Yoga Nidra For Anchoring Into Trust (Pandemic Support Series)

Welcome to this week's yoga nidra practice.

We will begin in an upright seated position,

Either crossing through the legs,

Bringing them out in front of us,

Or coming to sit on the heels,

Whichever is most comfortable.

Begin by closing through the eyes,

Noticing the breath as it naturally flows through the system.

Take an inhale and draw the shoulders up towards the ears,

Scrunching through the face,

Tightening through the jaw,

Clench through the glutes,

Thighs,

Calves,

Feet,

And then fists.

Holding here,

Tight tight tight,

Really noticing where tension sits in the body.

On the exhale,

Releasing and softening all of these places,

Pieces,

And parts.

Inhale again,

Tightening the whole body together,

Bringing extra emphasis to the face,

The brow,

The cheeks,

The jaw,

The lips.

As you inhale,

Tighten further and further,

Hold.

Release everything on the exhale,

Inviting the whole body to soften as it feels possible.

Draw the shoulders away from the ears,

Open through the eyes and the mouth,

Sticking out the tongue,

Really expressing the breath.

Tuck the pelvis slightly,

Drawing the perineum down towards the floor.

Keeping a light gaze,

Drop the chin towards the chest,

Right ear to right shoulder.

Come back through center,

Bring chin to chest,

Left ear to left shoulder.

Completing this cycle two more times,

Gently moving side to side at your own speed.

Coming back through center and to the left,

Back through center to the right,

To the left.

And when finished,

Come first to center and then bring the chin back up.

Sitting tall,

Take the right arm in behind the back body,

Resting the right hand to the mat,

Allowing this arm to act like a second spine.

Inhaling the body tall,

Exhale twisting to the right,

Left hand comes onto right knee.

Coming back through center,

Repeating on the other side,

Bringing left arm behind,

Straight and strong,

Palm planting firmly on the mat,

Inhaling body tall,

Perineum drawing down,

Connecting with the earth,

Twisting to the left,

Right hand,

Left knee.

Coming back to center,

Inhale bringing both arms up overhead,

First coming palm to palm.

Draw down to the chest for Anjali Mudra.

Inhale the arms back up,

Separating them about a foot apart and gazing up between the hands.

Continuing to breathe here,

Noticing the belly rising and falling on the inhales,

Exhales.

Palms come back together and into the heart center.

Inhaling up,

Look up,

Exhale let the hands and arms come out to the sides,

Palms towards the ceiling.

Wrapping them around the body,

Giving yourself a hug,

First with the left arm over right shoulder,

Right hand under the left arm.

Chin tucks back down to the chest.

You're going to tighten slightly here,

However is comfortable.

Then opening back up,

Palms towards the ceiling.

Repeating other side,

This time bringing the right arm around the left shoulder,

Left arm under the right.

Chin tucks down.

Opening all the way back up,

Palms towards the ceiling,

Gazing up,

Opening through the chest and the heart.

Exhale,

Bring palm to palm again,

Coming for Anjali Mudra at heart center.

Inhale up,

Separating the palms about a foot apart,

Gazing through the hands.

Notice if the shoulders come up here and then just gently guide them back down.

Palm to palm into heart center.

Let the side of the hands,

So where the thumbs are,

Come and touch into the chest.

Just so that you can have a subtle sensation of the breath,

A subtle sensation of the movement of the body as you naturally breathe,

As it naturally breathes for you.

If you'd like,

You can close through the eyes now or bring your gaze gently towards the mat.

Going inward,

Notice any shifts in the body from when we arrived on the mat.

Hands can stay here,

Bringing them stacked onto the chest over the heart,

Feeling even deeper.

These shifts,

How things have shifted and how they continue to shift with each effortless breath.

At this point,

I invite you to choose a mantra to keep with you throughout your practice today,

Allowing it to be your anchor.

Let it be your intention for coming to the class that you plant the seed of now and nurture throughout the remainder of the practice.

Some examples include,

I am healthy and whole.

I am safe.

I am anchored and rooted through my practice.

Or,

I radiate peace for others and myself.

I invite you to choose from these or cultivate your own and repeat this three times internally,

Staying in connection with your breath as you repeat it,

Feeling deep into the heart,

Listening quietly and fully to what it seeks to speak and share with you,

And then allowing for the full expression of this mantra.

Upon completion,

Come to lay down on the mat in shavasana or corpse pose.

Adjust your space however you need to to become as comfortable as possible for this 30 minute practice,

Knowing that you can shift and move at any time,

But it is most preferable the more comfortable you are from the beginning.

Reach for any props that you may need including pillows,

Blankets or eye pillows.

