Yoga Nidra To Overcome Anxiety And Improve Sleep - Ocean

Get ready for yoga nidra.

Lie down in shavasana,

The dead man's pose,

And make yourself as comfortable as possible.

Keep your feet apart and let them flop a little sideways,

Arms slightly away from the body with the palms of your hands upwards.

Adjust your blanket,

Clothes and position so that you can practice yoga nidra without moving and with no physical discomfort.

Please close your eyes and keep them closed during the practice.

The practice of yoga nidra is the act of hearing and the act of feeling.

These are the only important factors.

In yoga nidra,

You function on the level of awareness and the level of listening.

In dreams,

You have no control.

During yoga nidra,

You are the creator of the dream.

Now say to yourself mentally,

I will not sleep.

I shall only listen to the voice.

Repeat to yourself,

I will not sleep.

Give yourself some time to become calm and steady.

Take a deep breath and as you breathe in,

Feel calmness spreading throughout the body.

As you are breathing out,

Say to yourself mentally,

Relax.

Become aware of your breath.

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

Do not try to change the rhythm as the breathing is natural.

You are not doing it.

There is no effort.

Maintain the awareness of the breath,

A complete awareness of the breath.

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

Concentrate on the navel movements.

The navel is rising and falling slightly with every breath.

With each and every breath,

It expands and contracts.

Concentrate on this movement synchronized with the breath.

Make sure that you are aware.

Now start counting your breath backwards from 27 to 1 like this.

27,

Navel rising.

27,

Navel falling.

26,

Navel rising.

26,

Navel falling.

25,

Navel rising.

25,

Navel falling.

And so on.

Say the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count your breath.

Be sure that you don't make a mistake.

If you do,

You must go back to 27 and start again with total awareness that you are counting.

Go on counting from 27 to 1.

Keep on with the practice.

No mistakes.

Now stop your counting of the navel breath and shift your attention to the chest.

Please shift your attention to the chest.

The chest is rising and falling slightly with each and every breath.

Become aware of this movement.

Continue concentrating on the movement of the chest and start counting backwards from 27 to 1 in the same way as before.

27,

Navel rising.

27,

Navel falling.

26,

Navel rising.

26,

Navel falling.

25,

Navel rising.

25,

Navel falling.

And so on.

Again repeat the words and numbers mentally to yourself as you count.

If you are lost in the counting,

Go back to the start again to 27.

Continue counting 27 to 1.

Keep on with the practice.

Counting and awareness.

Awareness and counting.

Cease your counting of the chest breath and move your awareness to the throat.

Please move your awareness to the throat.

Become aware of your breath moving in and out of the throat.

Become aware of this movement.

Concentrate on the movement of the breath and start counting backwards from 27 to 1 in the same way as before.

Complete awareness of counting the breath.

No sleeping please.

Just a total awareness that you are breathing.

Keep on with the practice.

Continue counting your breath in the throat.

Stop counting and go now to the nostrils.

Become aware of the breath moving in and out of the nostrils.

Concentrate on the movement of the breath in and out of the nostrils and start counting as before.

You know it very well by now.

27 breathing in,

27 breathing out.

Complete awareness please.

Continue counting.

No mistakes.

Keep on with the practice.

Continue continue and slowly stop counting and release your effort,

Allowing your natural breath to come back.

Allow your heart's deepest desire to arise within something that you want more than anything else in life.

This may be a desire for yourself,

For another,

Or for the world around you.

Whatever it is,

Allow this longing to rise up naturally as your deepest heartfelt longing.

Perhaps it's the feeling of being whole,

Healed and healthy.

The feeling of deep self-acceptance,

Peace or well-being.

Whatever it is,

Welcome and affirm your heartfelt desire in the present tense with your entire body.

As if it's true right now,

Then set your desire aside and notice how it returns at the end of the practice or as you go about your daily life.

You are now going to focus on the body,

Bringing attention to each part of the body,

One after the other.

I will name each part and you just have to follow my voice.

Become aware of your right hand thumb and mentally say right hand thumb.

No movement is required,

Only direct your attention to it.

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Right wrist,

Right wrist,

Forearm,

Right elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Right side of the rib cage,

Waist,

Hip,

Right thigh,

Lower leg,

Right ankle,

Heel,

Top of the right foot,

Sole of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now go to your left side,

Become aware of your left hand thumb,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Left wrist,

Forearm,

Left elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Left side of the rib cage,

Waist,

Hip,

Left thigh,

Knee,

Left lower leg,

Left ankle,

Heel,

Top of the left foot,

Sole of the foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe.

