Welcome back to another episode of the podcast in which I’m sharing a breath and body scan—a technique inside of yoga nidra where we can really tune in and heighten the perception of our body while also enabling a level of relaxation.
As part of this specific practice I’m going to guide you through the method of using opposites, which can illuminate or even raise our ability to be aware while also leading to profound insights.
Find a safe and comfortable place to sit or lay down and tune in as I walk you through, step-by-step, this 20-minute body scan and be sure to keep an eye out for more practices on future episodes.
Ready to learn to listen to your body? Email [email protected] for a customized learning path.
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Full Episode Transcript:
Male Announcer: You’re listening to From Pain to Possibility with Susi Hately. You will hear Susi’s best ideas on how to reduce or even eradicate your pain and learn how to listen to your body when it whispers so you don’t have to hear it scream. And now here’s your host, Susi Hately.
Welcome and welcome back. I’m so glad that you’re here because today we are doing a body scan, which is a technique inside of yoga nidra where we can really tune in and heighten the perception of our body while also enabling a level of relaxation.
I’m also going to walk you through a technique of opposites and holding opposites. And the beauty of this technique is that it kind of illuminates or even raises our ability to be aware, enhances our perception. And when we hold the opposites as one, which we thoughtfully can’t do, we have to do this from a somatic embodied space, we know that in the brain there’s part of our brain that lights up and then that precedes an insight, sometimes a profound one.
And it can be really, really cool in that there’s not a lot of doing that’s happening here. So a profound amount of rest can arise and a settling but also in a very alert, calm way. That’s the beauty of this type of practice. And so I’m going to walk you through this scan and then guide you into the opposites and let’s see how it goes.
So to begin with, find a place that’s comfortable. So on your back or on your side, in sitting, even in standing. And find a place in whatever position that you’re in that really is comfortable, to the point that you even ask yourself if you can be 5 to 15% more comfortable, and what would you need for that to happen?
Whether it’s something over your eyes or a blanket over your body. Maybe something under the legs. Sometimes placing two pillows, if you’re sitting, on either side of you, particularly if you’re sitting in a chair with arms. Anything really that can enable you to come to a place of rest more easily.
And as you settle in, take a couple of breaths and be aware of what is touching your body. So whether it’s a blanket or a chair or the floor, or the air caressing your skin. This would now be the time if you would like to set an intention for the practice. And maybe that has something to do with your body or your being, something to do or to have.
Whatever that is, say it to yourself as if it’s already happened, that you already are experiencing it or receiving it in present time. You can even notice as you say this to yourself how it resonates in your body. How do the words vibrate, move, land, or feel in your body? This is a really lovely way to connect our cognition with our somatic or embodied experiences.
And you can bring your attention now to your right big toe. Your second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe. How the toes connect into your forefoot, to the midfoot, and hindfoot. Feeling the whole foot at once. The right ankle, the right calf, the right knee, thigh, and hip. Feel the entire right leg now, from right hip down to the right foot and toes.
Allow the attention now to come to your left big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe. How the toes move into the forefoot, the midfoot, and the hindfoot. The left ankle, the left shin, the left knee, thigh, the left hip. Feeling the entire left leg, from hip to foot and toes.
Noticing your pelvis, left pelvis, right pelvis. The back of your pelvis, the front of your pelvis. Your ribcage, the lower ribs, the upper ribs. Noticing the ribs and the pelvis both at once.
Your neck, left neck, right neck, back of the neck, front of the neck. Your jaw, inside of your mouth, the left inside, the right side, the roof of your mouth, and the floor of your mouth. Your gums. All of your mouth at once now.
Your nose, the bridge of your nose. The inner corners of your eyes. The space between your eyebrows. Your forehead. The top of your head. The back of your head. Your temples. Your ears. Your shoulders. Your right arm. The right elbow, the right wrist, the right hand, thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger. Feeling the entire right arm, from the fingers up to the shoulder.
Drifting over now to the left shoulder, the left arm, left elbow, wrist, hand, left thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger. Feeling the whole left arm from fingers to shoulder.
Bring your intention back into this space now, saying it to yourself as if it already happened. Noticing now how it resonates in your body. Notice now the right side of your body, your right foot and toes, ankle, knee, hip, right torso, right neck, head, right arm, down to the right fingers. Feeling the entire right side.
Now feeling the left side. The left foot and toes. The left ankle, knee, hip, left torso, neck, head, and left arm. Feel the entire left side. Move right and left. Feeling the whole of the right side. Allowing yourself to be aware of the whole of the right side. And then feel the whole of the left side. The whole of the left side. Moving right to left.
Allow this to be a feeling experience, perceiving each side. And when you’re ready, feel both sides at once. This isn’t a thinking exercise, it’s a feeling exercise. Feeling left and right at once. Sometimes people feel a bigger breath, an opening, or an awareness, or a sinking, or an imprint into that which they’re sitting or laying on. Allow for whatever emerges to emerge.
And now connecting back into your body. Feet, legs, hips, torso, arms, neck, head. Feel that which you are laying or sitting upon. Noticing the material touching your skin. The air caressing exposed skin. Taking a moment to say your intention for this practice one more time. And noticing how it resonates now in your body.
