30 Minute Nidra: Animal Journey, Saying Goodbye, Body Scan

Welcome to your 30 minute yoga nidra class.

In this particular practice we will go on a guided journey.

It is of your greatest benefit to find a still and comfortable place to lay your body down,

Perhaps on your yoga mat.

But you can also do the practice on a couch or laying in bed before going to sleep for the night.

For the practice of yoga nidra it is also beneficial to have a soft warm blanket on your body,

A pillow beneath your head and under each of your knees.

In the practice of yoga nidra we work with an intention,

Also known as a sankalpa.

Our sankalpa is sometimes worked on for just one class,

But often can be worked on for weeks or even months at a time.

If you have an intention planned for this practice,

Please use it.

If you do not,

I suggest that you use the intention,

I am open to letting go.

We will repeat this intention later on in the practice.

Make one or two more movements to become just a little bit more comfortable as you lay here on your back.

And begin to focus on your breath.

Take a deep breath into your nose.

Exhale out through the mouth.

Take another deep breath in through your nose.

And exhale,

Relax deeper and deeper into the space beneath you.

Focus your feet,

Your legs,

Your hips,

Your stomach and back,

Your shoulders and arms,

And your neck and head.

Again take a breath in through the nose.

Exhale and relax deeper into the ground beneath you.

Connect the skull energetically with the pelvis through your spine.

Feel your breath at the top of your head,

Slowly flowing down your spine in the form of golden light.

The light pours all the way down to your tailbone and then fills up your pelvis.

See your breath flowing out of the pelvis,

Slowly anchoring the golden light into the ground.

As you allow and witness the natural rhythm of your breath,

Notice that you tap into the feeling of inner peace and calmness.

Become aware of the sounds outside of the room that you're in.

Moving from sound to sound.

As you let your breath escape into the centre of the sound,

Begin to perceive it as a mere manifestation of energy,

Vibration.

Moving from sound to sound.

And now switch your focus to the sounds that are inside of your room.

Moving from sound to sound.

Notice the inside of your mouth.

Relax your tongue.

Relax your teeth and your jaw.

Begin to breathe softly in and out through your nose.

Notice your nostrils.

The upper lip.

Lower lip.

The chin.

Notice your jaw.

Ears.

The inside of your ears.

Notice your temples.

Eyebrows.

The space between your eyebrows.

Your eyes.

Cheeks.

Notice the whole head.

Notice the neck and your shoulders.

Your upper arms,

Elbows,

And wrists.

Palms,

Back of the hands.

Your thumbs.

Pointer fingers.

Middle fingers.

Ring fingers.

And pinky fingers.

Travel back up to your wrists.

Forearms.

Elbows.

Upper arms.

Arm pits.

The sides of your waist.

Your hips.

The thighs.

Knees.

Back of the knees.

Lower legs.

Ankles.

Heels.

Soles of the foot.

Big toes.

Second toes.

Middle toes.

Fourth toes.

And little toes.

Your whole body is completely relaxed.

As you enter deeper and deeper into the stillness,

Arising out of nothing,

You find yourself in a warm,

Safe,

And dimly lit forest.

You look around,

Trying to find which direction to walk.

You see a light in the distance through the trees and begin to walk towards it.

You move closer and closer to the light.

Drawn towards its distant and warm pull.

As you get closer to it,

You notice the light comes from a clearing in the woods.

You peer in from just beyond the outer perimeter of the forest to look inside the clearing.

In the centre of the clearing is a soft and furry animal.

It is peaceful and calm.

Resting but not sleeping.

The animal looks your way and you make eye contact with it,

Holding its gaze for some time.

You start to move into the clearing.

And as you take your first step from out of the forest,

You feel warm,

You feel safe,

You feel totally and completely at ease.

Still holding eye contact with the animal,

You feel drawn towards it and slowly approach,

Careful to not startle the animal in any way.

You take slow footsteps on the soft ground approaching the creature.

As you come close enough to touch it,

The animal calmly shifts its position to create a space for you to lay down beside it.

You cuddle in close.

The animal is warm and soft.

It smells sweet.

And as you feel a sense of home.

As you lay here beside the animal on the soft ground,

You feel completely supported by its presence.

You feel the soft breeze of your breath.

You feel the soft supporting ground beneath you.

Notice feelings of calmness and inner peace.

Notice feelings of connection and love.

The connection with this animal lasts quite some time.

The daylight begins to dim and the sun begins to set.

You and the animal are becoming weightless.

Your bodies begin to inch off of the ground.

