Embodiment Yoga Nidra Practice

Namaste and welcome to Calm Your Koshes.

My name is Michaela and today I'll be guiding you through a Yoga Nidra practice where we will connect with the subtleties of our body,

Different movements,

Different sensations,

Different thoughts and experiences.

This is all to help us become calm,

Connected and find that serenity that we can bring into our daily activities.

And I hope that after this Yoga Nidra practice that you wake up feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

So now get ready for the practice of Yoga Nidra.

Lie down,

Cover yourself with a blanket.

Maybe your head is resting on a pillow.

And maybe you have a bolster or a pillow underneath your knees for extra support.

Now I invite you to close your eyes.

The palms are facing upwards.

Your feet a little apart.

Any movement you want to make,

Please do it now.

Then you should not allow yourself to move physically for the duration of this Yoga Nidra practice.

The body is quiet but under your control.

You are still conscious although you are not allowing the body to move.

No physical movement.

No movement of the toes,

Fingers,

Head or legs.

No quivering of any part of the body.

No tightening of any muscles.

No stretching of the body.

Now take your awareness inside and begin to investigate the whole physical body.

Every joint and muscle should be completely relaxed.

Relax the palms,

Fingers,

Feet,

Toes,

Ankles,

Calf muscles,

Knees,

Thighs,

Hands,

Thighs,

Hamstrings,

Buttocks,

Back,

Shoulders,

Chest,

Arms,

Elbows,

Hands,

Head,

And neck.

Relax the whole body.

Investigate if there is any tension.

If there is tension,

Loosen it.

If the muscles are tight,

Release them.

Now there should be no more physical movement during the period of Yoga Nidra.

And you are also not supposed to sleep.

Yoga Nidra is the practice to make you more and more aware.

To raise the subtle inner awareness,

Not the gross upper layer.

Let the whole body remain quiet for some time and work with the subtle awareness.

Now it is the time to make your resolve,

Vossen Kalpa.

The resolve should be very simple.

Maybe you already have one planned or something comes spontaneously.

There should be a short positive statement in simple language.

Now state this resolve three times with awareness,

Feeling and emphasis.

And the resolve you make during Yoga Nidra is bound to come true in your life.

We will now begin to relax each body part.

Bring your awareness to the right side of your body.

Relax the right thumb,

Right index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky.

Relax the palm of your right hand and the back of your right hand.

Relax your wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm.

Relax your right shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of your chest,

Right side of your abdomen and your entire waist.

Relax your right hip,

Hamstring,

Thigh,

Knee.

Relax your right calf muscle,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of your foot,

Top of your foot and your toes.

Relax your right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

Relax the entire right side of your body.

Begin to relax the left side of your body.

Relax your left thumb,

Left index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky.

Relax the palm of your left hand,

The back of your left hand,

Your left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm.

Relax your left armpit,

Shoulder,

Left side of your chest,

Left side of your abdomen and your entire waist.

Relax your left hip,

Hamstrings,

Thigh,

Kneecap.

Relax your left calf,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of your foot,

Top of your foot and your left toes.

Relax your left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe.

Relax the entire left side of your body.

Stay awake,

Listen to my words.

Relax your jaw,

Allow your tongue to hang in the back of your mouth and begin to notice the feel of your breath.

Notice your inhales enter through the nose and feel the breath moving out of the nose.

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

Do not try and change the rhythm.

The breathing is natural and automatic.

There is no effort.

Now concentrate your awareness on the movement of your navel area.

Feel your belly rise on the inhale and feel your belly fall on the exhale.

With each and every breath the belly expands and contracts.

Now start counting your breath backwards from 11 to 1 like this.

11 Belly Rises,

11 Belly Falls,

10 Belly Rises,

10 Belly Falls,

9 Belly Rises,

9 Belly Falls and so on.

Say the words and numbers mentally to yourself.

And if you make a mistake just come back to 11 Belly Rises,

11 Belly Falls and count backwards.

11 Belly Rises,

12 Belly Falls,

12 Belly Falls,

13 Belly Falls,

14 Belly Falls,

15 Belly Falls and 12 Belly Falls.

Stay awake,

Don't fall asleep and continue counting your breaths backwards.

Now letting go of the counting breath.

Try to experience all the subtle movements in the body.

The physical body is moving on its own,

Without effort,

In spite of all control.

Which parts are moving?

Where is the movement?

Are your feet moving?

Are the toes,

Fingers or thighs twitching?

Is the head turned to one side?

Is the chest or the stomach moving?

Yes the stomach is moving forward and back,

Up and down.

You are not doing this.

It is happening on its own and you are not going to stop it.

Just watch it.

How does all this movement take place?

Have you discovered the reason for the movements of the navel,

The stomach,

The abdomen and the chest?

They seem to be expanding and contracting a little bit all the time.

The breath is flowing in and out.

And as a result the chest seems to be expanding and contracting just a little.

In the throat,

Between the collar bones,

There also seems to be some movement.

The depression of the throat seems to be moving upward and downward with respiration.

The breath is flowing in and out through the nostrils.

The breath is the cause of all this inner movement.

Movement causing palpitation in the third eye,

Between the eyebrows.

In spite of all your control,

Movement is still occurring in the physical body.

This has been going on by itself all the 24 hours of the day from the moment you were born.

Become aware of this movement,

The movement of the breath,

The inspiration and expiration through the nostrils.

This breath is causing movement in many parts of the body.

The grossest movement occurs in the abdomen,

Stomach,

Heart,

Chest,

Throat and nostrils.

These are the grosser movements which I am bringing to your notice.

Of course the whole body is vibrating.

Each and every hair of the body and all the pranas are moving.

The breath is going in and out through the nostrils.

The movement seems to be from the navel up to the throat,

In and from the throat down to the navel out.

Keep on watching,

Just witness it.

Letting your consciousness rotate between the throat and the navel.

We now come to visualization.

A number of different things will be named.

Try to develop a vision of them on all levels,

Feeling awareness,

Emotion and imagination as best you can.

Find visualization of a burning candle,

Burning candle,

Burning candle,

Endless desert,

Endless desert,

Endless desert,

Torrential rain,

Torrential rain,

Torrential rain,

Egyptian pyramid,

Egyptian pyramid,

Egyptian pyramid,

Snow capped mountains,

Snow capped mountains,

Snow capped mountains,

Across above the church,

Across above a church,

Across above a church,

Stars at night,

Stars at night,

Stars at night,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach,

The restless eternal sea,

The restless eternal sea,

Eternal restless sea,

Waves breaking on a deserted beach.

Now it is the time to repeat your resolve,

Your sankalpa.

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

Do not change it.

Repeat your resolve three times with full awareness and feeling.

Bring your awareness back to your breath,

Begin to feel your belly gently rise and fall with each and every breath.

Begin to deepen your breath and feel your body line completely relaxed on the floor.

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

Become aware of the floor,

Become aware of the position of your body lying on the floor,

Become aware of your surroundings in the room.

Begin to start moving your body and stretching yourself.

Taking your time,

There is no need to hurry or rush.

Sit up slowly and open your eyes.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Namaste.