This practice came from something I've noticed in myself recently.
Nothing is particularly wrong.
Life is moving along just fine.
I'm doing the things I need to.
Taking care of myself and yet sometimes life can just start to feel a little heavy.
A little duller than usual.
A little more serious maybe you recognize that feeling too You're doing everything you're supposed to be doing.
But you don't feel quite as carefree.
You don't laugh quite as easily.
And somewhere along the way,
You lose touch with that lighter side of yourself.
We're not going to try to force joy here or make ourselves feel a certain way.
We're just going to make a little room for some lightness again.
So make yourself comfortable.
You might be lying on your back.
On your side,
Your stomach.
Or maybe you prefer to sit for this practice.
There isn't really a right position for yoga nidra.
Just choose whatever feels good in your body today And once you're there.
.
.
Allow the eyes to close down gently.
Take a moment to sense the surface underneath you.
The places where your body is making contact.
The back of the head and shoulders the arms and hands the back of the body.
Bum and legs.
Feeling that solid support underneath you.
Holding you up.
Letting gravity do the work and for the next little while.
There's nowhere else you need to be.
Nothing you need to work out.
Or get right.
Take a slow deep breath in through the nose here.
Feeling the lungs as much as feels comfortable.
And let it go with a long audible sigh.
Again breathing in through the nose and sighing it out through the mouth.
And one more time Full breath in.
And let it all go.
Noticing the body settling a little more into the support beneath you and letting the breath return to its own natural rhythm.
And from here we'll begin moving awareness through the body.
There's nothing you need to do with any of the places I name Just allowing your awareness to arrive there.
And then gently move on with me.
Beginning with the face.
The entire forehead the space between the eyebrows seeing if you can release any tension here.
Perhaps imagine the muscles of the forehead smoothing out to the eyes resting in their sockets.
The cheek.
Nose,
Laps.
The jaw.
Bringing your attention inside the mouth notice the whole tongue the tip of the tongue.
To the roots.
Sensing the whole tongue.
The roof of the mouth the floor of the mouth.
Allowing awareness to travel down through the throat into the neck.
To both shoulders.
Both upper arms.
Owl Pose 4 times.
Rests.
The palms of both hands.
The backs of both hands.
The fingers.
Sensing all ten fingers.
Awareness moving back up now through the arms to their shoulders the chest.
Ribs the whole stomach.
Seeing if you can soften a little more here.
Nothing to hold in or push against sensing the whole belly at ease Awareness moving down to the pelvis.
Both hips.
Ties.
To both knees now the shins.
Angles.
Tops of both feet.
Tips of all ten toes.
To their souls of both feet.
The heels curves.
Backs of both knees hamstrings a bomb.
Lower back.
Middle of the back.
Upper back.
Backs of the shoulders Back of the neck.
Hey.
Noticing the weight of the whole head to the crown of the head and now giving some time for awareness to gently expand throughout the whole body from the crown of the head right down to the tips of the toes.
The whole body.
Something awareness bringing your awareness now to the breath.
No need to change its rhythm here in any way and if as soon as I say that you find yourself controlling the breath That's completely normal.
Just noticing the natural breath as it is right now perhaps noticing the gentle rise and fall of the chest the rising and falling of the belly the body breathing all by itself and could you bring your attention now to the upper belly to the area just below where the ribs meet.
And on the next inhale.
Could you imagine or sense?
Breath coming in through this point and on the exhale flowing back out through the same point nothing to get wrong here just allowing the breath to travel in and out through this point in the upper belly And on the next inhale.
Could you imagine the breath entering through that point in the upper belly?
And traveling upwards through the center of the body all the way to the crown of the head and as you exhale following that same pathway back down from the crown to the upper belly.
Breathing in from the upper belly all the way up to the crown I'm breathing out from the crown all the way down to the upper body just following the natural breath here upper belly to crown as you breathe in crown to upper belly as you breathe out letting the breath move at its own pace releasing that now and allowing awareness to gently land at the center of the forehead giving time for your awareness to settle at the center of the forehead And as you rest here,
I'm going to offer a few images.
There's no need to be able to see them clearly in your mind.
You might just sense them.
Feel them.
Remember them.
Or just allow the words to pass through your awareness and knowing here that whatever way these images arrive for you today is exactly the right way could you bring to mind their feasts?
Bare feet on warm grass.
The feeling of the grass underneath your feet warmth of the ground sunlight coming through a window falling across the face the warmth of the sun against your skin standing at the edge of the sea cool water rushing over your face the sand shifting underneath them as the water pulls away a soaking wet dog coming out of the sea shaking the water from its coast.
Droplets flying in every direction sitting on a swing and then backwards and forwards the feeling of air against your face as you move crisp white sheets hanging on a washing line moving gently in the breathing fresh air passing through them a lemon.
The waxy,
Bright yellow skin.
That fresh citrusy scent.
Uh summer shower worm.
Raindrops against the face soft sound of water falling around you that earthy scent of freshly damp ground letting those images go now whole body resting nothing to do Nowhere to be.
Just noticing the whole body resting whole body effortless.
Bringing awareness back to the room now sensing the whole body lying here in your own space becoming aware of its shape It's fine.
The space the body occupies noticing the temperature of the air against your skin the sands around you beginning to bring a little movement back into the body perhaps rolling the wrists and the ankles.
Slowly turning the head from side to side and when you're ready taking a slightly fuller breath in and a long breath out Maybe stretching the arms overhead.
Lengthening through the whole body and in your own time allowing the eyes to open.
Thanks so much for practicing with me today
