Yoga Nidra For Accessing Your Intuition

Hello and welcome to this yoga nidra practice for accessing your intuition.

My name is Maryam and I'll be your guide.

Before we begin,

I invite you to settle into your space and set up your physical body in a way that allows you to seamlessly drop into the practice.

Cozy yourself with pillows,

Blankets,

Perhaps an eye mask.

And once you're comfortable,

Let the eyelids softly close if they aren't already and if that serves you.

Wriggle the toes and the fingers.

Roll out the wrists and the ankles.

Tense and soften your arms and legs.

Now release it all the deep belly breath in through the nose and a long slow exhale out either through the nose or the mouth.

Let's do that two more times together.

Deep belly breath in,

Long slow exhale out.

One more.

Deep breath in,

Long breath out.

However your breath moved in and out,

Whatever the depth and width within your belly and lungs,

Can you invite in a whisper of gratitude for that breath.

An acknowledgement and appreciation for this vital life force that moves within you every second of every day.

From this place of gratitude,

Notice if there is a sense of expansion around your heart space or perhaps a growing spark of awareness deep inside down to the mid to lower belly.

Can you allow this awareness to travel now towards the other physical senses.

As the body begins to melt or slightly soften into your space,

Begin to invite in a curious awareness of your surroundings.

For the next few moments activate,

If you can,

All five senses.

Touch,

Smell,

Sound,

Taste and yes even sight.

How does your body feel against the materials it is touching?

What are the sounds you hear besides my voice,

If any?

Is there a detectable scent in your space?

Is there a lingering taste in your mouth?

What do you see beneath your closed lids,

Even if it is simply darkness?

Now that you've located your sensory surroundings,

Can you also locate a sense of safety within your surroundings?

A sense that your body,

Mind and spirit are safe to explore this practice and safe within your space.

As you ask yourself that important and necessary question,

Allow the answer to arise naturally from the depths of your body rather than your mind.

Can you allow your body to speak?

Can you allow it to communicate its own built-in wisdom with you?

As the answer makes its way from your body into your consciousness,

Take a moment to respond.

Either by physically adjusting your space if needed to increase a sense of safety or if you feel safe already,

By allowing yourself to rest in that safe space you have cultivated.

Coming back to the breath,

This time take a deep belly breath in through the nose and a long slow exhale out either through the nose or through the mouth with the intention to allow any parts of yourself aching for release,

For a voice to be heard,

Seen and acknowledged,

The safety to come forth.

We now begin the practice of yoga nidra.

As you start to befriend and establish connection with your physical body,

Subtle aspects lying beneath the surface of your skin begin to have a voice and with that voice begin to speak to you in a way that you may also begin to understand.

This voice is your intuition.

It lies below the mind and rests somewhere in the body.

Where it rests in your body only you know.

If you don't yet know,

As you deepen your relationship to your physical form,

You may notice sensations that give rise to the voice of your intuition.

Sensations that are clues your intuition is speaking to you.

Chills running across your spine,

Tingles in your hands or arms,

A flutter in your tummy,

Those are just a few examples.

Allow for the uniqueness of your intuition's expression to take shape in you.

You can begin the process of developing or establishing connection with your intuition now as you draw up your sankalpa or I am statement.

As the quality of our lives is often reflected in the quality of our thoughts,

Allow your sankalpa to be positive in nature.

It will be after all what you use to repattern or reprogram your mind in order to remember your innate wholeness.

In this way,

Can you invite your sankalpa to choose you?

This can come in the form of I am worthy or I am whole or I am here.

Your sankalpa may have already arisen instinctually and naturally.

If not,

Take a moment to breathe in and out just as we did in the beginning of the practice and see if your sankalpa rises to the surface through that breath.

If your sankalpa has not yet arrived,

Give yourself permission to choose any of the examples given or simply I am open to receive.

Once you've chosen your sankalpa or your sankalpa has chosen you,

Silently repeat it three times to yourself and allow it to sink into the fibers of your being with mindful intention.

Begin on the right side of your body.

Bring awareness to your right thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of your hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Underarm,

Right side of the rib case and lung,

Waistline,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Top of the right foot,

Sole of the right foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Baby toe.

Hold the entire right side of your body in your awareness.

Whole right side.

Fill your right side with your awareness now.

Move your awareness to your left hand,

Left thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of your hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Underarm,

Left side of the rib case and lung,

Waistline,

Thigh,

Kneecap,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of the left foot,

Sole of the left foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Baby toe.

Wash the entire left side of your body with your awareness.

Whole left side.

Feel the entire left side of your body now.

Now explore the back of your body moving from right to left fairly quickly.

Feel the sole of your right foot,

The sole of your left foot,

The soles of both of your feet together,

The back of your right heel,

The back of your left heel,

Both heels together,

The right calf,

The left calf,

Both calves together,

Back of your right knee,

Back of the left knee,

The backs of both knees simultaneously,

Right hamstrings,

Left hamstrings,

Both sets of hamstrings together,

Right buttocks,

Left buttocks,

Both sides of your buttocks,

Back of your pelvis,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back.

