Yoga Nidra For Balance & Resilience

Settle into your position.

Allow yourself to be comfortable.

Allow yourself to feel supported.

Settle into or towards stillness.

Settle into being.

Into right here and right now.

Becoming aware of any sounds around you.

Noticing what you can hear and allowing sounds to be as they are.

To be received,

Passing through.

Noticing any smells.

Any tastes.

Noticing what you see on the insides of the eyelids.

Or what's coming in from a softened,

Relaxed gaze.

Feel into what the body is in contact with.

The skin,

Clothes,

The support beneath you.

Simply noticing and allowing what's there to be.

And now,

Asking yourself what your deepest desire or longing is in this moment.

And as words arise,

Create a short sentence in the present tense as if it were true right now.

And as you have that short present tense phrase,

Affirming that deepest desire or longing,

Repeat it silently to yourself three times.

Now become aware of the right hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Lower arm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder.

Right side of the upper torso,

Lower torso,

Right side of the pelvis,

Upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Right big toe,

Second toe.

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Become aware of the 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,

Shoulder.

Left side of the upper torso,

Lower torso,

Left side of the pelvis,

Upper leg,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Heel,

Top of the foot,

Sole of the foot,

Left big toe,

Second toe.

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

And now bring your awareness to the back of the head,

Back of the neck,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Right buttock,

Left buttock,

Right heel,

Left heel.

And now the top of the head,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

The space between the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right nostril.

Left nostril,

Left nostril,

Whole nose,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

The whole inside of the mouth.

Tongue,

Teeth,

Gums,

The jaw,

The hinges of the jaw,

Chin,

Neck,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest.

Middle of the chest,

Navel,

Upper abdomen,

Lower abdomen,

The whole spine,

The pelvis,

The pelvic floor,

The whole right leg,

The whole left leg.

Both legs together,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole right side of your body.

The whole left side of your body,

All of the front side of your body,

All of the back side of your body.

Arms and legs together,

Whole body,

Whole body,

Whole body,

The body as a whole,

Whole and complete as you are.

And now let your awareness rest at the heart space,

Feeling the heart,

Feeling the expansion and recondensing of the body,

Those movements happening as you breathe.

Noticing how the breath breathes itself without any effort.

Sensing and feeling the motions of the breath with the awareness at the heart.

And with each exhale,

Let yourself drop down another layer.

And as you do this,

Begin to count back from 33 to 1,

So that as you inhale,

Exhale,

33.

Inhale,

Exhale,

32.

Inhale,

Exhale,

31,

Continuing on your own.

Exhale,

Release.

Letting go of the gait.

Letting go of the counting.

And now allowing yourself to feel into the body for any places of warmth,

Feeling for warmth,

Places of warmth in the body.

Noticing warmth.

And now noticing any places in the body where you feel coolness,

Any places in the body where you feel the body cool.

Coming back to sensations of warmth.

Noticing where you feel warmth in the body.

And if you wish,

Imagining that warmth spreading throughout the whole body so that the whole body feels comfortably warm.

And then coming back to coolness,

Noticing any places in the body where you feel coolness,

Where the body feels comfortably cool.

And if you wish,

Imagining the whole body comfortably cool.

And now noticing places where the body feels heavy,

Noticing places where you feel heaviness in the body.

And now noticing places of lightness in the body,

Noticing where you feel the body,

Where you experience it as feeling light.

And then coming back to heaviness,

Sensing and feeling any places in the body that you feel heaviness.

And if you wish,

Allowing that heaviness to spread,

Imagining perhaps the whole body heavy.

Sensing and feeling heaviness throughout the body.

And then coming back to sensations you feel in the body of lightness,

Noticing where you feel lightness in the body.

And then imagining lightness throughout the whole body,

Spreading until it fills the whole body so that then the whole body feels light.

Now,

Notice any places where you may feel any non-peace,

Any places of discomfort or dis-ease,

Anywhere the body doesn't feel peaceful.

Or perhaps imagining something that feels off or uncomfortable,

Something,

Your peace disturbed.

What that feels like in the body.

And now bring to mind a sense of peace,

Deep peace and inner calm,

Allowing yourself to feel,

To experience deep peace in your being.

And as you feel that deep peace,

Notice what you feel in your body,

What sensations are there as you invite in,

Imagine and experience deep peace in your body.

And now come back to what it's like to be in a place of non-peace.

Just inviting it in just enough so that you can explore,

Sense and feel what happens in your body when your peace is thrown off.

Just noticing sensations.

And now coming back to bringing in a deep sense of peace,

Inner calm,

Sensing and feeling the places you feel that sense of peace and inner calm within you.

How you experience peace and calm in your body,

What it feels like.

Inviting deep peace and inner calm to spread through your whole body.

Now trying to imagine each image as I name it.

Morning twilight.

The sound of birds.

A large valley surrounded by tall mountains.

A sacred place.

The sound of a raven calling.

Midday sun.

A tall tree.

Snow-covered mountains.

An expansive canopy of treetops in a forest.

The laughter of children.

Afternoon sunlight.

Burning candle.

