Maybe this is your first time with yoga nidra so I'll give a really short introduction to the practice.
Sometimes this is referred to as yogic sleep and it's where the body sleeps but the mind,
The subconscious,
Stays awake and aware to my guidance and what we're doing is we're using a systematic set of techniques that bring your body into a state of deep rest much like when you're resting in bed at night and it happens really quickly though in the in the big picture.
This is where the body regenerates,
Renews,
Heals,
Calibrates all the all the really important things and this is so healing for the body and the mind that we're regulating the nervous system,
We're dis-identifying from the thinking mind and we're guiding ourselves into a deep state that as I mentioned is healing but the really big piece of it is that this is where you connect with your true nature.
In yoga nidra this state is called turiya.
It's that liminal space between waking and sleeping and it usually happens toward the very end of yoga nidra where you might feel like you're kind of floating or detached and it might not happen every time you practice it but but that in itself takes you into more of a place to recognize who you really are and so in that way this practice can up level your life in a really powerful way and there's so much more to say about yoga nidra but that's just a little bit for now and all you need to do is be comfortable and listen to my words.
There's a chance you might feel like you completely drift off and stop hearing me.
What we found is the subconscious is always listening.
You're still getting benefits from the practice so yay.
Let's take a moment and hear sounds in our spaces.
Moving from sound to sound.
And then begin to hear the sound of your own breath and the felt sense of your breath in the nostrils.
Begin to sense the front side of your body.
You might notice any sensations here like a blanket or your clothing or even the ambient air in the space on your skin.
Expand awareness even more beyond your body to all the space that lies between you and the top of whatever you're in.
And then imagine the sky beyond that.
And pull all this awareness back into the center of your body and then spread awareness on the back side of your body.
Feel your body meeting the earth.
And this little awareness of the action of gravity.
Sensing your body and its weight.
And the felt sense of the bones inside your body,
Your muscles.
Might you imagine all the veins and arteries and your organs and your heart beating,
Pumping.
Imagine a web-like structure,
Your fascia.
And all the skin on your body.
Fully present to your body right here,
Right now.
This time,
Feel your breath expand in your chest.
Now expanding in the chest and the belly.
Tuning into that sense of your body moving with each breath.
Filling and emptying like a wave.
Your precious life force energy shapeshifting into calm and peace.
All of your tissues,
Your nervous system,
So,
So receptive to states of deep breath.
Take a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Softly blow it out through pursed lips.
Do that a few more times,
Really consciously filling up all the way.
But also consciously pressing out all the breath.
Can you feel your respiratory muscles squeeze in?
Now we'll breathe to a count.
Ready?
Inhale,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Hold,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Sensing how the body's really responding.
All your muscles,
So soft,
So relaxed.
Let's take another one of those counted breaths.
Breathe in,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Hold,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Exhale,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Feeling the peace,
Feeling the ease.
The breath effortless now.
Welcoming your sankalpa.
And if you're not currently working with a sankalpa,
You could create an intention.
Speak this intention as if it's already done.
I am practicing self-care every day,
Is an example.
Or I trust the divine unfolding of my life.
Go ahead and repeat that three times when you're ready in your mind.
Next,
We'll move around the body.
And you can place your attention on each area that's mentioned.
Resting awareness,
Sensing energy or sensation in all of these places.
Like we're flowing around the body,
Setting little sparkles of relaxation in each area.
Beginning with the right thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And index finger.
And then the left thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And pinky.
And sensing all the tips of the fingers and the thumb.
And then become aware of the palm of the right hand,
The top of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
And the whole right shoulder,
And the right collarbone,
The right armpit,
Right shoulder blade,
And the right side of the back.
And the right half of the chest,
The right half of the ribcage and abdomen and waist.
Sensing the hip bone,
The outer edge of the hip,
The glutes,
The whole right thigh,
Knee,
The lower leg,
Ankle.
Now the heel and the sole of the right foot,
The heel,
The arch,
The ball,
The baby pinky toe on the right foot,
The next toe,
The next,
And the next big toe,
All five toes and the sole of the foot.
And now a sense of all five toe tips,
Knee,
Entire right foot,
And leg,
And the whole right half of the body.
Sensing the right half of the body as separate.
Flowing awareness now to the left thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And pinky,
All five fingers and the fingertips.
Sense the palm of the hand,
The whole left hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
And the whole shoulder,
The collarbone,
Armpit,
Shoulder blade,
And the left half of the back.
Now the left half of the chest and the ribcage,
The abdomen and waist to the hip point,
The side of the hip,
The left glutes,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Ankle,
Heel,
And the ball of the left sole of foot,
The pinky toe,
The next toe,
Next,
And the big toe.
Sense all five toes and the toe tips,
The whole left foot,
And the whole left leg,
And to the left half of the body.
Sensing the left half of the body as one,
Separate.
Awareness moves to the center of the chest,
Center of the chest,
And the base of the neck,
And the inside of the throat,
The tongue,
Roof of mouth,
Teeth,
The right cheekbone and the left cheekbone,
And the whole right eye and left eye.
