Zoe Kanat

Melbourne, Australia

Relax deeply through Yoga Nidra to balance your sensations, observe your mind, and cultivate a state of lasting contentment.

English

This is a classical, eight-stage Yoga Nidra practice, without an introduction.  The practice begins in Savasana, the resting pose, lying down on the back.  It progresses through settling the body and establishing an intention (called a Sankalpa), sound awareness, rotating awareness around the body, breath awareness, feelings and sensations, symbols, a guided journey, and observing Chittakasha, the mind space.  This Yoga Nidra may be beneficial for releasing emotional tension related to dissatisfaction, boredom, and yearning. It may also be helpful for those who seek relief from engaging with compulsive distraction behaviors such as excessive use of social media, screen addiction and scrolling, and online shopping.

Yoga Nidra For Contentment And Ease

Please lie down on your back in Shavasana, the resting pose. Have the spine in one straight line, including the head. Nice and long on the back of the neck. The arms are slightly away from the body, the palms facing up. Allow the feet to naturally roll out to the sides. Face, jaw, and abdomen all relaxed. And feel for an even weight across both sides of the body. Take a few moments now to make any necessary adjustments. If there's an adjustment you can make that would allow the body to be even 5% more comfortable, please make that adjustment now. And allow a heaviness to move through the body. Allow a heaviness to move through the body, feeling as though the body is becoming heavier and heavier. Feeling the body become so heavy it's almost as though it's sinking into and through the floor, feeling heaviness throughout the whole sinking body. And now allow a lightness to move through the body. Allow a lightness to move through the body. Feeling the body becoming lighter and lighter. Feeling the body become so light it's almost as though the body is floating slightly above the floor, feeling lightness throughout the whole floating body. And now allow the body to return to its natural weight. I'll invite you now to formulate an intention or resolve to be amplified in the practice. In yoga, this is called a sankalpa. This takes the form of a precise, positive, clear phrase of something you wish to have change. Or achieve in your life. Take a few moments to formulate this phrase now and say it to yourself so that it can be repeated at the end of the practice. And now move your awareness to the sounds outside of the room. Push your awareness further and further outside of the room to find and notice sounds. Loud sounds, soft sounds, close sounds, and sounds in the distance. Keep moving your awareness from sound to sound, always listening for a new one. We're not analyzing sounds, we're just hearing them. Keep moving your awareness from sound to sound. And now move your awareness to the sounds just outside of the room. Find and notice all the sounds just outside of the room. And now move your awareness to the sounds within the room. Find and notice all the subtle sounds within the room. And now letting go of the sound awareness, letting it go. And move your awareness to the body, whole body, lying across your space. I will now ask you to rotate your awareness around parts of the body. As I name a part, try to picture it in the mind and then listen for the next that is named. And keep following my voice with full awareness. Beginning with the right hand thumb. Second finger. Third finger. Fourth finger. Pinky finger. Palm of the hand. Back of the hand. Wrist. Lower arm. Elbow. Upper arm. Armpit. Shoulder. Collarbone. Right side of the chest. Right upper abdomen. Right lower abdomen. Hipbone. Front of the right thigh. Kneecap. Shin. Top of the foot. Sole of the foot. Right big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Little toe. Keep following my voice with full awareness. Moving to the left hand thumb. Second finger. Third finger. Fourth finger. Pinky finger. Palm of the hand. Back of the hand. Wrist. Lower arm. Elbow. Upper arm. Armpit. Shoulder. Collarbone. Left side of the chest. Left upper abdomen. Left lower abdomen. Hipbone. Front of the left thigh. Kneecap. Top of the foot. Sole of the foot. Left big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Little toe. Feel into both heels as they press into the floor. Both calf muscles. Backs of knees. Backs of thighs. The buttocks. Lower back. Middle of the back. Upper back. Right shoulder blade. Left shoulder blade. Space between shoulder blades. Feel into the whole spine from the tailbone. To the top between the ears. The whole spine. Back of the neck. Back of the head. Crown of the head. Forehead. Right temple. Left temple. Right ear. Left ear. Right eyebrow. Left eyebrow. Space between eyebrows. The eyebrow center. Right eye. Left eye. Right cheekbone. Left cheekbone. Bridge of the nose. Tip of the nose. Right nostril. Left nostril. Upper lip. Lower lip. Jaw. Feel into the whole right arm from shoulder to fingertips. Feel into the whole left arm from shoulder to fingertips. Feel into the whole right leg from hip to toes. Feel into the whole left leg from hip to toes. Feel into the whole right side of the body. Whole right side of the body. Feel into the whole left side of the body. Whole left side of the body. Now, all at once, feel into the whole body, whole body, whole body. And now bring your awareness to the natural flow of your breath as it enters and leaves through the nostrils. And begin to deepen the breath a little. As you breathe in, watch the navel naturally rise up with the in-breath. And as you breathe out, watch the navel sink back down on the out-breath. Breathing in, watching the navel rise. Breathing out, watching the navel sink back down. Watching the navel sink back down. Keep on practicing. Make sure you're fully aware of what you're doing. Breathing in, watching the navel rise. Breathing out, watching the navel naturally sink back down. And now letting go of the breath awareness. Letting go of watching the navel rise and sink back down. And allow the breath to return to its natural, spontaneous rhythm in the nostrils. I will now name some feelings and sensations. These are all things you have felt before. They can be felt and then let go. When you hear each one, try to feel it throughout the whole body. Beginning with the feeling of cold. Feeling cold throughout the whole body. Cold. And now bring about the feeling of warmth. Feeling warmth throughout the whole body. Warmth. And now the feeling of scarcity. Feeling scarcity throughout the whole body. Scarcity. Now bring about the feeling of abundance. Feeling abundance throughout the whole body. Abundance. And now the feeling of desire. Feeling desire throughout the whole body. Desire. And now bring about the feeling of fulfillment. Feeling fulfillment throughout the whole