At first just your arms begin to float.

Then your legs and your head.

Then both of your bodies rising up into the night air together.

Together you float higher and higher.

Seeing the vast expanse of the forest around the clearing.

The animal leads you onwards soaring higher and higher still.

Drifting above mountain tops into the clouds.

The clouds become thicker and you cannot see very far any longer.

But the animal moves onwards taking you along.

You begin to notice faint shapes in the clouds.

Edges of old wooden houses.

A rope bridge.

You arrive with your animal friend in an old village filled with many more similar creatures.

You move together into the crowd of the animals.

And soon you cannot tell the difference between the one you arrived with and the others.

You feel a sense of loss and release.

But you also feel a sense that you have helped this animal move to where it needed to be.

You back away from the group of creatures watching from afar as they move together united.

As you become more distant from them the clouds begin to obstruct your view.

You start to feel light again like a feather.

You begin floating up off of your feet.

Knowing that it is now time to make your way back home.

You drift up into the clouds that surround the old village.

Past the rope bridge.

The edges of the old wooden houses.

All now becoming faint shapes in the distance through the clouds.

Your body is so light and weightless.

Like a feather drifting through the clouds.

The formations are vast and massive as you fly out of the clouds and begin to notice the tops of the mountains once more.

You see the forest in the distance beyond the mountains and you will yourself towards it.

You glide freely over the trees nearly brushing their tops.

And eventually back over the clearing where you met your animal friend.

Falling slowly back down.

Falling slowly back down to the ground.

You begin to feel gravity once more as you connect your body with the earth.

It is here in this clearing in this forest that you will repeat your intention.

Your sankalpa.

I am open to letting go.

Repeat this now three times with trust and sincerity.

Do you.

Become aware of your right hand,

Right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand.

Become aware of your palm,

Back of your hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Your shoulder,

Armpit,

The right side of your waist,

Your right hip,

Right thigh,

Kneecap,

Calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Your big toe,

Second toe,

Middle toe,

Fourth toe,

And little toe.

Now become aware of the left side of your body,

Left hand,

Left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Your left shoulder,

Armpit,

The left side of your waist,

Your left hip,

Left thigh,

Kneecap,

Left calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Your big toe,

Second toe,

Middle toe,

Fourth toe,

And little toe.

And now to your back.

Become aware of your back,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Back of your ribs,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Spine,

Back of your thighs,

Back of your knees,

Back of your lower legs,

Your heels on the floor,

Your whole back together,

Your whole back together.

Go to the top of your head,

Your forehead,

Both sides of the head,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right inner ear,

Left inner ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Nose,

The tip of your nose,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

The tongue,

The inside of your mouth,

Chin,

Throat,

The right side of your chest,

Left side of your chest,

Middle of your chest,

The navel,

The abdomen,

The upper thighs,

The shins,

And the tops of your feet.

Now become aware of the whole of your right leg,

Your whole right leg together.

Become aware of the whole of your left leg,

Your whole left leg together.

Notice both legs together as one,

Both legs together,

Sensation.

Notice the whole of your right arm,

The whole right arm together,

The whole of your left arm,

The whole left arm together.

Both arms together,

Sensation.

The whole of your back,

Buttocks,

Spine,

And shoulder blades.

The whole of your front,

Abdomen,

And chest.

The whole of your back and front together.

The whole back and front together.

Your whole head,

Your whole head,

Your whole body together,

Your whole body together as sensation.

Feel your whole body on the floor.

Feel the meeting points between your back and your head on the floor.

Shoulder blades on the floor,

Your elbows and your hands on the floor,

Your buttocks on the floor,

The calves and the heels on the floor.

Notice all the meeting points between your body and the floor together.

Your body is completely relaxed.

Your whole body is completely relaxed.

As slowly and as little as possible,

Move the tips of your fingers.

Fingers just one at a time.

Bring movement now to the tips of your fingers,

Moving them one at a time.

Toes,

Move your toes now as slowly as possible.

Begin to move your toes.

Slowly open the palms of the hands.

Feel each movement slowly creep back into your moving palms.

Place your palms over your eyes and open your eyes into the dark space your palms have created.

Like the blinds of a window,

Slowly open up the cracks between your fingers and let some more of the light in.

Blink or squeeze your eyes once or twice,

Perhaps softly rubbing the eyes with your hands.

Begin moving your body slowly sideways into a fetal position.

Whole body completely relaxed.

Take a breath in through your nose to fill up your lungs.

And open up your mouth and breathe out.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Namaste.