Yoga Nidra - Air Element

This Yoga Nidra session is all about the natural element of air.

It's the perfect element to help you clear your mind and create some internal space.

Space to breathe.

The element air stands for breathing and movement,

For freedom and curiosity.

It's related to the Anahata Chakra,

The heart chakra.

So I'm sure you know where you can find it in your physical body.

In this session,

We'll focus on the oxygen flowing through our body.

And by doing that,

We'll create space in our heads,

In our minds.

We'll find rest in the movement of air.

So I'd like to invite you to lie down.

Maybe on your couch,

In your bed.

Or simply on the floor.

And if you like,

You can pause this session for a moment.

To light a scented candle,

Or to burn some incense.

To fill up the air with a soothing scent.

But you obviously don't have to.

It's just an option.

The most important thing for you to do right now is to make sure that you're comfortable.

Maybe you'd like to cover yourself with a blanket,

Place a thin pillow under your head,

Or an eye pillow over your eyes.

And feel how your body is lying down.

Legs slightly apart.

Arms next to you.

Arms facing up.

You may close your eyes.

Give your eyes some rest.

And let's take a big,

Cleansing breath in.

A big breath in through your nose.

Suck up all the air you can.

And a big breath out through your mouth.

You can make some noise doing that.

Make the breath audible.

Let's just repeat that a couple of times.

Big breath in through your nose.

And a big sigh out.

Breathe in deeply through your nose.

And let the air escape through your mouth.

Very good.

Now let's start breathing in and out through our noses.

And focus first on what you feel in and around your nose.

Feel the air touch your nostrils when you inhale.

Feel how the air moves into your nasal cavities.

How the oxygen makes its way past the little nose hairs.

The air is entering your respiratory system via your nose.

And on the exhale,

Try to see if you can feel the reverse motion.

Feel the air move through your nose,

Past your nostrils.

And maybe you can even notice a difference in temperature.

Is the air you inhale colder or warmer than the air you exhale?

Maybe you feel like breathing a little deeper to experience the sense of air moving more intensely.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Notice if you can distinguish some smells.

Maybe you've lit that scented candle and the scent reaches your nose.

Or maybe you haven't,

But you do get a hint of perfume or you smell freshly washed sheets.

Or maybe there's just not a distinctive smell at the moment.

That's perfectly fine.

It's time to follow the air beyond our nose,

Into our body.

Feel how it enters your nose and how it moves to your throat,

Your lungs.

How your ribcage expands,

How your belly rises.

And how the whole journey is reversed on your exhale.

If you're having trouble feeling your breath moving all the way through your body,

You can lie one hand on your heart and one on your belly,

Or both on your belly.

That might help you feel the movement of the air better.

Take deep breaths in through your nose.

Fill up your lungs and your belly with fresh,

New air.

And let all the air escape on your exhale.

Feel the emptying of your belly,

Your lungs,

Your throat and your nose.

With these deep,

Slow breaths,

And if you're wearing pants with a button,

You might find it comfortable to open up the button to give your belly more space.

Just see if that feels right.

And I'd like to introduce box breathing to you now.

It's a breathing technique to calm the mind by making your inhales and exhales equally long.

So we're going to inhale through our nose for four seconds,

Then hold our breath for four seconds,

And exhale through our nose for four seconds,

And once again for four seconds,

Hold our breath.

It's called box breathing because for some people it's easier when they visualize the breathing process as a box.

So you imagine a square,

And on your inhale,

You let your breath flow from one corner of the square to the next.

And when you hold your breath,

You go to the next corner.

And you simply continue this path to each corner.

I will start the counting for you.

On my count of four,

You inhale through your nose.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold your breath for two,

Three,

Four.

And exhale through your nose,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale two,

Three,

Four.

Hold two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale two,

Three,

Four.

Hold two,

Three,

Four.

Inhale two,

Three,

Four.

Continue breathing like this on your own count,

Your own pace.

You can let go of counting now.

And you can place your arms next to you again,

With your palms facing up.

And notice if the focus on your breathing has already made some changes to all the thoughts and busyness in your mind.

Is your mind growing a little quieter already?

