Yoga Nidra: 3 Brains Are Better Than One

This yoga nidra is inspired by the gut-heart-brain connection.

Yoga nidra is sometimes called the yogic sleep.

Ancient yogis would use this form of meditation to explore deep unconscious learnings and seek intuitive healing.

The practice is used as a way to plant a seed of intention or pull the weeds that block our energy.

Today we use the practice in a similar way to gather deep innate knowledge about ourselves so we can restore peace and equilibrium to our body,

Mind,

And soul.

A unique part of yoga nidra practice is the sankalpa which translates into san meaning truth and kelpa means vow.

Your sankalpa is similar to a mantra or a statement of intention.

While you are free to use whatever statement you'd like,

Sankalpas work best when they are short,

Positive,

And in the present tense.

Something you'd like to embody more of beginning with an I am.

For example,

I am enough.

I am lovable.

Or you could use something along the lines of I am supported by the universe or I trust myself.

Before we dive deep into the meditation,

I'll guide you into planting your sankalpa where it will do the most work for you.

And for now,

All you have to do is follow my words.

Choose a position for this meditation that will allow the physical body to come to stillness.

Some people really love lying on their backs with their knees supported by a pillow and some people find rest more comfortable on their sides or propped up in a seated position.

You choose.

There's no wrong way to practice yoga nidra.

Part of establishing relaxation during this meditation is creating our nest.

The nest invokes comfort and ease and will help our nervous system down regulate and feel calm as we validate that the present moment is okay for us and we can take rest.

You have permission to add a pillow or bolster under your head,

Knees,

Or anywhere that might be craving a little extra support.

Bonus points for an eye pillow and a cozy blanket.

Our bodies cool off as we start to relax.

Comfort allows the body to rest while the mind stays awake.

But if you fall asleep,

You are probably just needing more rest and you'll still receive all the benefits from this practice.

Pause here if you need some time to gather a few extra things and to prep your nest before you settle in.

Whenever I create a yoga nidra meditation,

I always like to add a touch of body-mind insight to support whatever seeds or weeds we intend to work with.

Don't worry,

This isn't a university level class on physiology.

All this information will be snuck into the guided meditation and you'll absorb whatever you need and leave whatever you don't.

There's no test,

I promise.

For this meditation,

I've been inspired by the teachings of Red Hawk and his book Self-Observation,

The Awakening of Consciousness.

I'm humbly offering the following information based on my own learnings and Red Hawk's book,

Which by the way is an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

We process information of the world around us using many brains in our body and today I'd like to honor the guts,

Heart,

And brain and how they impact our nervous system,

Our thoughts,

And our stories.

The gut is our fastest processor,

Our instincts so to speak.

It processes literal information very quickly.

Think hot,

Cold,

Run,

Hide,

Those sort of things.

The heart possesses our emotional information and is the second fastest processing center.

This is the home of I feel.

I feel scared,

Angry,

Happy,

Sad.

Finally and the slowest is our brain,

Our intellectual center.

The brain can do a million things and therefore is one of the slower uptake centers for information about our events and surroundings.

Today many of us have grown up in systems that put heavy emphasis on the intellectual brain and we end up overdeveloped in our intellect but underdeveloped and out of touch with our instinct,

Our guts,

And our emotion,

Our hearts.

Our brains love efficiency therefore it copes with all the sensory demands by looking for patterns and creating stories about combinations of events and senses,

Shortcutting our reactions to whatever's happening around us.

This is helpful in some scenarios but not helpful in others like your triggers.

When we are attuned to only one area of information intake our discernment for what's happening to us is cloudy and it may filter our judgments of the present moment and cause us to react disproportionately.

From a physiological perspective the brain using its sometimes cloudy judgment can create inflammation and cause other systems to overwork when perhaps there is lack of an actual threat.

This is why stress is the leading cause of most chronic diseases of the mind and body.

The beauty of yoga nidra is that we can safely explore and unwind some of the more unhelpful patterns our brain has created and dip our toes in the uncomfortable emotions without having a whole meltdown.

This practice expands our resiliency and it opens us up to living a life that is comfortable in the present moment without having to be busy or distracted for those of us suffering from ADHD.

For some of us our brain has the pattern to perceive that staying still is a bad thing.

Stillness may not feel natural or may feel strange.

Lack of movement may literally feel uncomfortable in the body.

When stillness doesn't feel achievable we need to approach it differently.

