Yoga Nidra Articles

• Yoga nidra FAQ 
• How to make positive changes that last using intentions (sankalpas) with yoga nidra.
• Benefits of yoga nidra
• How to practice savasana, the relaxation pose
• Sleep and yoga nidra Why 1 hour of yoga nidra practice is equivalent to 4 hours of sleep.
• Yoga nidra to improve your brain.  It’s fascinating!
• Free recording to experience the power of yoga nidra 
• Journaling prompts for yoga nidra 

Class Info & Registration Links 

• Yoga Nidra Online Classes – Totally relax. Put your physical, mental, and emotional stress to rest.  All classes. 
  
• Yoga on Demand – Have video classes to watch anytime, anywhere. Plans available for Yoga Nidra, Hatha Yoga & Combos.
• Class Downloads – Get your favorite Hatha Yoga + Nidra classes to download for keeps
• Personal Lessons – Get a private 75 minute lesson + video to focus on whatever you want! The video is downloadable for keeps. Contact Julie Lusk  for details.
• Yoga Nidra Teacher Trainings Workshops
• Free recording to experience the power of yoga nidra 

Books

• Yoga Nidra Meditations: 24 Scripts for True Relaxation | Print | Audiobook | eBook
• Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation and Stress Relief |Print | eBook
• Visit the Julie Lusk Amazon Author Page to see almost everything

Audios 

• Audio Recordings | MP3’s | CDs | Downloads || Amazon | iTunes, etc.
• Class Downloads  | Get your favorite Hatha Yoga + Nidra classes to download for keeps
• Visit the Julie Lusk Amazon Author Page to see almost everything

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Contact 

• Contact us anytime
• Free Wholesome Resources Newsletter from Julie Lusk

30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing – Volume 1

by Julie Lusk

• Are you looking for a handy relaxation, imagery and meditation book  for stress relief?
• Do you want to get the most out of relaxation, imagery, and meditation?
• Do you want to help yourself and lead others with these scripts for relaxation, imagery, visualization & more?

Finally.  The perfect book!

PRINT BOOK: 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing - Volume 1 - Print Edition

Are you looking for a handy relaxation, imagery and meditation book for stress relief? Here's the perfect book! Help yourself and lead others with these scripts for relaxation, imagery, visualization & more. Easy-to -follow scripts are here to * Achieve deep, positive relaxation * Benefit from stress relief * Healing guided imagery * Awaken intuition * Increase self growth and understanding. CLICK the blue title link above to find out more...

EBOOK Edition: 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing - Volume 1 - eBook Edition

Are you looking for a handy relaxation, imagery and meditation book for stress relief? Here's the perfect eBook! Help yourself and lead others with these scripts for relaxation, imagery, visualization & more. Easy-to -follow scripts are here to * Achieve deep, positive relaxation * Benefit from stress relief * Healing guided imagery * Awaken intuition * Increase self growth and understanding. CLICK the green title link to find out more...

♥ Customer Rating from Barnes and Noble  ♥

Perfect for Meditation

“I use this book at work to run meditation groups. It is very diverse so that I have many choices to chose from based on my client population. I had another copy of it but used it so much it finally fell apart, this is a replacement.”  Posted July 28, 2009, 10:44 AM EST
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Easy-to -follow scripts are here to help you

• Achieve deep, positive relaxation
• Benefit from stress relief
• Healing guided imagery
• Awaken intuition
• Increase self growth and understanding

Table of Contents for 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery, and Inner Healing

Volume 1

by Julie Lusk
Whole Person Associates

Becoming Relaxed

Feeling calm, relaxed, and centered is a foundation for any guided meditation. In fact, relaxation is healing in and of itself.

Physically relaxing the body first, before using guided imagery, increases people’s ability to concentrate and allows their minds, hearts, and spirits to be more open to the meditation. A feeling of harmony often results.

For many people relaxation is a new experience. It is important that people practice the physical form of relaxation and spend ample time with it until feeling relaxed becomes natural and easy.

The exercises in this section focus on physical relaxation. Use them on their own or combine them with an imagery exercise from one of the other sections.

• Progressively Relaxing while Sitting in a Chair
  Designed for people sitting in chairs, this progressive relaxation exercise focuses on tensing and relaxing the different muscle groups. (20 minutes)
• Breathing for Relaxation and Health
  Effective relaxation requires proper breathing. In this script, participants concentrate on their breathing by focusing on what their bodies are doing as they take in deep breaths, hold them, and slowly exhale. (10 minutes)
• 1 to 10
  In this brief script, participants lie on their backs and tense their muscles as they count from 1 to 10, then release the tension as they count back down to 1. (5 minutes)
• The Magic Ball
  In this visualization script, participants imagine they each possess a magic ball that travels over, under, and through their bodies, relaxing their muscles as it goes. (20 minutes)
• Total Relaxation
  An eclectic introduction to some of the most popular relaxation techniques, Total Relaxation includes breathing, progressive relaxation, visualization, and body scanning. Use a part or all of this script as a short relaxation exercise prior to a guided meditation in one of the other sections of the book. (10 minutes)

Nature and the Environment
Being connected to the natural world–the ocean, forest, sky, and mountains–is for most people both relaxing and healthy. The guided meditations in this section help people find their connection with the natural world and thereby learn about forgiveness and love.

