Hello,
I'm so glad you are taking the time for Yoga Nidra today.
You can think of Yoga Nidra as a little holiday for the brain,
A gift to yourself.
Don't forget how important it is to fill your own cup before you can pour into others.
As you settle into your Yoga Nidra spot,
Make sure you have all the props and blankets you may need to be as comfy as possible.
Making yourself a cosy cocoon like a self-embrace.
And know that any thoughts or sensations that come up are completely okay.
Just notice them.
This time is just for you.
Yoga Nidra is a journey of rest,
An effortless way to rest back into all the layers of yourself.
My words are a guide on this journey and are offered as a suggestion.
Take what you need from the guidance and listen to your body as we settle in for this brief interlude in your day.
If it feels good to invite stillness in now,
Then do so.
Or join me in a little bit of movement together before we get started.
Curl your toes in and then let them go,
Three times.
Now clench your fingers up and let them go,
Three times.
Scrunch your face up and hold it,
Wrinkling the nose.
And now release.
Notice how the body feels.
See if there are any adjustments you could make to ensure you are as comfy as possible.
Checking the head,
Neck,
Back.
All feel supported.
Knowing that you can make any movements that you need at any time.
Eyes closed now.
Closing down any thoughts of the day.
The space between your eyes,
Smoothing out.
You could imagine your eyebrows are fluffy and light.
Your left ear,
The space between your ears.
The right ear,
Ready,
Listening.
Let your ears find the sound of your breath.
The inhale and exhale,
Inhaling through the nose.
And as you inhale,
I invite you to try imagining the breath flowing in backwards and down.
Down the nasal passages to your centre.
Breathing down instead of up.
Feeling the belly inflating with breath.
Notice how this feels.
Taking three more inhales through the nose.
Knowing that all there is for you to do now is listen to the sound of my voice.
If you have a sankalpa,
You can invite it in now.
Or you might welcome the thought,
I am resting deeply.
Repeating this intention to yourself now.
The body lying here is at ease.
Ears ready to follow the sound of my voice.
As we start with a body scan,
You might imagine your attention gliding in little trickles from one point to the next.
Letting your attention flow with my words.
As we start by noticing the feet.
Notice which parts of the feet touch the support beneath you.
The soles of the feet.
Imagine a sense of release in the centre of the sole of each foot.
Notice all ten toes and their outline.
Bringing attention to the ankles,
Drifting up the calves to the knees.
Imagine a sense of ease in the point behind the knee.
Attention continuing to move now up the legs,
Along the thigh bones,
To the hips,
The base of the spine,
Lower back at ease.
The pelvis lying here gently.
The stomach.
The area just below the belly button.
The rib cage.
Solar plexus.
Heart centre.
Can you notice your heartbeat reverberating within yourselves?
The chest lifting and falling.
Notice the tops of your arms.
Down to your elbows,
Wrists,
The hands.
The point at the centre of your palms unfurling.
Can you sense all your fingers from the thumbs to the little finger on both sides?
Attention coming now to the top of the shoulders.
Back of the shoulders.
A sense of ease in between the shoulder blades.
Like they could almost float apart.
The base of the throat.
The nape of the neck.
The back of the head resting.
The jaw heavy.
Notice the space between your top and bottom teeth.
The eyes.
Imagine all the tiny muscles around the eyes smoothing out.
The space between the eyes.
Third eye centre.
Open.
Aware.
The space between your eyes.
The space between the ears.
Both hemispheres of the brain.
The crown of the head.
Awareness of sensations at the crown of the head.
Energy surrounding every hair on your head.
Awareness of sensation through the whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body listening,
Resting.
Noticing the natural breath in the body.
The inhale and the exhale.
It's already happening.
Notice where you feel the breath.
Just sensing the expansion and the releasing.
With each exhale let feelings of ease seep in a little deeper.
Seeping into every nook that it needs to.
The chest moving up with an inhale.
And down with the exhale.
Awareness of how sensations might be flowing through the body.
Awareness from the crown of your head.
Third eye.
Throat.
Heart.
Solar plexus.
Sacrum.
And your root.
Perhaps you feel energy moving between these points of your being.
Perhaps one is stronger than another like an unfurling hub.
Perhaps you can sense energy spreading,
Traveling the body along countless tiny pathways.
