I'm Kumari Skye and I'm excited to take you on a deep rest journey this evening.
Go ahead and get yourself as comfortable as possible.
You can really be in whatever position feels most comfortable for you in this moment.
If it's bedtime,
Perhaps you would do this while you're in your bed.
But you could also lay on your couch or on the floor on a yoga mat.
This is a really important part of the practice is the setup for it.
And the reason for that is when we take the time and care to really support our bodies,
We are so much more readily able to relax and find that deep state of rest.
That is definitely one of the benefits.
This practice can be equal.
So we're going to do it for about 40 minutes or so.
So it is equal literally to two to three hours of sleep because in the practice we're moving through the brainwave states just like we do when we're sleeping.
And so even if you don't fall asleep during this,
That's the whole point is that you still get that sense of deep rest.
Now it's totally natural and normal to fall asleep and you really don't have to fight that if you don't want to.
I find that most people will wake up again when I start talking about coming away from the practice.
I know I do every night when I listen to Yoga Nidra.
All right.
So let us begin.
I will be guiding you out of the practice.
If you're not currently using something to cover your eyes,
You can if you'd like,
Or you can just let your eyes close down.
I'm just starting to follow the rhythmic cadence of your breath.
Simply tuning in to the rise and fall of your breath,
Guiding you inward and then expand awareness throughout your whole body,
Noticing your arms and your legs,
Your back,
Your torso,
Your head,
And the feeling of softening and letting go might not happen immediately,
But trust that the systematic set of techniques that make up Yoga Nidra will guide you there.
So there's nothing to do,
It's effortless,
Listening,
Moving from sound to sound in your space,
Maybe hearing some sounds in my space,
Becoming very present and aware,
Yet at the same time,
Soft and easy.
Feel the weight of your hips and buttocks and making any other little adjustments that might help you become even 5% more comfortable.
Let's focus on the breath a little bit,
Feeling the movement of your breath in the area of the abdomen,
Feeling your diaphragm at work,
So a diaphragmatic breath that could feel like your belly is subtly rising and falling.
And then can you feel and sense the breath happening inside the ribcage,
Sensing the lungs inside the body,
And the action of the filling and the emptying of the lungs,
Which in turn ever so subtly expands the ribcage.
You don't need to change your breath in any way.
Now feeling your breath between your collarbones and your nose,
And maybe a sense of an upward motion from the collarbones up to the nose.
And now putting this all together for Dhirgha Pranayama,
The three-part yogic breath,
Think of each of these sections as a little bus stop for your breath.
So inhaling,
Belly,
Ribcage,
Upper chest,
And then exhaling,
Upper chest,
Ribcage,
Belly.
See if you can feel each of these areas subtly expanding and moving with your inhale,
And then just softening or even shrinking with your exhale.
This is a very subtle practice.
Again,
You don't need to change your breath and make it bigger.
Belly,
Ribcage,
Upper chest,
And release,
Upper chest,
Ribcage,
Belly.
Continue to take some time to be with this breath,
Hypnotizing yourself to a deeper inner connection.
And now upon this next exhale,
Allow that focus on the breath to dissolve and bring your attention to the space of your heart,
Your energetic heart center at the center of your chest,
The space of your heart chakra.
And this is where we find the sankalpa.
Many of you are working with the sankalpa from practice to practice.
But if you're not,
Create an intention.
This is an intention that should be spoken as if it's already done.
I trust in the divine unfolding of my life is one option.
Another example is I am love.
Call in your sankalpa,
Create your intention.
And when you're ready,
Repeat that three times.
This is a powerful practice that helps your subconscious move into alignment with what you want.
It's like you're feeding yourself what you do want.
And in that process,
What no longer serves you simply releases energetically.
Now we'll move around the body in the rotation of consciousness.
This is a space like mental acupuncture.
Placing your awareness in each of these places I mention helps to soften,
To bring light to these areas,
Guiding you and your body into a deeper state of rest.
We're starting at the feet.
Could you sense the soles of your feet and all 10 toes?
The soles of feet and all 10 toes.
Now the tops of the feet,
The ankle,
The right calf and shin,
The left calf and shin,
The kneecaps behind the knees,
The top of the right thigh and the back of the right thigh,
The top of the left thigh and the back of the left thigh.
Sense the hip points and now the outer hips and the seat,
The whole pelvis and waist.
Sense the whole lower half of your body,
The whole lower half of your body.
And now attention moving to the palms,
Perhaps a sense of warmth here.
And then all 10 fingers,
All 10 fingers in the palms of the hands,
On the tops of the hands,
Both wrists,
The inner forearm of the right side and the outer.
Now on the left,
The inner part of the forearm and the other side,
The creases of both elbows and both elbow bones,
The biceps,
The fronts of the arm and then the triceps behind,
The fronts of the shoulders and the backs of the shoulders into the shoulder blades,
The lower back,
A sense of the abdomen,
Rib cage and chest,
The inside of the throat,
The jaw,
The right ear,
The left ear,
Both ears listening,
The cheekbones,
The tip of the nose,
The right eyeball in its socket and the lid covering,
And the left eyeball in its socket and the lid,
The third eye,
The forehead and the top of the head.
And now a sense of the entire scalp and the whole head,
The whole upper body from the waist up,
Sensing the upper body.
And now the lower body,
The whole body together,
The whole body moving within,
Within,
Still,
Without,
Radiant body,
Deeply resting,
Feel the gentle cadence of the breath.