A beautiful sunset.

A quilt.

The fading light of day.

Stars at night.

A complete rainbow vibrantly filling the sky.

The sound of coyotes.

The darkness of a new moon.

Burning candle.

Burning candle.

The brightness of a full moon.

Burning candle.

Burning candle.

Now you see yourself walking on a path.

You're walking on a path that moves through meadows and thin forest.

You feel yourself walking along the path in the forest.

You feel your legs moving.

Your arms gently swing forward and back with the movement of your walking.

Even at the comfortable gate you've chosen.

You feel yourself breathing in the forest air.

And with all the smells of being outdoors in the forest.

You enjoy the feel of the earth in the slightly uneven terrain of the path beneath your feet.

You hear a woodpecker pecking somewhere off in the distance.

Then you hear a different bird calling in its unique rhythm and pattern closer to you.

As you continue to walk comfortably down the path.

You feel the air is cool and warm.

And you enjoy the mixed sensations that are pleasant.

You continue to hear the same bird calling with its intermittent calls.

And feel as if it might be moving through the forest at a similar pace as you.

The forest starts to become denser as you walk.

And the light becomes more filtered.

You see a particularly large tree up ahead just off the path.

You go up to the tree.

You make your way to it.

And stand next to it.

Just by being in its presence.

You feel the wisdom of its having lived and grown through so many seasons.

Over the many years it has lived.

You can almost palpably feel the spirit of the tree that has watched so many seasons.

Trees around it have come and gone.

You see a fallen tree nearby.

You imagine the tree is a very young sapling just beginning its life with just a few sprouts of foliage.

You look around the tree at its surroundings.

And then you lean up against it.

And with your back to it you slowly allow yourself to smoothly lower yourself to the ground.

To sit at the base of the tree.

As you lower you feel your back muscles.

Your leg muscles lower you to the earth at the base of the tree.

You settle in and look up to gaze at the branches above you.

You feel the support of the tree and the support of the earth where you sat down.

Feel the tree supporting you.

Feel yourself rooting down into the sit bones where they rest at the base of the tree.

Send roots down into the earth energetically.

Intermingling and connecting with the tree's roots.

Connecting your roots with its roots.

You invite in its strength.

You invite in its knowledge of the many seasons it has weathered.

And all it has witnessed in the forest where it lives rooted.

Feel your arms like the branches.

Imagine your arms lifted and outstretched.

Taking in the sun.

All the energy of oneness and the peace of being in this natural setting.

Feel the breeze on your cheeks.

First cool and then warm.

Intermixed but pleasant.

You hear a gust of wind coming towards you.

You see the branches swaying farther away and then right above you.

You can now feel the touch of the wind on your face as you hear its effect in the branches of the trees around you.

And in the branches and leaves of the tree you are leaning against.

You feel the gust pass by while you feel rooted,

Firm and strong.

You are rooted,

Safe,

Grounded and strong.

You are rooted,

Safe,

Grounded and strong.

You are rooted,

Safe,

Grounded and strong.

You are rooted,

Safe,

Grounded and strong.

Feel the touch of still air on your cheeks.

Feel the presence of the other trees around you.

The plants,

The earth and the sky.

Feel yourself connected to the earth and the tree you are still leaning against.

Notice a sense of integrated wholeness within you and inner sacredness within you.

Notice how this inner sacredness speaks to you,

Telling you of your sacredness with or without words.

Listen quietly to feel,

Hear and sense this message.

Take a moment to connect with it and to listen with your whole body,

With all of your awareness.

Tune in to this felt sense of integrated wholeness,

This aspect of the mystery that is being revealed to you.

As you feel complete and ready to walk the path back from which you came,

Ready to make the sacred journey back.

You feel yourself slowly lifting yourself up from the tree,

Ready to wind your way back out from this journey of exploration of self.

To step back into your daily life,

You feel yourself walking on the path,

Returning your legs once again moving one foot,

Touching the earth at a time,

One after the other,

One step at a time.

Sense the landscape around you,

The trees,

Hear the birds,

Feel the air on your skin and feel that sense of inner sacredness,

Integrated wholeness within you as you walk.

Feel your meaning and purpose,

You walking on your truest path,

Fully immersed in your truest life.

Remember most deeply who you uniquely are,

Your truest self,

The gift of you emanating and shining out into the world.

Feel yourself connected to that truest self as you walk,

Feet firmly touching and rooted on the earth,

Fully on your life path,

Grounded,

Safe,

Loved,

Held,

Protected and strong.

Feel yourself integrated and whole,

Walking on your path with all the wisdom you have absorbed deep within you.

You feel the touch of air in your skin.

And now it's time to come back to the intention you set at the beginning of the practice to once again repeat that short,

Positive present tense phrase.

Repeat it to yourself silently three times.

Let yourself sense and feel your surroundings.

Sense and feel your body,

Your breath flowing in and out.

Feel from the top of your head down to your fingers,

All the way down to your toes.

And when you're ready,

Take your time to move gently and comfortably.

And when you're ready to open your eyes,

The practice of yoga nidra is complete.