Can you find rest in breathing?

Do you feel more space in your head?

Let's expand the breathing,

The movement of air,

To our entire body.

You can visualize the air as the color green,

The color of the heart chakra.

Imagine how the green air enters your body at your feet and how it finds its way all the way through your legs,

Your spine,

Your head,

Filling your body completely with fresh air.

And then you feel how the color green leaves your body in the opposite direction with your exhale.

Inhale see how the green air moves up from your feet all the way to your head.

Inhale trace the green air all the way down.

Inhale the green air makes space from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head.

Exhale it makes the journey back down.

And on your next inhale,

Start from your knees.

Imagine the green air moving up from your knees to your hips,

Your spine,

Your shoulders,

Your head.

And then it lowers down the same way it came.

Inhale start from your knees.

Inhale feel the green air leaving space in your head,

Space in your shoulders,

Your belly,

Your legs.

Inhale from your knees.

Exhale.

Now start at your hips.

Feel how the green air fills up your belly,

Your heart space,

Your head.

And exhale feel it disappear into your hips again.

Inhale from your hips.

Exhale let it flow down via your shoulders,

Your spine,

Into your hips.

Now start from your belly.

Feel your belly rise and feel the green air flow into your ribcage,

Your spine.

It enters your arms,

Your head.

And let it slowly clear everything on the way down to your belly.

Inhale from your belly and make your way up,

Making space with the green air.

Exhale back to your belly.

Breathe in from your belly and imagine the green air moving to your head,

Literally like you're taking a breath of fresh air to clear your mind.

And exhale let it all flow down.

Now let's move up a little more.

Start your breath of green air from your heart and your lungs.

Filling the area up and floating to your head and letting it go.

Inhale from your heart space up to the top of your head.

Exhale leaving traces of fresh air.

Moving from your head to your throat,

Your shoulders and your heart.

Inhale from your heart.

Exhale from your head down to your heart.

Now inhale from your throat and let the green air fill your head.

And let it go.

Inhale and let the green air swirl through your head,

Cleansing and clearing.

Making space.

Exhale release.

Let it flow.

One last time breathe in and breathe out.

Return to your natural breath.

Feel the space you've just created by simply breathing.

By very consciously giving yourself air.

Air to breathe.

You feel light like air.

You float on air.

And in this calm open space I invite you to set an intention.

State your intention in positive words using the present tense as if it's already here.

Maybe something comes up for you immediately or maybe you'd like some inspiration.

Your intention could be something like I feel light.

I'm free as a bird.

I allow myself space to breathe.

Whatever resonates with you right this second.

Now silently repeat your intention,

Your sankalpa,

Three times.

And let it go.

Let it dissolve into the air.

Now imagine yourself enjoying some fresh air somewhere out there in nature.

Maybe it's mountain air or maybe you're near the ocean.

You feel a soft breeze touch your skin.

The wind runs through your hair.

And you notice a pretty little bird riding the waves of the wind high up in the sky.

The bird is 100% free.

You admire her,

The way she handles life with lightness.

The little bird inspires you to do the same.

To go with the flow.

To dance with the wind.

In that beautiful spot in nature that you picked,

You open your arms and close your eyes.

You take a deep,

Long,

Nourishing breath.

You enjoy the feeling of the fresh air running through your body.

The air creates space instantly.

It opens your senses.

The air opens your mind.

It opens your heart.

You feel 100% free.

It's time to slowly come back down to earth.

Become aware of my voice.

The space that you are in.

And start to make some tiny,

Light movements.

Touch the tops of your fingers with your thumbs.

Make some small,

Slow circles with your feet.

Inhale and exhale more deeply.

And then roll to your favorite side.

Now gently push yourself up to a comfortable seated position while you keep your eyes closed.

Bring your hands together in front of your heart and see if you notice any changes inside you.

Do you feel lighter?

Do you experience more space in your body and your mind?

Maybe,

When this session ends in a few seconds,

You'd like to take a walk outside or simply open the windows and very consciously breathe in the air.

And remember,

For the rest of your day,

You always have the freedom to take a second,

To be in the moment and take a deep,

Slow breath of air.

Namaste.