Welcome to this yoga nidra practice.
Take a moment to find a comfortable position,
Grabbing any blankets or cushions you need to rest your head and maybe something under the knees to support the low back.
Cover yourself so you're going to stay warm throughout the practice and then nestle on down onto your back,
Letting the legs splay out and the feet flop.
Turn your palms upwards towards the sky,
Rolling that pinky finger on each hand a little more to really let the shoulders soften down towards the earth.
Allow those arms to be a bit away so there's some space under the armpits allowing the airflow around the body.
Lengthen the back of the head away from the body,
Creating some space for the thinking mind to relax down and just again readjust and nestle on in.
See if you can get that bit more comfortable so you can stay still throughout the practice.
Once you're settled,
Taking a nice big inhale and then open your mouth and sigh and let it all go.
We're going to do two more of those,
Just nice big inhales and a big letting go sigh.
Let the body get heavy and sink into the ground.
One more inhale and a big sigh,
Letting it go,
Exhale and allow the mouth to softly close,
Letting the lips widen and slightly turn up.
Feel the teeth gently closing and the tongue resting behind the teeth in the bottom of the mouth.
Now the eyelids to caress your eyeballs,
Softening the forehead and letting that widen out towards the temples.
Just be aware of the sounds in your space,
Knowing where you are.
Acknowledge them one by one.
Now think of a place or a time in your life,
Real or imaginary,
Where you felt really safe and secure.
Conjure up that image and feeling and really imagine yourself there right now.
Know that this place is available to you at any time throughout the practice should you feel you need it,
But also any time in your daily life.
Let that place go and come back to the feeling of the body on your support.
Those points in touch,
Heavy,
Weighted down by gravity,
Holding you free,
Full support underneath you.
And then acknowledge the spaces between your body and your support,
The ankles,
Perhaps knees,
Low back and neck.
Feel the space and invisible support.
And then be aware of those light and heavy spaces,
Finding the whole of the body supported,
The whole of the body held,
The whole shape of the body.
And then take a moment to set the intention to follow my voice throughout this yoga nidra practice.
If your mind drifts and your focus wanders,
Just coming back to my voice.
Simple and aware,
Keeping an awareness in the practice.
Forgive yourself should your mind wander,
Knowing and trusting that it is serving you whatever you need best in this moment.
Come to your intention,
A personal resolve of something that you wish to come true in your life.
Repeat it to yourself three times in the present tense with true feeling like it's something you're living in this moment.
I'm going to come to the rotation of consciousness where we go in rapid movement around your body,
Focusing your attention.
You begin inside the mouth,
Coming to the visualization or feeling of the base of the mouth,
Inside right cheek,
Inside left cheek,
Roof of the mouth,
The teeth,
Tongue,
Inside of the mouth,
The jaw,
Sinuses,
Right eye socket,
Left eye socket,
Middle of the mind,
Right ear canal,
Right ear,
Middle of the mind,
Left ear canal,
Left ear,
Middle of the mind,
Inside of the head,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Right side of the head,
Left side of the head,
Forehead,
Nose,
Point where the lips touch,
The whole of the head,
Base of the throat,
Right shoulder,
Right upper arm,
Right elbow,
Right forearm,
Right wrist,
Back of hand,
Palm,
Thumb,
Index finger,
Third finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
Right hand,
Right arm,
Right armpit,
Right side waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Top of foot,
Sole of foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Right foot,
Right leg,
Right side,
The right side of the body,
Base of throat,
Left shoulder,
Left upper arm,
Elbow,
Left forearm,
Wrist,
Back of the left hand,
Palm,
Thumb,
Index finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Pinky finger,
Left hand,
Left arm,
Left armpit,
Left side waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Left lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Top of foot,
Sole of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Left foot,
Left leg,
Left side body,
Whole left side of the body,
Base of throat,
Center of the chest,
Navel,
Pubic bone,
Whole of the abdomen,
Front of the torso,
Front of the body,
Groin,
Tailbone,
Low back,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Spine from tail to head,
Back of the torso,
Back of the body,
Right side of the body,
Left side of the body,
Front of the body,
Back of the body,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body.
Come to the abdomen.
Rest your awareness in the breath of the belly.
Notice its gentle and subtle movements.
Draw the awareness especially to the breath in the low abdomen,
In the pelvic bone.
Observe the flow of soft,
Subtle movement,
Rising on the inhale and softening on the exhale.
And either sense feel or visualize the air coming in and out directly of this area.
Breathing fully and freely into the low abdomen.
Do not change this breath.
Allow the flow to be its natural rhythm.
If choosing to visualize,
See a beautiful orange light coming in and out of this low abdominal area.
On each inhale,
Notice the energy and vitality coming into the body as it expands and lifts.
Just allow the exhale to take care of itself.
Begin to cultivate and expand that sense of energy and vitality with each inhale,
Letting it ripple through the whole of the body,
Feeling vitalized,
Energized,
Full of life.
