Welcome to this Yoga Nidra to reset your nervous system.
Take a moment to settle into your body.
In this practice,
You have the opportunity to slow down your inner rhythm.
Sometimes,
If the nervous system has been in a sympathetic response,
Fight-flight-freeze,
For a long time,
This can be challenging.
All my guidance is just invitations.
Let yourself receive this practice in your own way.
This can be a moment for your mind,
Your body and your heart to connect with what's present in you.
And maybe open to remembering what it's like to slow down.
Your body holds all the wisdom.
The wisdom of rest.
Lies in your bones.
Even if it's been a while.
That knowing is still there.
Start by making yourself as comfortable as possible.
Lying on your back.
A pillow under the head if you like.
A bolster or rolled blanket under the knees to release the lower back.
A blanket over you if that feels good.
Make any final adjustments,
Any wiggles,
Whatever you need to fully settle into stillness.
Relax around the eyes.
Let the gaze soften.
If you feel comfortable closing your eyes,
Do that.
And we'll begin with three longer exhales.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Exhaling twice as long as the inhale.
Three breaths.
Breathe in through the nose,
Slow.
And out through the mouth twice as long like blowing out through a straw.
Again,
In through the nose.
And out slowly through pursed lips.
Last one,
Inhaling.
And a long,
Slow exhale.
Take your time.
Now let the breath flow freely.
In and out through the nose.
In your own rhythm.
Word.
Going to do one round of tensing and releasing the body.
This helps the nervous system to understand that it's okay to let go right now.
Because letting go is hard if you don't know what you're holding.
Make your hands into tight fists.
Squeeze.
Squeeze a little more.
And release.
Let the hands fall open.
Notice the difference.
Now press your shoulders up towards your ears.
High and strong.
A little higher.
And drop.
Let them fall heavy.
Squeeze your face.
Eyes.
Mouth.
Scrunch it up like a dried apple.
Whole face.
Hold it.
And release.
Let the face be wide,
Soft.
Now your whole body.
Inhale and tighten everything,
Toes curled,
Legs squeezed,
Belly tight,
Hands in fists,
Face scrunched,
All at once.
And exhale,
Let it all go.
Relax.
Let the body sing.
Settle in,
Feeling heavier than before.
Notice any sensations in the body.
Now we come to a phase of rotating the awareness around the body.
When I mention a place in your body,
Just bring your awareness there.
Nothing needs to happen.
Starting with the right hand.
Right thumb.
Index finger,
Middle,
Ring.
Little finger.
The palm.
The back of the right hand.
Right wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
The right shoulder.
The right side of the chest.
The right ribs.
The right side of the belly.
The right hip.
Right thigh,
Right knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle.
Top of the right foot.
Sole of the right foot.
The heel.
And the right toes.
Big toe.
Second.
Third.
Fourth,
And the pinky toe.
Feeling the whole right side.
The whole right side heavy and relaxed.
The left hand,
Left thumb,
Index,
Middle.
Ring the pinky finger palm of the left hand.
Back of the left hand.
The left wrist.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Left side of the chest.
Left ribs.
Left side of the belly.
Left hip.
Left thigh.
Me.
Shin.
Cough.
Left ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot.
Heal.
And the left toes,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And the pinky toe.
The whole left body.
Whole left body.
The left side and the right side together.
The whole back of the body.
The skull,
The neck.
The shoulders,
The wide back.
The lower back.
The buttocks.
The back of the legs.
The heels.
The whole front body.
The forehead,
The face.
The throat,
The ears,
The ears.
The chest.
The belly,
Softening the belly.
Let it rise and fall.
The pelvis.
The front of the legs.
The tops of the feet.
The heart.
The heart.
The brain.
And heart.
The whole body together.
The whole body resting.
Heavy.
Relaxed.
Fully supported.
Now bring your awareness to the lower belly.
As you breathe.
Notice how the belly moves naturally.
How it takes up space.
And with the next in-breath.
Allow the belly to gently expand a little more.
Expand forward and out to the sides,
Taking up space.
And with the out breath,
Relax back into that space.
Being with the sensations of the breath.
At the belly.
The breath is like a map for your nervous system.
Lengthening the breath is a way of coming home again.
Guiding yourself back to a more resourced place.
Slowing the breath down.
Slows everything down.
Visualize that you're standing in front of a lake,
A big summer lake.
You're picking up a warm stone,
Throwing it into the lake.
And it sinks.
Slowly.
Eventually landing at the bottom of the lake.
Then there's stillness.
Presence.
Rest.
Like an arrival.
Now we come to a phase of feeling the opposites in the body.
Imagine.
That your whole body starts to feel heavier and heavier.
So heavy that you couldn't lift a finger even if you wanted to.
The whole body so heavy.
Now a feeling of lightness in the body.
Lighter and lighter.
The whole body so light,
Spacious.
As if you could lift off the ground weightless,
Floating up like a feather.
The whole body light.
And now a feeling of warmth spreading through the body.
The whole body feeling warmer and warmer.
Like feeling the sun towards the skin on a summer's day.
The whole body very warm.
And now a feeling of cold in the body.
Colder and colder.
Your body feels cold.
Like lying on ice,
Freezing,
Feeling the whole body very cold.
And now.
Letting go of the cold.
And feeling the body comfortable.
Spacious free Resting.
Fully relaxed.
Now visualize a tide in the warm afternoon sunlight.
It's a quiet place in nature.
A slow,
Deliberate tide.
At a wide,
Calm bay at the end of the day.
The water moving in.
The water moving out.
In its own slow rhythm.
With nothing to prove.
Without ever stopping.
Visualize looking around.
At this calm bay at the end of the day.
There's a warm afternoon sunlight.
What can you see?
Perhaps the water is glittering.
Maybe you see a bird flying far away above the shore.
What else is there?
Staying with the slow rhythm of the tide.
The water coming in.
And the water moving out.
Imagine relaxing your breath.
Letting it be just like the tide.
Moving in.
Moving out.
Your breath.
Is like that tide.
Doesn't need anything from you,
Just give it time and space.
Your breath knows what to do.
Stay with the tide for a while.
The coming and the going.
Now bring your awareness back to the body.
Notice how your body feels.
And let the sensations appear in your mind like words moving through.
Heavy.
Warm.
Quiet.
Whatever is there without preference or judgment,
Just notice any sensations moving through your body.
And let yourself rest into your own body exactly as it is.
Relaxing into what's there.
Letting sensations come be acknowledged.
And released.
Be felt.
And release.
We'll stay here a little longer,
Supported by the room you're in,
The floor,
The walls,
Let the body be held by what's beneath you,
The ground support.
Support it.
Into the earth.
And all layers through the earth,
All the way to the very core of the earth.
Let yourself be held here for a moment.
Now,
Slowly,
We begin to come back.
Inviting a deeper breath.
Bring the awareness back into your body.
Notice how you feel.
Sensing the temperature of the body.
The air on your skin.
Notice if there are any sounds around you.
Inviting another deeper breath.
I'm finding small movements in fingertips and toes Maybe rolling the head slowly side to side.
If you like.
Placing one hand to the low belly.
And the other to the chest.
Thank yourself for taking this time to soothe your nervous system.
You can always return to self-resourcing by connecting to the tide of your own breath.
It's with you all the time.
Yoga Nidra is now complete.
