Welcome to this yoga nidra practice.
Begin by finding a comfortable place to lie down,
Perhaps on your yoga mats,
Perhaps on a towel,
Or perhaps on your bed.
When you've found a comfortable spot,
We'll begin our yoga nidra practice.
Begin by inhaling and exhaling through the nose if possible,
Tapping into your deep source of breathing,
Feeling the fall and the rise of the belly as you inhale and as you exhale.
Beginning to notice the way your body is feeling right now,
Starting at your toes and slowly making your way up to the top of your head.
Taking in a quick body scan right now as we start our practice,
Noticing any sensations you're feeling in the body at this time.
Notice any areas of tightness or tension or pain.
Notice any areas of lightness or looseness.
Not judging these feelings,
Not labeling them as good or bad.
Simply noticing how we're feeling in this moment in time at the start of our practice.
And after we've become aware of the sensations in our body,
After you've completed the body scan,
Begin to direct your attention to your feelings in the mind.
Noticing any thoughts that seem to be looping around.
Noticing any feelings of stress or anxiety,
Happiness,
Sadness,
Of joy or of sorrow.
And again,
We're not judging these thoughts or these feelings.
We're simply bringing awareness to how we're feeling.
Just for a few moments as you breathe deeply,
Allowing this awareness of body and mind to permeate the senses.
And now we're going to keep this awareness in mind.
And tap into the inner resource that we created in our last yoga nidra practice.
So taking a moment to recall what this place was for you.
This inner resource,
This place,
Is a place where we feel completely safe,
Completely at ease,
Completely contented.
It may be real or imaginary,
Maybe indoors or outdoors,
May be alone or with other people.
Just remembering what that place was for you.
Remembering how all of your senses were activated while there.
Remembering what you saw around you.
Perhaps the beauty of the sea or the mountains,
Perhaps the leaves and the trees in the forest,
Perhaps your bedroom or perhaps somewhere else.
Remembering who was there with you,
If anybody.
Recalling the sounds that you heard,
Was it crashing of waves or rustling of leaves or chirping of birds?
Or was it the sound of voices or perhaps of a pot sizzling with your favorite food?
Remember anything you smelled there.
If it was freshly baked bread,
If it was a salty sea breeze,
Or fresh mountain air,
The smell of plants.
You're calling any taste sensations associated with this place.
It could be a salty taste or a sweet taste.
It might be subtle or it might be very powerful if food was involved in this place.
And then noticing our last sense,
The touch of this place.
Are our toes curled around grass?
Are we sitting on the sound?
Are we floating in water feeling the warm wetness or the cool wetness depending on which temperature of water your water feels nicest to you?
Perhaps you're lying on soft silky sheets.
And perhaps you're touching the rough bark of a tree.
Remembering any touch sensations that were around in this place.
And now that we've fully re-immersed ourselves in this inner resource,
Let's do another body scan.
Starting from the tips of your toes,
Making your way up each part of your body to the top of your head.
Welcoming and noticing any sensations that you are feeling right now.
And now,
Expanding that awareness now to the mind as well.
Noticing what thoughts and feelings and emotions are associated with this inner resource,
This safe and happy place.
Noticing if you feel any different doing this exercise while having your inner resource in mind.
Are there any areas of lightness or looseness that were tight before?
Or perhaps the opposite?
Are there any thoughts or worries that have vanished?
Or perhaps the thoughts and worries are still there but there's just more of a sense of calm and peace around those anxieties.
Now we will start to come back to our present space wherever you are.
Wiggling the fingers and the toes perhaps.
When you're ready rolling on to one side of the body.
Setting the intention to keep these feelings of calm and peace with us throughout the day.
Knowing that you can return to this inner resource at any time.
And when you're ready coming up to a seated position.
Thank you so much for joining me in this yoga nidra practice.
This will conclude our yoga nidra practice for today.
Thank you.