body. Fulfillment. And now the feeling of restlessness. Feeling restlessness throughout the whole body. Restlessness. And now bring about the feeling of contentment. Feeling contentment. Throughout the whole body. Contentment. Now the feeling of dullness. Feeling dullness throughout the whole body. Dullness. And now bring about the feeling of brightness. Feeling brightness throughout the whole body. Brightness. And now the feeling of anger. Feeling anger throughout the whole body. Anger. Now letting go of anger. Letting it go. And bring about the feeling of peace. Feeling peace throughout the whole body. Peace. I will now name some symbols. When I name each one, try to picture it in the mind. It doesn't matter whether you can or can't. Simply feel as though it is there. Bring to mind tall buildings. Tall buildings. Tall buildings. Busy city streets. Busy city streets. Busy city streets. People holding hands. People holding hands. People holding hands. A truck parked on the side of the road. A truck parked on the side of the road. A truck parked on the side of the road. Brown cardboard boxes. Brown cardboard boxes. Brown cardboard boxes. An office desk. An office desk. An office desk. A computer screen. A computer screen. A computer screen. An open window. An open window. An open window. A field of wildflowers. A field of wildflowers. Field of wildflowers. Rolling hills. Rolling hills. Rolling hills. Bushy green trees. Bushy green trees. Bushy green trees. An eagle soaring. An eagle soaring. An eagle soaring. The clear blue sky. The clear blue sky. Clear blue sky. And now, picture yourself on a dusty dirt road that leads up to a tall and ancient wall. The sky has a pale blue glow along the horizon, and a few stars are visible above. Beyond the wall, you see the roofs of very old stone buildings. In front of you is a large wooden door with an ornate brass handle. You step forward to the door and open it, stepping through the doorway and on to a stone-paved street. Inside the city walls, you see narrow alleys winding between the buildings. As you observe your surroundings, you notice that besides the doors of buildings are lanterns glowing with different colors of light. You step forward and begin to walk along the winding street ahead. You look around as you walk. You see buildings with metal gates and glass windows, and others made of compacted earth with wood shutters. You continue walking along the winding street. Then, you notice a tall clock tower at the end of the street. You look up and see a large window near the top of the tower, which is illuminated with cool white light. In front of you, at the base of the tower, is an arched wooden door, which is partially open. You step forward to the door and walk into the tower. The inside of the tower is an open space with curved stone walls and a spiral staircase leading up to the top. You go over to the staircase and begin to walk up. You begin to walk up the stairs, step by step, as the staircase circles around the inner tower. You are now about halfway up, and you notice a small window. You pause here and look through to take in the view. You turn and look upwards again as you continue on and begin to see the white light from higher up in the tower. You continue climbing and walk up the final steps. Reaching the top of the stairs, you step into a circular room with a large window on either side. In the center of the room is a beautifully carved, open chest with bright, milky white light shining from inside. You walk over to it, and the light dims to a comfortable brightness as you look into the chest. It is lined with velvety purple cloth, and in the center, you see a large, luminous pearl. You pause and observe its lustrous surface and allow the milky white light from the pearl to permeate your being. Across the room is a luxurious daybed covered in silky blankets of a particular color. You walk over and lie down on the daybed on your back, covering yourself with the blanket. And you lie here on the daybed within the clock tower, bathed in white light from the luminous pearl, and enter a deeply receptive, restful state. As you are lying on the daybed in the tower, you perceive the light from the pearl becoming brighter again. You stand up and walk past the open chest and back to the spiral staircase. You walk down the stairs, one by one, continuing down and down. Until you reach the ground level. You walk back out of the arched door and onto the street, back the way you came, passing by the different buildings and colored lanterns, step by step, making your way to the large door at the city wall. You push the door open and step back outside to the place where you began. You hear the clock tower begin to chime and look out over the landscape beyond the city walls. The sun is rising, and golden light shines over gently rolling hills. Trees dot the landscape, casting shadows across the grass. And you stand here, feeling the warmth of the golden sun, and look out over the vast expanse of nature ahead of you. And now, letting the visualization fade, letting go of the visualization, letting it go. And bring your awareness up to the mind space, to Chittakash, the deep, dark, infinite space of the mind behind the forehead. It's like a viewing screen for the mind, yet is infinite on the inside. Gaze deeply into this space now, becoming aware of any thoughts or feelings, any colors, patterns, or pictures, remaining as a witness without involvement and without judgment. Simply be an observer of anything and everything that flows through the space of the mind. Where is your awareness? Have you become lost in a thought, or are you an observer? Keep cultivating a witness consciousness. And now, withdraw your awareness from the mind space. Withdraw your awareness now from the mind space. Keep withdrawing your awareness now from the mind space, and bring your awareness back to the breath. Feel the breath on the nostrils, and deepen the breath a little. And now, bring to mind the resolve you made at the start of the practice, your sankalpa. Bring it to mind now, and repeat it to yourself three times, sending it deep into the system for manifestation. And now, bring your awareness back to the body, whole body, whole physical body, lying across your space, making sure that you're fully aware of your whole physical body, of who you are, and where you are. The yoga nidra practice is now complete. Start to introduce some gentle movement into the body by wiggling your hands, exhaling the fingers and the toes. Gently rock the head, hands, and feet from side to side. Take a deep breath in as you raise your arms up above your head, giving yourself a good stretch from fingers to toes, exhaling and allowing the arms to float back down beside you. Come to lie on one side to transition for a few rounds of breath. And whenever you're ready, being mindful of the neck, support yourself back up to a seated position.