Strongcalmwoman

Michelle M

Bend, OR, USA

Sink into deep rest, set a heart-centered intention, and rotate your awareness through the entire body.

English

Yoga Nidra is a perfect for when life gets a little intense; this practice can bring you back to a calm, quiet state of presence. Begin and end with intention and settle deep into rest. Napping optional.

20-Minute Yoga Nidra To Guide You To Intention

My name is Jasmine and I'm going to be with you for about the next 20 minutes as we sink deep into a practice of yoga nidra. Make sure that you are super, super comfortable. I'd suggest that you take this practice lying down, maybe you even nestle yourself into your bed, gather blankets, pillows, if you've got an eye pillow you might like to lay that over your eyes. Make sure that you're warm, cozy socks perhaps, or a nice warm jumper. We'll be lying down in relative stillness for about 20 minutes, so please make sure that comfort is of the highest importance. And then once you've gathered everything that you need for this practice, make sure that you're comfortable and we'll begin. This is the perfect practice for those days when you just need a little bit of rest, or when you'd like to escape some of the intensity that might be surrounding you, when you just want to escape the buzz of the everyday. Know that as you move through this practice it's incredibly normal to think that it might not work. If you catch your brain in that space, then acknowledge it and welcome that into the practice too. At the absolute least, you are going to take 20 minutes to lie down and rest. And whether the mind finds that more dream-like state or not, it is just secondary. Just take the pressure off. Notice any areas of holding or even mild discomfort now and just ask yourself, do I have everything I need? Have you gathered everything that you need to make sure that this practice is exceedingly comfortable, to make sure that you feel supported? And then once you've got everything that you need, once you're happy and stillness, gather a long wide breath in through the nose, and then exhale from your mouth. A long and wide inhalation, and a sigh of the breath away. If you like, you could carry on with this breath for a little while longer, or perhaps you move into a Brahmari breath, just gently humming your exhalation to give your nervous system a tonic. Your hum doesn't need to be loud, just loud enough to vibrate your face and to feel that subtle buzz in the throat. Take a few more rounds of your sighing or humming exhale, and now just allow your breath to return to an easeful, normal, soft rhythm. We'll start to explore a feeling of comfort in the physical body, starting with the head and the face. Check in with your eyes. Imagine your eyeballs resting back, your eyelids simply gliding over the eyeballs. Sense your jaw widening and the teeth just gently separating, as the roof of the mouth becomes a little softer, and the root of your tongue perhaps a little heavier. Notice the temples, imagine them just draping back. Notice your neck and your throat, and cultivate a sense of comfort here. Imagine that sense of comfort moving down through the shoulders and the arms to soften into the hands and the fingers. And bring your awareness into the torso. Can you allow the sides of your torso to soften, almost as if your flesh and muscle is hanging off the structure of your ribs and your spine. Maybe you imagine that same feeling, and the visceral organs just hanging down towards the earth, the glutes dropping towards the ground, the muscles and the flesh of the legs becoming a little heavier and wider, as your feet and toes soften too. Take a couple of long and kind breaths here, emphasizing the exhale. Can your exhale be a little bit longer than your inhale? Just a touch. And now once more ask yourself, do I have all the support that I need? And if you do, we'll continue on. We'll begin this practice by cultivating a sankalpa, a heart-centered and inspired resolve. Bring your awareness to the soft and spacious landscape of your heart. Maybe you imagine this space as a ball of light right in the center of the chest. If that's the case, can you observe what color that ball of light is? Maybe it's lightly pulsing or gently spinning. Perhaps it feels more relevant for you to imagine the heart as the physical organ itself. This juicy, rich orb at the center of the chest pumping blood through the body, a central rhythm to your being. What do you sense in your heart center? Maybe you ask your heart a question. Ask your heart what it needs from this practice today. And then notice any answers that arise and sometimes there's a really clear answer and sometimes there isn't one. Just notice as you ask yourself again, what does your heart need here? What does your heart need from this practice? Now with this new information, carve yourself out an intention for this practice today. Maybe it's one word. Or perhaps it's a sentence in the present tense. Whatever it is, allow it to arise from the heart center. And don't fret too much about getting it right. Trust that whatever comes up is as it should be. As you take a breath, inhale, repeat your sankalpa to yourself once. And then again as you exhale. Repeating your sankalpa to yourself again. And then once more. We'll start to move our consciousness now around the physical