Again,
Simply observing the breath,
Allow awareness to rest at the center of the chest,
Again,
The energetic heart center.
Could you imagine an emerald green light glowing here?
With each inhale,
This glowing light emanating from the chest expands.
And with each exhale,
It moves back into the heart.
Sense,
Feel,
Or imagine breathing in and out of the energetic heart center.
And however you're experiencing this is perfect.
There's no right way to do it.
Breathing in and out of the heart center,
Letting that go and transferring all of that attention into the right palm and all five fingers.
Sense the energy in the right palm and fingers.
Now,
Imagine you could breathe the breath from the right palm up the arm to the heart center,
And then exhale from the heart center back down the right arm to the palm.
And you might see green or energy here,
Imagining breath moving as a current of energy from the palm to the heart space and from the heart space back down the palm.
And the next time you land at the palm again,
Stay there and keep sensing and feeling the right palm.
Now,
Take that awareness to the left palm and fingers.
The left palm and fingers.
And again,
Sense,
Feel,
Or imagine the current of your breath coming up the left arm to the heart center and back down the arm to the palm.
Imagining your breath as a wave of energy that moves back and forth.
Letting that go,
Coming back to the heart center.
Now,
Might you feel your breath in the whole body.
Sense the breath in the whole body as if your whole body were doing the breathing,
Not just the lungs.
Continue to just notice the inhale and the exhale happening.
Feeling the body resting.
Feeling supported by the earth beneath you and aware of the space around you.
Now,
We'll begin to explore the experience and felt sense of connection.
We'll start by feeling the points of contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
The back of the head,
The shoulder,
The arms,
The hips,
The legs,
The heels.
Notice how the earth is meeting you.
The deep knowing that you're not separate from it.
Feel the continuous exchange of support,
You and the earth.
Now,
Feel the ambient air touching the skin and the sense of even the smallest amount of light beyond your closed eyes.
In relationship with everything around you.
Now,
Bring awareness to your breath.
The air inhaled has been breathed before by trees,
By oceans,
By countless living beings.
The body is breathing in what the world has exhaled.
The body releasing the breath back.
A sense of a gentle exchange.
Might you feel into this web of connection.
Your heartbeat,
A part of a greater rhythm.
The subtle hum of life moving through this body.
Imagine roots extending from the body into the earth.
Not heavy,
Just aware that there is a belonging.
This body connected to the ground and to the sky,
To the unseen life all around.
Supported in this connection,
Held within something larger.
And now gently shifting to explore the experience and felt sense of separateness.
Bring awareness to the boundary of your skin.
The outline of your body.
Notice where you end and where the space around you begins.
Sense the uniqueness of the physical form.
The breath moving inside the body.
The sensations occurring within the body.
This being,
Its own history,
Its own perception,
Its own inner world.
Imagine a gentle light outlining the body.
And this body sovereign within its own space.
Whole and complete and independent.
The heart beating in its own rhythm.
Not isolated,
But separate.
Sense the body as defined.
Now bring both experiences into awareness,
Connected and separate.
Belonging and individual.
Notice that both are true.
And that this being is a part of the whole.
This body is breathing the same air as all beings.
Yet not another breathes exactly as this body does.
Resting in this balance.
Simply aware.
Let this understanding settle into the body.
Allow the imagery to completely dissolve and come back to the simple awareness of the body resting.
Observing the body resting.
Bringing awareness to the space behind the forehead.
Allowing spaciousness to fill the whole body.
From behind the forehead,
Permeating the whole body all the way down to the toes.
Simply sensing.
Resting back.
Seeing a flame flickering in the mind's eye.
This flame symbolizing the ever-changing nature of this being that is you.
Now imagine that the flame begins to expand ever so gently.
Illuminating your whole being.
Clarity.
Spaciousness.
And receptivity.
Intuition.
Resting back here.
Open and receptive to the wisdom of your true nature.
Resting here.
Floating.
Floating.
Divine oneness.
Bringing back the awareness of the sankalpa or intention.
Can you repeat this positive intention back to yourself three more times?
Trusting and knowing that what you truly desire will unfold.
That your intention will be realized.
Just basking here for a little while longer.
Allowing the medicine of deep rest to heal and soothe every part of your being.
Invitation to return from the state of yoga nidra.
Can you begin to encourage a few more deep breaths?
Feeling your life force energy,
Your prana,
As the breath filling and emptying.
Rest attention on that cadence of breath.
Pulling in an even deeper breath next time.
Come back to any sounds in the room or space you're in.
And the sense of your body.
And the space.
Aware of where your shape ends.
And the space around you.
Start.
Moving your fingers and your toes in this space.
And starting to call in movement to the whole body.
Taking as much time as you'd like.
Moving as slow and mindfully as you can.
Let's take a few deep cleansing breaths together.
Inhaling.
As always,
Taking your own amount of time you'd like to come away from the practice.
Maybe include some reflection.
You might like to do some gentle stretching.
Notice how you're feeling.
Maybe even starting to open your eyes and coming back into the awareness of your space through your vision.
Moving on with your day or evening.
Starting with a new sense of clarity and peace and ease.
Stretching.
Kind of recollecting maybe how that experience was for you.
Maybe there's one word that describes your experience or how you're feeling right now.
Bliss.
Thank you so much for meditating with me.
I hope that this practice was valuable to you.
And if you thought so,
Please give me a thumbs up or even a subscribe.
And if you ever want to practice with me live,
You can join me on Insight Timer every Sunday evening at 7pm Mountain Time.