We will titrate it,

Gear down,

And ease into not moving.

This will help deliver the message to the brain that this immobility is okay for us and we don't need to fear it.

We aren't under threat.

In order to drop the nervous system into a relaxation state I invite you to make small slow rotations starting with your hands and feet.

For any reason movement may not be in your world today.

Let your body remain still and imagine yourself doing the motions.

Leisurely work your way through all 10 fingers and all 10 toes.

When we move slower our entire body comes online and sends clearer information about the realities of our present situations.

We are slowing down into rest into a safe restorative state.

Feel into bending and straightening the knees.

Does it feel good to curl into a little ball?

Wrapping your arms around your knees and giving yourself a hug?

It could even feel good to expand and open into a starfish shape.

Try alternating between hugging and expanding and stretching into your joints.

This may feel delicious.

This may feel foreign,

Smooth,

Or jerky.

Neither is wrong or right or good or bad.

Just feel what you're feeling.

Perhaps you start lifting your head to complete the ball,

Curling a little deeper and stretching a little farther.

I really want you to explore how it feels to move unhurried.

Notice where your thoughts go.

It's totally cool and pretty normal to have wandering thoughts.

Dinner,

Work,

Embarrassing memories,

Emotions.

You get it.

This is completely natural.

Sometimes our bodies store emotions and memories in joints,

Muscles,

And connective tissue,

Basically everywhere.

This stored energy creates a type of stickiness and when we're in the habit of moving quickly,

We can't process or work through whatever is trapped.

The brain is always reading what we've stored in our tissues.

Too many trapped emotions relays the message that we have a problem.

At any point during this meditation,

If your system starts to feel overwhelmed or icky and you want to leave your nest,

Come back to the small movements.

Open your eyes and notice the things around you,

Lights,

Sounds,

Temperatures,

And then find your breath.

It's important to let yourself recalibrate before tuning back into the meditation.

Once your physical body feels satisfied,

Allow gravity to pull you closer.

Feel the heavy hug of earth and let your body come to rest.

Slip your attention into the movements of breathing.

Every inhale and exhale,

No matter how deep,

Drifts through the body like a boat in the water,

Rising and falling.

Do you crave an easy natural breath,

Unaltered,

Or would a really deep breath feel great?

I want you to do whatever feels yummy.

Let's wrap up our somatic relaxation with a nice deep ha sound at the end of our breath.

The sound of ha through an opened relaxed jaw helps lessen the tension we carry in our lower bodies and around our guts and especially through the pelvic floor.

The option is to continue breathing normally or to follow me.

We'll do three breaths.

Inhale.

On the exhale,

Ha.

Inhale.

Last one.

Inhale.

I want you to notice your heartbeat.

Imagine a glow around the cavity and the muscles of your heart,

Like an ember of a fire.

Paying attention to how our heart feels is another way to calm the nervous system.

Anytime we consciously pull our attention to a physical present moment,

We can send the message to our brain that right now,

We are safe.

Welcome to your heart space,

The energetic home to self-love and compassion.

Witness your heart's beats.

Are they easy to hear?

Are they quiet?

Listen with curiosity.

We aren't here to judge what we're experiencing.

Notice how your pulse vibrates through your body.

Feel its tempo.

Do you feel it in one or many places of your body?

Maybe you can't feel it.

Again,

Totally normal.

And the more attention you give to it,

Searching for your pulse that is,

And over time,

You'll develop a sense for it.

You'll strengthen your relationship to it.

All right.

To energetically connect to the heart,

Whether or not you could feel anything,

Use your imagination to picture it.

You can picture an anatomical heart with ventricles and vessels,

Or you can picture something like a cartoon heart shape or anything in between.

Just go with it.

Energy goes where you want it to.

As you now know,

Our hearts process the information of emotions.

It's one of the many non-brain brains that we have.

The heart space is a great place to intuit your sankalpa.

So if you have a sankalpa you're already working with,

Repeat it silently five times now.

If you're setting a fresh intention,

Take a moment to allow your sankalpa,

Your I am statement,

To bottle up.

If you can't hear or sense anything,

You can simply use I am until a more specific sankalpa finds you.

You are invited to repeat your chosen sankalpa three times now.

The practice of yoga nidra starts now.

We begin with a rotation of consciousness around the body.

I'll name a spot and you will connect to it.

You can imagine a small glow pulsing at the point I've named.

