Hello.
My name is Marsha.
This is a yoga nidra practice on reclaiming your confidence.
We kind of get shaken off center sometimes in our daily lives.
Maybe there's an issue at work or in a relationship or even something small like being upset in traffic or in line at the grocery store.
We get frustrated.
We get tense.
Sometimes we lose our tempers.
And then maybe afterwards we feel some regret.
We feel some fear.
We wonder why.
We may feel a little out of control sometimes.
We second-guess the way we react to things.
And we wish we could have done it better.
Then maybe if you're dealing with anxiety,
This can start to compound and maybe even spiral sometimes into an anxiety attack or a panic attack.
It's that fear of not being in control.
It's that fear of fear where for whatever reason we're shaken.
Our very core of being seems to be shaken off balance.
And on some level,
We just no longer feel safe.
So what can we do?
Well,
With yoga nidra,
It's a way to come back into the present moment and ground down.
And in a way,
We're reminding ourselves that this is the only moment that exists.
There is no past.
There is no future.
And in the present moment,
There's no need to regret the past.
There's no need to worry about the future because again,
All that exists is right here,
Right now.
And if we can let go just even for a little bit,
If we can stop fighting,
Stop resisting,
If we can come back to a sense of allowing and accepting and letting our,
Our fear,
Anxiety just be,
Then we can start to diffuse it.
So wherever you are,
Maybe find a comfortable position.
Maybe you're lying down on the floor,
On a yoga mat,
Or maybe you're sitting in a comfortable chair,
Fully supported,
Or maybe you're lying on a couch or in your bed.
Just give yourself the opportunity to settle.
Arrive right here,
Right now,
In the present moment.
Let the full weight of your body release into whatever surface is underneath you.
Maybe start with your feet and notice what parts of your feet are pressing into the surface that supports you.
Maybe it's your heels,
Maybe it's your calves,
Maybe it's your glutes,
Your lower back,
Your upper back,
Your shoulders,
Maybe the back of your head.
And if you want to,
You can imagine you're lying on a warm beach and your body is pressing into the warm sand.
So much so that if you got up and walked away,
There'd be an impression of your body in the sand.
It's soft,
It receives the weight of your body.
And not just that,
But that warm sand starts to fill up like memory foam into all the gaps behind your ankles,
The backs of your knees,
The tops of your thighs,
The small of your back,
Between your shoulder blades,
Underneath your upper arms,
Maybe under your wrists,
And like a cushion behind the back of your neck.
So knowing that you're fully supported,
You can truly let go of the weight of your body.
And maybe notice,
Just do a quick scan.
If you're still gripping anywhere,
It's just our instinct to hold on.
It's our instinct to prevent ourselves from falling,
Right?
But we're reminding ourselves that we're fully supported and we can turn our muscles off now.
Maybe you're still kind of gripping in your fingers.
Can you let them go?
Are you holding onto your feet?
Can you let them fall in or fall out?
Can you let your shoulders be just a little heavier?
Let them melt into the earth.
Notice if you're gripping in your jaw and you soften,
Release your tongue from the roof of your mouth.
Soften your face,
The space between your eyebrows.
Soften your cheeks.
If you haven't already,
Close your eyes and give them a rest from seeing and taking in data.
Just allow your face to soften.
Soften and release.
Maybe start to notice sounds or layers of sounds as far out as you can.
If you're inside,
Maybe focus on what you can hear in other rooms in the house,
Or maybe you can even hear traffic outside of your building.
Just notice,
Identify the sound.
Don't think too hard about it and move on to find another sound.
And then listen a little closer.
Maybe there are sounds closer to you that you can identify and just notice.
And sometimes it seems perfectly quiet and we think there are no sounds,
But if we really listen,
There's always something,
Even if it's just a tiny hum,
A tiny frequency,
Almost like a static that we can hear.
It's the sound of silence.
And now very gently call your attention to your breath.
Just notice.
Maybe it even has a sound as you breathe out.
Maybe you can notice the temperature.
Your breath is a little cooler as it comes into your nose,
And then as it leaves,
It's a little warmer.
As you hear various sounds.
Maybe you have dogs,
Like I do.
And you just allow those sounds to be and sort of imagine yourself at the base of a pool,
Where everything is quiet and calm.
And any of those sounds,
They're kind of way,
Way far above you.
You can let them be and they don't even disturb you anymore.
They're just happening somewhere on the surface.
As you allow yourself to become heavy and rooted here in the present moment.
If you want to,
You can place one hand or both on your heart or one hand on your heart,
One on your belly.
