If possible,
Lie on your back in a position with your arms by your side,
Palms facing up and legs slightly apart.
We will begin the beautiful practice known as yoga nidra,
A conscious relaxation of your entire body resting your mind.
Begin by focusing on the back of your body,
The entire backside of the body,
And feeling that support beneath you.
With each exhalation,
Invite the back of your body to soften and sink downwards,
Down towards the earth.
Let yourself fully and completely be supported.
Now switch to the front of the body and notice the movement of breath.
Gently expand your breathing by focusing down at the abdomen near your navel so that when you breathe in,
You feel it swelling up like a balloon.
And when you breathe out,
It falls back down towards the earth.
And take your attention now to the back of the head,
Feeling the support beneath the head and letting your head sink down into that support as if it were to sink right to the very center of the earth.
And relaxing around your scalp and your ears and noticing around your forehead and temples releasing and relaxing around the eyes and the bridge of the nose.
The gentle flow of breath through the nostrils relaxing the nose.
Let the cheeks soften and the jawbone release,
Relaxing around the chin,
Inside the mouth,
Sides of the tongue,
Back of the tongue.
And bring your attention to the neck,
Back of the neck relaxing,
Sides of the neck relax.
Now,
Bring your attention to the back of the shoulders allowing them to drop and soften the front of the shoulders and the chest.
Relaxation,
Relaxation,
Waves of relaxation flowing down your arms through your upper arms,
The elbows,
The forearms,
And the wrists.
Breathing through the palms of the hands into each finger and the thumbs.
You may sense a pulsing sensation at your fingertips.
Know that your shoulders and your arms and both hands are relaxed fully and completely.
And bring attention to your upper back and let the shoulder blades rest,
The upper back resting and bringing relaxation to your rib cage and your middle back.
And moving attention down into the belly,
Noticing the waves of breath gently moving it up and down,
Releasing all tensions,
Belly relaxing.
And sensing the lower back,
All the muscles of the lower back relaxing.
And as you breathe in,
Sense your spine,
Your spinal column relaxing,
Resting,
Nervous system rejuvenating.
And have a sense that your whole torso,
The middle of the body is deeply relaxed.
And let your attention now flow into your legs,
Feeling your upper legs relaxing around your knees,
The back of the knees relaxing.
And down the shins,
And around to the calf muscles relaxing.
Let the legs become heavier so that all the bones,
All the muscles are fully,
Completely relaxed.
And bring attention to your feet and feel your heels,
Your ankles,
Relaxing the tops of the feet,
The soles of the feet,
And sensing your big toe and your little toe and all the toes in between relaxing.
Notice the movement of gentle breath flowing in the body and your abdomen gently rising and falling like the waves of the ocean.
And imagine all your internal organs resting,
Replenishing.
And imagine every cell in your body is vibrating in perfect harmony and health with every other cell of your body.
And repeat silently to yourself,
My whole body is now deeply relaxed.
My whole body is now deeply relaxed.
Let yourself continue to drift into this beautiful spaciousness of stillness and relaxation,
Your natural state.
