And I always say whenever we're doing either Anidra or Shavasana,
It's just fidget,
Have a little wriggle,
Really take the time to get as cozy and as comfortable as possible.
You want to be lying in a way that you're not holding tension so it doesn't have to be lying on your back,
It can be lying on your side if you prefer.
So spend some time asking yourself,
Could I be 1% more comfortable with how I'm lying right now?
Just wriggle and move in any way that enables that.
Let the eyes close down if they haven't already.
Become aware of your breath as it moves in and out of your nostrils.
Hear the breath,
Feel the breath.
You don't have to try and change it,
Not yet anyway,
Just become aware of how it feels in your body right now this evening.
Now just start to become aware of the parts of your body that are touching the surface below you,
Whether that's the floor,
A sofa,
A bed,
Just feeling those spaces.
Can you let them sink back into the surface below you?
Can you soften into them a little bit more with every exhale?
Can you melt,
Can you dissolve into them?
Becoming aware of anything layered over your body,
Any blanket,
Any duvet,
Just noticing the weight of it.
How does that feel?
Send your awareness to the parts of your body touching whatever is layered above you.
Can you move your tongue all across the back of your teeth,
Counting each individual tooth in your mouth with the tip of your tongue,
Just one at a time,
Maybe moving it across the top,
The front of the teeth as well.
Is there anything you can taste?
And if you breathe in deeply,
What can you smell in your space?
Is there any candles,
Any incense,
Any sprays,
Anything that you've put on that you can smell?
Just noticing those scents,
Not judging them,
Just being aware of them.
Noticing now all of the sounds that you can hear,
Both from my recording and your room,
Maybe outside.
Again,
We don't judge.
We can't block out all sounds.
We just welcome anything in.
It's all a part of our rest practice.
So just moving through those sounds,
Seeing if you can start to separate them one by one.
And even with your eyes closed,
What can you see painted in that blanket of darkness,
The screen of your eyelids?
Can you follow any light,
Any shapes with your eyes?
And what can you see even in the darkness?
What is trying to shine for you?
And we become aware now of the breath,
Taking back control of it.
We inhale for a count of four,
Three,
Two,
One,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
In,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Six.
Just keep that breath going,
Gradually building on the exhale until you find that sweet spot.
You don't want to be gasping for breath as you come back for another inhale.
So just find that place,
That longer exhale,
The one that you can really surrender into,
Seeing if you can use the exhale to melt further and further into your rest state.
And we set an affirmation for every Nidra practice.
So tonight,
For our winter solstice Nidra,
Our affirmation is,
I allow new light into my life.
I allow new light into my life.
Go ahead and just repeat that in your mind as many times as you yearn to.
I allow new light into my life.
And as I guide you through a body awareness scan,
I invite you to imagine that your body is bathed in darkness.
And when I say a body part,
You send your awareness there and imagine that a light has switched on in that space,
The crown of your head,
The center of your forehead,
Your eyelids,
Your cheekbones,
The top of your ears,
Your earlobes,
Your nose,
Your mouth,
Cheeks,
Your chin,
The sides of your neck,
The top of your shoulders,
Your chest,
Armpits,
Upper arms,
Elbows,
Your lower arms,
Your belly,
Palms,
Your thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And little finger,
All across your back.
Let that light switch on,
Send your awareness there,
Your pelvis,
Your bum cheeks,
The top of your legs,
Knees,
Lower legs,
The top of your feet,
The soles of your feet,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And little toe,
Your entire body glowing,
Radiating in awareness.
And can we think about the parts of us that are bold and bright,
And the parts that choose to stay in the shadows,
The parts of us that were challenged this year,
The parts of us that have grown this year,
The parts of us that are sitting in the past,
The parts that are stepping into the future,
The parts of us that are holding on to our struggles,
And the parts that are ready to let go,
Letting all of it exist,
Letting all of it be.
And I invite you now to start to imagine that you are stood outside,
Walking alongside a river,
And it's night time,
It's dark out,
And the stars are scattered across the sky,
And it's such a clear night that the moon and all its fullness and those stars are lighting the path ahead for you.
You walk slowly alongside this river,
Create that image in your mind on this chilly winter's evening,
Maybe the river is even frosted over,
Maybe it's a river of ice,
Maybe the grass all around you is speckled with frost as well,
And it's cold but you're so wrapped up as you just walk step by step,
That crunch under your feet of the grass,
That icy grass,
There's nowhere else you need to be,
Just this walk by yourself,
You feel safe,
You are safe.
What can you hear as you walk along this river?
What can you see?
How do you feel?
What is that chill in the air like?
And as you keep walking step by step,
Just along this river,
This river that keeps on winding,
Keeps on pouring,
Ahead of you,
Far into the distance,
Far on the horizon,
A bead of orange light starts to appear,
The sun slowly starting to rise,
Starting to bring her beautiful light,
Her radiant light onto the earth,
Onto your earth.
You keep walking as if walking right into this sunrise,
As that bead of light becomes bigger and bigger and bigger,
As it starts floating out of the horizon,
Further up into the sky,
What does the sky look like?
What colours have started to dance within it?
How does the landscape look now if that river was frozen before?
Maybe it starts to melt,
Maybe the flecks of ice on the grass start to drip back down into the soil,
Into the earth.
Keep walking towards that sunrise as it gets higher and higher,
Illuminating the world,
Lifting the shadows,
Bringing everything into clearer focus,
Bringing everything back to life.
I allow new light into my life,
I allow new light into my life,
I allow new light into my life.
In that image fade away,
As you land softly back into your body and we inhale through the nose,
Let the quietest sighs out of your mouth,
Inhale and quiet sigh,
Keep that going,
Let the sigh barely be audible,
Just opening the mouth,
Letting the breath tumble out of it,
Letting it bring energy back into your body,
Drawing it in with the inhale,
Really embracing it with the exhale,
Starting to bring some movement into the body,
Whatever that looks like for you,
Either staying in your nidra state,
In your state of rest,
If that's where you want to be,
Or slowly,
Gently,
Lovingly.