Note: Before beginning any script, describe to the participants what images you will use. If they make anyone feel uncomfortable, select an alternate script.

• The Sea
  In this script, participants relax by taking an imaginary journey along a beach, listening to the birds and waves and watching a brilliant sunset. (5 minutes)
• Simply Sailing
  In this script, participants imagine setting sail from a quiet dock, experiencing the sea with all its beauty and challenges, and reaching an island paradise. They are invited to release unnecessary personal ìbaggageî and return to the dock with a newfound energy. (25 minutes)
• A Day in the Life of Another Creature
  In this relaxation and visualization script, participants let go of tension and then explore the wildlife found around a pond, first through the perspective of an animal or insect, and then from the human perspective. (20 minutes)
• The Beach
  In this script, participants imagine they are on vacation, strolling along a quiet ocean beach, free of the usual daily pressures and hassles. (5 minutes)
• Flying with the Eagle
  In this script for kids (and for the young-at-heart), participants leave their homes through a secret door, travel to the forest of a magnificent Mother Eagle, and go for a ride on her back. (15 minutes)
• Oak Creek
  In this script, participants experience and feel a personal connection with the energy and the healing power of the earth and sky. (10 minutes)
• The Night Sky
  In this script, participants imagine looking at the stars of a clear night sky and feeling their minds expand into the infinite expanse of space. (8 minutes)
• Ocean Waves
  In this script, participants dissolve their worries and troubles by imagining they are listening to the rhythm of the ocean waves. (12 minutes)

Inner Answers
Taking the time to regularly explore and reflect upon the inner world of intuition, feelings, and thoughts can be uplifting and is a sure path to personal, emotional, mental, and spiritual growth.

The guided meditations in this section help people get in touch with their intuitive inner selves so that they may find answers to lifeís questions from within.

• Your Inner Adviser
  In this meditation, participants have a conversation with their inner advisor to develop their intuitionómaking decisions based on gut feelings rather than on reactions to social influence. (18 minutes)
• Fortune Cookies
  In this script, participants tap into their intuitive selves by imagining that they are reading messages contained in fortune cookies. (12 minutes)
• Your Inner Child
  In this script, participants get to know, communicate with, and learn from their inner child. (5 minutes)
• Time Travel: So What Do You Want to Do for A Living?
  In this script, participants imagine the future to discover potential career paths and living conditions. (20 minutes)

Healing
Integrating the mind, body, emotions, and spirit opens up vast inner resources of intuition, wisdom, and personal power.

So many of us live as if fragmented–thinking of one thing, saying something else, acting one way publicly, while feelings, moods, and emotions provide a constantly changing and inconsistent undertow.

The guided meditations in this section focus on using the mind to heal the body and emotions and to bring thoughts, words, actions, and feelings into harmony and alignment.

• Love, Joy, and Optimism
  In this guided meditation, participants journey down a private path; encounter their own personal guide and shadow; feel love, joy, hope, and optimism; and learn to accept themselves no matter what is going on in their lives. (30 minutes)
• Healing Yourself and the Universe
  In this script, participants relax and feel protected as past hurts and negativity are released and forgiven through the experience of being surrounded by a healing, loving light. (20 minutes)
• Sun Meditation for Healing
  In this script, participants experience the healing power and energy of the sun as they imagine it warming and relaxing them. (5 minutes)
• Vitamin T Imagery
  In this script, participants absorb Vitamin T, the nurturing nutrient found in healthy touch, by imagining they are receiving a massage. (18 minutes)
• Food for Thought: Imagery for Weight Control
  In this script, participants learn to think differently about food, about dieting, and about themselves by stimulating their ability to make informed choices. This script is designed to take the struggle out of weight loss and weight maintenance while increasing the joy that should accompany positive changes. (15 minutes)
• Breastfeeding
  In this guided meditation, mothers visualize the miraculous nursing process while nursing their babies. (10 minutes)

Personal Growth
Using imagery to encourage self-esteem, offer positive affirmations, focus on personal growth and development, and increase people’s ability to imagine sights, sounds, and other physical sensations are the main goals of these guided meditations.

