Welcome to this yoga nidra practice,
And thank you for joining me.
In addition to being an experience of deep rest,
This practice is an invitation to connect more deeply to yourself and to open to your many possibilities as you turn toward anything that might be tugging at the sleeve of your spirit or whispering in the eager ears of your heart.
The experience of yoga nidra can soothe your nervous system and can help restore a sense of peace and well-being that can ripple out into all your relationships and everything you do.
It can allow you to access states of deep rest that invite your inner knowing and deep wisdom to emerge from your heart and spirit while also quieting any critical thoughts and limiting beliefs from your mind.
The beauty of this practice is that it's effortless and you don't have to do anything other than allow yourself to simply be.
To rest into the experience and follow my guidance if it feels right for you,
Trusting your inner wisdom to know exactly what you need to get from this practice today.
Now take the next few moments to settle down completely into your nest which can be on the floor,
In your bed,
On a couch,
Or any other surface that feels comforting and supportive to you.
Gather any pillows and blankets that will help you feel as cozy and comfortable as possible and you might want an eye covering to block out the light,
Maybe a support for your legs.
If possible,
You might want to recline on your back with arms and legs extended or any other position that feels comfortable for you.
Take your time to wiggle and adjust until you feel completely at ease and ready to settle into rest.
Notice what you might be able to do to get even the tiniest bit more comfortable.
Allow your body and mind to continue settling down as you prepare for this experience of deep relaxation and rest where you can remain awake and aware.
I invite you to rest into the knowing that there's no right or wrong way to do this practice.
There's only the way that's most true for you today.
Let's begin by taking a couple breaths to begin settling down the nervous system.
On your next inhale,
Breathe in two sips of air through the nose and then exhale through the mouth long and slow.
One more time in through the nose,
Long slow exhale through the mouth and as you exhale,
Feel yourself sink and soften into the surface beneath you and allow your breath to return to its beautiful natural rhythm.
Just noticing your breath entering and leaving your body.
Let your mind continue to settle as these currents of breath flow in and out.
Notice anywhere in your body that may be holding on to any tension and you might just give these parts permission to soften and release while you rest here and surrender more deeply to this experience of deep deep rest.
Now you might take your attention to your ears noticing from deep within your ears any sounds and allowing them to ripple through you.
Notice sounds in the distance any sounds in the room around you any sounds in the room around you now sense the sounds within your body maybe the breath entering and leaving your body your heart beating and now you might invite your breath into your heart center connecting with the guidance that naturally resides there and go within that sacred space to discover an intention or sankalpa,
A heart's desire.
Take a moment to notice with your heart any words,
Images,
Sensations that might be calling to you and wanting to serve as a guiding light for you today and perhaps beyond today.
Anything that pulls you closer to your true essence and how you want to show up in the world.
If nothing arises or you don't already have a sankalpa you're working with you might consider the intention.
I open fully to any possibility that might be calling me and now call whatever sankalpa you've chosen to the center of your heart and mentally whisper it to your whole being three times.
And now you might invite your awareness to glide through the different parts of your body as you follow the guidance of my voice allowing yourself to sense each part as it's being named while your body remains completely still resting at ease.
Begin by bringing attention to your mouth feeling any sensations within your mouth notice your tongue inside the right cheek inside the left cheek the lips the tip of your nose the flow of air inside your nostrils the space between your eyebrows your right eyebrow left eyebrow right eye left eye both eyes together right ear left ear both ears together listening from deep within the space between the ears the center of the throat the heart center both shoulders elbows wrist palms of your hands all of your fingertips fingers spaces between the fingers both hands both hands both arms now feel your way back to your heart center notice your lungs down to your navel center into the bowl of your pelvis both hips knees ankles the soles of your feet all of your toes together both feet together both legs together heavy deeply resting back into the pelvic bowl the sacrum low back mid back upper back your shoulder blades your whole spine the back of your head the weight of your head against whatever surface you're resting on and notice the whole back of your body the whole front of your body now your whole body together your whole body deeply resting your whole body effortless and fully supported and feel your body breathing and being breathed the beautiful natural rhythm of the breath that unique rhythm that belongs only to you notice your lungs expanding and releasing that gentle dance and sense the tender rise and fall of the belly that sweet rhythm nourishing you and staying with your natural breath on your next in-breath imagine breathing into your heart space breathing in the life force that nurtures you that vital energy from everything around you that nourishes your very essence and then on your next out-breath imagine breathing out far beyond the boundaries of your physical body breathing your essence your unique life force out answering its calling to nurture the world around you in whatever way that might be breathing in nurturance breathing out nurturance and continue this at your own pace for a few moments feeling the precious exchange of nurturance in and out of your heart and now you might release that breath and begin to welcome the feeling of openness in your body sense all the places where you might naturally feel open notice how it feels to feel open and now invite the feeling of constriction and being closed sense into all those places where you might naturally feel closed and tight just notice what it feels like to feel closed now welcome back the feeling of openness each breath feeling into that sense of being open now bring back the feeling of constriction and being closed exploring and sensing all those areas that want to remain closed and constricted and now see if you can sense both of these sensations at the same time without thinking or trying too hard just sensing and take your time here and invite openness and closeness to be present together in your body at the same time both equally welcome and notice how there's a part of you noticing these opposite sensations that part witnessing both openness and constriction within you together and now release these sensations and send your awareness to the center of your forehead breathe in through your mind's eye that wondrous doorway between your eyebrows that takes you deep within turn your gaze inward toward your inner guidance and any ways it might be calling to you and with your attention resting here you might welcome the following images or sensations to arise a clear early morning sky preparing to welcome the sun a tall tree with branches stretching upward in every direction the first tiny sliver of moon the night after a new moon a hawk soaring on currents through a cloudless blue sky a light breeze scattering seeds across a meadow songbird building a nest a tight flower bud getting ready to unfurl to open and bloom a waterfall coming off a mountain and trickling into many little streams tender green seedlings sprouting in rich soil a vast open field with views in all directions and now let the images dissolve as you rest deeply into the space beyond your eyelids connecting here with your true essence open and receptive to any possibility being whispered to you here allow yourself to effortlessly sink into pure awareness and rest here in silence for the next few moments surrendering to the sky-like nature of simply being and now you might bring your awareness back to your heart center and reuniting with the intention or sankalpa from earlier in this practice spend a few moments connecting with any words,
Images,
Or sensations that tug at you from this space of deep wisdom and align you with whatever heartfelt intention you're feeling called toward and just imagine yourself planting this like a seed in the deepest layers of your consciousness and now take a moment to notice the quality of presence you have right now that wise witnessing presence observing your experience in the sweet poem of now and notice any thoughts that might be present any feeling tones that are here in your body with you and allow anything that's present to simply be just as it is part of you part of this moment now notice your breath the easy natural rhythm of your breath flowing through you with each breath in each breath out now slowly begin to sense the surface beneath you sense the outline of your body notice any sounds inside your room any sounds coming from outside and now you might take a deep breath in through the nose and then exhale through the mouth again deep breath in exhale and when it feels right for you begin to bring small movements to the fingers and toes wiggling perhaps pressing your thumb to each fingertip you might invite bigger movements like a stretch or you might want to gently roll to one side or bring your knees to your chest or you might want to bring your hands to your chest rest here as long as you need to returning slowly and sweetly and whenever you're ready gently flutter your eyes open and let yourself continue to experience the feelings you've created within you and you might even consider a simple small action you can take today that aligns with any intention or any possibility that was calling you in this practice it's an honor to be with you and i encourage you to extend gratitude to yourself for creating space in your life to rest and to nurture yourself namaste
