Welcome to this practice of yoga nidra.
I'm Astrid and I'd love to invite you to settle down into your favorite position to rest in.
So you might lie down or settle comfily on a cozy chair.
Making a little yoga nidra nest with blankets to stay warm and pillows for the head or under the knees or between the knees if you're on your side.
And just really indulging yourself now,
Taking the time to really treat yourself to the most comfy little nest that you can make where you are practicing right now.
And as you make your last adjustments know that you can always move around and readjust during the practice if you need because being comfy is really the only thing that you need to do.
You don't need to do anything else for the rest of this practice.
You don't need to try to do this yoga nidra well.
You don't need to concentrate on my voice.
You can daydream and fall asleep.
This is your time.
Everything that I say is just an invitation.
I invite you to take the awareness to the breath.
Feeling the breath move in like a wave down into the lungs and whoosh back out through the nose.
This beautiful wave of breath ebbing and flowing.
And taking a couple of deeper breaths in now and sighing out through the mouth.
I wonder,
Can you allow your body to sink a little bit deeper into the surface below you as you exhale?
Imagining the Mother Earth is rising up to meet you and as you exhale,
Can you allow Mother Earth to take even a little bit more of your weight?
Because the Earth is so happy for you to be resting and so ready and able to carry your weight and any tensions or burdens that you might like to cast off right now.
And as your breath moves into a natural,
Easy-flowing rhythm,
Can you feel the body settling?
Sensing the expression melting from the face,
The head heavy on the pillow,
The arms and legs finally resting,
The belly on the back soft releasing.
Feeling the surface below you where the bed or the sofa or chair gladly carries your weight.
Sensing where the air touches the skin,
The clothes touching the body,
The weight of the blankets.
And bringing the senses inward now.
I invite you to connect into yourself.
How would it be to listen in to your inner voice connecting into your intuition now?
If you're working with the sankalpa already,
You might like to connect to that now.
And if not,
It's more than enough to just allow yourself a little moment of connection.
And I wonder,
Can you trust in yourself that your intuition will guide you whenever the need arises?
Just as it has guided you here to rest in this moment,
In this warm and safe space.
Isn't that more than enough?
I think so.
And bringing the sense of connection around the body now.
Sensing in to different parts of the body,
Honouring them,
Acknowledging them,
Sending them love and compassion to all sensations that may be arising.
So connecting in to any sensations in the crown of the head and the forehead,
Temples,
Eyebrows and the two eyes.
Connecting in to the third eye centre between the eyebrows.
Sensing how your face is feeling,
The cheeks releasing tension from the jaw,
The mouth and tongue are soft.
Sensing the ears,
The nose and the whole face.
Moving the awareness down the neck into the throat.
Feeling the left collarbone and the right collarbone,
Left shoulder,
Right shoulder.
And moving your awareness down into the arms.
Connecting in to any sensations in the left upper arm or the right upper arm.
The elbows left and right,
The forearms left and right,
And the wrists left and right wrist.
Left palm of the hand and right palm of the hand,
The backs of the hands left and right.
Sensing in to the thumbs,
Index fingers,
Middle fingers,
Fourth fingers and little fingers.
All ten fingers and thumbs.
And allowing the awareness to connect back in to the arms,
Moving up the wrists,
Elbows and shoulders.
And sending that loving awareness in to the left side of the chest and the right side.
And the sweet heart centre,
The ribs and the belly.
The back of the body,
The whole spine,
Welcoming any sensations.
Settling your loving awareness in the pelvic bone.
Sensing the left hip,
Right hip and the pubic bone.
And moving the awareness down in to the thighs,
Left and right thigh.
Left knee and the right knee.
Left lower leg and the right lower leg.
The ankles left and right.
The heels and the feet left and right foot.
And sensing all ten toes now.
The big toes,
Second,
Third,
Fourth and fifth toes.
Can you bring your loving awareness to connect to the whole left leg.
The whole right leg.
Both legs together.
Awareness to the whole left arm,
The whole right arm and both arms together.
The whole left side of the body and the whole right side of the body.
Both sides of the body resting together in your loving awareness.
And connecting in to the resting body now,
The whole body resting.
The physical body,
Soft,
Slowed down,
Maybe still.
And the parts of the body that are still moving,
Active,
Keeping you alive.
Like the breath,
The heart,
The digestive system working away the more that you rest.
Can you be aware of your mind,
This witness consciousness,
Aware of all of these things at once.
How would it be to connect to all of these things at the same time?
The still resting body,
The movement of the rhythms of breath and heartbeat.
And the mind,
The consciousness,
Calmly watching and witnessing all.
Greatly honoring this complex,
Beautiful,
Multifaceted human being that you are.
Body,
Breath,
Mind.
And that deeper layer,
Maybe situated in the heart or the gut,
Wherever you feel your center of intuition lies.
Your deep capacity for inner listening,
The wisdom that's always within you.
Interesting.
This will always be available to you when you need it most.
Maybe in the form of a sankapa that's already come to you.
Maybe in the deep knowing that in this moment,
In this place,
Right now,
You are doing more than enough.
You are more than enough.
Moving the awareness back to the surface of the body that's connecting with the support below you.
Feeling how supported you are from the outside.
Can you visualize or sense the space in the room around you?
Maybe you can sense how far away the walls and the ceiling are from you,
Visualizing the four walls of the room you're resting in.
And taking the awareness to sounds now that you might be able to hear.
Taking the awareness back to the sense of touch.
Feeling the temperature of the air in the room.
Feeling of clothes on your skin and blankets on your body.
Feeling the breath,
The wave of inhales and exhales gently moving the body.
And can you invite some deeper waves of breath to help you revitalize the body with fresh air and fresh energy.
Maybe you want to take some sighs as we move out of this practice of yoga nidra.
Ah,
Feeling the fresh air and your deeper breaths reinvigorate the body all the way down to the fingers and the toes.
And maybe the body has already started to move.
Maybe some toe wriggles and finger wiggles started to come in.
Maybe taking the hands up to the eyes and giving them a little rub before resting the palms on the eyes and opening the eyes slowly.
Gradually letting your eyes adjust to the light as you slowly move the hands away.
And taking your time making any stretches and movements to gradually coming back up to seated.
I wish you a beautiful and connected rest of your day.
Thanks so much for practicing with me.
This practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
