Welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice.
The ancient yogis understood Yoga Nidra as a way to enter conscious rest allowing profound healing and insight.
Lay yourself down now in the position of Shavasana.
Allowing the whole body to rest and be comfortable.
Palms facing upwards letting the fingers curl gently in.
Feet flopping out to the sides completely relaxed.
Really give yourself time to make sure you are fully comfortable.
So notice if you could be 5-10% more comfortable and adjust your nest,
Your setting.
And then once you've found this optimum resting position know that there is nothing specifically required of you here.
There is nothing you have to do.
The practice is a support for your restoration for your nervous system.
My voice is here to be received as simply as easily as you would receive the rays of the sun.
So not striving or trying to make anything happen during this practice.
As best you can staying relaxed but alert.
Aware of receiving Yoga Nidra.
But don't worry if you drift in and out of sleep,
It's perfectly natural to do so.
We'll start by bringing the awareness to the breath,
The breath being the link between the body and the mind.
No need to change anything,
Just let your awareness be drawn to the breath.
Begin to feel and observe the rise and the fall,
The ebb and flow.
Begin to open your senses,
Taste inside the mouth.
Observe any sounds around you other than my voice that might be in the room.
The sounds outside of the room and the subtlety of the sounds inside of your body.
The vision drawing inwards,
Away from that sensory input of sight.
Feel the backs of the eyes can open and gaze over your internal landscape now.
Drawing attention away from the external,
Spreading your vision inside.
And now set your intention for this guided rest.
Ask yourself what your deepest desire is,
Your most heartfelt desire.
And think of it as a seed you are planting in preparation for your deep rest.
Don't strive too hard for it and if you struggle,
Maybe just a simple I am statement such as I am free,
I am at peace,
I am practicing yoga nidra.
Once you have your intention,
Repeat it inwardly to yourself and really believe that intention as being a present statement,
Really feel what it is to be your deepest desire.
Attention drawing back to the breath without needing to control it,
The breath just breathing you,
The simplicity of being breathed,
The edges of the body spreading,
Softening,
Dissolving.
Bring awareness to the hollow of the throats now,
Your centre of expression,
Your voice and feel as you draw your attention there,
You draw in warmth and light.
And feel that warmth and light spread into the space around the jaw and the tongue,
Let that warmth spread and fill the whole mouth,
The gums and spreading out further still to the cheeks,
The nose,
Awareness to the air moving in and out of the nostrils,
Feel the air enter in through the entrance to the nostrils and feeling the air release out of the nostrils.
Turn your full attention and awareness to the space between the eyebrows,
Feel the warmth spread between the eyebrows,
Across the face,
To the ears and the sides of the neck and back down to the hollow of the throat.
Now feel both shoulders at the same time with full awareness,
Glide that awareness down to both upper arms,
Both elbows together,
Wrists,
Palms of the hands,
Backs of the hands,
Left and right tip of thumbs,
First fingers,
Second fingers,
Ring fingers and little fingers.
Feel the space in between the fingers,
Feel a sensation of spreading and broadening around the hands,
Each finger and each fingertip flowing with energy.
Feel a widening of the space around you,
Draw your attention now to the chest and upper back and feel the ribcage,
Middle back,
Front of the hip.
Feel the sensation around the hips,
Back of the hips,
Feel the sensation around the thighs,
The space behind the knees,
Shifting the attention down the lower legs to the calves,
The heels,
The tops of the feet and each of your toes splitting your attention between left and right side,
The big toes,
First toes,
Second toes and little toes.
Drawing your mind's eye to the tips of the toes,
The space in between the toes and just beyond,
A spreading,
Broadening,
Turning your attention to the soles of the feet.
Feeling the sensation of the entire body now,
All at once,
With complete awareness.
Feeling the currents within the body,
Soles of the feet rising up through the legs,
Through the centre channel of the spine,
Through to the very top of the head,
Across the face,
Down the front of the body and to the tips of the toes again.
Feel each individual sensation melting into one mass of sensation,
An awareness of the entire body as a whole and yet an awareness to all the subtleties and the micro parts of you that make your whole being.
Let the awareness continue to sink in deeper,
Feel the body surrendering more into the support beneath you,
A heaviness in the muscles and the bones.
Can you go deeper still and feel the energy behind the sensation?
Bring yourself now to imagine the sensation of freedom,
Of lightness,
Almost a separation from your physical form and yet maintaining total awareness that you are in this physical form.
Identity,
Space,
Notice what remains,
Bring attention to the heart space and with full awareness of the heart space come to revisit the intention that you set.
Close,
Begin to drop back into the physical body,
Notice the shape of your body,
The outline of elation from soles of the feet all the way to the crown of the head.
Circling through wrists and ankles to chest,
Giving a rock side to side to massage out the spine,
The hips,
Taking your time to come back with a smile to your face knowing those seeds have been planted.
The seeds of your heart's deepest desire and as you move about the rest of your day or evening the seed will begin to grow.
Move slow,
Be gentle with yourself,
All blessings,
Sat Nam.