Feel your right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Both shoulder blades together,

Right arm,

Left arm,

Both arms together,

Back of your neck,

Back of your head,

The crown of your head.

Feel your entire back body.

Now feel the crown of your head,

Your forehead,

Your right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Both brows together,

Brow center,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Both eyelids together,

Right eyeball,

Left eyeball,

Both eyes together.

Feel your right nostril,

Left nostril,

Both nostrils together,

Bridge of your nose,

Tip of your nose,

Your whole entire nose.

Feel your upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together.

Feel your chin,

Feel the right side of your jaw,

The left side of your jaw,

And feel both sides of your jaw together.

Then feel your whole face.

Feel the right side of your head,

The left side of your head.

Now feel both sides of your head together.

Feel the right side of your throat,

The left side and feel your whole neck and throat together.

Feel your right collarbone,

Your left collarbone,

And both collarbones together.

The right side of your chest,

The left side of your chest,

Both sides of your chest together,

Your whole chest all together.

Feel the area of your abdomen from your ribs to your belly button,

Low belly,

Pelvis,

Root of your pelvic floor,

Both thighs,

Both kneecaps,

Both shins,

Both ankles,

Tops of both of your feet.

Feel your right leg from your toes to your hip.

Feel your left leg from your toes to your hip.

Feel the entirety of both of your legs together.

Feel your right arm from your fingertips to your shoulder,

Your left arm from fingertips to shoulder.

Now feel both arms together.

Keep your arms and your legs in your awareness and add your entire torso and your head to your feeling experience now.

Feel and sense your entire body,

Your whole body.

Feel your whole body together simultaneously right now.

Whole body awareness.

Lovingly shift your awareness back to your breath.

Notice how the breath moves in,

Around,

Through,

And out your body.

Where are the places it gets sticky?

Where are the places it flows easily?

What are the sensations that arise in relation to the quality of your breath?

What information is being given with each breath in and each breath out?

Imagine your breath as a key that unlocks doors within you that are begging to be opened,

Released,

And felt.

Now on this next breath,

Allow your awareness to follow the direction of your inhale from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head and your exhale from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet.

As you follow this direction up your body on the inhale and down your body on the exhale,

Can you notice how parts of your body light up as your breath moves through them?

Focusing your awareness even further,

Follow the inhale from your toes up the soles of your feet,

Top of your legs,

Top of your hips,

Through the low belly,

Mid-belly,

Up the fingertips,

Arms,

Chest,

Throat,

Face,

And the crown of your head.

Then exhale down the crown,

Through the back of the head,

Neck,

Chest,

Backs of the arms,

Down the spine,

Glutes,

Backs of the legs,

Through the feet and toes.

Allow your breath to be easy and natural now.

Trace the line of your natural breath as we move through the body and recall where it felt the most free,

Most expansive,

Most fluid within you.

Was it in the trunk of your body or in your hands or your heart space or your arms or any place not yet mentioned?

Once the space has made itself clear to you and it feels safe and comfortable to do so,

Can you ask this space to be your harbor,

Your resting place,

Available to return at any time if needed?

If that place has not made itself clear,

Can you invite a deeper awareness to emerge and allow curiosity to guide you there?

Each time we take a mindful,

Intentional,

Aware breath in and out,

Even if it is only for one breath,

We are strengthening our ability to connect body to mind and mind to body.

Becoming more and more acquainted with the physical parts of ourselves that feel safe,

Open and free and those that do not.

Those that are crying out for attention,

Who have something to say,

A story to tell that wants to be healed or nurtured.

Return to the place within you that does feel safe,

Your harbor,

As often as needed.

As this connection gets stronger and stronger,

The voice of your intuition begins to speak.

This voice becomes stronger,

More felt,

More heard and more visceral.

It speaks with the clarity you trust and an implied safety that is always,

Always looking out for your best interest.

If you have had a fractured relationship with your intuition in the past,

Do not fear.

It can always be restored and it is just waiting for your permission to do so.

As your breath continues to move in,

Up and through your body,

Feel the sensation of expansion as though your body is moving east,

West,

North,

South with each inhale and exhale.

What does expansion feel like to you?

Where does it express itself physically?

How does it manifest in your emotional body?

What are the feelings associated with expansion?

What are the quality of feelings that expansion gives rise to?

Arrive in that feeling and sensation of expansion.

Allow it to gravitate towards the parts of your body it wants to.

What happens then?

Now,

As though drifting your gaze from one corner of the room to the other,

Shift your awareness to the feeling of contraction.

Where does the feeling of contraction show itself in your body?

What parts of yourself respond immediately to the feeling of contraction or even the word contraction?

Can you quiet the mind and allow space for contraction to show itself,

To make itself known and felt in your body?

Now,

Come back to your harbor,

Your place of safety and let all of the prior sensations go.

Once you are safe in your harbor,

Return to your inner awareness and drift your gaze toward an imagined neutral stranger.

This person is imaginary and is here with no intention other than to deliver a message.

This person is safe to be around,

Though you've been assigned to decipher the authenticity of their message.

As you listen to the message being delivered,

Something within it feels false.

Where does this feeling arise in your body first?

