Yoganidra for Nervous System Regulation.
Welcome.
Find a comfortable resting position.
Allow your body to settle.
Let the surface beneath you carry your weight fully.
Take a slow breath in and a longer breath out.
Nothing to do.
Nowhere to go.
You are safe.
When you are ready,
Bring to mind a sankalpa.
A heartfelt intention.
Let it be simple,
Short and true.
A few examples are,
I am safe.
My body knows how to return to balance.
I soften into trust.
Choose one quietly and let it echo in your heart.
Imagine a place,
A memory or a felt sense in your body where you feel grounded,
Supported and at ease.
It could be a landscape,
A room,
A moment with someone you love or simply a sensation,
Warmth in your chest,
Spaciousness behind your eyes,
A softening in your belly.
Let this inner resource come alive with texture,
Colour,
Sound,
Temperature.
Feel how your breath naturally deepens in this place.
Know you can return to this inner refuge at any moment.
Sense into the whole outline of your body,
Its shape,
Weight,
Temperature.
Feel the steadiness of the ground beneath you.
Let your exhale lengthen by one or two counts,
Signaling to your nervous system that it is safe to downshift.
Let your shoulders soften.
Let your jaw unclench.
Let your belly be soft enough for breath to move low and slow.
Let's begin a slow,
Warm,
Spacious sweep of awareness through the body.
Simply notice nothing to change.
Bring awareness to the crown of your head.
Feel your tongue resting heavy in your mouth,
Throat relaxed,
Neck relaxed.
Bring attention to the right shoulder.
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Wrist,
The palm of the right hand,
All of the fingers.
Feel the whole right arm as sensation.
Now the left shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Wrist,
The palm of the left hand,
All of the fingers,
The whole left arm as sensation.
Feel both arms together,
Heavy and supported.
Bring awareness to your collarbone,
The gentle rise and fall of your chest,
The side of your ribcage expanding,
Your upper back.
Feel your heart space melting open like warm water.
Bring awareness to your diaphragm and the solar plexus,
Places that often store tension.
Let them loosen.
Feel the belly soften,
The organs settling,
The breath finding more depth.
Lower belly,
Pelvis,
Hips,
Legs,
Right hip,
Knee,
Ankle,
The sole of your right foot,
All of your toes,
Ankle,
The sole of your left foot,
All of your toes.
Feel both legs heavy,
Warm,
Grounded.
Sense your entire body,
An interconnected field of sensation,
Breath and space.
Let your breath lengthen.
Let your body shift from doing into being.
Bring a soft attention to the area of your heart.
Imagine your breath moving in and out of your heart space.
Inhale for a slow count of four.
Exhale for six.
Continue this rhythm.
Let each exhale invite your whole system into deeper parasympathetic rest.
Imagine a warm light in the heart radiating outwards into the rim of your chest.
The hips,
The shoulders,
The throat,
The belly,
The pelvis,
The legs.
A steady glow of safety spreading through the entire body.
If any feelings is present,
Tension,
Tiredness,
Heaviness,
Welcome it with kindness.
Allow it to be here without needing to move or fix it.
Say silently,
This too is allowed.
Notice that you can feel sensation and remain connected to calm at the same time.
Return to your sankalpa now.
Let it arise from your heart,
Not the mind.
Repeat it three times slowly with the sense that it is already true.
I am safe.
My body knows how to return to balance.
I soften into trust.
Feel its resonance,
Beginning to sense the room around you now,
The temperature,
The sounds,
The gentle rise of breath.
Wiggle your fingers and toes,
Rotate your wrists and ankles.
Take a big stretch and when you are ready,
Open your eyes,
Keeping the feeling of spaciousness with you.
Let this practice stay in your cells as you move into the next part.