Think of a time when you felt so full of light and vibrant,
You were blossoming and bursting at the seams with energy.
Sense that energizing feeling through the whole of your body in this moment.
And release that feeling and come to the exhale.
The softening,
Easing and letting go of the breath as the belly draws inward,
Allowing the focus to come in when tired and resting.
Notice the awareness,
The exhale,
The sense of rest,
Letting go and being tired.
Perhaps think of a time or a place when you felt that sense of deep rest,
A deep sense of tiredness through the whole of the body,
Bringing the energy inward.
And then return to that sense of the inhale,
Energizing and lifting,
Expanding,
Vibrant and vitalized.
Let the inhales lift you as you sense into the whole of the body that feeling of energized vibrancy.
And then letting that go with an exhale,
Releasing it into that rest,
Tiredness and inward focus.
Is it possible to hold these two sensations together?
Perhaps even taking a moment to hold the breath,
Acknowledging the pause between the inhale and the exhale cycles.
And then release the focus of the breath and of the energy,
Bring the awareness to the point between the eyebrow center and in the shape in front of you.
Visualize and see a crystal ball.
Notice the images and light shapes and forms within the crystal ball.
As you gaze into this crystal ball,
Allow yourself to enter into this mystical world.
Find yourself in the darkness of a night.
Notice the stars and the skies above.
Feel your feet standing in a field.
Dawn has risen and it is springtime in the early morning.
In the field,
Notice the flowers opening and starting to spring with life.
Observe any smells and sounds in this beautiful spring field.
There are poppies in the field and by the poppies is a beautiful young girl dancing in a white dress.
She looks so pure.
She is iridescent,
Sparkling in the light.
Watch her as she dances.
Feel the purity in her movement as she sparkles in the light,
Like an angel.
As she dances,
She moves towards a harp.
As she sits and plays with the strings.
Watching the strings becomes a spinning wheel.
Allow your focus to be drawn into the spinning wheel.
The rhythm of the spinning,
Mesmerising,
Hypnotising you through time and through space.
You look up and it is summertime.
A beautiful garden filled with roses of every colour.
Do you see a woman pregnant with life,
Sitting at the end of the spinning wheel?
She moves gracefully through the garden,
Nurturing and caring for the plants.
Sharing the abundance of the foods that are blossoming with the children around her.
There is a kindness in her face and a strength in her hands as she holds and plays with the children and shares the abundance of foods available.
As she undoes her hair and takes off her clothes,
She dances under the glorious sun,
Celebrating and sharing in the abundance around.
As she dances under the sun,
She moves towards the edge of the garden,
To a river.
Standing at the river,
The water is so clear,
It's like a magical mirror.
Stand beside the woman and look into the mirror,
See the faces of all that you have known.
Hear the trickle of the water,
Like a rhythm pulsing through the faces as they change.
Feel time moving by.
Come aware that the woman and you are standing in a woodland.
It is coming to the evening.
The sun is setting.
Trees have turned to golden or terminal colours.
Leaves are falling.
The woman looks at the choice of some paths to take.
She is older and she gently walks through the path of the woodland.
We follow and arrive in an apple orchard.
She gently picks the apples,
Glistening red in the sunset eve,
Carefully placed into a basket.
Take the basket,
Share them out amongst all those and around her.
Enjoy and share the company,
Gifts within the baskets,
Available for all.
And as the evening sets,
The woman turns and walks back towards the woodland.
We follow her to a gingerbread house.
Inside it is warm,
With a fire burning.
Looking into the big,
Round black pan,
Stirring the food.
Connect to the rhythm of the stirring.
Feel its texture through your body,
Mesmerising,
Hypnotising you through time and space.
And when you next look up,
The woman is sat in a chair and night has fallen.
As she sits and smiles in her chair,
You see that iridescent quality in her skin again.
The light which she radiates in this night time glow.
Watch that iridescent light gently fade into the dark.
And left in her chair,
You see that iridescent light is a seed.
Hold the seed in your hands.
Place the hands over the low abdomen.
Looking at the night sky,
Whatever the phase of the moon.
Repeat your sankalpa,
That personal resolve from the beginning of your practice,
Three times with that same true feeling and feeling.
Feel the body lying on your support,
The points of contact,
Heavy and connected to the earth.
As you feel the body connected to the earth,
Notice the textures of the fabric on the skin.
Feel the air beneath the nose.
Begin to hear the sounds in the space that you are in.
Begin to feel more present.
Start to spread the breath through the body,
Creating little movements into the periphery.
And then gently allow those movements to ripple on through to the centre of your core.
Maybe taking a stretch or giving yourself a hug.
And gently rolling onto one side,
Taking a moment to rest.
And when you're ready and feel very present and back in your body,
Maybe giving yourself a little hug or a rub of the legs and arms to ensure that you're very back in the room.
Bring yourself to seated.
Take your time before you go about the rest of your day.
Have a wonderful day.
