Hey friends,
I'm bringing you a yoga nidra practice.
This is Asia and I am sitting outside in the rain.
It's been a very rainy season and I just want you to know that you may hear birds,
Perhaps even dogs.
My neighbors have a chicken.
But truly that's part of the practice when we're doing any type of meditation.
It helps us be ready for those real experiences with those real distractions out in life and teaches us how to be calm in our bodies.
So I'll invite you to go ahead and use those distractions in your practice to your advantage when you hear them.
Those are good times to,
As soon as you recognize it,
Bring that awareness back to the breath,
Back to that present moment.
Before we get started,
I will invite you to have any type of props that you would like.
Sometimes during yoga nidra the body can become dysregulated.
If this happens during the practice,
Another thing that's nice to have handy is a cup of warm water or some tea,
Something warm to sip on.
And then of course you may like to have a blanket as body temperature typically will drop during yoga nidra practice,
Just like it does when we're asleep at night.
So having that blanket or some warm clothes on,
Maybe socks,
A hoodie,
Whatever it is to keep you nice and cozy.
And then we typically start our yoga nidra practice lying down in corpse pose on our backs.
So finding your way to your back,
I'll invite you to roll the shoulders back and down,
Maybe walking them away from those earlobes,
Palms are towards the sky.
If the hands are near the hips,
Just sweeping them out away from the body until you feel that space in the armpits.
And then settling in,
Starting to find that breath.
And during the practice,
I'll ask you to follow my voice.
If at any time you become distracted or even fall asleep,
That is okay.
When you become aware,
Simply rejoin the practice by locating my voice.
Use my voice as a tether,
A rope,
Pulling you back into the practice.
You may also use the breath,
Noticing the in-breath and noticing the out-breath,
And the subconscious will follow my voice.
As we go through the rotation of consciousness,
And I name various parts of the body,
If you feel activated at any time,
Please skip that part of the body and move on to the next.
If you feel any unpleasant feelings or sensations in your body at any point,
Feel free to sit up.
And this is where that warm water will come in handy.
Taking slow sips of that will help ground the body,
Or even just sitting up.
And then I would invite you to allow yourself at least three inhales through the nose,
Audible sigh out,
Three of those.
So you can go ahead and practice one now,
Inhaling through the nose,
Opening the mouth.
At the end of our yoga nidra practice,
I'll slowly guide you out of yoga nidra and bring the awareness back into the present moment.
During yoga nidra,
We will reach a deep meditation while remaining awake and aware.
We will reach the state right in between awake and falling asleep.
And this is where the brain goes into an alpha brainwave state.
And this is where serotonin is made.
On the average night,
We don't spend too much time in our alpha brainwaves.
And during a yoga nidra practice,
With practice,
Over time we hover here for longer periods of time.
This allows our bodies to produce extra serotonin,
Which promotes better sleep among other things.
A nidra practice is also a great way to relax the central nervous system.
During what is called the rotation of consciousness,
We'll systematically relax the physical body.
If you've ever been lying in bed,
Just about to be into that sleep state,
And then the body suddenly jolted awake,
That is because the body hasn't fully relaxed before the mind starts to.
And there's a bit of miscommunication.
This may happen during yoga nidra.
You may also fall asleep.
Either way,
Whenever you wake up,
Whatever brings you back,
Just find my voice,
Find that breath,
And rejoin us without any worry.
Open eyes,
Engage thinking.
So I'll invite you to gently close the eyes if they're not already closed.
And allow the eyes to soften and become heavy in the face,
Giving them permission to sink into the skull.
During yoga nidra,
We invite and notice sensations in the body.
As sensations arise,
We resist the urge to move or the tendency to adjust,
But instead,
We notice and welcome what arises.
We do this by breathing and listening.
By choosing not to be reactive to these sensations,
We're creating new patterns in the mind and body,
Breaking old patterns,
Promotes healing for not only the emotional body,
But also our physical and spiritual bodies as well.
If at any time,
As we go through the rotation of consciousness,
And I mentioned a part of the body that brings discomfort,
Feel free to skip that part of the body and pick up when you're ready as we go through systematically relaxing.
During yoga nidra,
We use a sankalpa.
A sankalpa is your heart's desire,
Your deepest wish.
It can be something you're working towards or how you're feeling.
A sankalpa is made in the present tense and always a positive statement.
We don't say,
I hope I don't fail.
Instead,
Our sankalpa would be,
I am successful.
I am statements make great sankalpas.
If something is lacking,
We don't want to say,
I am successful.
Some statements make great sankalpas.
If something is lacking,
We don't want to say,
I want more of X,
Y,
And Z.
We keep it present and say,
I am creative and joyful.
I'll give you time once we start our nidra practice to create your sankalpa.
As we create it in our yoga nidra practice,
We will plant it like a seed of intention into the subconscious.
In yoga and Vedic texts,
Our subconscious is a seed house.
Our thoughts determine whether we grow weeds or fruit bearing plants.
The practice of yoga nidra allows us to plant with intention and bring our goals to fruition.