In a moment, my voice will fade off and you can be here for as long as you would like. And when you’re ready, take a few breaths before you transition on with the rest of your day. Have a great time exploring and we’ll see you next time.
If this episode has resonated and you’re looking to deepen this idea of getting your body back on board, of listening deeply to your symptoms, of listening to the whispers so you don’t have to hear the screams, and you’re looking for one to one support or professional training, then reach out to us at [email protected] where we can customize your learning path. That’s [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you. .
Welcome and welcome back. I’m so glad that you’re here because today we are doing a body scan, which is a technique inside of yoga nidra where we can really tune in and heighten the perception of our body while also enabling a level of relaxation.
I’m also going to walk you through a technique of opposites and holding opposites. And the beauty of this technique is that it kind of illuminates or even raises our ability to be aware, enhances our perception. And when we hold the opposites as one, which we thoughtfully can’t do, we have to do this from a somatic embodied space, we know that in the brain there’s part of our brain that lights up and then that precedes an insight, sometimes a profound one.
And it can be really, really cool in that there’s not a lot of doing that’s happening here. So a profound amount of rest can arise and a settling but also in a very alert, calm way. That’s the beauty of this type of practice. And so I’m going to walk you through this scan and then guide you into the opposites and let’s see how it goes.
So to begin with, find a place that’s comfortable. So on your back or on your side, in sitting, even in standing. And find a place in whatever position that you’re in that really is comfortable, to the point that you even ask yourself if you can be 5 to 15% more comfortable, and what would you need for that to happen?
Whether it’s something over your eyes or a blanket over your body. Maybe something under the legs. Sometimes placing two pillows, if you’re sitting, on either side of you, particularly if you’re sitting in a chair with arms. Anything really that can enable you to come to a place of rest more easily.
And as you settle in, take a couple of breaths and be aware of what is touching your body. So whether it’s a blanket or a chair or the floor, or the air caressing your skin. This would now be the time if you would like to set an intention for the practice. And maybe that has something to do with your body or your being, something to do or to have.
Whatever that is, say it to yourself as if it’s already happened, that you already are experiencing it or receiving it in present time. You can even notice as you say this to yourself how it resonates in your body. How do the words vibrate, move, land, or feel in your body? This is a really lovely way to connect our cognition with our somatic or embodied experiences.
And you can bring your attention now to your right big toe. Your second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe. How the toes connect into your forefoot, to the midfoot, and hindfoot. Feeling the whole foot at once. The right ankle, the right calf, the right knee, thigh, and hip. Feel the entire right leg now, from right hip down to the right foot and toes.
Allow the attention now to come to your left big toe. Second toe. Third toe. Fourth toe. Fifth toe. How the toes move into the forefoot, the midfoot, and the hindfoot. The left ankle, the left shin, the left knee, thigh, the left hip. Feeling the entire left leg, from hip to foot and toes.
Noticing your pelvis, left pelvis, right pelvis. The back of your pelvis, the front of your pelvis. Your ribcage, the lower ribs, the upper ribs. Noticing the ribs and the pelvis both at once.
Your neck, left neck, right neck, back of the neck, front of the neck. Your jaw, inside of your mouth, the left inside, the right side, the roof of your mouth, and the floor of your mouth. Your gums. All of your mouth at once now.
Your nose, the bridge of your nose. The inner corners of your eyes. The space between your eyebrows. Your forehead. The top of your head. The back of your head. Your temples. Your ears. Your shoulders. Your right arm. The right elbow, the right wrist, the right hand, thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger. Feeling the entire right arm, from the fingers up to the shoulder.
Drifting over now to the left shoulder, the left arm, left elbow, wrist, hand, left thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger. Feeling the whole left arm from fingers to shoulder.
Bring your intention back into this space now, saying it to yourself as if it already happened. Noticing now how it resonates in your body. Notice now the right side of your body, your right foot and toes, ankle, knee, hip, right torso, right neck, head, right arm, down to the right fingers. Feeling the entire right side.
Now feeling the left side. The left foot and toes. The left ankle, knee, hip, left torso, neck, head, and left arm. Feel the entire left side. Move right and left. Feeling the whole of the right side. Allowing yourself to be aware of the whole of the right side. And then feel the whole of the left side. The whole of the left side. Moving right to left.
Allow this to be a feeling experience, perceiving each side. And when you’re ready, feel both sides at once. This isn’t a thinking exercise, it’s a feeling exercise. Feeling left and right at once. Sometimes people feel a bigger breath, an opening, or an awareness, or a sinking, or an imprint into that which they’re sitting or laying on. Allow for whatever emerges to emerge.
And now connecting back into your body. Feet, legs, hips, torso, arms, neck, head. Feel that which you are laying or sitting upon. Noticing the material touching your skin. The air caressing exposed skin. Taking a moment to say your intention for this practice one more time. And noticing how it resonates now in your body.
In a moment, my voice will fade off and you can be here for as long as you would like. And when you’re ready, take a few breaths before you transition on with the rest of your day. Have a great time exploring and we’ll see you next time.
If this episode has resonated and you’re looking to deepen this idea of getting your body back on board, of listening deeply to your symptoms, of listening to the whispers so you don’t have to hear the screams, and you’re looking for one to one support or professional training, then reach out to us at [email protected] where we can customize your learning path. That’s [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you. .