Welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice for deep rest.
Yoga Nidra is a non-doing practice.
An invitation to rest.
And receive.
To go from thinking and doing.
To sensing and being.
There is nothing you need to do.
And no way to do this practice wrong.
Allow yourself to settle in.
Let go of effort.
And receive the rest your body and mind needs.
Begin by finding a comfortable resting position.
Lying on your back.
Or resting in any way that feels supportive and at ease.
Using any props.
Perhaps an eye covering to block out any light.
Let the body begin to fully come into stillness.
And rest.
Allowing your awareness to come into your body.
Notice the pressure points the body has with the surface below.
In the back of the head.
The shoulders.
Arms.
The back of the ribs.
The hips and the legs.
Let the eyes soften back into their sockets.
Aware of sight,
Even with eyes closed.
Let the jaw relax fully.
Allow the weight of the world to flow off your shoulders.
Let the arms relax fully all the way to the hands and fingers.
Relax the chest.
Your abdomen.
Feeling the gentle rise and fall.
Relax the hips so fully that they could melt into the surface below.
Let all tension flow out of the legs all the way to the tip of the toes and beyond.
Tension flowing out of the whole body.
Each exhale releases more tension.
Imagine a blanket of relaxation.
Enveloping your whole body.
And sense the air flow around the tips of the nostrils.
Sensing the air moving up the nasal passage.
Allow your breath to be natural.
Simply notice it.
The breath flows in.
And the breath flows out.
Allowing each exhale to carry you further.
And further into stillness.
Into rest.
If thoughts arise,
Simply notice them.
And now let all your attention settle at the heart space.
Feeling the rhythm of your own heartbeat.
And here you might ask yourself,
What is it that your heart truly desires?
And then making that into a positive statement.
And intention.
Or Sankalpa.
If you don't have one you might use My body and mind receive the rest they need.
Or I allow myself to rest,
Receive,
And restore.
Choose one of those if you don't have your own and repeat mentally to yourself.
Three times.
And now we will rotate awareness throughout the body.
To bring you further into rest.
Just allow your attention to rest on each body part as it is mentioned.
The space between the eyebrows.
Pit of the throat.
Center of the chest.
Right shoulder.
Upper arm.
Elbow Forearm.
Rest.
Home.
Tip of the right thumb.
Tip of the first finger.
Tip of the second finger.
Tip of the third finger.
Tip of the fourth finger.
Back of the hand.
Rest.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
Center of the chest.
Left shoulder.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forum.
Rest.
Palm.
Tip of the left thumb.
Tip of the first finger.
Tip of the third finger.
Tip of the fourth finger.
Back of the hand.
Rest.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
Center of the chest.
Navel center.
Ball of the pelvis.
Right hip.
Thigh.
Me.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Heal.
Sole of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth toe.
Top of the foot.
Ankle.
Knee.
Ball of the pelvis.
Left hip.
Thigh.
Me.
Lower leg.
Ankle.
Heal.
Sole of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second.
Third.
Forth.
5th toe.
The top of the foot.
Ankle,
Me.
The whole pelvis.
Navel center.
Center of the chest.
Pit of the throat.
Tongue.
Upper teeth and gums.
Lower teeth and gums.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Tip of the nose.
Right nostril.
Left nostril.
Air flow through both nostrils.
Right eye.
Island.
The space between the top and bottom eyelids.
Left eye.
Island.
The space between the top and the bottom eyelids.
The brow center.
Crown of the head.
Now notice the whole body at once.
From the crown of the head to the tips of the toes.
Notice the body breathing itself.
Feel the gentle movement.
Of the body.
With the breath.
Let your awareness be fully absorbed.
By the movement of the body with the breath.
And now imagine yourself standing before a beautiful garden gate.
On the gate,
You see the words.
The Garden of Rest.
You feel drawn to this place of rest.
And you reach out and gently open the gate.
And step inside.
A narrow garden path stretches out before you.
Winding between tall trees and flowering plants.
The air is warm.
And fresh.
The fragrance of flowers is carried on the breeze.
Sunlight filters softly through the leaves overhead.
Creating patches of light and shadow along the path.
You feel soothed as you begin to walk along this path.
And a deep sense of peace envelops you.
With each step,
You feel yourself leaving the outside world behind.
The path curves gently through the garden.
You notice flowers blooming along both sides of the path.
Their colors are rich and vibrant.
You hear birds singing in the trees.
And you notice the soothing soundscape of the leaves of the aspen tree rustling in the wind.
The sound soothes you deeper into stillness.
And rest.
Somewhere further in the garden,
You hear the bubbling sound of water.
You follow the sound.
And the path opens into a clearing.
And in the center is a small stone fountain.
Surrounded by flowers and small shrubs.
Water flows gently over the edge.
Creating a soft,
Soothing sound.
You walk toward the fountain.
And nearby is a shady space under an aspen tree to rest.
You settle beneath the tree.
Feel the earth supporting you.
And the strength of the tree as you lean against the tree.
And you notice that you can see the color of the blue sky.
Amongst the color of the green shimmering aspen leaves.
You close your eyes.
You listen to the sound of the leaves.
The sound of the fountain.
The sound of the birds.
You are completely at ease here.
There's nothing you need to do.
Or solve or understand.
Simply rest.
This is your very own garden of rest.
A place of stillness.
A place of peace.
And stay here resting.
And allowing yourself to be completely present.
In this beautiful,
Peaceful garden.
That is just for you.
And now invite back your intention.
If you were using my body and mind,
Receive the rest they need.
Or I allow myself to rest,
Receive,
And restore.
Repeat mentally three times.
And now sense the spontaneous natural breath.
Moving in and out of the body.
Begin to arise to the surface of awareness.
As if coming up from the depth of the ocean.
Aware of the body resting here.
Aware of the space around you.
Aware of any sounds that you hear.
Take a gentle inhale through the nose.
And then exhale out through the mouth.
Do that again,
Inhaling through the nose.
This time you could sigh it out through the mouth.
You might notice the sense of balance.
Peace and rest you feel.
Allow yourself to linger in this.
You might begin to make some gentle movements.
As though coming out of a deep sleep.
Moving the fingers and the toes.
Perhaps circling the wrists and the ankles.
Allowing your head to roll side to side.
You might want to take a big stretch like a nice morning yawn.
And if you need to stay in silence and stillness longer,
Allow yourself to do that.
Or you can bring your knees in towards your chest.
Maybe circling the knees around.
Massaging the low back area.
And then rolling over to one side.
Take your time.
There's no rush.
When you're ready,
Come up to a seated position.
Taking your palms together.
Placing your thumbs at your heart center.
And let your head bow down towards your fingers.
Acknowledging.
And honoring your body.
Acknowledging and honoring your mind.
Acknowledging and honoring your spirit.
Namaste.
