Hello.
Today we will be practicing yoga nidra,
Conscious sleep,
Or constructive rest.
I invite you to get comfortable,
Close any bright blinds,
Turn off overhead lights,
Go ahead and grab a blanket or a bolster or a pillow for underneath your knees,
Maybe even a scarf or an eye pillow.
Anything that would make you feel more comfortable and supported.
Let's take these next few moments to do that and really hook ourselves up.
When you have everything you need,
Softly say to yourself,
I have everything I need.
And then come lay gently on your back.
Allow the body to be heavy on the ground and close the eyes and start to turn inwards.
Begin to relax the muscles of your face,
Your neck,
Your jaw,
And your shoulders.
Noticing the points of physical contact with the earth.
Know that you,
My friend,
Are fully supported.
Noticing any physical sensations.
Observe them without judgment and then let them go.
Begin to shift your focus now onto the breath.
Without doing anything just yet,
Stay for a few moments with me in this place of deep presence.
There is nothing to do here.
We're just breathing.
Notice the rise and fall of your belly.
With each inhale and each exhale,
Feel yourself dropping deeper and deeper into a state of rest and relaxation.
Staying with the breath,
That's all you have to do.
Simply breathe and follow the sound of my voice.
More than likely you will experience some thoughts coming and going.
There's no need to follow them.
There's no need to judge.
Simply notice and come back to the sound of my voice.
Take a deep full body breath in through the nose.
Fill up.
Open mouth exhale.
Let it go.
Another one like this.
Inhale.
Fill up.
And exhale.
Release.
Once more.
Big inhale.
Feel the heart space open.
The chest expands.
Let it go.
In your mind now,
Call upon a clear vision of yourself.
See yourself in intimate detail.
Smiling.
Happy.
Free.
You're walking barefoot through a gorgeous green field.
All around you,
You see bold and beautiful trees.
Blooming flowers and tall green grass.
You hear faint sounds of birds chirping in the distance.
And an orange and black butterfly flutters past your nose.
In this moment,
You feel safe.
You feel a part of nature.
A deep sense of oneness.
The warmth of the sun nudges you forward.
And suddenly in front of you,
A clear path emerges.
As you walk towards it,
You begin to notice that the grass gets thicker and the earth below you feels damp.
You feel playful and childlike and begin walking faster,
Almost skipping through the lush green grassy pathway.
It reminds you of growing up.
Joyfully running through the field,
You get a bit tired and see a nice sunny spot to rest and lay down.
You bring one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly and you slowly begin to relax.
As you do,
You softly say to yourself,
Oh,
This is what it feels like to be alive.
This is what it's all about.
And you see yourself laying there in that luscious field surrounded by nature.
And within you,
A ball of white light energy.
So you see yourself laying in this field and in you,
Within this field,
You see a beautiful ball of energy.
Beating quite similarly to your heart.
Having that pulsing energy within you now.
Seeing it come down from the sun directly into the center of your chest.
Now you see this light steadily growing bigger and bigger till it surrounds your entire body.
And now you see you had the light.
Now you are the light.
Feel it strengthening you,
Protecting you and vow to carry this light with you as you move throughout the world.
You see this light beaming out of you and repeat in your mind now.
I am happy.
I am healthy.
I am alive and I am strong.
I am happy.
I am healthy.
I am alive and I am strong.
Now envision yourself stepping back out into the world after a long,
Long winter and a long,
Long year.
And you realize more now than ever,
The world,
The collective shared experience,
We need the light.
And you've got the light.
You take a moment to reflect and sigh,
We've lived in fear.
Now we must live in love.
So you see yourself in this field again,
Slowly rising with thoughtfulness and intention,
Walking back down the path that you came,
Eager and excited to share with others this big,
Bright light you've just cultivated in yourself.
With the sun beaming down on your shoulders,
You repeat to yourself,
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be alive and may we be strong.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be alive and may we be strong.
Feel this in your body now.
And this intention out into the world as we welcome the change from winter to spring.
May we call in this light and joyous,
Hopeful energy.
May we ignite our own light within and share it without.
May we lead with love and kindness.
Though this winter and this year have been particularly challenging,
May we see this time for pause and reflection and grow.
And in this quiet space,
May we give conscious thought to our way forward.
How can we positively apply everything we've learned?
How can we be born again?
In these next few moments to breathe into these questions,
Explore within your own mind and experience how you will emerge this spring and summer back out into the world.
How will you show up?
How will you show up differently than before?
Who will you be?
And how will you be better for it?
In this moment and in this day,
You have a beautiful opportunity in front of you.
How many punitive nights,
Tomorrow and bringing love and kindness to you all?
Start to bring some movement into the fingers and toes.
Reach the arms up overhead for a good morning stretch.
When you're ready,
Gently roll over onto one side,
Bringing the knees in towards the chest,
Coming into a fetal position.
For some,
This is the most tender part of any practice.
I invite you now to see your body as a seed,
As a planted seed.
Think of an intention that you called upon during this past winter or this past year.
A seed to be planted.
What would it feel like to live out that intention?
Connect to that feeling.
Hold it in your heart.
And slowly,
Slowly,
Slowly,
Whenever you're ready,
Gently bring yourself up to a seated position.
Allow that seed to sprout.
Sitting up straight,
Creating space and length in the spine,
Reaching up and out through the crown of the head.
If you feel called,
Bring your hands together in front of your heart,
Keeping the eyes closed.
May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be alive.
And may we be strong.
May we be happy.
Namaste.
Thank you.
