering and thinking about versus experiencing the eyelids.

Recognize the eyelids,

Welcoming sensations in the mouth,

Ears,

Nose,

Eyes,

Feeling the forehead,

The top of the head,

Back of the head,

Neck,

Inside of the throat,

The entire face,

Head,

Neck,

Throat as sensation,

Feeling the shoulders,

Arms,

Hands,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow,

Left wrist,

Left arm,

Palm of the left hand,

Feeling the right shoulder,

Right elbow,

Right wrist,

Right arm,

Palm of the right hand,

Both arms and hands together.

Sending attention to the little divot at the base of your throat and feeling into the body itself,

Feeling into the lungs,

Left and right lung,

Recognizing the heart as it beats and noticing the muscle at the bottom of the lungs that divides the upper and lower organs,

A muscle that moves as the body breathes and feeling into the stomach itself,

Feeling into the intestines as they wrap back and forth inside your body,

Recognizing the organs that reside on the right side of the body,

The liver and gallbladder,

The organs on the left side of the body,

The pancreas and spleen,

Connecting with the kidneys on the back side of the body,

And once more,

Connecting with the stomach,

The feeling of the intestines as they wrap back and forth inside your body,

Feeling into the lower aspect of the torso where the organs of excretion and sexuality reside,

Welcoming sensations,

Thoughts,

Feelings without trying to change them or adjust them in any way,

Welcoming,

Welcoming what is just as it is,

Noticing is it all right to experience what is just as it is,

Recognizing the torso,

Sensation of the upper chest,

Middle chest,

Abdomen,

And belly,

Upper back,

Middle back,

Lower back,

The entire torso,

Back,

Front,

Inside,

The entire torso,

A field of sensation.

Letting go of analyzing,

Simply sensing,

Pelvis,

Sacrum,

Buttocks,

Pure sensation,

Left hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Calf,

Ankle,

Left sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

And toes,

Alert,

Perceiving sensation in the right hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Calf,

Ankle,

The right sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Toes,

Both legs simultaneously,

Experiencing both legs together,

The entire front of the body,

Back of the body,

The area underneath the armpits,

Left side body,

Right side body,

Inside of the body,

The legs and arms,

The head,

The whole body,

Letting all these different parts come together,

The whole body,

Welcoming sensations present in awareness,

Feeling back and dissolving into being awareness,

Awareness in which changing sensations are unfolding,

Recognizing the body as it rests and feeling into all six directions,

Feeling into the space in front of the body,

The space behind the body,

Feeling into the space to the left of the body,

To the right,

Feeling into the space beneath the feet and above the head,

Allowing the body to grow in all six directions,

Letting the body get bigger,

The body expanding,

Growing,

The body taking up more space.

Recognizing the breath,

Feeling the flow of breath without needing to change or make anything special happen,

Be aware of the body breathing itself,

The natural flow of air and the sensation entering and leaving the body,

Sensation in the nostrils,

Throat,

Chest,

Abdomen,

Breath,

Just as it is,

Moment to moment.

And now beginning to count your breath,

Mentally counting from 1 to 11,

Counting forward such that on the inhale it's 1,

Exhale it's 1,

On the next inhale it's 2,

Exhale 2 and so forth.

If you recognize that the mind wanders,

Begin the count anew.

If you reach the count of 11,

Begin again.

Continuing in this manner with your body's own natural breathing rhythm.

The body breathing itself,

Sensing and counting from 1 to 11.

Stay with the breath,

Moment to moment.

Now counting,

Falling away,

Sensing into what is,

What is now present in awareness,

Dissolving into being,

Unchanging awareness in which all of the changing perceptions are unfolding and receiving your breath as it is in this moment.

Recognize the different components of your breath,

The flow of the inhale,

The pause between breaths and the flow of the exhale and just recognize the movement of your breath,

Receiving your breath as it is in this moment.

Bringing attention to the left side of the body,

Recognizing the left leg,

The left side of the torso,

Left arm,

Neck,

Left nostril,

Recognizing the whole left side,

Feeling into the left side of your body,

Letting your breath help you experience the left side body,

Allowing your attention to shift to the right side body and recognizing the right leg,

The right side of the torso,

Right arm,

Neck,

Right nostril,

Recognizing the whole right side,

Feeling into the right side of the body,

Letting the breath help you experience the quality that is the right side body.

And at your command,

Crossing over the center line of the body and flowing into the opposite side,

Pouring sensation into one side and then the other.

Allow the breath to help you experience each side of the body,

Experiencing the body through the movement of breath and now experiencing both sides simultaneously,

Recognizing the whole body and experiencing the energy that is the body.

Performing spontaneous feelings,

Perhaps warmth,

Heaviness,

Lethargy,

The weight of the body,

Or a sense of ease.

The whole body partakes of this experience,

Recognizing the effect on the body-mind.

Then if it's helpful,

Locate where in your body the opposite feelings reside.

If warm,

Then find coolness,

If heaviness,

Find lightness,

Effervescence.

If a sense of ease,

Then find tension,

Letting the whole body partake of the experience,

Coming and moving back and forth between opposite feelings at your own command.

And notice the response of the body-mind.

And now experience opposite feelings simultaneously,

Sensing how this acts on the body-mind.

Knowing you can always return to your safe haven whenever you experience the need to feel secure and at ease.

Finding your experience as it is,

Without judging or trying to change anything,

Everything unfolding naturally,

Just as it is.

Sensing everything that is now present,

Dissolving into being,

Pure unchanging awareness in which all of your changing experiences are unfolding.

Sensing your experience as it is,

Without judging or trying to change anything,

Everything unfolding naturally,

Just as it is.

Sensing everything that is now present,

Dissolving into being pure unchanging awareness in which all of your changing experiences are unfolding.

Sensing pure awareness,

Open and spacious,

Setting aside thinking,

Letting go,

Letting go of the doing,

Not doing,

Letting go of the fixing,

And dissolving into your own true nature things,

Just as it is,

Just as it is.

Feeling into the background from which all these events have been unfolding,

Without needing to change anything,

Experience what is happening.

All these events have been arising,

Unfolding,

And dissolving,

All in awareness.

And from this openness,

Reflecting upon the journey that we've just taken.

Sensing all the different perceptions that are now or have been present,

Sensations,

Awareness itself,

Welcoming,

Experiencing,

And affirming your intention once more.

Sensing your intention with your whole body.

Has your intention arrived in some new fashion,

Perhaps with a message from beyond?

Sensing your body,

Recognizing the breath,

And connecting with the room around you,

Allowing the senses to awaken,

Recognizing sounds in the room and sounds outside the room,

At your command,

Returning and beginning to transition,

Transitioning back into your waking life.

The body fully alert,

Reorienting to this time,

This place,

And bringing the practice of Yoga Nidra to an end.

Thank you for taking the time to practice.

Namaste.