Begin to orient the body for relaxation by connecting to all the areas where the body meets the mat.

Rocking out gently through the back of the head,

Rolling through the shoulders,

Adjusting through the hips,

Possibly lifting up one side and then the other,

Seeking some balance here,

Noticing the back of the thighs,

The calves,

The arms,

Moving the ankles side to side and then bringing the palms to rest either touching down on the earth or towards the ceiling.

You might also bring the hands to rest on the body,

Maybe bringing one to the heart and one to the low abdomen or both on the belly.

Choose a position that feels intuitive,

Safe and natural for you.

Once the body is rooted and before we enter the next phase of yoga nidra,

I invite you to connect with the natural waves of the breath once again,

Noticing how the breath enters and exits the body without any thought or effort on your part.

There is nothing to do here.

There is nothing to change.

Everything is operating upon the support of divine guidance.

Repeat your mantra one final time before we enter the practice.

Now let's begin.

I'm going to guide you to different areas of the body.

I invite you to follow my words and feel into each space as we move through them,

Beginning with the mind's eye,

Moving to the base of the throat,

The right shoulder,

Right elbow,

Wrist,

Thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Little finger,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Right shoulder,

Base of the throat,

Left shoulder,

Left elbow,

Wrist,

Thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger,

Little finger,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Left shoulder,

Pit of the throat,

Center of the chest,

Right side of the chest,

Center of the chest,

Left side of the chest,

Navel,

Pubic bone,

Right hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Left knee,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Ankle,

Knee,

Hip,

Right knee,

Hip,

Pubic bone,

Left hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Third toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Ankle,

Knee,

Hip,

Pubic bone,

Navel,

Heart center,

Right shoulder,

Base of the throat,

Mind's eye center.

From the mind's eye center sense the whole room,

The four walls of the room.

Notice how the air fills the room and notice how it holds you and outlines around the body as you lay on the floor.

Notice the air and how it surrounds the back body,

How it surrounds the front body.

Notice how it enters through the nostrils,

Down the throat,

Into the lungs,

Throughout the body,

And back out into the room.

On the inhale notice the breath as it enters through the left nostril,

The right nostril,

And both nostrils together.

Feeling the air drawing in through the throat,

Into the belly once again.

Feel the belly rise as the air fills the lungs and falls as the air leaves the lungs,

Exiting the nostrils,

Returning to its source,

Which fills the room.

Count down from five as you inhale.

Pause for two counts,

Exhaling again for the count of five.

Repeat counting down on the inhale,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Pausing for two,

One,

Exhaling for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

One more time,

Really noticing the movement of the body as it is filled with and expels air.

Feel how full it becomes,

So tight and rigid,

Almost bursting with fresh air on the inhales,

And soft decompressed and relaxed on the exhales.

Feel how the back body touches the mat.

Imagine as though you are laying on a cool,

Comforting forest floor,

Feeling the whole back body together,

Envision roots growing downward from the body to the earth,

Through the soil,

Reaching for the earth's center.

With each exhale,

They delve further and further into the ground,

Rapidly expanding to promote safety and survival.

Now imagine that from these roots,

Up through the whole front body,

Wildflowers of all colors blossom and bloom.

With each inhale,

They reach up towards the sky.

Their delicate petals receive nourishment from the warm summer sun,

And they breathe with ease as the light summer's breeze brushes through their leaves.

Feel the cool against the whole back body.

Feel how it is strong,

Resilient,

And safe due to the long roots.

Feel the warmth against the whole front body.

Feel how free,

Joyful,

And trusting it feels as the flowers thrive from all the surrounding elements.

The whole back body,

Cool,

Rooted,

Safe.

The whole front body,

Warm,

Open,

Trusting.

Bring awareness now to the deep roots,

Continuing to move and grow beneath the soil.

Deep roots,

Envision them here,

Moving and gripping down through the brown,

Healthy,

Enriched cooling soil.

See green moss on the forest floor,

Large tree trunks reaching towards the sky,

Wildflowers of all colors,

A red bird,

Its mate,

A sturdy nest in a tall tree,

The ocean,

A shoreline with a ship anchored nearby,

Rolling hills,

Sandy beach,

Campfire,

Sunset,

Crickets in the distance,

A dark vast sky,

Silence,

Deep roots.

Healthy,

Brown,

Enriched,

Cooling soil.

Green moss on a forest floor,

Large tree trunks reaching towards the sky,

Wildflowers of all colors,

A red bird,

Its mate,

In a sturdy nest in a tall tree,

The ocean,

A shoreline with a ship anchored nearby,

Rolling hills,

Sandy beach.

The soft and Crickets in the distance.

