Welcome to this practice of yoga nidra.
Find a comfortable place to lie down,
If that is available to you,
On a yoga mat or in your bed.
If you are unable to lie down,
Find a position that you can be as comfortable as possible in.
Allow the back of the neck to relax.
Tuck your chin slightly to find length all the way through the back of the neck and then let all the muscles in the neck surrender and melt.
Relax the jaw,
Unclench the bones in your jaw,
Soften your cheekbones,
Soften the space between your eyebrows,
Letting the whole forehead smooth and relax.
Come to bring your attention to your natural breath without changing anything just yet.
Observe the breath coming in and out of the body.
Let go of thinking and give in to sensation.
Release any attachment to your thoughts and allow yourself to follow my voice without analysing or judging the words that you hear.
Notice the sounds around you in the space.
Allow yourself to notice and observe each sound and then move on to the next.
Recognise each sound without labelling or judging the sound.
Bring your attention to sounds within your own body,
Listening for the subtle sound of your heartbeat,
For the sound of the breath washing in and out of the body.
Begin to deepen the breath now.
Visualise your next inhale coming from the top of the spine all the way down into the pelvis,
Filling up the belly,
The sides of the body,
The ribcage,
The chest and then releasing,
Relaxing,
Surrendering as you exhale.
Feel the wave of breath come out of the body.
Continue to notice and deepen your breath.
Pour softness into your body with each fresh wave of breath.
Let softness fill into your muscles with each fresh wave of breath.
Allow softness to fill into your bones with each fresh wave of breath.
Feel softness fill deep into your being with every exhalation.
Let go.
Let go a little bit more.
Surrender as you exhale,
Melting down,
The body releasing and relaxing,
Letting go of thinking and surrendering to sensation.
It is now time to form your sankalpa,
Your deep longing or desire.
See if an affirmation comes to you now,
An affirmation of something you deeply desire to embody in your life and being.
Allow your affirmation to be simple and in the present tense.
If you are working to create more love in your life,
You might say,
I am loved,
I am loving,
I am love.
If you are working to be more in flow and in tune with life's subtleties,
You might say,
I flow through life with ease.
When you found your intention,
Your sankalpa,
You can repeat it to yourself three times.
Now we come to the rotation of consciousness around the body.
As I name each body part,
Allow all your attention to go there.
You do not need to move the body.
Simply bring all of your awareness into this part.
First,
Bring your awareness to your third eye,
The point between your eyebrow center.
Move your attention to your right eyebrow,
Right eyelid,
Right eyeball,
Right eye socket,
Right cheekbone,
Right side of the jaw,
Chin,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
The soft curve between your nose and your lips,
The bridge of your nose,
Eyebrow center,
Left eyebrow,
Left eyelid,
Left eyeball,
Left eye socket,
Left cheekbone,
Left side of the jaw,
Both lips together,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The whole of the nose,
The whole of the forehead,
Eyebrow center,
The hairline,
The crown of your head,
The central point at the crown of your head,
The back of the head,
The back of the neck,
The skull,
The whole of your head,
The inside of your neck,
The hollow of your neck,
The right collarbone,
The left collarbone,
The right shoulder,
The left shoulder,
The right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade,
The middle of the back,
Follow the spine down your back as though you could feel and sense each vertebra,
Feel the sacrum,
The lower back,
The right hip,
The top of the right thigh,
The back of the right thigh,
Inside right knee,
Right shin,
Right calf,
Right ankle,
Inside arch of the right foot,
Top of the right foot,
Sole of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
Center of the palm of the right hand,
Inside right wrist,
The forearm,
Inside elbow,
Upper arm,
Right armpit,
Right chest,
Right side of the ribs,
Right side of the body,
Right side of the waist,
Navel,
Heart center,
Hollow of the throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Left collarbone,
Right collarbone,
Left shoulder,
Right shoulder,
Left shoulder blade,
Right shoulder blade,
Point between the shoulder blade,
Point between the shoulder blades,
Middle back,
Lower back,
Left butt cheek,
Right butt cheek,
Left hip,
Top of the left thigh,
Back of the left thigh,
Inside left knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Arch of the left foot,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Sole of the left foot,
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Pinky finger,
Center of the palm of the left hand,
Center of the wrist,
Forearm,
Middle of the elbow,
Center of the elbow,
Inside elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Left ribs,
Navel center,
Center of the pelvis,
The whole of the right leg,
The whole of the right leg together,
The whole of the left leg,
The whole of the left leg together,
The whole of the right arm,
The whole of the left arm,
The whole right side of the body,
From toes all the way to your head,
The whole of the right side of the body,
The whole of the left side of the body,
From toes all the way to your head,
The whole of the left side of the body,
Feel the front side of the body,
Feel the whole top side of the body together,
Feel the entire back side of the body,
The entire back side of the body together,
Now feel the whole body,
Every part,
Feel the whole body together,
Feel the whole body,
Bring your attention back to your breath and begin to count down from 10,
Inhale 10,
Exhale 10,
Inhale 9,
Exhale 9,
Inhale 8,
Exhale 8,
Continue to count all the way down until you get to zero,
If you lose track simply start again at 10,
If you reach zero start a new cycle from 10,
Releasing the counting now,
Imagine that you are floating on a body of water,
No effort is required for you to float,
You can simply relax and let go while the water gently carries and holds you,
Allow yourself to surrender,
Surrender completely,
Not needing to know where you are or where you are going,
Simply surrendering to the sensation of floating,
Feel and sense the soft lap of water on your skin,
Now imagine you are suspended in space,
Around you is nothingness and yet it is easy to surrender,
Allow your body to be held in space,
Surrounded by nothing at all,
Surrender to any feelings of movement or stillness,
Allowing your body to be suspended in space,
Now imagine you are falling but there is nothing to crash into,
You are slowly and gently falling through space,
If any feelings of anxiety arise,
Just allow yourself to surrender,
Accepting where you are and releasing any control,
Allowing yourself to fall,
Perhaps even allowing yourself to enjoy the sensation of falling,
Coming back to your deep breaths,
Coming back to the sensation of your body breathing itself,
Notice now the feeling of your body lying on the surface beneath it,
Notice the parts of your body that are touching this surface,
Notice the parts of your body that have space beneath them or between them,
Notice and feel any parts of the body that are exposed to the air around you,
Visualize yourself in the space in which your body is in,
With the eyes closed,
Imagine looking at your body from above and seeing it there in the space in which you are now in,
Notice the peace and surrender of your body,
When you are ready you may begin to wiggle the fingers and the toes,
Let the head rock side to side,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Coming back into the body,
Take some deep inhales and deep sighs out of your mouth,
Take your time to come back into your body and to come back into the space.