Can you imagine what it is like to feel full to the brim with well-being?
Could you imagine the body suffused with wellness?
Can you sense the two hemispheres of the body?
The left and the right.
Bringing awareness now to the left side of the body.
Taking time for awareness to fill the left side of the body.
Moving to the right side.
Let your attention fill up the right side of the body.
The left and the right.
Letting both sides become fully steeped in sensation.
Noticing where the two hemispheres meet.
Maybe you sense a radiant line through the center of the body.
Or perhaps more of an intermingling between the left and the right.
Sensations of ease trickling along from the top of the body to the bottom.
Or perhaps from the bottom to the top.
The whole body resting here.
The left side and the right side.
The top and the bottom.
The left and right hemispheres of the brain.
The left side unfurling.
The right side unfurling.
The space behind your eyes is spacious and at ease.
Letting all the hooks in your mind fall away.
And now think of a time you saw the sun come up.
A sunrise or any time its light appeared to you.
Letting this image blossom in your mind.
A time when you felt sunrise or sun rays on your face.
And the feelings of that moment.
A line coming up over the horizon.
One moment it's dark and the next lightness starts spilling over.
Darkness fades to light.
The sun in the sky above you.
The body bathed in light under the sky.
Part of this infinite universe.
Letting feelings such as warmth or light or any other sensations spread and spread.
Perhaps sensing a glowing behind your eyes.
The sun's warmth and energy journeyed across infinite space to reach you here.
The stardust you are made of has travelled a long way.
This body here under the limitless sky.
And softly letting go of any focus you have on any images.
And just let yourself be.
Rest in awareness.
Noticing sensations.
The body cocooned in rest.
Every cell replenishing.
Every cell giving uncountable tiny sighs of ease.
The body reverberating with easefulness.
The air around you is light,
Limitless.
Perhaps your mind is flying through that vastness.
Witnessing.
Noticing.
Resting.
In simple awareness.
As vastness envelops you.
The body vanishes.
Thoughts forget to come.
The body resting in a glow of replenishment.
A deep reservoir of rest that's always here for you.
Perhaps you sense your sankalpa or intention resonating within you.
Radiating out from the heart,
Infusing every last cell.
You might remind yourself that you are resting deeply.
And this place of rest is always here for you.
The body embraced by rest.
Basking in awareness.
Let yourself notice any sensations.
Or noticing any images.
Perhaps images of the body as a hub of replenishment.
The air around you is weightless.
And the body is comforted,
Cozy,
Maybe heavy.
Noticing the weight of the body against the support beneath you.
The left side of the body and the right.
And observe how sensations may differ on each side.
Bringing attention to the left nostril and the right nostril.
Noticing the feeling of air just outside your nose.
The chest gently rising and falling with the natural breath.
How does it feel just to notice the body breathing itself?
The inhale and the exhale as the body lies here in your yoga nidra nest.
Begin to bring attention to the outline of the whole body.
From the head heavy against the support beneath you.
To feeling the whole length of the spine.
The hips all the way down to the tips of your toes.
Enjoying any sensations that come up.
Just noticing where you feel,
What you feel,
How do you feel.
And now when you feel ready slowly wriggle your fingers and toes or take any other movement that feels good.
Taking time to very gently bring the body back to wakefulness.
Do what feels best to you.
Perhaps gently turning the head from side to side.
Stretching the arms above the heads.
Letting the feet sway.
Notice how the body feels.
And now gently bring your hands to your face.
And ever so gently tap around your eye sockets starting at the top of your nose along the eyebrows down around your cheekbones and back to the start.
A few times one direction and a few times the other direction.
Now bringing your hands down to your heart and thanking yourself for this gift of rest.
Knowing you have everything you need to get on with your day or evening.
I read words in this Nidra practice from Yukti 61 of the Radiant Sutras translated by Lauren Roche.
Feel free to end this Nidra now or if you like stay a few more moments to hear the whole verse again.
Adorable one.
Sit or lie down.
Completely immobile.
Beholding the cloudless sky or if there are clouds the sky beyond.
As vastness envelops you the body vanishes.
Thoughts forget to come.
In this moment you are the nature of the great sky.
I hope these words bring you a sense of peacefulness and ease.
Thank you so much for listening to this Yoga Nidra and prioritizing yourself briefly today.
