Hello,
I'm Claire and this is a yoga nidra practice for when you're perhaps being a bit hard on yourself.
Before we begin,
Gather anything you need that will help hold and support you through your practice.
Perhaps a blanket,
A pillow,
Perhaps even pausing the track to give yourself enough time to gather exactly what you need.
And then coming to lay back if you are in an environment where you could do that,
Or if not,
Sitting with the spine supported.
And notice if you've just plonked yourself down,
Or again you took your time.
Can you bring a sense of reverence to how you place yourself?
Are there any movements or adjustments that would make you 10% more comfortable?
Perhaps a wriggling of the shoulders,
A window-wipering of the knees,
A circling of ankles and wrists.
Even juicy stretches like a full-body yawn.
And eventually allow yourself to land.
If it's comfortable,
Closing the eyes or at the very least softening your gaze,
Starting to turn your awareness inward.
I invite you to take a deep breath in,
And then let it go with a sigh.
Maybe doing that a couple more times if it allows the body to sink and settle a little bit more deeply.
So all you're doing right now is sighing and arriving,
And then eventually bringing the lips to gently close,
And as you breathe through the nostrils beginning to seed the breath into your consciousness.
Not needing to change the breath,
But noticing it.
Perhaps bringing one hand to your heart space at the center of your chest,
And the other hand to your belly.
Letting the breath move underneath the hands.
A gentle awareness of how the breath softly animates the body,
Creating a tide,
A current of aliveness.
Connecting with this body as it is,
As it rests.
Your temple,
Your home.
This miraculous form that allows you to experience the world.
And even though we use the body in yoga,
Yoga was never really about the body at all,
But more about the mind.
However,
Our minds can wander back into the past or project into the future.
Yet the body is only ever in the present moment.
Sometimes we have a tendency to be mean to our bodies,
Focusing on the things we don't like about them,
Or the things they cannot do.
But see if you can begin to open up a line of communication with your body,
Making a promise to your body to treat it with the kindness,
Patience,
And respect it truly deserves.
Perhaps even a little bit of compassion,
Contentment even.
For all its functions,
Processes,
And intelligence.
And as if you're speaking to a dear,
Dear friend.
Taking a moment to say,
Hello body.
Thank you body.
Hello body.
Thank you body.
How does it feel to greet your body in this friendly manner?
The poet Nahira Wahid said,
And I said to my body softly,
I want to be your friend.
It took a long breath and replied,
I have been waiting my whole life for this.
Creating an opportunity to befriend your body.
To show up for yourself,
Regardless of whatever else is going on.
And so this practice is your invitation to befriend your body.
To be with yourself exactly as you are.
No goals,
No expectations.
And I think perhaps the reason we call it practice is that everything that we do,
Learn,
And cultivate here is a metaphor.
It's practice for out there,
For daily life.
And so this befriending of body can allow you to more deeply befriend your mind,
Your soul.
The whole of you.
Your entire miraculous being.
Befriending body.
Befriending self.
Befriending body.
Befriending self.
So now I invite you on a journey of befriending through your body.
Bringing a befriending awareness to the whole of the head.
Not the mind,
But the physical head.
The skull,
The scalp,
The face.
To the eyes,
The window of your soul.
To the sensation of breath entering both nostrils.
To the left corner of the mouth,
And the right corner of the mouth,
Where a befriending smile could occur.
A befriending of the ears,
Both right and left side.
What are these ears allowing you to hear?
To the jaw.
Befriending the jaw and all of the teeth and muscles that allow you to eat and nourish your body.
To the throat.
Your voice.
That sound,
That song of you.
To the whole of the neck that supports your head,
Your lovely face,
Your thinking mind.
With all of its ideas,
Its feelings,
Its thoughts.
A befriending of shoulders,
Of wrists,
Of palms of hands,
And backs of hands.
The spaces between fingers,
And the tips of fingers.
That sense of befriending at your fingertips.
Sense the breath gently massaging your heart space at the centre of your chest.
Feel the breath befriend the belly with a soothing,
Rhythmic animation.
A befriending of tailbone,
Of hips,
Thighs,
Knees,
Calf muscles,
The ankles,
The tops of feet,
Spaces between toes,
And the tips of toes.
A befriending awareness to your whole body breathing.
A befriending awareness to your whole body breathing.
A befriending awareness to your whole body breathing.
Offering yourself the same admiration or an affection you would to a loved one.
Befriending body.
Befriending self.
Befriending body.
Befriending self.
Simply notice how it feels to hold yourself in such reverence and high regard.
And I said to my body softly,
I want to be your friend.
It took a long breath and replied,
I've been waiting my whole life for this.
Gradually reacquainting yourself with that befriending awareness of the breath.
And allowing that animation to gently filter and flow through the whole body as you awaken this dear,
Beloved friend of yours.
Perhaps with movement,
Delicious stretches,
Yawns,
Perhaps a sweet smile.
Over the next 60 seconds or so,
Coming to sit,
If you're not already,
But moving in a befriending way.
Kindness,
Patience,
Respect,
Reverence,
Compassion,
Contentment.
Gently placing one hand to your heart,
The other hand to your belly.
Connecting with yourself in this befriending embrace.
Hello body.
Thank you body.
