Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra,
Where we'll be setting an intention on the element Earth,
Around security and stability,
Presence.
Inviting ourselves to feel grounded and supported by the Earth,
To be safe,
Steady and whole.
So as you set yourself as comfortable as you can be,
Ensuring you feel warm and cozy and well supported,
Just pay attention whether you might need a little bit of extra comfort to allow the body to rest and release.
The invitation in this practice is to listen to my voice as I guide you through a journey of deep rest,
But know that there is nothing that you can do right and nothing that you can do wrong.
So if you don't want to listen to a word I say,
You don't have to.
This is your practice.
It is truly yours.
So allow this practice to give you whatever you need in this moment,
Receiving the adaptogenic properties of the Yoga Nidra,
Knowing that you will receive what you need now.
And as we step out of doing,
Step out of getting things right,
Pleasing,
Meeting deadlines,
To-dos,
We step into being and simply being is enough.
And in this state of simply being we find freedom.
So as you settle comfortably,
Begin to notice the body in contact with the surface beneath.
Notice the parts of the body that are touching,
The pressure points,
The contact points.
Notice any tension in the body.
And notice as well points in the body that might feel more free or spacious.
Welcome the front of the body,
The back of the body,
Your whole body.
Your whole body fully held and fully supported,
Fully held by the earth.
And all of you is welcome here.
Draw your awareness to all sounds and all noise,
Welcoming every noise that comes as far away as possible,
All the way above,
All the way from below,
From your right side and your left side.
As if you are lying at the center of a big,
Infinite sphere of sound and you are receiving noise coming from all directions and welcoming these sounds.
Welcoming sounds that are nearby,
The sound of my voice,
The chime.
And sounds that are more intimate to you,
Like the sound of your own breath.
And as you listen in to your breath,
Feel into the sensation of the air that comes in and out the tip of your nose.
Bring your awareness at the tip of the nose.
Feel the air touching the skin.
Notice the parts of the body that are covered,
Parts of the body that are uncovered.
And perhaps bring your awareness to the temperature in these body parts.
Notice the temperature in the extremities,
At the tips of the fingers and the toes.
Notice the temperature at the core,
At the heart center.
Or perhaps bring your awareness at the tip of the nose once again,
Feeling a cooler air as you breathe in and a warmer air as you breathe out.
Welcoming anything you can smell,
Those smells that you can name and those that you cannot name.
And behind your closed eyelids,
What can you see?
Any colors,
Shapes,
Shades are all welcome.
Feel into the moisture behind your closed eyelids as your eyes settle into deep rest.
And notice the moisture in your body,
Inside the mouth,
Around the gums and the teeth and underneath the tongue.
Feeling into anything that you can taste,
Taste that you can name and not name.
And welcoming all sensations of water and moisture in the body.
And perhaps bring your awareness to your digestive juices,
To the lymphatic fluid.
And every drop of blood in your body is welcome here.
All of you is welcome.
All of you is welcome,
Grounded and supported by the earth.
Safe,
Steady and whole.
And as you feel your body grounded on the surface beneath,
Perhaps begin to visualize little rootlets growing from different parts of the body as I invite you through a rotation of awareness.
As I name the body parts,
You can visualize little rootlets growing from the body and grounding deep onto the earth.
From the tip of the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and little finger.
Seeing little rootlets growing from the spaces in between each finger and grounding deeply through the palm of the right hand and the back of the right hand.
To the wrists and growing rootlets up through the forearm and the right arm,
Elbow and inner elbow.
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Deep onto the right armpit.
Growing little rootlets through the right side of the rib cage and to the spaces in between each rib.
Down onto the right waist,
Hip,
Down the right leg,
Thigh and back of thigh.
Growing rootlets from the ankle,
Grounding deeply through the right foot,
Top of the right foot and the sole of the right foot and all five toes.
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and little toe.
Feeling little rootlets growing from the spaces in between each toe,
The whole right foot.
From the heel up,
The whole way through,
The whole right side of the body.
The whole right side of the body all the way through.
Tip of the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and little finger.