What are the accompanying sensations that come up when you feel this message is false?

How is your body responding?

What is the quality of your breath upon hearing this false message?

Has it quickened even ever so slightly or has it slowed even ever so slightly?

What does knowing something is false or untrue feel like in your body?

Where does it register?

As the stranger continues to speak,

He or she begins to deliver another message.

A different message.

As you listen to this new different message,

There is a feeling of authentic truth beginning to rise within you.

How do you know this is truth the messenger speaks?

Where is it resonating within your body?

Are you feeling a change or a shift in your heart rate or your heart space?

Is there a sensation arising in your belly,

Somewhere in your torso or anywhere in your body?

What does that sensation feel like?

And does it carry a certain energy or vibration or feeling with it?

What does truth feel like in your body?

The stranger stops speaking now and begins to fade away like a hologram,

Taking with them both the messages shared.

As you release this messenger,

Return again to the safety of your harbor.

Allow yourself to rest in the sense of safety you receive when you land in your self-determined harbor.

Now shift your internal gaze once more to a different messenger.

This messenger has a form of which only you can see and speaks a language only you can understand.

This messenger carries within its very present a distinct felt sense of love,

Safety,

Purity and wisdom.

This messenger feels familiar and you trust them.

It is as though you know this messenger more intimately and longer than you've known anyone.

And this messenger knows you better than anyone ever has or ever will.

This messenger begins to speak in the language you can only understand and immediately you feel pieces within your body begin to come alive,

To activate and to make their presence known.

The messenger tells you it has a very special,

Unique message for you.

A message you've been waiting for,

Messages you've been waiting for and have been needing to hear.

The more this messenger speaks,

The more your body responds.

You realize the messages being delivered are only ones you can know.

These messages may come accompanied with images,

Flashes,

Words and land in your body in places only you can feel.

As the messenger continues to speak,

They reveal themselves as your higher truth,

Your intuition.

The messenger tells you they've been waiting for you to recognize them.

They have been waiting for you to recognize them and invite them in,

To give them a place at the table and give them a voice.

They remind you that they feel everything you feel.

They remind you it is also their job to decipher what you feel and deliver the message behind your feelings back to you in a way you can understand and trust.

Your intuition tells you they love you.

Your intuition reminds you they have always been there and they apologize if their messages have not come across clearly in the past.

They also remind you that they can only be clearly felt,

Seen or heard when they are given a voice.

Your intuition and you begin to engage in conversation like old friends.

They remind you of the practices that only you know of that help awaken their voice.

They remind you of where you feel their voice resonate in your body.

Your intuition tells you they love you.

Your intuition embraces you.

You feel their heartbeat as your own heartbeat.

It is clear and it is real.

Your intuition tells you that you can find them anytime you want.

To call on them when you need guidance,

Assistance or access to their wisdom.

That all you need to do is ask and listen and feel and trust.

Your intuition settles into their space at your table and reminds you they are not leaving.

You ask your intuition to tell you what it is you need right now.

In the language only you and they speak with a clarity of understanding only you have with each other.

You listen as they tell you what you need to know.

Your intuition tells you they love you.

You embrace.

You thank your intuition for speaking and for showing up.

Your intuition thanks you for listening.

You do not say goodbye but rather a soft hello that never ends.

As your intuition makes its way back to their spot at your table,

Your heart swells with gratitude for their presence,

For this special time with them and for your conversation.

Your intuition beams that same sense of gratitude right back at you and reminds you of your sankalpa.

You repeat it three times to yourself.

As you repeat it,

You feel it land safely back into your harbor.

You feel it settle into the cells and fibers of your body.

You feel it as though it is already true and you feel at ease with this feeling safe in your harbor.

A nourishing breath brings you back into awareness with the wholeness of your body.

This breath awakens sensation and movement back into your fingers and your toes,

Into your hands and your feet,

Up your legs and down your arms,

And the swell and dip of your belly and chest as you continue to breathe in and out.

Eventually,

In your own time,

You find yourself in the most natural,

Intuitive,

Deep stretch your body is craving.

Allow for another nourishing breath to cleanse you from bottom to top and top to bottom.

With a sweet softness,

Begin to roll over onto the side body that calls you most.

Rest on this side and feel a sense of self-love and self-nurturing wash over you.

If your sankalpa is calling your name again,

Let it be heard and felt once more.

It is here that the practice of yoga nidra is complete.

Allow for your body to take you up to a comfortable seat.

Allow your hands to rest where they feel most at ease.

And if it feels right,

Allow your eyes to remain softly shut.

Your next inhale and exhale settles you back into the present moment,

Back into your space.

And in your return to the moment,

Invite an intuitive intention to make its way into your consciousness.

An intention for the rest of your day,

Or the rest of your week,

Or the next hour,

Or whatever cycle you may find yourself in now.

A mindful inhale and exhale seals your intention into your body like a gift placed at the table where your intuition sits.

Bowing your head in gratitude for yourself,

For making time for your practice,

For making time for your own healing.

Let your eyes flutter open.

Take in your surroundings with renewed sight.

Take it all in.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide on this sacred journey.

Until next time,

And with tremendous love.