Sensing both eyes together,
And sensing the space behind the eyes and the brain,
The ears,
Top of head,
The whole scalp,
The whole head,
Whole body,
Whole body,
One radiant field of energy.
Sensing the whole body,
Radiant with life force,
The whole body shimmering with energy.
Sensing your whole breathing body.
Come back to the feeling of the breath at the nostrils.
Notice the feeling of the breath,
Perhaps a little dry going in and a little warmer coming out.
Aware of this feeling of simply breathing,
Not trying to change anything,
Tuning in to the effortlessness of breathing.
Body getting heavier with every exhale.
A sense of the breath pouring out of the backside of the body down to the earth.
Whole body exhaling.
Whole body breathing.
Whole body cellular exhaling.
The breath cleansing every cell energetically.
Could you imagine a wave of energy flowing down into the ground with each exhale?
Beginning to count backwards from 20 to one.
Inhaling 20,
Exhaling 20.
Inhaling 19,
Exhaling 19.
Keep going like that all the way down to one.
Don't worry if you lose track,
Just start again at 20.
Now wherever you are with the counting,
Let that go.
A sense of the body floating.
Deeply relax.
Sensing the body as floating,
Drifting,
Soft and free,
Breathing vessel.
Welcome back,
A feeling of the body heavy on the floor or the surface you're on.
Feel the weight of the muscles.
The skin,
Density of the body.
Feel the body as weighted down and heavy,
Grounded.
Call back that sense of feeling floaty and weightless.
The body drifting,
Sinking down.
Sinking down back to the earth.
Sinking down,
Weighted and grounded.
The body heavy,
Heavy to the earth.
Feel the body so deeply relax,
Sinking.
Return with the floatiness.
Combined the floatiness with the groundedness,
Allowing it to unfold heavy and light at the same time.
Dissolving into stillness.
Resting back as pure presence,
Bringing awareness back to the gentle rhythm of your breath.
Imagine how that within the center of your chest,
Behind the bone,
There's a small lantern,
Not a flame that must be tended,
Not something fragile,
A lantern that's always been there,
Covered and protected and quiet.
Just sensing the presence of this lantern within the heart center.
And with each inhale,
Imagine the lantern becoming slightly more visible,
Just a little more visible,
As if some layers were taken away.
And with each exhale,
Feel the chest soften.
Feel the ribs relaxing.
Perhaps a sense of more space within you.
And there's a soft glow emanating from the lantern at the heart center.
And the light doesn't shine outward at first.
It shines inward,
Illuminating the inner landscape of this being.
Softly bringing light to thoughts,
Emotions,
Memories.
Nothing's pushed away.
The light is neutral,
Softly glowing and warm and steady.
Shining the light inward,
Open and receptive.
The light filling the whole chest cavity.
Whatever color arises naturally,
Maybe a soft gold or a pearl luminescence.
The light filling the lungs and the upper back.
The light spreading the way water spreads through the land.
Sense this light that gently expands through the whole body.
Filling all the way into your palms and hands,
Your legs and feet.
And I'm sensing the whole body glowing gently like a paper lantern.
This heart lantern has expanded to the whole body.
The body radiant.
This lantern is eternally lit.
Quiet radiance.
You are lit from within.
You are always shining brightly.
This is the essence of who you are.
The lantern dissolving into pure presence.
Resting as pure presence.
Radiant.
Radiant.
And watering and planting the seed one more time of the sankalpa or intention.
Repeating your sankalpa three more times.
Resting back here in the knowing of your inevitable expansion into all that you desire.
Resting here.
Could you start to notice the breathing again?
Notice your breath.
This breath that pulses and flows within you.
Take a deeper breath in four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Let it out.
Again,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One.
Feel your body expanding with each breath.
Sending awareness into the fingers and the toes.
Ever so gently starting to wake the body up.
Maybe you're someone that's going to just go to sleep now.
Making any movements that feel supportive but even turn to one side.
If you can,
Take as much time as possible to slowly return from your deep rest practice.
For many people,
This is a really potent time to reflect on the experience or to allow some reflection to flow out of a pen to paper.
It's also totally appropriate to get up and resume your day or evening.
Taking another moment to really tune in to this peaceful energy that fills you.
How everything just feels a little slower and calmer.
This is the regulated nervous system.
This is a slow brainwave.
Acknowledging this is a very healthy practice.
It's like hygiene for your nervous system.
Contributing to,
Continuing to have a building of resilience.
Meeting life with a smoother energy,
More connected to the heart space energy.
Keep noticing how you're feeling.
Keep practicing.
Keep remembering to honor yourself,
Thank yourself for taking this time for self-care.
Now more than ever,
Self-care and regulating is essential.
Ushering in the days,
Months,
Years that follow.
We're open to expanding into all of who we are.
Moving from 3D to 4D to 5D.
Remembering who we are.
And that requires clarity and balance.
And so it's practice like these that help us live a more enjoyable life,
More peaceful,
More aligned.
All those serendipitous happenings,
All the inner guidance.
Becoming more and more receptive through this practice.
I hope that the minutes and hours that follow are sweet for you.
I thank you for sharing your practice and this time with me.
Thanks again for being here and namaste.