• Addiction to Wellness
  In this script, participants seek physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual wellness. Positive self-esteem is nurtured. (10 minutes)
• Body Image Visualization
  In this visualization script, participants picture their own body images and practice positive affirmations to promote self-esteem and inner beauty. (25 minutes)
• OM Visitation
  In this script, participants meditate on the word ìOMî to help them connect with people they love, but who are far away. (5 minutes)
• The Blue Period
  In this empowerment script, participants observe their lives to discover trends and patterns that are occurring. This script parallels the way an art historian might look at a painterís life. For example, Picasso had his Blue Period, Pink Period, Cubist Period, and a dozen other periods throughout his life. Your life passes through phases as well. (20 minutes)
• You Are a Child Again
  In this script, participants imagine they are children again. Children who have fun playing and moving, are confident and self-assured, and unconditionally loved. (5 minutes)
• Flower Meditation
  In this visualization script, participants increase their ability to imagine seeing, touching, smelling, and feeling. (20 minutes)
• A Meditation of a World Vision
  In this guided meditation, participants experience their connection to the life-force of the universe by lying on the ground and imagining the earth ís energy coming through them. (15 minutes)

PRINT BOOK: 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing - Volume 1 - Print Edition

Are you looking for a handy relaxation, imagery and meditation book for stress relief? Here's the perfect book! Help yourself and lead others with these scripts for relaxation, imagery, visualization & more. Easy-to -follow scripts are here to * Achieve deep, positive relaxation * Benefit from stress relief * Healing guided imagery * Awaken intuition * Increase self growth and understanding. CLICK the blue title link above to find out more...

EBOOK Edition: 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery & Inner Healing - Volume 1 - eBook Edition

Are you looking for a handy relaxation, imagery and meditation book for stress relief? Here's the perfect eBook! Help yourself and lead others with these scripts for relaxation, imagery, visualization & more. Easy-to -follow scripts are here to * Achieve deep, positive relaxation * Benefit from stress relief * Healing guided imagery * Awaken intuition * Increase self growth and understanding. CLICK the green title link to find out more...

Desktop Yoga ® Sampler

Adapted from Julie T. Lusk’s Book

Desktop Yoga ® The Anytime, Anywhere Relaxation Program

Just like your computer needs a screen saver, your body needs a body-saver. Here is a well-rounded set of yoga-based exercises that can be done right from your chair at work, home, or in your car. They’re perfect for “Internet addicts, office workers, and stressed out students.” Julie’s Desktop Yoga ® book contains over 100 easy-to-follow stretches to help your back, neck, shoulders, face, hands and feet; breathing techniques to increase your concentration, improve your sense of inner balance, and aid your circulation; power napping exercises to improve energy by “taking a 2 hour nap in 2 minutes” and proven wellness and stress management strategies that work.

Three Part Breathing: Breathing deeply and fully is essential to yoga. It will help you relax and replenish your energy. Begin by releasing all the air from your lungs through your nose. Use your abdominal muscles to squeeze all the air out. Slowly and smoothly breathe in through your nose so you can feel your belly filling followed by an expansion around your entire rib cage (front, back and sides). Finally allow the air to fill the collarbone area. Release all the air slowly through your nose as you empty your lungs as completely as possible. Continue Three Part Breathing for as long as you comfortably can.

Neck Stretch. Sit up straight and allow your shoulders to relax. Let your right ear move toward your right shoulder. Only move it as far as it comfortably can without force. Take a few full breaths. Just as your muscles begin to tire, take a breath in and bring your head back up to the center.

Next, let your left ear slowly move toward your left shoulder and take a few more breaths. Then, bring your head back to center on an in-breath. It is common for one side to feel more limber that the other side.

Moving your head from side to side can be repeated several times. While doing this, imagine all the stress and strain that’s held around your neck releasing and letting go.

Next, let your chin glide down to your chest and take a few breaths. Remember to let it go as far as it comfortably can without strain. When ready, bring your head to center.

Do not move your head backward. It puts too much stress on that area of your neck.

Shoulder Shrug: Let your arms relax at your sides. Bring both shoulders up toward your ears while you breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth as you let your shoulders drop back down. Really let go. It’s fine to repeat this a few more times. This releases frustrations as well as shoulder tension.

Energy Stretch: Place both feet flat on the floor and let your arms hang to your sides. As you breathe in slowly, begin raising your arms straight out in front of you until they are shoulder height. Still breathing in, bring your arms out to both sides and then raise them over your head.

Breathe out as you lower your arms back down to your sides. Continue on for several deep diaphragmatic breaths. The trick here is to raise your arms during the time it takes to take a breath in and to lower your arms during the time it takes to breathe out.

Palming Eye Exercise: Rub your hands rapidly together with your palms and fingers touching.

Keep doing it so that you feel some heat and energy being generated. Next, rest your elbows on your desk. Cup your hands and gently place them over your closed eyes. Let the warmth and darkness soothe your eyes. Take several long and easy breaths as you imagine the tiredness being released with your out-breath, and energy and vitality returning with your in-breath.

