Welcome to your yoga nidra practice,
Dear one.
This is Elara at Heartful Way.
This is your sacred time for rest,
A time to return home to your body,
To allow your mind to soften,
Your heart to settle,
And your spirit to dissolve into the quiet embrace of sleep.
Lie down in a comfortable position,
Arms gently by your sides,
Palms facing up,
Feet falling open naturally,
Eyes softly closed.
Make any adjustments you need to feel fully supported.
Let go of the day.
There's nothing you need to do now.
Nothing to fix,
Nothing to become.
You are already whole.
Bring to your heart a gentle intention,
A sankalpa,
Something simple,
True,
And present,
Such as I allow myself to rest fully,
Or I am safe to let go,
Or both together.
I allow myself to rest fully.
I am safe to let go.
Repeat your intention quietly in your mind three times.
I allow myself to rest fully.
I am safe to let go.
Now follow my guidance as we move through the body,
Placing awareness gently on each part like drops of light.
Bring your awareness to the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Calf,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Feel the whole right side of the body,
The arm,
The right side of the torso,
And the right leg.
The whole right side of the body together.
Now bring your awareness to the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Top of the left foot,
Sole of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe.
Now bring your awareness to the whole left side of the body,
The left arm,
Left side of the torso,
And the left leg.
The whole left side together.
Now the back of the body,
Starting by bringing awareness to the back of the head,
Neck,
Upper back,
Middle back,
Lower back,
Sacrum,
The whole spine,
Right buttock,
Left buttock.
Feel the whole back of the body.
Now bring your awareness to the front of the body,
Starting at the top of the head,
Chest,
Forehead,
Eyebrows,
Space between the brows,
Eyelids,
Temples,
Cheeks,
The bridge of the nose,
The tip of the nose,
Lips,
Chin,
Chin,
Throat,
Collarbones,
Right and left,
Heart centre,
Ribs,
Belly,
Pelvis,
The whole front of the body,
And the whole body together.
Now bring your awareness to the back of the body,
The front of the body,
The whole body,
The whole body resting,
Floating in awareness.
Now bring your attention to the breath,
Your natural breath,
Unchanged,
Unforced.
Feel the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you inhale and exhale.
Feel the breath like waves coming and going,
Each breath softening the body even more.
Now count the breath like this,
Inhaling 1,
Exhaling 1,
Inhaling 2,
Exhaling 2.
Now count the breath like this,
Inhaling 1,
Exhaling 2,
Exhaling 2.
Continue to 10 and then count down from 10.
If you lose track of your counting,
You can start again at 1.
No need to get to 10.
No need to get back down to 1.
Just count to help to focus on your breath.
Or if you prefer not to count,
Just feel the breath in your body,
Observing the rise and fall of your belly.
If you do get to 10,
Count down,
Back to 9,
8,
7 and so on in a way that works for you.
Or drop the counting at any time to feel your breath like waves coming and going,
Each breath softening the body even more.
And if you get back down to 1,
Just pause,
Stopping the counting and feel the breath like waves coming and going,
Belly rising and falling.
And as you inhale and exhale,
No need to control the breath.
Just notice your natural breath,
Natural,
Unchanged,
Unforced.
Now let's experience sensations of opposites.
Begin to feel heaviness.
Imagine your body filled with sand or stone.
Let yourself sink,
Surrendering to the pull of gravity.
Now feel lightness in your body,
Your body empty and weightless like air.
Let yourself float like a cloud up in the sky.
And now feel warmth,
Sunlight across your skin.
Then coolness,
Like a gentle breeze.
Let these opposites wash through you,
Heaviness and lightness.
Warmth and coolness.
All part of the same whole.
And bring your awareness to rest in the space between the eyebrows,
The third eye.
Imagine a place where you feel completely safe.
It may be real or imagined.
Like a room,
A forest,
By the sea,
A mountain temple.
Let it come to life.
See the colors.
Feel the textures.
Notice the scents,
The sounds.
You are at home here.
Protected.
Helped.
Let this space cradle you.
You can return here anytime.
Now let your body become heavy again.
Feeling it sinking into the earth.
Letting go.
Each breath carries you deeper.
Deeper into stillness.
Deeper into trust.
Deeper into the silence behind all.
Sound.
Let go of the story of the day.
Let go of who you think you are.
You are light in a body,
Love in four.
If sleep comes,
Welcome it.
If you remain awake for now,
Simply rest in this space.
Nothing is required of you.
Notice how you feel.
And if you wish,
Gently roll to your side.
Drifting softly into sleep.
Rest here as long as you like,
Even if you're not wanting to sleep or not sleeping yet.
And if you wish to return to waking consciousness,
Then feel the body again and feel the earth beneath you.
Only if you're wanting to wake the body up,
Then wiggle your fingers and toes.
Otherwise,
Remain still and let yourself drift off.
Know that you are whole.
You are held.
You are loved.
And thank you for practicing with me today.
With all my love.
Until next time.
Namaste.
