Welcome to this yoga nidra practice.
Let's take the first few minutes to lie down,
Get comfortable,
Make sure that you have a blanket or duvet cover the body so that you feel warm as the body relaxes.
Maybe have an eye mask or a scarf covering the eyes to help you relax easier.
Now just take the last more opportunities to make any adjustment so that you can feel a little bit more comfortable.
And once we are here,
Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
Welcome to the yoga nidra practice.
Welcome home to yourself.
Let's take a moment to give thanks to the family and friends who allow you to take time for this practice.
Thank yourself for making time for yourself.
Let there be a sense of welcome from all the different directions in the room.
From the left to the right,
From head to toes.
Feel the earth beneath receiving the body and the sky welcoming you from above.
In this yoga nidra,
I'm going to guide your awareness to scan a series of energy points around the body.
I invite you to explore speed and time with the hope that by connecting the opposite sensation of fast and slow movement and stillness,
It helps balance and restore the harmony within.
Now everything you do is right.
There is nothing you could do wrong in this practice.
Feel free to follow my invitation or simply drift off into sleep.
Now I invite you to bring the awareness to the breath.
At first simply watch the breath coming in and going out.
In and out.
Begin to notice how far the breath is travelling in the body today.
Does it stop in the chest or does it flow all the way to the end of the belly?
And is it possible to invite a breath to come deeper to the end of the belly as you next inhale?
And if you could imagine the breath is like the flow of the river,
Just allow the body to be washed over by the breath.
See how the body rides every rhythm of the breath,
The body expanding as you inhale and relaxing and resting as you exhale.
Feel the body being supported by the floor,
By the mattress or mat,
And being wrapped around by the blanket.
Feel the gentle weight of the blanket.
Coming back to the breath,
Notice how the breath,
The rhythm synchronizes with the rhythm of the pulse.
Invite the awareness to come to the point between the eyebrows,
The spot between the eyebrows.
Slowly moving down into the throat,
To the right front shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist,
To the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger.
The awareness coming back into the wrist,
Elbow,
Right shoulder,
Back into the throat,
Moving to the left shoulder now,
Down into the elbow,
Wrist,
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And little finger.
Slowly moving back into the wrist,
To the elbow,
Back into the shoulder,
Moving back into the throat,
Down to the centre of the breastbone.
Moving down to the belly,
The front of the pubic bone,
Move right to the hip,
Down into the knee,
Ankle,
Right big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth little toe.
Moving back to the ankle,
Knee,
Right hip,
Front of the pubic bone,
And moving across to the left hip,
Down into the knee,
Ankle,
Left big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
And the fifth toe.
Back to the ankle,
Knee,
Left hip,
Centre of the pubic bone,
Back into the belly,
And moving to the heart,
Centre of the breastbone,
Back into the throat,
And slowly up to the space between the eyebrows.
Invite your awareness to stay in the space between the eyebrows,
And see if you could invite the breath to focus in the space between the eyebrows.
And as you inhale,
Bring the awareness into the centre of the brain,
And exhale,
Just to the skin at the space between the eyebrows.
In,
In the heart,
Centre of the head,
And out,
In the space between the eyebrows.
In,
And out.
In,
And out.
And continue.
If we walk back the passage of time to review the speed of the days went by this week,
Does it seem like forever or flying by?
Have you ever noticed the secret lives of the plants?
How they grow from a tiny little sprout into a full plant,
Which then flower and perhaps turn into fruits?
How does the speed of growth feel to you?
What about us?
Everyone is travelling in time at the same speed,
Although some people are running or walking,
But others,
Like us,
Now are staying still.
In the dimension of time,
Nothing is permanent.
The only constant is changing itself.
We all experience this.
Except,
Except perhaps,
One is in the state between awake and sleep,
In the space of yoga nidra,
It is possible to experience the irrelevance of time,
Just like we do now.
And in by the awareness now,
Coming back to the breath.
Watch the breath coming in and out,
The body rising and falling with every breath.
Is it possible to breathe up and down the spine?
Inhale,
Breathe up the spine to the end of the neck and exhale slowly descend down towards the tailbone.
Inhale up and exhale down.
Up and down.
Slowly coming back to the room where we practice yoga nidra,
See if you could pick up a sound either in the distance or nearby.
Maybe the sound of the traffic,
Or the neighbours,
Upstairs,
Downstairs.
Maybe it's simply the sound of your breath.
Turning your awareness to the sense of touch.
What can you feel that is?
Touching you,
Or that you are touching with your fingertips?
Perhaps the fabric of the clothes,
The floor underneath the body,
Or simply your other fingertips.
And then slowly start to recall the room where the furnitures are,
The colour of the blinds,
Where you are lying down in the room.
Now invite your tongues to run in your mouth,
Just to feel the texture,
The moisture in the mouth.
Perhaps you could pick up a taste and if you do,
What can you taste?
And finally bring the awareness to the nose and start to slowly deepen the breath.
Perhaps as you deepen the breath you could pick up a smell.
Maybe it's the smell of the laundry,
The shampoo.
If you can't pick up any smell,
Maybe notice the quality of the air.
Is it warm or cool?
Humid or dry?
And as you slowly reawaken to the room,
Maybe start to squeeze the fingertips,
Wiggle the toes and listen to your body.
How would you like to slowly come back to the room?
Perhaps you prefer a lovely stretch,
Or maybe hug the knees into the chest.
Take all the time that you need.
The yoga neutral practice is now complete.
Thank you very much.