This portion moves a little quickly with the intention that we don't stay on one spot long enough to drift out of paying attention to the body.

This is a great way to train your attention span.

Don't worry if you get lost,

Pick it up when you tune back in.

Start the glow at your right thumb.

Imagine your right thumb glowing,

Index finger glowing,

Middle finger glowing,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of your hand,

Back of your hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Right elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Underarm,

Right side of the rib cage,

Right lung,

Waistline,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Right ankle,

Top of the right foot,

Sole of the right foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Baby toe.

Hold the entire right side of your body in your awareness.

Your whole right side glowing.

Fill your right side with awareness now.

Bring that awareness to your left hand.

Your left thumb is glowing.

Left index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Pinky finger,

Palm of your hand,

Back of the left hand,

Wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Underarm,

Left side of the rib cage,

Left lung,

Waistline,

Thigh,

Kneecap,

Shin,

Ankle,

Top of the left foot,

Sole of the left foot,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Baby toe.

Shower your entire left side of your body with your awareness.

The whole left side.

Feel the entire left side of your body glowing now.

We will now explore the back of your body,

Moving from right to left at a quicker pace.

Feel the sole of your right foot,

The sole of your left foot,

The soles of both your feet together.

The back of your right heel,

The back of your left heel,

Both heels together.

The right calf,

The left calf,

Both calves together.

Back of your right knee,

Back of the left knee,

The backs of both knees simultaneously.

Right hamstring,

Left hamstring,

Both sets of hamstrings together.

Right buttocks,

Left buttocks,

Both of your buttocks.

Back of your pelvis,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back.

Feel your right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Both shoulder blades together.

Back of the right arm,

Back of the left arm,

Both arms together.

Back of your neck,

Back of your head,

The crown of your head.

Feel the entire back body glowing.

Now feel the crown of your head,

Your forehead,

Your right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Both brows together,

Brow center,

Right eyelid,

Left eyelid,

Both eyelids together,

Right eyeball,

Left eyeball,

Both eyes together.

Feel your right nostril,

Feel your left nostril,

Both nostrils together.

The bridge of your nose,

The tip of your nose,

Your whole entire nose.

Feel your upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips together.

Feel your chin,

Feel the right side of your jaw,

The left side of your jaw,

And feel both sides of your jaw together.

Feel your whole face,

Feel the right side of your head,

The left side of your head.

Now feel both sides of your head together.

Feel the right side of your throat,

Now the left side of your throat.

Feel your whole neck and throat as one.

Feel your right collarbone,

Your left collarbone,

And both collarbones together.

The right side of your chest,

The left side of your chest,

Both sides of your chest,

Your whole chest,

Feel it all together.

Feel the area of your abdomen from your ribs to your belly button,

Low belly,

Pelvis,

Perineum.

Feel the bowl of your pelvic floor.

Feel both thighs,

Both kneecaps,

Both shins,

Both ankles,

Tops of both your feet.

Feel your right leg from your toes to your hip.

Feel your left leg from your toes to your hip.

Feel the entirety of both your legs together.

Feel your right arm from your fingertips to your shoulder,

Left arm from fingers to shoulder.

Now feel both arms together.

Keep your arms and your legs in your awareness.

Now add your entire torso and your head.

Feel and sense your entire body.

Your whole body is glowing.

Feel your whole body together right now.

Total body awareness.

Keep that attention on your entire body.

We'll take a few moments to allow for any new or familiar sensations to arise.

What are you noticing in your body right now?

Are you experiencing any tingling or pulsing or numbness?

What temperature are you perceiving around your body?

Are different parts of you different temperatures?

With grace,

Remember,

If anything comes to the surface,

Just observe it.

No need to judge it or create a story.

This next section of our practice,

We're going to explore pairs of opposites.

Often our body contains stored and stuck emotions,

Especially when we don't express or feel an emotion to its full extent.

It's common for humans to suppress anger.

It's also common for humans to suppress joy.

Exploring pairs of opposite emotions restores and develops the neurological pathways for a full range of emotions to be felt and eventually released.

Try to avoid attaching meaning or story to what we feel.

For now,

Observing the physical sensations of feelings is enough.

Call attention to your brow center.

This is the home of your third eye,

The home of intuition,

And the energetic place between conscious and unconscious thought.

This is your neutral zone,

And as we practice observing our feels,

You can return your awareness to your brow center at any time you should need to regulate.