Notice your breath.
Notice your breath,
How it lifts your belly as you inhale and notice how your belly falls as your breath exhales.
And as you start to turn your attention inward,
Notice what's going on in your body today.
Where do you feel a little stiff,
A little sore,
A little tight,
A little constricted.
Just let your attention rest on those places.
And know that as you move throughout your practice and you start to soften in other places in your body and your mind,
It has a way of spreading.
The body is all one system.
So when we start to soften in one area,
Eventually the whole system is affected.
So just allow those places of tightness,
Tension to be and know that they will soften and they will release.
At this point in your practice,
Maybe call to mind something that reminds you of being safe.
It could be a safe place that really exists.
Or it could be an imaginary place.
Imagine surrounding yourself with anything that makes you feel safe and loved.
Maybe create an imaginary bubble around yourself.
Maybe it's a circle of ancestors or dogs or any other image or thought that makes you feel safe.
You're surrounding yourself with love and light.
This is your internal resource.
It always exists,
Deep within,
In the present moment.
And you can always come back here anytime,
Throughout your practice or anytime during your day.
To reinforce that internal resource,
Maybe give your body and mind a directive right here,
Right now.
Just repeat silently after me.
I direct my body and my mind to recognize that I am safe.
I direct my body and my mind to recognize that I am safe.
I direct my body and my mind to recognize that I am safe.
And now from this nice,
Safe space,
Call to mind an intention for your practice.
In Yoga Nidra,
We call this Asankalpa.
Sometimes it's known as your heart's wish,
Your heart's desire.
It could be something that you're actively working on,
Almost like a goal.
But it's a more than that.
It's something that you're hoping to achieve because it brings you back to your highest and best self.
You can almost think of it as a statement that,
If it were to come true,
You could say it with confidence at the end of your practice,
As if you've already achieved it.
So consider what intention,
What Asankalpa speaks to you and create a short phrase that's in the present moment.
It could even begin with the words,
I am something like,
I am safe,
Confident,
And loved.
Or I feel safe,
Confident,
And loved.
Or maybe it's some other goal,
Some other intention.
I speak clearly.
I'm able to get my point across easily.
What other intention,
Asankalpa,
Might work for you?
Take a few moments now.
And formulate your Asankalpa,
A short phrase.
All right,
Now,
We're going to seal our practice by repeating that Asankalpa three times.
And when you do,
You can say it out loud,
Or you can just imagine speaking it,
But make every word matter.
Give every word weight.
Almost like you're speaking it in a parking garage,
Or somewhere where there's really good acoustics.
So that each word lands,
And each word is full of intention and meaning.
So,
Here we go.
Repeat your Asankalpa to yourself three times now.
Good.
And now that you've repeated your Asankalpa,
Just know you have literally planted a seed.
And your mind,
Your body will continue to work on that intention as you move throughout.
The rest of your practice.
But for now,
We'll set that aside,
And I'm going to guide you in a rotation of consciousness.
All you need to do is follow my voice.
As I mentioned,
Parts of the body.
Just let your attention rest there for a moment.
And then we'll move on.
Stay as still as you can.
But know that if you need to,
You can move and readjust and come back.
Also know that it's perfectly fine to drift off to sleep,
Because your mind and body is still listening on a subconscious level.
So right here,
Take a big breath in and fill up your belly.
And then sigh that breath out.
Take another breath,
Just like that.
Big inhale,
Fill up.
And let your breath go.
Just one more time.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
The practice of yoga nidra has begun.
Bring your attention to your right hand.
Let your attention rest briefly on the tip of your right thumb.
Notice the tip of your right pointer finger.
Your middle finger.
Your ring finger.
Your pinky finger.
The palm of your right hand.
The back of your right hand.
Circle your attention around your right wrist.
Notice your right forearm.
Notice your inner and outer elbow.
Notice your upper arm.
Your shoulder.
Your armpit.
Notice the right side of your body.
Your waist.
Your right hip bone.
Your right hip crease.
The front of your thigh.
The back of your thigh.
The front of your knee.
The back of your knee.
Your right shin bone.
Your right calf.
Your ankle bones.
Your heel.
The top of your foot.
The bottom of your foot.
Your right big toe.
Your second toe.
Your third toe.
Your fourth toe.
Your pinky toe.
Now call your attention to the left side of your body.
Notice the tip of your left thumb.
Your pointer finger.
Your middle finger.
Your ring finger.
Your left pinky finger.
The top of your hand.
