Yoga Nidra Relaxation

Welcome to the practice of Yoganidra relaxation meditation.

Come to laying flat on your back in Savasana.

Legs slightly apart.

Let the feet fall out heavy to the sides.

Arms a little away from the body.

Palms of the hands they turn upwards.

Check that the spine is straight from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

Take some time to get as comfortable as possible.

Maybe cover up with a blanket or if you'd like a pillow under your knees.

Making any final adjustments here.

Any last wriggles.

Adjusting clothing.

Position.

You want to be completely comfortable.

Perhaps a lifting up chest and let the shoulder blades fall back and down.

Then settle back down onto the floor.

Try to remain still for the entire duration.

But is perfectly okay if you do need to move.

It is better to adjust than be distracted by discomfort.

Turn your gaze inwards.

Eyes closed.

And keep them closed for the entire duration of the practice.

Take a long breath in.

And let it out.

Releasing cares and worries of the day.

In the practice which follows you are going to develop the feeling of relaxation in the body.

It is not necessary to make movements or deliberately relax your muscles.

Simply develop the feeling of relaxation.

It is like the feeling you have just before sleep.

When relaxation becomes deep.

Sleep does come.

But you should try to keep yourself completely awake.

This is very important.

Make a resolution to yourself now that I will remain awake and aware throughout the practice of yoga nidra.

I will remain awake and aware during the practice of yoga nidra.

During yoga nidra you are functioning on the levels of hearing and awareness.

And the only important thing is to follow the voice of the instructor.

Do not try to analyze the instructions as this will disturb your mental relaxation.

Simply follow the voice with total attention and feeling.

Thoughts may disturb you from time to time.

Just observe them.

Do not attach.

Just let them go and come back to the practice.

If you drift off,

Simply come back to your breath.

Come back to my voice.

Use your breath and my voice as an anchor.

Just await the next instruction and continue the practice.

Allow yourself to become calm and steady.

And bring about a feeling of inner relaxation in the whole body.

When the body becomes still,

The mind also becomes still.

Develop your awareness of the body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

And with each exhale,

Relax deeper.

Complete stillness and complete awareness of the whole body.

Become aware of your breath.

Allow yourself to breathe naturally.

Know that you are breathing and laying comfortably on the floor.

Body breathing in.

Body breathing out.

Only two doors of perception are open.

Feeling and hearing.

The practice of Yoganidra begins now.

This is the time to set your intention,

Your sankalpa.

A sankalpa is a short,

Positively worded sentence stated in the present tense.

As if it has already happened.

Beginning with I am.

Take a few moments to think about what it is you truly want in your life right now.

See yourself achieving your goal.

What does it look like?

Can you name it?

Repeat your sankalpa three times with absolute faith and awareness.

Feel it behind the sternum in your heart space.

Give thanks and let it go.

The resolve you make during the practice of Yoganidra will be fulfilled.

We now begin rotation of consciousness.

Rotation of awareness by taking a trip through the different parts of the body.

As quickly as possible the mind is to jump from point to point.

Repeat the body part mentally to yourself like an echo in the mind.

And simultaneously become aware of that part of the body and let it relax deeper and deeper.

Keep yourself alert but do not concentrate too intensely.

Become aware of the right hand.

Right hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And little finger.

All of the right hand fingers together.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Elbow crease.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

The whole right arm together.

Right armpit.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Front of the knee.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Calf muscle.

Ankle.

Heel.

Soul of the foot.

Ball of the foot.

Top of the foot.

The big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And a little toe.

All of the right toes together.

The whole right side together.

Become aware of the left hand.

The left hand thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

And little finger.

All of the left hand fingers together.

Palm of the hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Elbow crease.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

The whole left arm together.

Left armpit.

Waist.

Hip.

Thigh.

Front of the knee.

Back of the knee.

Shin.

Calf muscle.

Ankle.

Heel.

Soul of the foot.

Ball of the foot.

Top of the foot.

The big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

And a little toe.

All of the left toes together.

The whole left side together.

Now to the back.

Become aware of the right shoulder blade.

The left shoulder blade.

The right buttock.

The left buttock.

The whole spine.

The whole back together.

Now go to the top of the head.

The forehead.

Both sides of the head.

The right eyebrow.

The left eyebrow.

The space between the eyebrows.

The right eye.

The left eye.

Ears.

Cheeks.

The nose.

The tip of the nose.

The upper lip.

The lower lip.

Teeth.

Tongue.

Chin.

Throat.

The right chest.

The left chest.

The middle of the chest.

The navel.

The abdomen.

Bring awareness to the internal organs.

Reproductive system.

Urinary system.

Gastrointestinal system.

Lungs.

Heart.

Brain.

Become aware of the whole of the right leg.

The whole of the left leg.

Both legs together.

The whole of the right arm.

The whole of the left arm.

Both arms together.

Become aware of diagonals.

The right arm and left leg together.

Left arm and right leg together.

Left leg and right arm together.

Right leg and left arm together.

All of the limbs together.

The whole of the back.

Buttocks.

Spine.

Shoulder blades.

The whole of the front.

Abdomen.

Chest.

The whole of the back and front.

Together.

The whole of the head.

The whole body together.

The whole body together.