Remember,

Crying and laughing are all okay,

So if that comes up for you,

Let it flow.

They're all a part of the process.

Here we go.

Feel joy in the body.

Allow the feeling of joy to spread through you.

You are surrendering and letting yourself soak in the sensation of joy.

Make a note where joy shows up in your body.

Release that sensation and return to neutral.

Now we will tune into sadness.

How does sadness show up in your body?

What physical sensations does sadness bring up for you?

Allow the feeling of sadness to flow through you.

Let sadness float off of you and return yourself to neutral.

Feel joy again.

Call upon joy.

Come back to neutral.

Then invite sadness back in.

Allow sadness to rise in your body.

Keep sadness and add joy.

Explore how it feels to hold both emotions in your awareness at the same time.

Are they different for you?

Are there any similarities between joy and sadness in your body?

Return again to the center of your brow.

Allow for the feelings to wash away and neutral to settle back in.

Stay with it for a moment.

Let all your particles settle.

Observe your whole body feeling neutral.

And balanced.

Next we'll play with our intuitive mind using rapid visualizations.

The concept here is similar to how we dabbled with the opposite emotions.

Feeling without fixation.

I'll say a random word and you let whatever comes up for you.

Come up and release.

Observe without judgment or story.

Picture a field.

A warm summer night.

A red checkered blanket.

Sunset.

Leafy tree.

An owl.

A long bridge.

A belly button.

The face of someone you love.

An ancient cedar tree.

A rope swing.

Your inner child with a big toothy grin.

Tadpoles.

A beating heart.

Your beating heart.

Your toes in the mud.

A network of underground roots.

A still pond.

A golden egg.

One large golden egg.

One large golden egg.

Imagine yourself inside of this golden egg.

Resting perfectly comfortable.

You are safe in here.

Envision yourself placing one hand on your stomach and the other on your heart.

Feel a golden warm glow growing between your eyes.

From this glow picture many golden threads weaving through your body.

Connecting the heart and the lower belly all together.

This matrix of golden threads tying all your senses together.

Instinct,

Emotion,

And intellect.

All in balance.

All connected.

Allow the threads to continue weaving.

Leaving your body from your center and connecting you to the wall of your golden egg.

An umbilical cord of gold connecting you to the source of protection.

Picture yourself divinely anchored by golden threads to everything on this planet.

Feel lovingly connected and supported by the universe.

You are invited to sit in the sensation of connection.

Of wholeness.

Allow the feeling to wash through every cell.

Hear the messages of your gut and heart.

We will place our sankalpa here in this place of connection and belonging.

Repeat your sankalpa three times.

Sankalpa.

Sankalpa.

Sankalpa.

Repeat your sankalpa one last time.

Really absorb it.

I will leave you in silence now to float in your bliss body for about one minute.

I will return for you.

Wait for my voice to call you back.

See you soon.

Welcome back.

Observe your breaths.

Don't change them.

Just watch them.

The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.

Lick your lips.

Introduce whatever slow,

Small,

Juicy movements you are craving.

We are coming back into the body now.

Waking ourselves up.

Welcome any yawns,

Groans,

Moans,

Or sighs that need to happen.

You might want to try a full body stretch.

Breathe deeply.

When we bring our guts,

Hearts,

And minds into a coherent state,

We achieve a beautiful efficiency for appropriately adapting to our surroundings.

It's from this coherent place that our nervous system can cue our cells into regeneration,

And we feel a deep sense of knowing and connection to something bigger than ourselves.

This also fosters a huge sense of inner tranquility.

Autonomy.

We can gain profound perspective when we are free to explore the holes of ourselves without judgment.

And when we trust our senses,

We will always choose the right path for ourselves.

Take a moment here to feel gratitude towards yourself for this gift of healing time and presence.

Maybe while you still feel a little gooey from this meditation,

Set an intention for yourself for the rest of the day or week.

I would like to thank you for taking the time and the space to sit in the present moment with me.

You are welcome to stay in your post-meditation coma for as long as you like.

Come to your seat whenever you're ready.

And place a hand on your heart and one on your belly.

We say at the end of a yoga nidra practice,

Hari Om Tat Sat,

Which translates as absolute supreme truth.

For me,

This means when we attune to our instinctual intuitive selves,

We have all the information we need.

We know a higher truth.

Please take care of each other.

Thank you for listening.