Yoga Nidra - Ship At Sea

Hello and welcome.

I'm Stephanie.

Thank you for joining me for Yoga Nidra.

The guided practice that we call Yoga Nidra creates a deep sense of relaxation in both your body and your mind.

Please take a few moments to make sure that everything is set up for you to have the best experience possible.

Make sure that your cell phone,

If it's nearby,

Is silenced.

You're in a quiet space where you won't be disturbed.

You're able to either lie down comfortably or sit if necessary.

And that you're able to have a moment of quiet relaxation and peace,

Letting everything else go.

Lie down on your back in the pose that we call Shavasana.

If it's uncomfortable to lie flat,

If you have discomfort in your back,

You can prop your knees over a folded pillow or a rolled blanket so that there's a supported bend in your knees.

I recommend that you lie down in a space other than your bed.

Your bed is associated with sleeping,

Hopefully.

And in Yoga Nidra we do our best to remain awake.

Get perfectly comfortable.

Set yourself up to be perfectly comfortable for the next 45 minutes so there will be no need for movement.

Yoga Nidra is best practiced in perfect stillness.

So make all of your adjustments now so that you can be comfortable and remain perfectly still.

Pause the recording if you need to and get set up.

During Yoga Nidra you are functioning on the level of the subconscious mind.

You need only relax and absorb the vibration of my voice.

But don't worry if you don't hear or remember everything I say.

It's common to drift in and out a bit,

Though you should try to keep yourself awake.

Do your best to remain still and to stay awake,

But do not concentrate too intensely.

Concentrating and analyzing will disturb your relaxation.

Simply allow the experience to be exactly what it was meant to be.

If possible,

Turn the palms of your hands upward,

With your arms by your sides,

Or out just a small distance from your body.

Close your eyes.

Relax your body.

A light cover with a blanket will help to keep you warm.

A thin cushion under your head is best,

Or no cushion at all.

Once you get settled in and comfortable,

Begin conscious breathing.

Soft belly breathing.

Take six very long,

Slow,

Deep breaths in and out through your nose.

Slowly breathing in.

Slowly breathing out.

Really take your time.

With each slow,

Deep breath,

Feel your body becoming more and more relaxed.

Your mind becoming quiet.

Feel the soft breath moving back and forth through your nostrils.

When you've completed those six breaths,

Just allow your breathing to become natural.

Gentle,

Easy,

Effortless breath.

Cultivate the feeling of deep relaxation.

Relaxation deep within.

Release any remaining tension from your body.

Let go of any remaining worries or busyness in your mind.

Let it all float away.

Feel your body.

Feel the movement of the breath in your body.

Create a sense of ease and comfort and quiet in your body.

Feel the backside of your body resting against the surface beneath you.

The places of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.

Allow your body to settle down,

Sink down against that surface,

Letting gravity hold you.

The feeling of the breath moving in and out and the feel of your body.

The soft breath.

Gentle,

Easy breath.

You are not doing the breath.

The breath does itself.

The body breathes.

You are the one who watches the body breathing.

In your mind,

Repeat,

I am going to practice yoga nidra.

I will remain awake but completely relaxed.

I am going to practice yoga nidra.

I will not sleep.

Now you will create a personalized intention.

An intention unique to you.

Something you would like to create and develop within yourself and within your life.

Planting a seed.

Create a simple positive statement of intention.

Very brief,

Very simple.

Repeat it three times with full awareness,

With faith,

With concentration.

We will now create a deeper sense of relaxation and peace in the body by mentally mapping the body.

This is a form of blessing as you move your awareness through your body.

There is no need to move any part of your body.

Remain physically still.

Just moving your awareness from part to part as I name it.

If you'd like to help with your focus,

You can mentally repeat each part after me as you simultaneously become aware of that part of the body.

Let's begin with the right side of the body.

Become aware of your right hand.

Go to the right hand thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Right palm.

Back of the hand.

Right wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Right shoulder.

Under arm.

Right side.

Right waist.

Right hip.

Right buttock.

Right thigh.

Knee.

Shin.

Calf.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Right big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Now the left side.

Go to the left hand.

Left thumb.

Second finger.

Third finger.

Fourth finger.

Fifth finger.

Left palm.

Back of the hand.

Left wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Left shoulder.

Under arm.

Left side.

Left waist.

Left hip.

Left buttock.

Left thigh.

Knee.

Shin.

Calf.

Ankle.

Heel.

Sole of the foot.

Top of the foot.

Left big toe.

Second toe.

Third toe.

Fourth toe.

Fifth toe.

Now back and forth.

Right to left.

Right hand.

Left hand.

Right thumb.

Left thumb.

Right index finger.

Left index finger.

Right middle finger.

Left middle finger.

Right ring finger.

Left ring finger.

Right pinky.

Left pinky.

Right palm.

Left palm.

Back of the right hand.

Back of the left hand.

Right wrist.

Left wrist.

Right forearm.

Left forearm.

Right elbow.

Left elbow.

Right upper arm.

Left upper arm.

Right shoulder.

Left shoulder.

Right underarm.

Left underarm.

Right ribs.

Left ribs.

Right waist.

Left waist.

Right hip.

Left hip.

Right buttock.

Left buttock.

Right hip bone.

Left hip bone.

Right groin.

Left groin.

Right thigh.

Left thigh.

Right knee.

Left knee.

Right shin.

Left shin.

Right ankle.

Left ankle.

Right heel.

Left heel.

Right sole.

Left sole.

Top of the right foot.

Top of the left foot.

Right big toe.

Left big toe.

Right second toe.

Left second toe.

Right third toe.

Left third toe.

Right fourth toe.

Left fourth toe.

Right fifth toe.

Left fifth toe.