A dark,

Vast sky.

Silence.

See your mantra slowly emerge in letters across the sky.

See the words light up as you recite it internally and fade away as you complete the word.

As you recite the mantra,

As you see it light up and dissolve across the sky,

Feel in that moment this mantra as absolute truth.

Coming back to the mind's eye view,

Seeing the whole room from this perspective.

Your inner witness,

Inner observer,

Your inner awareness.

See the whole room.

Feel how you are held both by the air on the front of the body and the earth hugging the back body.

Bring awareness to the heart center and see your mantra here.

Begin to radiate the mantra throughout the heart,

Extending its essence throughout the body and beyond.

Planting the mantra at each energy center one at a time.

Drawing it first at the base of the spine,

The perineum,

The root chakra.

Drawing it up to the sacrum,

The womb space at the sacral chakra.

Coming up just above the belly button to the solar plexus,

See your mantra here.

The solar plexus chakra.

Next coming up to the center of the heart,

Center of the chest.

Starting with both the physical and the spiritual heart.

The physical being more to the left from the center line over.

The spiritual being a little to the right from the center line over.

At the center of the heart lies the heart chakra.

Traveling up now to the throat,

The throat chakra.

Coming up over the lips,

Over the nose to the mind's eye.

The third eye chakra.

Coming up just off the top of the head to the crown chakra.

Staying in connection with the mantra,

Remembering to plant it at each energy center.

Letting the seed's essence be birthed throughout the whole room.

Let it be drawn to the back body,

The front body.

The whole room and back to the heart.

Take a deep breath in,

Filling the whole body together.

Exhaling out.

On the next inhale,

We'll begin to count up from one to five.

Exhaling one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Holding here for one,

Two.

Exhale one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Taking two more rounds,

Inhaling for the count of one to five.

Holding for one,

Two.

On the exhale,

One to five.

Notice with each count,

You become more and more aware of your surroundings.

More and more aware of the body.

More aware of the room.

And more aware of the relationship between the two.

Once again,

Meet the parts of yourself that have merged with the mat.

Rocking out gently through the back of the head.

Rolling through the wrists,

Through the ankles.

Scrunching through the face,

Tightening the forehead,

Cheeks,

And chin.

Roll the shoulders up and then down the back body.

Moving through the hips,

Lifting up one side,

And then the other.

Stretch out through the legs,

Pointing down through the toes.

Clenching through the glutes,

The thighs,

The calves.

Moving here,

And resettling both legs back onto the mat.

Stretch out through the arms and the hands.

First clenching through the fists,

And then extending the fingers and the thumb out,

Making space between them.

Holding here.

And again,

Resettling both arms back onto the mat.

When ready,

Draw the knees in towards the chest,

Wrapping the arms around them,

Rocking side to side,

Massaging the low back.

Breathing as you move,

Cradling yourself here.

Holding and cradling your inner self in the way that you had wished for someone else to hold and cradle you.

Feeling this integration,

The integration of love and acceptance,

Safety,

And trust as you hold yourself,

Cradling yourself,

Rocking side to side.

Eventually rolling onto one side in fetal position,

Gifting yourself a beautiful pause in your practice.

Allow here for mind-body integration,

Knowing there is nothing to do,

Nowhere to go,

Nothing to rush to.

You only need to be here in the body,

In the room,

And in your nidra nest.

When you are ready,

Gently guide your way up into a seated position,

Keeping the gaze low or even keeping the eyes closed if that feels good.

Take an inhale to move the top of the head towards the ceiling,

Really extending through the spine,

And exhaling the perineum down,

Rooting yourself into the earth.

Bringing hands to heart center over the chest,

Returning to your mantra,

Bringing the mantra in on the inhale,

Seeing it as your favorite color,

Maybe it's a white light,

A blue light,

Or a pink light,

And just seeing it as this color.

On the inhale,

Really drawing this into your system,

Letting it really infuse every area of the body here,

Allowing it to penetrate,

Inviting it to penetrate,

And nourish your whole being.

Again on the inhale,

Feel the color guiding it in to the belly,

To the chest,

Down the legs,

To the toes,

Down the arms,

The hands,

And the fingers.

Eventually filling the whole body all the way to the crown of the head and back down.

Repeat the mantra one more time.

On the inhale,

Feel this essence,

The complete essence filling you to the brim.

Deep inhale,

Release out through the mouth.

Deep inhale,

Out through the mouth.

And last time,

Really letting this mantra go and sending gratitude for it being here.

Open through the eyes.

I send you so much gratitude for allowing me to guide you through your yoga nidra practice today.

The light that shines within me honors and respects the light that shines within you.

Namaste.