Feeling little rootlets growing from the spaces in between each finger and to the left palm and the back of the left hand.
Deep into the left wrist and up the left forearm,
Elbow,
Inner elbow.
Upper arm and growing rootlets deep into the left armpit,
Down the rib cage and into the spaces in between each rib.
From the waist down to the hip and thigh,
Back of thigh.
Knee down to the left foot,
Upper foot and the sole of the foot and all five toes.
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and little toe.
Into the spaces in between each toe and all five toes together.
Feeling the whole left foot grounded and strong from the heel to the left buttock.
All feeling grounded and strong,
Stable and whole.
Left side,
Right side,
Right and left.
Growing rootlets to the parts of the body that connect the left side and the right side.
The rib cage and the pelvis.
From the rib cage into the diaphragm.
Growing little rootlets deep into the pelvic bone.
The whole pelvis,
Front,
Back,
Top.
From the pubic bone to the tailbone and up through the spine.
Every vertebrae and the space between each vertebrae.
Growing little rootlets grounding deeply.
The left and the right side of the lower back.
The right and the left of the middle back.
Left and right of the upper back.
Right shoulder blade and the space between the shoulder blades.
Growing little rootlets up through the neck and the back.
Left eyebrow and right and the space between the eyebrows.
Left and along the bridge of the nose and the tip of the nose.
Left nostril and right.
Upper lip,
Lower lip.
Into the space between the lips.
Chin,
Throat.
Along the right collarbone and the left collarbone.
Growing rootlets deep into the space between the collarbones.
Left breast and right and onto the breastbone in the center.
And at the center,
At the back of the breastbone lies the heart space.
Feeling little rootlets growing from the heart space.
Grounding deeply,
Strong,
Steady,
Safe and whole.
Providing a sense of safety and belonging with every heartbeat.
Feeling into the heartbeat.
Feeling the whole body beating at the vibration of the heart.
Trusting your pace and your rhythm.
Connecting the whole body to the physical world.
Your sense of place in it.
As you inhale to feel the body filling up with air and exhale noticing the air leaving the body.
Inhale to breathe all the way in to the very top of the breath.
And exhaling to empty all the way to the very bottom of the exhale.
As if you could inhale through those little rootlets,
Life force that fill you up all the way to the very top.
And as you exhale you release into the ground feeling fully held and supported by the earth beneath.
Inhaling to feel full.
Exhaling to release and surrender.
Inhale to trust the life force that fills you up into every cell all the way through.
Exhale,
Release and feel fully held sinking onto the surface beneath.
Connecting into earth.
Inviting both sensations of fullness and sinking into the depth at the same time.
Inhaling to fill up and exhaling to release.
Allowing the body to release and feel held.
And to be full with life force to the very top all at the same time.
As if you could visualize yourself lying on the warm earth and feeling its support and steadiness beneath.
Imagine roots growing from your body into the earth.
Connecting it to its solid grounding energy.
Deep connection to the planet.
Feeling rooted in the present moment.
And experiencing the interconnectedness of all life force.
And on this nurturing,
Steady and reliable earth feel a sense of safety and belonging.
Grounded and supported by the earth,
Safe,
Steady and whole.
Feel the body connected to the surface beneath.
Feel the points of contact.
Parts of the body that might feel tight and parts of the body that might feel free and spacious.
Welcoming sounds and noise as you can hear them far away and nearby.
Welcoming the sound of your breath as you inhale and feel the breath coming in at the tip of the nose.
And the air leaving the body as you exhale from the tip of the nose.
Feeling the touch of the air on the skin,
Parts of the body that are covered and uncovered.
And notice the temperature in the body.
A cooler air as you breathe in,
A warmer air as you breathe out.
Anything you can see behind your closed eyelids.
Shapes and shades,
Lights.
And the sensation of moisture behind your eyelids as your eyes rest.
Sensation of moisture inside your mouth,
Around the gums and underneath the tongue.
Welcoming any tastes,
Any smells,
Those that you can name and not name as you gently bring your senses back into this place.
Feeling your body lying here and now.
Softly and gently come back,
Come back,
Come back.
This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Thank you for listening.
