My name is Miriam and I'm glad that you are here with me today.
The theme of this practice is connecting to the energy of gratitude.
Please know that you are welcome here no matter what you are feeling or going through in this moment.
Find a comfortable position,
Maybe lying on your back,
Your side,
Whatever feels right for you today.
Bring in some support,
Maybe from a pillow under your head,
A bolster under the back of your knees,
A blanket you can cocoon yourself in.
Know that there's no wrong way of practicing,
So please adjust your body as you prefer and trust that you will receive exactly what you need today.
Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions.
When you intentionally connect to gratitude,
It becomes the emotional signature that something good already has happened.
Instead of waiting to be grateful,
We can practice feeling and sustaining gratitude.
This in turn can teach us that our body can heal with its own inner pharmacy of chemicals.
When you are thankful or feel appreciation,
You are also in the ultimate state to receive.
It's a state of being which opens the door to miracles,
The power,
The wisdom,
The creativity and the love from the universe.
With a full heart you move from limitation and fear to expansion and love.
Now please close your eyes softly.
A weighted eye pillow or a thin scarf over your eyes can feel supportive.
Allow your nose to be clear so you're free to breathe in and out through the nose.
Move about,
Maybe rock your pelvis or place your arms on your body if that feels good,
Or simply out to the sides.
Allowing the movement to slow down until you find yourself settling,
Settling in the space.
Feel how your body is leaning into the support from underneath you.
You are held by the earth,
Fully supported just as you are.
Bring attention to your senses.
Listen to the sound of my voice and the sounds further away.
Maybe you see colors or images behind your closed eyelids or feel the touch of the air against your skin.
Your senses are open and alive.
Invite in a deep inhale and a slow,
Soft exhale.
Continue to feel how the body is breathing for you.
A natural ebb and flow.
As you breathe can you feel how your body becomes heavier,
Surrendering to the support from the earth again.
You can set an intention of staying awake mentally as your body go on to rest deeply.
If you drift off or fall asleep know that all is well.
Now allow your heart's deepest desire to arise from within,
Something you want more than anything in life.
This may be a desire for yourself,
For another or for the world around you.
Whatever it is,
Allow this longing to rise up naturally as your deepest heartfelt longing.
And this is where we find our sankalpa today.
A short heartfelt intention spoken as if it's already true.
Perhaps it's the feeling of being whole.
Then your sankalpa could be,
I am whole.
I am grateful for all the lessons and blessings in my life.
Maybe you have another one.
Hear your sankalpa with your inner ear.
And please repeat it three times before letting go of the words,
Allowing them to become pure frequency.
Now we will begin a journey around the body.
You will follow my voice with your awareness,
Giving thanks as we flow from one body part to the next one.
Start by bringing your full awareness to your heart.
Thank you heart for beating,
Giving me the steady pulse of life itself.
Feel your brow center in between your eyebrows.
Thank you for clear vision,
For allowing me to see the beauty all around me.
Midbrain.
Thank you for allowing me to experience life,
For connecting the dots and helping me learn and grow.
Sense the inside of your mouth.
Thank you for the pleasure of tasting.
Your throat.
Thank you throat for clear communication and free expression.
Sense your heart.
Thank you for feeling,
Receiving and giving love.
Belly.
Thank you for my health and vitality.
Pelvis.
Thank you for safety,
Stability and support.
Your right foot.
Your left foot.
Both feet.
Thank you for walking me through life.
Right hand.
Left hand.
Right hand.
Thank you hands for the ability to create,
Write and hold my loved ones hand.
Now with this gratitude lingering,
Scan through the whole back body,
Starting from the back of the head.
The curve of the neck.
Sense your upper back.
Shoulder blades.
Back of the arms.
Fingertips.
Mid back.
Curve of the lower back.
Neck.
Pelvis.
Glutes.
Back of the thighs.
Calves.
Heels.
Sensing your whole back body.
Your whole back body.
Your whole back body resting in gratitude.
And now sense your toes.
Upper feet.
Front of your thighs.
Your belly.
Front of the chest.
Arms.
Front of your neck.
Sense your face.
Top of the head.
Sense your whole front body now.
Your whole front body resting in gratitude and awareness.
Now start to merge together the sensation of front and back.
Merging into a full body awareness.
Experiencing yourself as a field of sensation,
A field of awareness,
Full body awareness.
Tune into your breath here.
Observe how your rested body is breathing.