The whole body together.

Remain awake and aware.

Body breathing in.

Body breathing out.

The whole body.

The physical body.

Laying in perfect stillness in this room.

Visualise this image in your mind.

Become aware of your breath.

Feel the flow of your breath in and out of your lungs.

Do not try to change the rhythm.

The natural breath is automatic.

Effortless.

Continue complete awareness of breath.

Now concentrate your awareness on the movement of your belly.

Your belly is rising and falling slightly with every breath.

With each and every breath it expands and contracts.

Concentrate on this movement in synchronisation with your breath.

Continue practising with full awareness.

Now start counting your breaths backwards from 14 to 1 like this.

14 belly rising.

14 belly falling.

13 belly rising.

13 belly falling.

12 belly rising.

12 belly falling and so on.

Say the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breaths.

With total awareness that you are counting continue counting from 14 to 1.

Stop your counting and leave your breathing and awaken the feeling of heaviness in the body.

So heavy.

Become aware of heaviness in every part of the body.

You are feeling so heavy that you are sinking into the floor.

Awareness of heaviness.

Whole body heavy.

Now awaken the feeling of lightness in the body.

A sensation of lightness and weightlessness in the whole body.

Your body feels so light it seems to be floating up away from the floor.

Weightless and floating.

Awareness of lightness.

The whole body so light.

Now experience the feeling of cold.

Awaken the experience of cold in the body.

Your hands and feet are so cold like ice.

Feel the cold move up from your hands into the arms.

The sensation of cold in the feet moving into the legs.

So cold.

Awareness of coldness.

Now awaken the sensation of heat.

The whole body is hot.

Remembering the feeling of heat like being out in the sun on a hot summer's day with no shade.

Hands so hot the heat drifts up into the arms.

Hot feet moving into the legs.

Heat in the body.

Awareness of heat.

Shifting now to visualization.

See yourself lying on the floor practicing yoga nidra like you were hovering over your body looking down on yourself.

See your chest and belly rising and falling effortlessly with each breath.

Notice what you were wearing.

Your hair.

Your relaxed face.

See yourself rising up and out of the room floating light as a feather.

Flying through the blue sky effortlessly like you were one with the breeze.

Find yourself in your favorite place in nature.

You look down and see that your feet are bare and you begin walking.

Tapping slowly your feet gently kiss the earth heel to toe.

Heel to toe.

With each step feel the ground beneath you.

The different textures.

The temperature.

Does the ground feel cool or warm?

Look up and all around you.

Notice the little details.

Feel a gentle breeze flowing by.

How does the breeze affect your surroundings?

Breathe in this fresh life-giving air.

What sounds do you hear?

Perhaps rustling leaves or flowing water.

The sky is clear blue and the grass is green and luscious.

The clouds are white and fluffy.

Can you name all of the colors that you see?

Take your time exploring this place of peace with the wonderment of a child.

The sounds,

The smells,

The colors,

The feelings.

The sky is turning dark now.

A big round moon is hanging in the sky.

Millions of stars are shining and twinkling.

You see a shooting star and it appears to land softly right in front of your feet.

A soft ball of gently glowing light radiates out creating a gentle hum.

With each breath you inhale this white light.

Feel it swirl all around inside of you.

Breathe it into your body,

Through your heart and spread it all around inside.

With every breath in you are cleaning out your whole body with the light.

It is giving you many good qualities.

It gives you all forms of goodness,

Love,

Honesty,

Understanding,

Peace and happiness.

As you breathe out you release from your body all of the things you do not want.

Unhappiness,

Anger,

Discontent.

All of these things are carried away by the white light.

The light fills you so completely giving you so much love and peace that you cannot keep it all inside.

So you send it out.

Let it radiate out of you to all other people.

Send this love out to your friends and loved ones.

Think of all the sick,

Unhappy and lonely people in the world and send them this love.

Think of the people you do not like and send them this love.

The more light you breathe in,

The more love you share until the whole world is aglow with the beautiful white light.

Become aware of the room where you are laying and fill this room with the love that is within you.

Become aware of your body laying on the floor,

Body breathing in,

Body breathing out.

Do the visualization and remember your sankalpa.

Now is the time to repeat your resolve.

Repeat the same resolve that you made at the beginning of the practice.

Do not change it.

Repeat the sankalpa three times with full awareness and feeling.

Relax all efforts,

Draw your mind outside and become aware of your natural breath.

Gulp awareness of your body from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.

Become aware of the floor and the position of your body lying on the floor.

Visualize the room around you and become aware of your surroundings.

Notice the sounds far off in the distance.

Bring your awareness closer to the sounds outside the building.

Notice the sounds inside this room.

When you are ready,

Welcome gentle movements back into body.

Wriggle fingers,

Wriggle toes,

Gentle rock of the head from side to side.

Take a breath in and stretch arms overhead,

Point fingers,

Point toes and release.

Roll your knees into your chest and give yourself a hug.

When you are ready,

Roll over to your favorite side using your bottom arm as a pillow.

Eyes still closed,

Slowly help yourself up to a comfortable seated position.

Bring your palms together with thumbs at your heart,

Slight bow of the head towards the chest.

The practice of Yoganidra is now complete.

You may gently blink open your eyes.