Hello and welcome,
Whatever time of day it is,
Wherever you are,
Just take a moment to set yourself up for this session.
Getting yourself really comfortable,
Making sure you're warm enough and in a place where you feel safe and able to fully relax and let go.
And if at any point in the session you stop understanding what I'm saying,
That's perfect.
You've gone to that place beyond words,
So just stay here and enjoy it.
Let my voice be a murmur in the background that helps you stay in that zone.
And we will be counting down the breath a bit later on.
The goal here is not counting down to zero.
Getting into that yoga nidra zone where you're not in your conscious mind is much more important.
So if you lose count,
Be happy that your conscious mind is taking a break.
All right,
So taking whatever position is comfortable for you,
Whether that's lying down or sitting in a supported position,
We're just going to start by taking some long exhales.
So there's full,
Deep inhales and full exhales.
And with these breaths,
Taking a few of these long,
Slow exhales.
With this breath,
We're allowing the body to rest on the surface beneath you.
And with these breaths,
Just beginning to allow the body to soften,
Feeling the ground beneath.
I'm welcoming all the sensations in your face,
In your jaw,
Your mouth,
And your tongue,
Your whole head,
Just noticing and welcoming what sensations you're feeling there.
Welcoming the sensations in your neck and shoulders.
Welcoming everything exactly as it is in your arms,
Your torso,
Your legs,
The sensation of the surface beneath you,
Supporting you as your body softens and relaxes.
And we're going to do a full rotation now,
Rotating our awareness around the body.
And we're going to start with the jaw and mouth,
Becoming aware of the sensations that you feel there,
Sensing your left ear and your right ear,
Your cheeks,
Nose,
Nostrils,
The flow of sensation inside your nostrils,
Your left eye,
Your right eye,
Forehead,
Scalp,
Back of the head,
Neck,
And throat.
And sensing your left shoulder,
Your left upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Hand,
And fingers,
The entire left arm softening into the ground beneath.
And sensing your right shoulder,
Right upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Hand,
And fingers,
Your entire right arm melting into the earth beneath.
And bringing attention to your chest,
Your abdomen,
Upper back,
Middle back,
Lower back,
The entire torso,
Front and back,
The entire torso relaxed,
Warm,
And at ease.
And sensing your pelvis,
Your left hip,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Foot,
And toes,
The entire left leg,
Sensing your right hip,
Right thigh,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Foot,
And toes,
The entire right leg relaxed.
And bringing your awareness to the entire body,
Sensing the entire body as one,
The front of the body,
And the back of the body relaxed and at ease,
The entire body relaxed.
And starting to feel,
And starting to feel and watch the natural breath,
Noticing the rhythm and depth of the breath,
Slowly start to increase the depth of your breath.
And as you do so,
We'll begin to count down the breath from 21 to zero.
So as we inhale,
We count 21,
Exhale 21,
Inhale 20,
Exhale 20.
Inhale 19,
Exhaling for 19,
And so on,
All the way to zero.
And if you lose count,
Just start back at 21,
And if you reach zero,
Again,
Start with 21.
And like I said at the start,
The aim isn't to keep track of the count,
So don't worry if you do lose count,
That is a natural part of the process.
So taking a few minutes with that slow,
Steady,
Counted breath,
Moving at your own pace,
Slow and steady and consistent,
Keeping with the count,
And again,
If you lose count at any point,
Just starting back at 21.
And just taking a few more rounds of this breath,
And then wherever you are,
Just releasing the breath,
Releasing the count of the breath.
And I now invite you to take a journey with me in your mind's eye to the ocean,
And if this doesn't resonate with you,
Journey to somewhere that does.
And as you arrive here,
In your imagination,
In your mind's eye,
Start to notice the surroundings.
What time of year is it?
What is the light like?
You may walk along the water's edge.
What do you see as you walk along here?
What qualities do the waves have?
Are you alone or with others?
What do you hear?
What does the ground beneath you feel like?
Can you feel stones beneath your feet or sand between your toes?
And maybe you pause for a moment,
Feeling your body soft and relaxed as you stand on the beach.
And then feeling your body strong and engaged as you stand here.
Again,
Softening and relaxing the body.
And maybe standing here by the beach,
And then feeling that strong engagement.
And perhaps you start walking again,
Or even running along the beach,
Or even swimming in the water.
And along the way,
You might spot some sea kale,
Or a coconut tree,
Or perhaps someone is cooking up some freshly caught fish or seaweed.
And maybe you stop and have a drink or a bite to eat.
What flavours do you taste?
What is the sensation as you swallow that substance?
Salty?
Or fish tasting,
Or fresh?
What are the flavours?
And perhaps it's now time to take a break.
Take a rest after eating,
Maybe lying or sitting on the beach.
Feeling your body grounded and soft.
And then imagining your body light and weightless.
Perhaps even taking off slightly from the ground.
And then coming back to that sensation of grounded,
Of groundedness and stability on the earth.
Feeling the body grounded and stable as you pause here for a moment more.
And feeling that groundedness of the body as you start to become aware of the mats,
Or the props,
Or the chair beneath you.
Perhaps feeling the texture of your clothing against your skin.
And beginning to draw in some deeper breaths.
Feeling the body moving with the breath.
Beginning to introduce some slow,
Subtle movement back into the body.
Starting with the fingers and the toes.
Moving into the ankles and wrists.
Perhaps taking a full body stretch.
Reaching the arms up over the head,
Extending from the fingertips to the toes.
And then hugging everything in towards the chest,
Hugging knees.
Maybe wrapping the arms around the knees.
And rolling into a fetal leg press.
Taking a moment to pause,
Before gently pressing your way into a seated position.
Feel free to stay here for however long you need.
And go gently from here into your day.