Now go to the back of the body,

Back of the head,

Back of the neck,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Right part of the bottom,

Left part of the bottom,

Right hamstring,

Left hamstring,

Right calf muscle,

Left calf muscle,

Right heel,

Left heel.

Now the front of the body,

The crown,

Forehead,

Right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Middle of the eyebrows,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Whole nose,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together,

Chin,

Neck,

Right collarbone,

Left collarbone,

Right side of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Middle of the chest,

Navel,

Upper abdomen,

Right leg,

Left leg,

Right arm,

Left arm,

The whole of the head,

The whole body,

The whole body,

The whole body.

Become aware of the body lying on the floor in a surrender position.

Feel the points of contact of the body with the floor,

Both heels touching the floor,

The back of the legs touching the floor,

The bottom,

The back,

The shoulders are in contact with the floor.

Notice the points of contact of the head with the cushion or the mat.

Imagine the meeting points of the body and the floor,

The whole body supported by the floor.

Become aware of the whole body perfectly still on the floor.

Now bring attention to feelings that are present inside,

Such as warmth or coolness,

Heaviness or lightness,

Comfort or discomfort,

Allowing them to blossom fully into your body.

And if no feelings are present,

As it may happen simply welcoming whatever is present.

Now imagine the opposite of whatever you are feeling.

If you are feeling warmth,

Find coolness.

Heaviness,

Find lightness.

Comfort,

Find discomfort.

Welcoming an opposite of feeling fully into the body.

Now welcome both opposites of feeling into the body at the same time without thinking.

Simply experiencing how doing this affects your body and mind.

Now bring attention to an emotion that is present in your body or one that you are working with in your life.

Or just recall a memory that invites a particular emotion into your body.

Welcoming the emotion as a sensation into your body.

Inviting this specific emotion to unfold fully as sensation in the body.

And if no emotion is found,

There's no need to make anything happen.

Simply welcoming whatever is present.

If an emotion is present,

Where are you feeling it in your body?

Allowing it to blossom fully while welcoming thoughts,

Images or memories that co-arise with this emotion.

Now allow an opposite emotion to emerge.

Perhaps recalling a memory that invites this opposite emotion into your body.

Where do you experience it in your body?

Taking your time,

Welcoming this opposite of emotion.

And now moving back and forth several times between opposite emotions.

Experiencing the first one,

Then the other.

Sensing how each emotion is experienced in the body.

Finally inviting both emotions into awareness at the same time without thinking.

Simply experiencing how this affects your entire body and mind.

Letting go of these emotions.

Now imagine yourself walking along a deserted road on a hot day.

You are walking along a deserted road on a hot day.

Beside the road is a high wall and in the wall a small door.

You go through that door and discover inside a garden.

Birds singing,

Beautiful flowers,

Cool shady trees.

You enter and explore the garden and come to a well with butterflies dancing around the top.

Look inside the well.

It is very deep.

A cylindrical tunnel boring into utter darkness.

A spiral stairway twists around the walls.

You start walking down.

In the walls are polished stones,

Yellow and white marbles,

Emerald green serpentines.

Look up and see the circle of light at the top of the well.

You reach the bottom of the well,

Run through a tunnel and come out on a golden beach.

A golden beach on the shore of an infinite ocean of peace and bliss.

With every breath,

You feel the peace infiltrating your skin,

Reaching your cells.

You start to enter in a state of deep stillness.

You can feel an infinite joy from within.

Watching the blissful ocean,

You can hear the vibration of the sounds of creation.

Aum.

Let the sound penetrate your heart,

Your soul.

You are present,

Completely still and joyful.

You become one with this vibration.

Gently coming back,

It is the time to remember your sankalpa,

This intention that you've made at the beginning of the practice.

Repeat mentally the same resolve that you've made three times with full awareness and confidence.

Now take your time transitioning to your alert and wide awake state of wakefulness.

Sensing your body,

The room around you,

Perhaps wiggling your fingers and toes,

Moving your body,

Reorienting to where you are and where you are going.

Becoming fully alert and wide awake and perhaps before ending your practice,

Experience the feeling of gratitude for taking the time to practice yoga nidra.

Welcoming and loving yourself,

Experiencing yourself as timeless,

Open and spacious well-being that is perfect just as it is,

And experiencing yourself as whole,

Healthy and perfect just as you are,

Yourself as unchanging,

Unchanging,

Spacious awareness in which everything is unfolding and the understanding that you always know the perfect response to each moment as you take the time to welcome your deepest knowing.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.