Slow and effortless.
There is no need to change anything.
Simply feel how you are breathing naturally and rhythmically.
Sense how the exhales expand your torso and the inhales bring a softening.
You don't need to change a thing.
The body is breathing for you.
The body is breathing for you.
Now imagine a soft golden light glowing in the center of your chest.
With each breath this light expands.
It grows warmer,
Brighter,
Becomes more alive.
On your next inhale,
Imagine how this radiant light is expanding all the way from your heart outwards into the space around you.
And as you softly exhale,
Feel the energy return in tenfolds back to your own heart.
Inhale,
The radiant light expands outwards into space.
Exhale,
Feel the energy returning,
Abundant,
Overflowing back to your own heart.
Continue breathing,
Sensing the expansion and return and I'll pick you up when it's time to move on.
Wherever you are,
Return to your natural breathing as we ease into pairs of opposites,
Allowing the body to feel these emotions as it's resting.
First,
Start by feeling and experiencing emptiness.
What does feeling empty mean to you?
What does this emptiness bring?
Does it bring a certain color,
Expression,
Other feeling states,
An image?
And now we move to the opposite.
The opposite of emptiness is feeling full.
Can you feel full and overflowing?
And what does that fullness mean to you?
How do you feel full?
Where in your body do you feel full?
What can you sense in this fullness?
Feeling full.
And now we go beyond emptiness and sensation of feeling full into a neutral space.
Beyond polarities,
Where you just are.
You're neither empty nor full,
Resting here in the neutral space.
The next emotion to bring up is lack.
When you're feeling that there are limits in your life,
You're lacking something,
A feeling,
A person or anything else.
What does this feeling of lack awaken in you?
And can you feel it fully,
Sensing this lack?
And from that emotion,
We move on to feeling abundant.
Can you feel abundance in your body?
A feeling of having everything you need,
Being fully supported.
Feeling that fully with your body,
Allowing that abundance to flow.
What does that feel like?
And where do you feel this abundance?
What color or image or sensation arises with this abundance?
You're feeling it right now.
And it's in this state you'll stay as we move on to a visualization.
You can bring your awareness to your closed eyes.
Maybe you see some images,
Colors,
Like a movie that's being played.
Or maybe it's more an inner feeling.
Imagine that you are opening up your fantasy and seeing an orange garden in front of your eyes.
Big fields of orange flowers.
Maybe it's marigolds or a flower from your imagination.
You're walking in these orange fields,
Taking in the golden colors all around you.
Even the trees,
As you start to notice them,
Are orange and yellow.
Maybe you decide to lie down in the fields with the flowers.
Or maybe you walk up until a tree trunk and rest here,
With the back against the tree.
And as you're resting,
You start to hear some familiar voices.
These are the voices of the people that you love the most.
And as you open your eyes,
You start to see them and you walk towards them.
And feel a deep sense of gratitude and love arise from within you.
You're smiling and they're smiling and you're walking towards them.
To have a moment,
To sit down in the orange fields.
And as you sit down,
You see the sparkles in their eyes,
Letting you know that you mean so much to them.
They love you for who you are.
You take in this feeling of being loved and accepted fully for who you are.
Feeling safe in this moment with the ones you love the most.
Maybe you start to see the faces of these people.
Loved ones that are still here on this earth or loved ones that have passed.
Now you're here together and they're here to remind you of your power and of infinite possibilities.
There are infinite possibilities for you to explore here in this time on earth.
And they're telling you to be brave.
Be brave enough to be yourself.
Expressing what's true for you.
Expressing love generously.
Giving thanks.
And remembering that you're part of a bigger whole.
And as you sit here,
You feel this.
You're merging with the orange flowers and the radiant colors around you.
Becoming that orange color floating in an orange space.
A sea of light surrounding you and permeating your skin.
Stay in this sea of light.
Glowing,
Vibrating,
Remembering.
Softly call back your sankalpa.
Repeat it three times.
And with these words,
The yoga nidra is complete.
Sense your resting body,
The space that you are in.
Listen to the sounds around you.
Feel the taste of your mouth.
The breath flowing in and out.
Listen to and kindly let your body decide how it wants to end this practice.
Maybe it longs for a stretch,
Rolling over to your favorite side.
Or staying here for a moment in stillness.
Feel free to bring in some soft movement.
I am honored to be by your side.
Thank you so much for listening.
And welcome back anytime you want.
