Hello and welcome to this practice of yoga nidra.
As you lie down or find your seat,
Take a few moments to wiggle or adjust into a position that feels right for you in this moment.
Know that you can continue to make any adjustments you need throughout the practice.
And now perhaps tense up your shoulders or flex your ankles or scrunch up your nose for a few seconds.
And then allow that part of you to let go and relax.
And once again do the same thing with some part or parts of you that feel tight right now.
Holding them for a few seconds.
And then letting go to allow yourself to sink more deeply into the surface.
If your eyes are not closed already you can close them now.
Allowing the senses to acknowledge everything they are taking in from far away from where you are.
And also what's closer in around the room.
As you begin to turn inward,
See if you can connect with the beat of your heart or your breath.
Whichever you choose,
Noticing how it is.
Allowing it to be without changing anything.
Notice the source of your breath or the beat of your heart.
See if you can hear the beat or hear the inhale and exhale.
See if you can feel it as a physical sensation.
As a process that is flowing through you.
With the same noticing see if you become aware of any heaviness or restlessness that you're holding within you anywhere.
And gently see if you might connect with the source of this feeling.
Perhaps there's a situation you're currently experiencing or maybe you find it's directly connected to what's happening in our world or your community.
Is there a vibrational quality to this heaviness or restlessness that you're sitting with?
A tone?
An undercurrent of emotion?
Maybe you sense into a feeling of frustration,
Grief,
Anger,
Exhaustion,
Numbness,
Helplessness.
Whatever is here,
Anchor to the surface still beneath you and if you feel able,
See if you can begin to cultivate a sense of compassion for this part of yourself.
Not asking this emotional current to go away or disappear.
Not ignoring or diminishing it.
Allowing it to exist.
Dignifying it.
Embracing it with your compassion.
And just as water casts different reflections from different angles,
So too does this sense of compassion you're cultivating for this part of you.
This part of your body that feels so deeply.
So allow yourself to move with this honoring sense of compassion around different points of your body.
Drifting first to the crown of your head.
Down your forehead.
Nose.
Lips.
Chin.
Jaw.
Throat.
Base of throat.
The fullness of your chest.
Out to both shoulders.
Down the lengths of your arms.
Your arms.
Your wrists.
And the whole of both hands at the same time.
And back to your wrists.
The lengths of your arms.
Shoulders.
And the fullness of your chest.
Down to your belly button.
Sacral center.
Pelvic center.
Out to both hips.
Both thighs.
Ankles.
And the whole of both feet at the same time.
Back to your ankles.
Thighs.
Hips.
Pelvic center.
Sacral center.
Belly button.
And the fullness of your chest.
And diving into your heart space.
Here,
Noticing the beat of your heart.
Or the flow of your breath,
Just as it is now.
Now see if you can expand out and sense your whole body globally.
All of your reflections on compassion throughout your whole body at once.
And now come back to your heart space.
Space that holds your lungs and heart,
The source of life within you.
And then once again,
Sense the flow of wholeness throughout your whole body globally.
The pulses,
Vibrations,
Tinglings,
Currents.
All of the life flowing through you at once.
And once again,
Back into your heart space.
Gently,
Peacefully,
Lovingly.
And as you rest here,
Be enveloped by your breath.
Carried by the heart's flow within you.
Inhaling the buoyancy of life.
Exhaling what can be laid to rest.
Exhaling.
For a few moments now,
At your own pace.
Now as you make sense of all of these reflections on compassion together,
See if there's a heartfelt desire that might be calling you from deep within the heaviness or restlessness from before.
See if you can explore this desire by calling upon an image of water that feels interesting to you.
Perhaps standing near a waterfall or shore someplace else.
You might find yourself interacting with the water in some way.
Dipping in,
Casting a pebble,
Feeling a cool mist brush across your skin.
Becoming more present with the water in some way.
Allow its fluidity to transform the heaviness or restlessness into a wish that you can rest into.
A wish for you and your wellness as you show up in the way that you do.
A wish for the world around you and what you know to be possible.
And take this moment to remember that behind every bit of heaviness,
Restlessness,
Darkness,
Or difficult emotion is a wish.
Perhaps there's a short refrain of words or a simple feeling here that arises to help you articulate your wish.
My heartfelt desire for me or the world is I am moving toward or simply I wish that I go perfection,
Allow whatever words or feelings you find here to come in their own time.
I hold close this wish for my body and the world.
I honor what's present while honoring what is needed to sustain me to meet the weight,
The heaviness,
And the restlessness of this world.
I hold close knowing that when I answer the wish for my wellness,
The world around me becomes more well.
Beginning with this body here at rest.
Feeling into the surface that's been here to hold me.
Sensation feeling into the soles of my feet and the palms of my hands.
Bringing movement to my body in some way that feels good to me.
And in your own time,
You can open your eyes or continue resting.
Commit today,
Tomorrow,
Or sometime this week to take one step toward answering your wish for wellness.
Our practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
