Welcome to Yoga Nidra.
Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice,
One that has been done for a very long time.
It's healthy and good for our brains.
It helps us to sleep soundly and to wake up with lots of energy.
Let's get ready to do Yoga Nidra.
It's very important to be comfortable.
This means fluffing up your pillows,
Pulling up warm blankets,
And laying down in a way that feels good for you.
Pause this meditation until you feel you're most comfortable.
Now that you are ready,
Close your eyes.
Roll your head back and forth on your pillow until it's the right fluffiness for you.
Then stop.
Squeeze your feet as hard and tight as you can.
One,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
Now stretch your toes out as far and wide as you can.
One,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
Now squeeze your hands as hard as you can.
One,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
Now stretch your fingers out as far and wide and as long as you can.
One,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
Squeeze your face tight as if you sucked a sour lemon.
For one,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
For one,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
Now imagine stretching your face as wide as you can.
One,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
Squeeze your eyes shut as tight as you can.
For one,
Two,
Three,
Now relax.
Push your tongue to the roof of your mouth as hard as you can.
For one,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
For two,
Three,
Relax.
Bringing your attention to your breath.
Let's find out where you can feel your breath the most.
Bring one of your hands to the bottom of your nose and feel for the wind of your breath.
Now put your hand on top of your chest and feel your breath move your hand up and down.
Now put your hand on your belly and feel your breath move your hand up and down.
Where did you feel your breath?
Where did you feel the breath the most?
Was it at your nose,
Your chest,
Or your belly?
Wherever it was,
This is your breathing anchor point.
Place your hand on this point and leave it there for five full breaths.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Two,
Three,
Relax.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Relaxing your arms by your side,
Becoming still.
In this peacefulness,
Bring to mind all who love you and all who you love.
Think of a wish that you would love to come true,
Anything at all.
Wish it with all of your heart and silently to yourself repeat your wish three times.
Imagine beside you is a magic cartoon making machine.
This machine can make a cartoon version of you,
An exaggerated version,
Hugely humongous or teensy weeny,
Definitely dramatic,
Over the top in any colors that you choose.
As I name the body part,
You focus on it and imagine it becoming cartooned and the magic machine will make it so.
Focusing in on one of your feet,
Cartoon the big toe,
The second toe,
The third toe,
The fourth toe,
The fifth toe,
The second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And baby toe,
The whole foot.
Focusing in on the other foot,
The big toe,
The second toe,
The third toe,
Fourth toe,
Baby toe,
The whole foot.
Cartoon the ankles,
The knees,
The legs,
See the whole lower body fully cartooned.
Focusing in on one hand,
Cartoon the pinky finger,
The ring finger,
The middle finger,
Pointer finger,
And the thumb,
The whole hand.
And the thumb,
The whole hand.
Focusing in on the other hand,
Cartoon the pinky finger,
The ring finger,
Middle finger,
Pointer finger,
And the thumb,
The whole hand.
Cartoon the wrists,
The elbows,
The arms,
The shoulders,
The chest,
The belly.
See the whole upper body fully cartooned.
Now focusing in on the head,
Cartoon the neck,
The chin,
The jaw,
The mouth,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Nose,
Ears,
Eye,
The other eye,
The eyebrows,
The face,
The hair.
See the head fully cartooned.
See the whole body as a cartoon character.
Animated,
The cartoon peels itself off from the ground and stands up,
Looking back at the normal body,
Lying there on the floor.
It spots the breathing anchor and matches the breath for five full breaths.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
The cartoon dives into the space of the breathing anchor and the body becomes light as a feather,
Rising towards the sky,
Floating,
Fluttering,
Flying through the air.
Then the body becomes heavy,
Falling gently into the air.
Then the body becomes heavy,
Falling gently,
Lowering back down to the ground,
Towards the magnetic gravity,
Earth,
Sinking into the ground.
Then the body feels light again,
Much lighter than before,
Rising quickly towards the sky,
The moon,
The stars.
Then the body becomes heavy again,
Much heavier than before,
Like a sinking metal rocket ship out of fuel,
Returning to the earth through the magnetic pull of the strongest tractor beam.
Heavy,
Sinking,
Gravity,
Until the body is back on the floor,
Safe and secure.
The cartoon character is here too,
Waiting to put on a show,
Delighted to entertain and bring joy.
Watch as the cartoon creates a red square,
An orange circle,
A yellow triangle,
A green star,
A blue triangle,
A purple eye,
A magenta flower,
A red star,
A blue star,
A red eye,
A blue star,
A purple eye,
A magenta flower,
The earth,
The sun,
The moon,
The stars,
A redness,
A radiant being,
A brown seed,
A loving heart,
The place where the wishing began.
Wishes are seeds full of hope.
When placed into the beds of loving hearts,
They will grow and grow and grow until they come true.
Imagine a brown seed in the palm of your hands.
Remembering your wish now,
Place it into the seed by repeating it three times silently to yourself.
With your hand,
Gently close over the seed and place it to your heart.
Watch it move into your heart.
Know that your wish will come true.
Wishes sprout inside of our dreams and grow into the days around us,
Getting stronger as each day comes.
Follow your dreams into this night where all that is imaginable is possible.
Sweet dreams,
Dear one.
