Maybe there's a tiny adjustment you can organize to make yourself a bit more comfortable.
Now.
.
.
And sense how you perceive yourself in this very moment.
How is it to be here,
To rest on the ground,
On the earth?
Sensing into this living body,
The breath.
You may welcome yourself in this practice of yoga nidra and feel if there is an intention.
Something you like to practice.
Something you like to commit to.
You may connect with intention and then let it go so it can do its work.
Can you then open up the senses?
Sensing the world around you.
Perhaps a smell,
A taste.
A play of light and shadow through the eyes.
The skin in contact with props,
Clothes,
Air.
Sounds far away,
Nearby.
Sounds even in the body.
And there's nothing to accomplish in this practice of yoga nidra.
Let it be a practice of being.
Holding space for whatever arises,
Whatever moves to the foreground.
And you may use my voice as orientation and perhaps you go your own way,
That's perfectly fine.
Can you create a sankalpa for this practice?
And a sankalpa is a heartfelt longing,
A heartfelt desire.
And for this you may rest attention in the chest,
In the home of the heart.
Breathing in and out via the heart as if you kiss it awake.
What is your heart's deepest longing in this period in your life?
And perhaps the language of the heart today is a word,
Perhaps it's a feeling,
A sensation.
And perhaps it is silence.
Can you allow yourself to feel that question in the heart space and wait for the response,
Whether that be a word,
A sensation,
A feeling or a silence?
What is it the heart is longing for the most?
And then setting that free as well,
Allowing it to do its work.
Opening up to the felt sense of the body,
The body as a field of radiant sensation.
Sensing into the body print,
The shape of the body,
Its mass,
The volume.
Sense into the position of the body in space.
A sense of knowing where you are.
Sensing the above,
The below,
The left and the right,
The front and the behind.
The inside and the outside,
All directions.
And just opening up for a couple of moments to natural sensations of ease,
Well-being.
And there's nothing you have to create here.
Let them find you,
Perhaps in the exhale,
Perhaps in the belly that's moving on the breath,
Perhaps an overall sense without a specific location or description.
Can you sense into the knowing that there's nothing to do,
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to accomplish,
It's just rest in being.
And then sense into the mouth,
Sensation in the mouth,
The tongue,
The inner walls of the cheeks,
The teeth and the gums,
The roof of the mouth,
The floor of the mouth,
Sensing into saliva,
The moist,
The whole space of the mouth,
The inner walls of the throat and the inside of the ears,
Sensing into the outer ears,
Into the shape,
The folds,
The valleys of the outer ears,
The softness of the lobes,
The eyeballs covered by the eyelids,
The nose,
Air flowing in and out,
The whole head,
The top,
Back of the head,
The whole face,
Left side,
Right side,
Inside of the head,
Sensing into the neck,
The shoulders,
The upper arms,
Left,
Right,
The elbows,
Right elbow,
Left elbow,
The forearms,
Left and the right forearm,
The wrists,
The right wrist,
The left wrist,
The hands,
Left,
Right,
Sensing all of the fingers at the same time,
Both hands at the same time,
The wrists and the arms at the same time,
The shoulders,
The neck and the head,
All at once,
Just sensing.
Sensing into the chest,
The front,
The left side,
The right side,
The back of the chest,
The whole chest as one field of sensation,
The area of the diaphragm,
Just below the ribs,
Sensing into the belly,
The front of the belly,
The left side,
The right side,
The back side of the belly,
And the inside,
The whole belly at once,
Sensing the hips as sensation,
The sacrum,
The front of the pelvis,
The pelvic floor,
The genitals,
The buttocks,
The whole pelvic area at once,
Sensing into the legs,
The left upper leg,
The right upper leg,
The right knee,
The left knee,
The left lower leg,
The right lower leg,
The right ankle,
The left ankle,
Left foot,
Sensation,
And the right foot,
Sensing all of the toes at the same time,
The soles of the feet,
The heels,
Both feet at the same time,
Both ankles,
The legs,
The hips,
All at once,
The pelvis,
The belly,
The chest,
The whole of the back,
The shoulder area,
Inside,
Outside,
Arms,
Wrists and hands,
Neck and the head,
All at once,
The whole body at once,
Just sensing,
The whole body at once,
Noticing the breath,
The body breathing itself,
There's nothing to do here,
Sensing the rhythm of the breath,
The body being animated by the breath,
And slowly opening up to that sense of doing nothing,
Resting in being,
And slowly sensing the body heavy,
Heavy as a rock,
Resting on the earth,
Yielding,
Sinking,
Leaning,
And then sensing the body light,
Light as a feather,
Sensing the body heavy and light at the same time,
Opening up to sensations of warmth,
You may let them come to you,
Let them find you,
There's nothing to create,
And sensations of coolness,
Warmth and coolness at the same time,
And again opening up to the sensation of doing nothing,
Resting being,
Abiding in open awareness,
Waiting for anything that moves to the foreground,
There might be an emotion,
A feeling,
Perhaps an image or a belief,
You may welcome it in by letting it be,
Perhaps being curious how the body is animated by certain emotions or beliefs,
Being interested in bodily sensation,
You may feel that there is the ability to direct your attention or to set it free,
You may rest in the breath if a certain emotion or a thought is too intense for this moment,
Or you can set attention completely free,
Holding space for whatever moves in and through you,
And all this time there is nothing to accomplish,
It's just being with what is.
Can you then once again rest attention in the home of the heart,
And nourish the energy of the heart with the breath,
With a soft jaw,
Soft eyes,
And once again connect with sankalpa,
The heart's deepest longing,
And then the practice of yoga nidra is complete,
Sensing where the physical body ends and where surroundings begin,
Feeling the shape of the body,
Its mass,
Its volume,
Its weight,
And notice again where you are in space,
Where you are in the room,
And maybe follow the suggestions of the body to move,
As if you are waking up and preparing for the rest of the day.
