Welcome to this yoga nidra for sleep,
Images from your day.
We will be taking time during this session to allow the mind to reflect back over the day,
Allowing images to arise in the mind without needing to analyse them or make sense of them,
Attempting to let go of control and to let whatever is there come into focus.
Equally,
If nothing comes to mind,
Please don't force it.
We want to flow with the experience of whatever is there.
So as we begin,
Start to relax into your space,
Spreading out,
Taking up space on your mat or on your bed,
Adjusting any pillows or blankets in order to become as comfortable as you can be.
Feeling the mattress or the ground beneath you and your body pressing against the floor or the mattress.
Noticing any sounds around you,
Distant sounds,
Sounds in the room,
Sounds within the body or mind,
And letting these sounds drift into background noise,
Detaching from them and bringing focus to the body.
And we're going to start by rotating our awareness around the body.
So beginning by bringing your attention to the top of the head,
Sending awareness to the top of the head,
The forehead,
The right eye,
Left eye,
Both eyes together,
The nose,
Mouth,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Both cheeks together,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Both ears together,
The back of the head,
Neck and throat.
Moving awareness to the right side of the body,
The right shoulder,
Upper arm,
Forearm and hand,
The whole right arm,
The right armpit,
Outside of the ribs and waist,
The right side of the chest,
The right side of the belly,
The right hip,
Thigh,
Lower leg and foot,
The whole right leg,
The right side of the pelvis,
Lower back,
Upper back,
And the whole right side of the body.
Moving awareness to the left side of the body,
The left shoulder,
Upper arm,
Forearm and hand,
The whole left arm,
The left armpit,
Outside of the ribs and waist,
The left side of the chest,
The left side of the belly,
The left hip,
Thigh,
Lower leg and foot,
The whole left leg,
The left side of the pelvis,
Lower back,
Upper back,
And the whole left side of the body.
And sending awareness to the right side of the body,
And sending awareness to the left side of the body.
And noticing if there is a difference in sensation between the right and left sides,
Before bringing awareness to the whole body,
Feeling the whole body,
The whole body as one entity,
All the systems and parts functioning as one,
Unified and together.
And now bringing attention to the breath,
Beginning by noticing the feeling of the breath entering and leaving the body,
Entering and leaving the body,
Noticing the movement of the body with this breath,
The softness of the breath,
Simply watching the breath.
And now imagining your torso as a balloon,
Inflating and deflating.
You can visualise it if you like,
Or you can simply feel it,
Feeling or seeing the balloon inflating and deflating with each inhale and exhale.
And can you blow this balloon any bigger as you inhale,
Drawing in a bigger breath,
And can you squeeze out all the air of the balloon as you exhale,
Squeezing all the air out at the bottom of the exhale,
And letting the balloon inflate even bigger as you inhale,
Completely emptying as you exhale.
And continuing for a few rounds in your own time,
Feeling or seeing that balloon inflating and deflating with each breath.
And then gently coming back to your natural rhythm of breath.
And now we're going to explore a part of the body that may feel a little warmer than the rest.
So scanning over the body and noticing if there's an area that feels warmer than the rest.
And if you don't feel anything in particular,
You can bring attention to your heart space if you like,
Imagining nurturing warmth there.
And now we're going to explore a space that may feel a little cooler than the rest.
Scanning over the body and noticing if there's an area that feels cooler than the rest.
And if you don't notice anything in particular,
Again maybe focus on the space between your upper lip and nose.
Perhaps the air may feel slightly cooler there.
And now bringing your attention back to where it was warm,
Letting your awareness rest there for a moment.
And back to where it was cool.
And then back to where it felt warm.
And imagining the warmth expanding into the body.
And when the warmth reaches the cool space,
The two merge.
The warm meets the cool and they find balance.
And letting it go.
And in this state of equanimity,
In this still and quiet space,
We're going to allow images from our day to appear.
So this might include places you've been throughout the day,
People you've seen or interacted with,
Things you've eaten,
Colours,
Moments,
Smells.
And simply allowing these images to flash in and out of focus without holding on to anything,
Without thinking too much about it.
And letting the conscious mind rest.
Just letting the images flow in and out of focus.
And if nothing comes up,
Then let yourself rest in this space.
No need to hold on to anything.
Letting things flow smoothly in and out of focus.
And now letting go of these images.
And whenever these images stop coming,
Just allowing yourself to rest in this space.
And letting go of these images.
And becoming aware of the soft space behind the eyelids.
Resting in the stillness.
You might see colours here,
Or lights,
Darkness,
Patterns or images.
And whatever it is,
It's letting everything come and go with fluidity.
And just resting in the soft space.
Becoming aware of this soft space behind the eyelids.
Allowing whatever comes to come.
And if nothing does,
Simply resting in this soft space you see when your eyes are closed.
Letting yourself float gently into sleep.
Releasing everything.
Letting sleep enter the body.
Releasing everything.
Getting ready for this full night of rest.
Allowing ourselves to drift into the full night.