Hand Helpers: First make a tight fist and feel the tension. Then, let go and release all the tension and tightness. Repeat.

Stretch your fingers and palms out as much as you can. Take your time to really feel the stretch. Let your hands and fingers relax gently on your lap for several moments.

Hold your arms out in front of you and bend your wrists so your fingers point to the sky. Next, point them toward the earth. Repeat, and don’t forget to breathe.

Cat Stretch: Make sure your chair is pushed away from your desktop so that you can sit on your chair and stretch both arms and hands straight out toward the desk. Place your fingers on the desktop or on your knees.

Next, lower your head as you arch your back up (just like a Halloween cat) while breathing out. On the next in-breath, raise your head and chest up while you curve and stretch your back in the other direction. Don’t strain. Continue up and down, breathing in and out as you go. Rest and relax for a few moments with your arms resting on your lap.

Foot Rolls: Kick your shoes off, stretch your legs out in front of you and begin moving your feet around in a big circle. Let your feet, ankles and calves get in on the act. Are you still breathing? Now circle your feet around in the other direction. Rest.

Next, point your toes forward and then back toward your head. Do this several times in a row. Rest.

Then, lift your legs up and move the balls of your feet from side to side. Stretch your toes and relax all over.

→ Julie Lusk, M.Ed. is available to speak about Desktop Yoga ® and a variety of wellness and mind/body topics at your special event.

How to Create a Desktop Altar

Julie Lusk was interviewed for an article in Yoga Journal (Feb. 2006) on Desktop Altars.

“You’re reeling from a stressful conference call when another pile of papers appears on your desk, requiring a late-night work session.  It’s the kind of thing that could send you over the edge – but after a few deep breaths you’re feeling calm again. Your stay-cool tool?  The desktop altar you’ve made to keep yourself centered.

To collect the items for such an altar in your workspace, Julie Lusk, a yoga teacher in Cincinnati and author of Desktop Yoga: the Anytime, Anywhere Relaxation Program for Office Slaves, Internet Addicts, and Stressed-Out Students, suggests sticking to simple objects that are linked to a specific memory, belief, or goal.  That might mean a special shell, stone, photograph, flower, fountain, book, plant, or even a simple saying that inspires you.”

“An altar need not scream “Spiritual!” says Lusk. “What makes your collection an altar is your intention – which can be as simple as your desire to return to the present each time you see it.”

–                   Yoga Journal – Issue 193 – February 2006  –   Toni Klym McLellan

Desktop Altar FAQ

1.  What is your definition of a  “desktop altar”.

Personalizing an area of your workspace to remind you of your higher values/self in a way that is personally inspirational, meaningful, uplifting and keeps you grounded and centered.

2. How might a desktop altar help people supplement their yoga or meditation practice, even in the midst of a hectic workday?

A desktop altar serves as a reminder to breathe, be mindful, and practice Desktop Yoga ™ stretches.

3.   What items would you suggest in creating a desktop altar?  Please include space-saving considerations.

Select something that is personally meaningful.  Start by stilling yourself and become aware of clues from your inner self for some things that are just right.  Suggestions include a special shell, stone, photo/picture, flower, cloth, something to hold, art, fountain, a book, plant (i.e. prayer plant, or a violet to care for), feather, finger labyrinth, or a gift from someone special. A saying or a significant symbol could be used as a screensaver.  Under various circumstances, a calendar with inspiring sayings or artwork may be just right.

4.  Any tips for how to keep it under the radar of coworkers or bosses, but still give it private significance?

• Use an ordinary object with personal significance that is linked to a belief, memory or a goal.  Consider blessing it first.
• Keep it ‘for your eyes only’ by tucking it away, like in a drawer that you use often.

5.  What items (if any) should be avoided?

• Candles (fire hazard)
• Items that could offend others (things that could fall into the realm of religious, sexual, racial, or political bias)
• Things that are distracting.
• Anything against office policies.
• Things that you are not willing to explain, discuss or defend.
  

6.  Can you give some examples of altars?

• I have a statue of an angel that was given to me by someone special, a quartz crystal wrapped in a beautiful cloth, and some pictures are beside my computer.
• Coworkers of mine and I passed around a tiny angel when times were especially challenging.  We took turns with ‘hosting’ her and felt divine support and protection as well as the support of one another.   We kept it as long as it felt right and then passed it along. The angel was always floating around among us.  This happened at a large and busy medical clinic.  I no longer work there and she was in my care at the time I left – of course I passed it along so it would keep working it’s magic.
• A friend of mine wears a mala on days when she needs extra strength and courage.

→ Julie Lusk, M.Ed. is available to speak about Desktop Yoga ® and a variety of wellness and mind/body topics at your special event.

Check out her books and relaxation CDs now.

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