This is where we break patterns.
Now,
I'll invite you to see if you can find yourself just 10% more comfortable.
Noticing your in-breath and noticing your out-breath.
Give yourself permission to relax.
Allowing yourself to soften a little more.
The bones become heavy.
The muscles on the bones nice and heavy.
And then allowing gravity to pull the skin towards the earth.
The skin nice and heavy.
And beginning our nidra with the ears.
Always listening.
Even when we don't realize.
Gently bring your awareness to the ears now.
Hearing now with both ears.
Taking in the sounds around you.
Near and far.
Now,
I'll invite you to locate the most distant sound or sounds your ears can find.
Without labeling or judging.
Simply noticing and locating one sound.
And then moving on to locate another sound.
Shifting from one to the next.
Noticing the most distant sounds your ears can find.
Now,
I'll invite you to bring that sense of hearing into the space that you're in.
Without creating a story.
Just noticing the sounds within the room where you're lying.
Perhaps the sound of your own breathing.
And listening now with the right ear.
And listening now with the left ear.
With eyes remaining closed,
I'll invite you to see yourself in the space that you're in.
Visualizing yourself on the mat or the bed.
The blankets or the props that surround and support you,
Cover you.
Recalling the colors or the shapes within the room.
And in your mind's eye,
See yourself where you're located in this space.
See the rise and fall of the heart space as you settle in to practice yoga nidra.
And following the natural rhythm of your own breath.
Start to allow exhales to sink you deeper into the mat.
The bones,
Muscles,
Skin,
Even heavier now.
Letting all the tension melt away.
That gentle pull of gravity grounding you,
Anchoring you.
I'll invite you to begin visualizing your life as if your heart's desire,
Your sankalpa,
Were already true.
Happening right now.
Start to create that feeling in the body.
How would you feel if it were already happening?
See yourself as if it were already true.
Allowing that feeling to pulse inside of you.
And I'll invite you to repeat your sankalpa silently to yourself three times.
And now I invite you to gently shift your awareness to the tip of your nose.
Notice the air and space around the nose.
Notice how the air coming in the nose is cool and the air coming out of the nose is warm.
Gently shift your awareness to the chin,
The jawline.
Noticing the mouth,
Top lip,
Bottom lip.
Relaxing the top teeth,
Bottom teeth.
And allow yourself to create space between the top teeth and the bottom teeth,
Further relaxing the jaw.
Notice the tongue,
Inside of the right cheek,
Inside of the left cheek.
And soften the muscles in the right cheek.
Soften the muscles in the left cheek.
Gently shift your awareness between the eyebrows,
The temples,
The right eye.
Imagine all the muscles around the right eye softening,
The muscles behind the eye softening.
The right eye is heavy.
Allow it to sink in the socket.
Noticing the left eye now.
All the tiny muscles around the left eye release and soften.
And the muscles behind the left eye soften,
Allowing that left eye to become heavy in its socket,
Sinking deeper to meet the right.
Gently shift your awareness now to the forehead,
Softening and smoothing the forehead.
Muscles of the forehead become heavy,
Relaxing.
The scalp becomes heavy as it softens,
And filling into the back of the head.
And noticing now the back of the brain.
Moving your awareness now to the center of the brain,
The front of the brain.
Noticing now the right side of the brain.
Feeling and noticing the right side of the brain.
And shifting now to the left side of the brain.
Feeling and noticing the left hemisphere of the brain.
Feeling and notice the whole brain now.
Noticing the whole brain.
Giving the brain permission to soften and find stillness.
Just like the muscles,
The brain is heavy,
Relaxed.
And gently shifting the awareness to the back of the neck,
The front of the neck,
The collarbones,
Backs of the shoulders,
The heart space.
Notice the left shoulder,
Left upper arm,
Left elbow,
Left forearm,
Left wrist,
Left back of the hand,
Left palm of the hand,
Left fingers and thumb.
Noticing the space around the fingers.
Notice the left thumb,
Left first finger,
Left second finger,
Left third finger,
Left pinky.
Feel the whole left arm and hand.
Feel the left ribs,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Left knee,
Left shin,
Left calf,
Left ankle.
Notice the top of the left foot.
Feel the bottom of the left foot.
Feel all five left toes.
Feel the space and air around the toes.
Notice the left big toe,
Left second toe,
Left third toe,
Left fourth toe,
And notice the left pinky toe.
Notice the whole left side of the body.
Breathe with the left side of the body.
Gently shift your awareness to the right shoulder,
Right upper arm,
Right elbow,
Right forearm,
Right wrist,
Right back of the hand,
Right palm.
Notice the thumb and fingers.
Feel into the space around the fingers.
Notice the right thumb,
Right index finger,
Right second finger,
Right third finger,
Right pinky.
Feel the whole right arm and hand.
Shift your awareness now to the right ribs,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Right shin,
Right calf.
Notice the right ankle.
Feel the top of the right foot.
Feel the bottom of the right foot.
Notice the toes,
The air and space around the toes.
Bring your awareness to the right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Right pinky toe.