Take your attention to the tailbone.

Go to the tailbone.

Sacrum.

Low back.

Mid back.

Right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Between the shoulder blades.

Back of the neck.

Back of the head.

Go to the low abdomen.

Navel.

Upper abdomen.

Right chest.

Left chest.

Center of the chest.

Right collarbone.

Left collarbone.

Throat.

Right jaw.

Left jaw.

Chin.

Lower lip.

Upper lip.

Tongue.

Right cheek.

Left cheek.

Right ear.

Left ear.

Right eye.

Left eye.

Right nostril.

Left nostril.

Tip of the nose.

Bridge of the nose.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Space between the eyebrows.

Right temple.

Left temple.

Forehead.

Right side of the head.

Left side of the head.

Crown of the head.

Whole parts.

Go to the right leg.

Become aware of the whole right leg.

The whole left leg.

Both legs.

The whole right arm.

The whole left arm.

Both arms.

The whole back.

The whole front.

The whole head.

Both legs.

Both arms.

Back.

Front.

Head.

Legs.

Arms.

Back.

Front.

Head.

The whole body.

Become aware of the whole body.

The whole body.

Develop subtle,

Homogenous awareness of the whole body.

No parts.

The whole body.

Now become aware of your breath.

No need to change the breath.

Just notice it as it is.

Notice the movement of the air through your nostrils.

Passing through the throat.

In and out of the chest.

The rise and fall of the belly.

Feel the body breathing.

The whole body.

Begin counting backwards from 27 to 1 with each breath.

27 breathing in.

27 breathing out.

26 breathing in.

26 breathing out.

25 breathing in.

25 breathing out.

Continue.

Roid of 3 Sidney P Peyton If you lose count or you get to zero,

Begin again at 27.

Be certain you're not sleeping.

Breathing and counting.

Continue.

Leave your counting of breaths now.

Wherever you are,

Stop counting,

Maintain awareness of the breath,

And take your attention to the space in front of your closed eyes.

The dark space in front of your closed eyes.

If you like,

You can lift your inner gaze a bit to the third eye,

The space just above the point between the eyebrows.

Observe whatever arises there.

There may be colors or light,

Images,

Patterns.

Observe without attachment or intention.

Let yourself be the quiet,

Peaceful observer of whatever appears,

Detached and aware.

Let yourself be the quiet,

Peaceful observer of whatever appears.

Now,

Create a mental image or impression as best you can as I name various objects.

Don't worry if you're not able to see some of the images.

Let your mind move freely from image to image.

White billowy clouds in a deep blue sky.

Tall tree.

Green leaves.

Orange cat.

Small,

Dirty child.

Red sky.

Waterfall.

Metal gate.

Lush garden.

Shining sword.

Purple flower.

Yellow flower.

Red flower.

Woman in seated meditation.

Bare feet in green grass.

Sailboat.

Seashell.

Snowy mountain.

Deep blue sky.

White clouds in a deep blue sky.

Beautiful sunset.

Imagine now that you are on the deck of a large ship at sea.

You are at the back of the ship,

Looking out over the sea behind you and observing the wake of the ship.

The sun is setting and the horizon is beautiful with colorful hues of pink,

Red,

Orange and yellow.

You gaze out over the horizon as if you are looking out over your past and all that is behind you.

You notice at your feet several packages,

Boxes and some luggage.

Some are large and bulky.

Others are small and light.

These packages,

Bags and suitcases hold the stories and adventures of your past.

Some have been difficult to experience.

The packages hold the joys and sorrows,

Loss and triumphs of your past.

The lessons of past experiences.

As you scan this pile of luggage and packages,

A small sweet child walks up beside you and indicates that some of the baggage can be tossed overboard.

You agree and begin to look more closely at the packages and luggage to decide what you no longer need and what is simply weighing you down at this point.

Some lessons you are not done with and others are complete.

You begin to pick up packages and hand them to the child who tosses them overboard into the sea of your past without a thought.

You join in but with more care,

Inspecting each to make sure you no longer need it,

Then saying goodbye as you toss it over.

When you are done,

You look over what is left,

The experiences,

Stories and lessons you will take with you into the future.

Looking down at the sweet child,

You beam a beautiful,

Loving smile at each other.

A smile of complete satisfaction and joy.

Looking more closely,

You realize the child is you.

You both smile even brighter,

Broader,

With love,

Adoration and mutual understanding.

You take each other's hand and walk to the front of the ship,

Gazing out over the horizon of your future.

It is night now and you can see only by the stars and the moon,

But you are patient.

You know the sun will rise soon and with it all will be exactly as it should.

You are safe.

You are peaceful and at ease.

You are content.

No matter what comes,

You know you will be okay and everything will be exactly as it should be.

Thank you.

You you you you you notice your breath soft,

Gentle breathing breath moves in and out a body breathing you are not the body breathing you are the one who watches now remember your resolve remember the intention you created at the beginning of the practice now is the time to repeat your intention the same intention the same words repeat your resolve three times with clarity and focus with faith become aware of your body lying in shavasana the points of contact between your body and the support beneath you become aware of the feeling of relaxation in your body and the breath moving in and out notice of the whole body the whole body become aware of your hands gently begin to move your fingers slowly start to return movement to your body reawaken your body become aware of your toes and start to move your toes gently deepen your breath take a deep breath in slow breath out and slowly turn your head side to side start to become aware of your surroundings as you deepen your breath and move your body find your way up to sitting find a comfortable seated position and sit for a moment with your eyes closed breathing softly feeling the sense of peace and calm and relaxation body and mind this is your natural state of peace it is always within you practice coming back to this state of peace again and again may you have peace in your body may you have peace in your mind may you have peace in your heart om shanti shanti shanti peace peace peace