Riding the Wave of Breath

Welcome. So for this 20 minute or so yoga nidra practice, you want to make sure that you feel comfortable and warm and supported. So if you have any questions, you can refer back to our tutorial about how to prepare our body. And as you're ready though, just come to find your way down onto your mat in the most comfortable, most supported position that you can create for yourself. Use any kind of props that make you feel well supported for this practice.

And arrange your legs so they're a little bit wider than your hips, the arms a bit away from the sides of your body, and turn the palms to face up. This is a slightly longer yoga nidra practice, you want to make sure that the thumbs are a little bit higher than the pinky fingers so there's no need to overly rotate through the arm bones. Make any final adjustments that you need to your hair, your body, your clothing so that you can become still, quiet. Feel as the eyes soften through the brow. Feel as if the eyebrows could slide towards the temples, the temples sliding towards the ears, the ears towards the floor.

The body heavy as you release layers of tension or holding or any efforting. Let it open to earth. And to deepen the breath in and out through the nose, and it doesn't have to be your most grand expression of breath, maybe just about 50% of your breath capacity, but just start to slow down and smooth out each round of breath. Each time the breath passes, start to refine the breath, you're smoothing out any rough edges or involuntary pauses or stutters, until eventually the inhale leads without pause or hesitation to the exhale, the exhale leads without pause or hesitation to the inhale. Long, slow, circular breath.

And now relax that technique, no longer having to stretch or shape the breath. And feel beyond or beneath the breath, that there's an experience of the subtle essence of prana, may feel like a tingling, a wave of movement. Just more tangible after a few moments of your very sweet attention. Keeping the breath totally relaxed, just feel on your next inhale that this breath or this prana, like a wave moves up from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head. And as you exhale, it waves back down from crown to soles of the feet.

Without any effort on the inhale, it cascades up the body from feet to crown. And the exhale, it falls down the body from crown back down to the soles of the feet. Watch it as if you're watching the waves coming to shore and back out to sea. As you relax deeper, the breath becomes even quieter in its perfect rhythm. You might notice it moves now from the ankles up the body on the inhale to the crown of the head.

And like a wave on the exhale from crown back down to the ankles, inhale, wave from ankles ascending up through the body to the crown, and the exhale gently falls back from crown down the body to the ankles. No trying, no efforting, just observing. Next inhale, it moves from the knees to the crown on the inhale. The exhale from crown back down the body to the knees, just like watching the tides on the inhale from knees to crown, the exhale crown down the body to the knees. Inhale now from the hips rising up to the crown, exhale from the crown down the body to the hips, watching the subtle movement of the prana or breath on the inhale from hips to crown, exhale from crown back down the body to the hips.

Inhale from the base of the spine up the body to the crown, exhale from the crown down the body to the very base of your spine, like watching a wave inhale rises up from base of spine to crown, exhale from crown down the body descending to the base of your spine. No efforting, just awareness of the movement of the breath. Now inhale from the navel to the crown, exhale descending crown down to the navel, wave ascending on the inhale from navel to crown, descending from crown to navel on the exhale. Inhale watching as the breath or prana rides from heart to crown, exhale crown back down to the heart, inhale heart to crown, exhale crown back to heart, exhale crown back to the heart, inhale from throat to crown, exhale crown back to the throat, breath growing more quiet, gentle, like watching the tides, inhale throat to crown, exhale crown down to the throat. Now on the inhale from the third eye, the middle of the brain, it rises from midbrain to crown, the exhale from the crown down to the midbrain.

Now on the third eye, the middle of the brain, the middle of the brain, the middle of the brain, the middle of the brain. Now on the third eye, the middle of the brain, the middle of the brain, the middle of the brain, remaining still and just begin now to deepen the breath. Can keep your eyes closed and just float your hands together and rub the palms, creating a little bit of heat or friction between your hands. Keep the eyes closed and just place your cupped palms over your closed eyes, just feel a sense of that heat, wash back down through the face, the scalp, down through the brain. And slide your hands down the sides of your face into the back of the neck and just give your neck a little massage.

Slide one hand over the other hand, lightly over the throat and then just draw the hands back down into the center of your chest. Take another deep breath here into your heart, into your hands. Bending your knees and bring your knees into your chest, just give your knees a good hug. Bending your time, you can roll over to your right side and just curl up into a fetal position. You can create a little pillow for your head with your right arm, just taking a moment to find a bit of gratitude for your time, your engagement in these practices, the experience that's born out of this engagement.

Once you're ready, compress your left hand into the earth and just lazily bring yourself back to sit. It might feel helpful to take your hands back into the crease line between your hip and thigh and just give a good press down as you lift your chest. You can bring your chin towards your chest and as you're ready, you can flutter your eyes open and just slowly coming back into the space. Namaste.