Notice the whole right side of the body.
Breathe now with the whole right side of the body.
Noticing and breathing now with the whole body.
Feeling into that feeling you've created.
Notice how the body will breathe all on its own.
Bring your awareness to the left nostril.
Notice the air coming in and out of the left nostril.
Use that breath now to breathe with the left side of the body.
Notice the inhale on the left side of the body.
Notice the exhale on the left side of the body.
Now bring your awareness to the right nostril.
Breathing now with the right nostril.
Noticing the air coming in and out of the right nostril.
Now using that breath to breathe with the right side of the body.
Notice the inhale on the right side of the body.
And notice the exhale on the right side of the body.
Now in your own time,
Go back and forth.
First breathing with the left side of the body.
And then when you are ready,
Breathing with the right side of the body.
Without thinking,
Just feeling.
Feel and breathe now with the whole body.
Bringing your awareness now to any sensations in the body.
There's no right or wrong.
Sensations,
Feelings,
Emotions,
Or even images may arise.
We're just noticing and welcoming.
Disregarding the urge to create a story or label.
Whatever arises,
Whether it brings comfort or discomfort,
Allow it to blossom,
Welcoming and acknowledging the sensation or feeling.
Allow that sensation to be seen and felt.
You're just observing.
If no sensations are brought to awareness,
Simply honor what is present.
May it be stillness.
Breathing now with that sensation.
Now I invite you to find an opposite feeling in the body.
Locating and noticing the opposite feeling or sensation.
If you found tension,
Welcome softening.
If you felt a positive feeling,
Search for discomfort or dis-ease.
If you had sensed a color,
See the color change.
There's no right or wrong way to practice.
We're simply noticing and welcoming.
Being the observer.
I invite you now to give that opposite sensation permission to be felt in the whole body.
Allowing the opposite sensation to radiate outward and be felt in the whole body now.
Reaching every cell of the body.
Breathing with that sensation.
Noticing the inhale.
Noticing the exhale.
Now invite that original feeling back into the body.
Giving it permission to radiate outward.
Filling the body.
Let it be felt throughout the whole body.
Breathing with that original sensation.
Now I invite you to welcome both sensations into the body at the same time.
Without thinking,
Just experiencing.
Feeling both sensations in the whole body simultaneously.
Positive sensations nourish as they swirl and pulse inside you.
And those sensations that bring dis-ease or discomfort are acknowledged,
Welcomed without judgment,
And dissipate.
In your own time,
Explore going back and forth between the two sensations.
Feeling one and then the other.
Ever-changing.
Always flowing.
We've created a space where feelings can come and go,
Be felt and acknowledged,
And released.
Allow whatever is arising to surface without judgment.
I invite you now to go inside your mind's eye and see yourself outside.
Allow your feet to be bare and your toes wiggling,
Gripping,
Feeling into the sensations of soft grasses.
See yourself in a beautiful surrounding.
There's no right or wrong in this space.
Allow it to be exactly what arises.
See in a small lake,
You venture towards it.
As you move forward,
The soft grasses beneath your feet grow thinner with each step.
And your toes welcome the coolness of the dirt,
The bare earth beneath them.
Cool to the touch.
As you come to the water's edge,
You take in its beauty.
The lake,
Allow it to be full of life.
Trees all around,
Perhaps flowers hugging the borders.
Allow any wildlife that may live in this space or nearby,
Allow them to appear.
And as you look around,
Feel the warm sun on your cheeks.
Allow your gaze to shift back to the water,
Where you notice a full,
Brilliant lotus floating at the surface,
Watching it gently sway in the subtle movement of the water.
You feel the corners of your mouth gently turn upward.
Your gaze follows the stem into the water as far as the eyes can see,
All the way until it disappears into the depths of the lake,
The darkness,
The mud.
The lotus comes from the bottom of the lake,
Trapped in darkness,
But with a desire to thrive,
A desire to live.
The lotus must trust there is light to be found and keep growing,
Emerging through the mud,
Growing slowly,
Navigating murky waters,
Reaching for the rays of sunshine that stream down into and through the water.
Eventually,
The lotus reaches the surface.
Imagine feeling the air for the first time,
Feeling the warmth of the sun after leaving the cool,
Dark depths of the lake.
The lotus blooms at the surface.
We too can emerge from the mud,
Trusting there is light to be found.
And in this moment,
You realize you are exactly in the right place,
Allowing yourself to come closer to the water's edge,
Knowing that you are like the lotus,
Understanding the duality,
The polarity,
And how we cannot reach the light without emerging from the darkness.
Finding your seat of intention,
Your sankalpa,
In your hand,
You gently clasp it between the palms and bring the hands to your heart,
Silently repeating your sankalpa three times.
Feel it radiate through each cell of the body,
Increasing that feeling each time you repeat it,
Saying it as if it were already true.
Releasing your grasp on your intention,
See your seed be lifted away by a soft breeze into the universe where it can root,
Grow,
And bloom.
Your organs are revitalized,
Emotions balanced,
And your body rejuvenated.
Namaste.
