Hello and welcome.
My name is Natalie and today we explore the practice of yoga nidra in the second kosha called pranamaya kosha.
This kosha represents the water energy and the flowing nature movement of energy through our body and that includes our breath.
Take some time now to set yourself up.
Find a comfortable place to lie down.
Might be in your bed,
On a yoga mat,
On the couch.
Wherever you feel a sense of comfort and a sense of safety where you can start to really let go.
You might bring a pillow under your knees,
Perhaps something to cover your eyes.
And as you settle in,
Making small adjustments so that you can be supported,
Comfortable.
I'll invite you to take in a slow breath into your nose.
Feel all the way up to the top and then gently release that breath.
Let's try that again.
Slow inhale all the way to the top as you fill your body.
Then as you release your breath,
It can be a sigh,
It can be a really slow exhale.
Take any last little adjustments and movements that your body needs and take a moment to connect with the support beneath you.
Let your body sink into that support.
Allow your breath to become natural.
Allow your body to choose the rhythm of your breath and give your body that trust,
A deep sense of trust that your body knows how to breathe for you and that your body will support you in giving you that breath.
See if you can really let go of any control that you have over your breathing.
Give in,
Surrender that breath.
Allow your body to choose the rhythm.
Allow your eyes to soften,
Your tongue and your jaw to release.
Let the space around your throat relax,
Making way for breath.
Allow any tension in your chest and your shoulders to relax and deepen into the support.
Soften the space,
Release any tension around your belly,
Ribs,
A deep sense of trust in your body in this very moment.
A sankalpa,
A cultivation of something that you need in your life,
A new belief,
A seed that you plant at the beginning of each practice and then allow it to manifest into your life.
We call it a heart's intention or a heart's vow.
As you begin to form these words in your mind's eye,
You might first ask yourself the question,
What do I need?
What does my body need?
What does my mind need?
And my heart,
What does it need?
You might choose something of your own or I invite you to use an intention revolving around the water,
Energy,
And theme.
I am adaptable,
I am resilient.
Once you have chosen a sankalpa,
Say it to yourself three times.
Now allow that intention to slowly and gently float away.
Again,
Feeling a deep sense of trust that your body will remember and start to manifest and cultivate that intention.
Relaxing into stillness,
Into your support,
We're going to move through a body scan,
A rotation of consciousness.
And as you move your attention from part to part,
You can sense any energy or sensations in your body.
You can also visualize water moving through your body as an option as well.
We'll start at the top of the head.
Start to notice how it feels to have your attention on the very top of your head.
Again,
Maybe noticing any sensation here.
Allow your attention to drift like water down to your forehead,
Eyebrows,
Temples,
Eyes,
Cheeks,
Both nostrils,
The space the space behind your nose,
Both lips,
Roof of your mouth,
Bottom of your mouth,
Teeth,
Gums,
The tip of your tongue,
The back of your tongue,
Jaw,
Both ears,
Sides of your neck,
Front of your throat,
Collarbones,
Chest,
Right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of your right hand,
Back of your hand,
Thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger.
Sense the space and any energy around your fingers and your right hand.
And slowly and gently allow your awareness to move back up your right arm,
Back to your heart center,
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of your left hand,
Back of your hand,
Thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger.
Sense all five fingers,
Your left hand,
Or energy around your hand in the space.
And gently flow your energy up your left arm,
Back to your heart center.
Sense the movement of your breath in your ribcage,
Navel center,
Pelvis,
Right hip,
Knee,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Sense all five toes,
Your right foot,
Your right foot,
Energy around your foot.
Slowly move your energy from your right foot back up your right leg,
Pelvic bowl,
Left hip,
Knee,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
Fifth toe,
All five toes,
Left foot,
And the space around.
Allow your attention and your awareness to flow back up your left leg.
Sense your tailbone,
Lower back,
Mid-back,
Upper back,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Top of the head.
Notice any energy in the space in and around the top of the head.
From the top of your head,
Allow your attention to slowly trickle and flow through your whole body.
From your feet,
You can start to come back up slowly,
Awareness flowing back up.
Sense the natural rhythm of your breath and sense the places in your body where your breath touches.
All awareness,
All attention on your breath,
Naturally flowing,
Naturally breathing.
Allow your attention to flow inward into what is happening inside of your body and its deepest depths,
Using your breath as a tool to stay,
To slow down.
Imagine with each breath you take,
That river of energy of breath moving through your body.
Begin to notice the space around your tailbone,
Pubic bone.
See if you can feel any subtle energies in that area.
Allow your attention to move up to your lower abdomen,
Pelvic bowl,
And hips,
Tuning into any subtle energies.
Energy may feel like warmth,
A buzzing or humming of sorts.
The energy might also be more dense and heavier.
So just noticing what is in your body.
Notice the flow of breath in this space.
Guide your attention to your navel center,
The space around your belly button,
Everything in between.
You might sense the digestive fire,
The energy of any emotions held in the space,
Movement of breath.
I'm curious,
What is in this space for you in your body?
Guide your attention up to your ribcage,
Your diaphragm,
The center of where your breath moves.
Feel the expansion and feel the emptying out.
Sensing any energy sitting with this movement and motion of breath.
Guide your attention to your heart center,
Upper back,
Chest,
And perhaps sensing your heartbeat,
Movement of breath.
Sense any energy radiating out from your heart space.
Sensing energy within.
Guide your energy to your throat,
Your neck.
Noticing any sensation of this portal of breath,
Of voice,
And expression.
Allow your attention to drift up to the space between your eyebrows,
Third eye center,
The space of imagination.
Notice any sensations,
Any feelings.
Attention comes to the top of your head once more.
Tune into any energy around your head,
Any sensations inside.
Awareness of breath and awareness of energy.
Now sense the collective energy from your root,
From your tailbone,
All the way up to the top of your head.
As you sense and tune into this energy in your body,
I invite you to notice the motion and the move.
Begin to shift your awareness to the stillness with a full body awareness now.
Begin to notice the movement,
The fluidity,
The parts of your body that are always moving,
The energy.
And shifting back to noticing the places of stillness.
Notice the movement with each breath.
Breath in to fill,
Movement of breath out to release,
The natural rhythm,
The life force.
And bring your awareness to the pause between each breath,
The natural moment of stillness in between.
Simultaneously in your body,
Notice the qualities of movement and of stillness together.
Notice the qualities in your body of fluidity,
Motion,
And calm.
Using your sense of imagination,
Creativity,
And visualization,
Start to imagine a calm,
Flowing river.
A rainy forest.
The waves of the ocean crashing.
Thunder and lightning A cloudy sky.
Calm lake.
Ripples in the water.
A bright rainbow and golden clouds.
Water falling through hands.
A red moon rising over a dark ocean.
The womb of a mother.
The reflection of the sky on the water.
Allow the images to fade.
Allow your attention to soften.
Allow your awareness to calm.
And slowly dive deeper into your consciousness.
Becoming aware of your own consciousness.
Become aware of the subtle and slow manifestations of change.
Manifestations of your heart's intention.
And become aware of your path with a sense of deep trust.
Allow the natural changing nature of you to manifest.
When you're ready,
You can take some time to come back into your physical body.
Noticing your breath.
Noticing the space around you.
And from here,
You may drift off to sleep or carry on with your day.
Remember,
Your heart's intention is within you now.
And you can take it with you.
With a deep sense of trust in your body,
In your own consciousness.
Allow that seed to start to grow.
Thank you for exploring and diving into this practice of Yoga Nidra with me.
May peace be with you.