The palm of your hand.
Circle your attention around your left wrist.
Your lower arm.
Your inner and outer elbow.
Your upper arm.
Your left shoulder.
Your left armpit.
The left side of your waist.
Left hip bone.
Left hip crease.
Front of your thigh.
Back of your thigh.
Front of your knee.
Back of your knee.
Shin bone.
Calf.
Ankle bones.
Heel.
Top of your foot.
Bottom of your foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Left pinky toe.
Now bring your attention to the crown of your head.
Notice your forehead.
Your right eyebrow.
Your left eyebrow.
Your right eyelid.
Your left eyelid.
Your right cheek.
Your left cheek.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Right jawline.
Left jawline.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Front of your neck.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Right chest.
Left chest.
Right ribcage.
Left ribcage.
Belly.
Abdomen.
Pubic bone.
Now come back to the crown of your head.
Travel down the back of your head to the base of your skull.
Back of your neck.
Upper back.
Shoulder blades.
Back of your ribs.
Lower back.
Back of your pelvis.
Glute muscles.
Tailbone.
Now notice the whole right side of your body from the tip of your toes all the way up to your right shoulder and back down.
Now notice the left side of your body from the tip of your toes all the way up your leg all the way up to your shoulder and back down.
Now notice your front torso from your pubic bone all the way up to the crown of your head and then back down the back line of your body all the way down to your tailbone.
One more time.
Notice the whole right side.
Whole right side.
Whole left side.
Front torso.
Back of the body.
Whole right side.
Whole left side.
Front of your torso.
Back of your body.
Now let's notice the whole body all at once.
Whole body all at once.
Notice your whole body all at once.
Notice your whole body all at once.
We'll come back to the breath just to focus again right here right now in the present moment.
Notice your breath.
And all we're going to do is count back from 21.
21 conscious breaths.
And without trying too hard,
As you take your breaths,
Consider making your exhale a little longer than your inhale.
So maybe you inhale for a count of four or five.
And then maybe you gently blow your air out for a count of six.
And as you take these slow conscious breaths,
Just number them as you count down.
21 in and out.
20.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And continue at your own pace.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Counting down.
And if you lose count,
It's okay.
Just start over.
And maybe sounds come and go in the background,
But that's okay.
They don't affect you.
Maybe you're about halfway through as you count down.
Remember to fill your belly on your inhale.
Softly blow your air out.
Empty your belly as you exhale.
Wherever you are in your count,
Come back to a natural breath.
And before we continue,
We'll just take three cleansing breaths.
Think of these breaths like an ocean wave that starts from your feet and washes all the way up to the crown of your head and then washes back down.
So three cleansing breaths here.
Take a big inhale,
Starting at your toes,
Filling up all the way to the crown of your head and then exhale.
Let that breath wash all the way back down.
Second time,
Breathe in all the way to the crown of your head and let that breath wash all the way back down to your toes.
Just one more.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
In the silence,
We arrive in a clearing in our thoughts.
And I'll invite you to bring back your sankalpa right here.
And I'll invite you to say it to yourself three more times,
Slowly and carefully.
And just notice if anything wants to change just a little bit and allow that to happen.
So repeat your sankalpa to yourself three times right now.
And once you've repeated your sankalpa,
I want you to listen.
Listen deep within your being.
Listen with every fiber of your being.
Listen for a message from the wisdom of your body.
And whatever came up for you is your gift to yourself.
As we turn our attention inward and allow ourselves to listen,
We're just tapping in to our intuition,
The voice that guides us in our daily lives.
And notice if we stop and if we allow ourselves to come from this place of inner truth,
Inner knowledge,
Pure light and love.
Start to come back here to sensations in your body.
Notice a texture with your fingers or maybe notice where your body is.
Notice how your clothing meets your body.
Start to become aware of any sounds around you.
Notice the temperature of the room as you gently bring yourself back.
And we prepare to end our practice.
Again,
You may notice sounds around you and these don't affect you.
That inner stillness,
That inner resolve,
That inner strength,
That inner resource always stays.
Unshakeable,
Unstoppable.
Maybe you're ready to drift off to sleep here.
Or maybe you want to flutter your eyes open and start to find little movements in your body.
And if you're reawakening to continue with your day,
Be sure to move very slowly.
Roll over to one side and push yourself up and pause.
Find your feet on the floor.
Know that the seed that you planted in your practice travels with you.
It doesn't end here.
Thank you so much,
My friend,
For practicing with me.
I wish you such peace,
Such joy.
Until next time.