body. All you need to do is listen to my voice and let your awareness glide from place to place, body part to body part. You don't need to linger in any one place. Just briefly visit one point followed by the next. And if you notice that your mind goes elsewhere, then bring it back to the sound of my voice and the instruction of your consciousness being rotated around the body. Begin by placing your awareness in your heart center. Imagine it like a little resource of energy. Maybe it's a color. And then move that awareness across the right collarbone to the point of the right shoulder. Right elbow crease. Right wrist. Tip of the right thumb. Tip of the index finger. Tip of your middle finger. Tip of your ring finger. Tip of the pinky finger. Center of your right palm. Wrist crease. Inner elbow. Point of the shoulder. Right collarbone. Center of the chest. From the center of the chest to the left collarbone. Left point of the shoulder. Inner elbow. Left wrist. Tip of the left thumb. Tip of the index finger. Tip of the middle finger. Tip of the ring finger. Tip of the pinky finger. Center of the left palm. Left wrist crease. Inner left elbow. Left shoulder point. Left collarbone. Heart center. Allow awareness to move from heart center to belly button. To center of pelvis. Front of the pelvis on the right side. Right hip crease. Right kneecap. Right ankle. Right heel bone. Tip of the right big toe. Tip of the second toe. Tip of the third toe. Tip of the fourth toe. Tip of your pinky toe. Center of the sole of the right foot. Right heel bone. Ankle. Back of the right knee. Back of the right hip. Belly button center. Front of the left side of the pelvis. Left hip crease. Left knee. Ankle. Left heel bone. Tip of the left big toe. Tip of the second toe. Tip of the third toe. Tip of the fourth toe. Tip of the pinky toe. Sole of the left foot. Left heel bone. Left ankle. Back of the left knee. Back of the left hip. Navel center. Moving awareness to the back of the body. Sense the right side of the lower back. Back of the right lung. Back of the right shoulder. Back of the heart. Back of the left shoulder. Back of the right lung. Lower left side of the back. Back of the navel center. Sliding awareness up the spine. Middle back. Upper back. Center of the back of the neck. Right side of the neck. Left side of the neck. All the way up the middle of the neck. Base of the skull. Right side of the skull. Right ear. Top of the skull. Left ear. Left side of the skull. Awareness into the crown of the head. The forehead. Right eyebrow. Right eyelid. Right cheekbone. Right nostril. Right side of the mouth. Left side of the mouth. Left nostril. Left cheekbone. Left eyelid. Left eyebrow. Forehead. The third eye point. The third eye point. Awareness landing in the third eye point. Without changing anything. Start to witness the feeling of your breath. Witness the way that your body is effortlessly breathing itself. And just watch that. Notice the belly and the ribs expanding as you breathe in. And softening as you breathe out. Just observe this. The light organic rhythm of your breath. Being pulled in. Prana moving in. Aparna moving out. Your body perfectly breathing itself. Bring your awareness to the right nostril. And as you breathe in, imagine the breath being breathed in by the right nostril alone. Visualize the left nostril and as you breathe out, imagine the breath moving out of the body through the left nostril alone. The breath in through the left nostril. And the breath out through the right. The breath in through the right nostril to the third eye space. And the breath out through the left nostril. Breath in through the left nostril to the third eye space. And the breath out through the right nostril. Breathing like this for a few more moments on your own. Mental alternate nostril breath. Just imagining the breath moving in through one nostril to the center of the forehead, energizing your intuition. And then carrying with it anything, any waste, any stagnation, anything that's standing in the way of what you need as you exhale. And now let the alternating nature of this breath cease. And just observe a normal breath in and out through the nostrils. Allow yourself to rest in the feeling of a soft, maybe blissful body. Observing the breath waving through you, drawing in this vital life force, and pouring away any stagnation, any heaviness, anything that no longer serves you. Now take a slightly deeper breath in and sense your body filling up. And maybe you sigh the exhale away, putting the breath down. Take another breath like that, feeling yourself intentionally with energy, drinking the breath in before you sigh it away. Allow this deeper, more intentional breath to bring your awareness into your fingertips and your toes. Take as much time as you need to slowly wake your body up, to bring yourself back into your physical body so that you can move on with the rest of your day. But know that there's no rush. And if you've got time to take your time here, I would strongly recommend it. Thank you for taking the time to practice today. For taking care of yourself and for serving yourself first. I hope that wherever you are, you are doing exceedingly well. That you have all the support that you need. That you are allowing yourself to feel your feelings. And that you are giving yourself the grace of regular rest.