Welcome to this practice.
My name is Renee and today we'll be practicing yoga nidra.
As you begin to settle in,
I invite you to start contemplating what it is that you feel most called to completing in your lifetime.
Perhaps you've heard of it as being called your heartfelt desire.
As you go to your comfortable spot,
Just deepening your curiosity and perhaps considering whether you'd like to explore your heartfelt desire during this practice.
As you allow yourself to settle in,
Find the most comfortable position available to you today.
You can be seated,
Lying down.
What feels right?
Notice what your body may be requiring of you today and how it may be different from other times that you've practiced or even other times that you were willing to take a rest.
Allow yourself to adjust.
Grab a pillow or a blanket,
Loosen a belt or remove anything heavy that may weigh you down.
Really allowing yourself the comfort and ease that you need at this time.
And if there's anything else that may make you a little more comfortable,
Go ahead and adjust yourself now.
Even as you settle,
You may consider perhaps softening your gaze by lowering your eyelids a bit or even closing them if that's a welcoming feeling for you.
Acknowledging everything that brought you to your practice today,
Welcome the light and the environment that you've chosen.
Noticing the sounds in the space,
The light as it comes through your closed eyelids.
Perhaps noticing sensations where your body meets the surface that's supporting it.
Sensions where the air,
Whether it's warm or cool,
Touches your skin or even the clothing against your skin.
Your entire body and mind settling.
Your entire body and mind at ease and beginning to rest.
Take a moment to consider why you chose to practice today.
What is it that brought you to practice and acknowledge that for yourself?
How can your practice best support you right now?
If words come to you for an intention,
Set an intention that supports you in acknowledging how your practice will benefit you.
Allow yourself to feel your intention,
Knowing your practice will indeed support you in the way that you intend.
And allow yourself to notice how that intention feels in your body.
Let's take a moment to look towards the heart center,
Recognizing and feeling the life force that animates every atom and cell in your body.
And from that place,
Experience your heart's deepest desire or longing.
Maybe inquiring what is your message to the world?
Your life,
Its expression.
How you may wish to be known by others.
It may be kindness,
Healing,
Awakening.
It can be anything that is truly authentic and meaningful to you.
A deep desire within you that is unique to you.
As you sense that heartfelt desire,
Embrace it in its truth and know that it is already true right now in this moment.
Allow that truth to spread throughout your entire body,
Remembering how it feels,
Knowing it will always be with you and always return to you.
Bring your attention to your inner resource,
That safe haven or place where within you,
You feel a sense of wholeness,
Okayness,
A sense of being at ease and peaceful,
Secure,
A place where you can simply be you without thinking about what anyone else thinks.
It can be a real place or an imagined place.
It may be helpful to bring in images of people or animals or places you've been.
Whatever nourishes feelings of being secure,
At ease and peaceful for you.
Allow feelings of being secure,
Peaceful and at ease to spread throughout your entire body,
Slowly welcoming your inner resource and nourishing that inner felt sense of ease and security and well-being.
Throughout your practice,
Allow it to be with you.
Remember it and know that it is always with you in your practices as well as in your daily life.
As you allow your attention to move to the sensations in the body,
Perhaps scanning the body from head to toe and then back up from toe to head as you bring attention to and welcome sensation in your jaw and mouth.
Both ears at the same time.
Sensations in the head,
In the face,
In the nose.
Both eyes at the same time as sensation.
Welcoming sensations throughout the forehead and the scalp.
The back of the head and the neck.
The left shoulder,
Arm,
Palm and fingers.
The right shoulder,
Arm,
Palm and fingers.
Both hands,
Arms and shoulders at the same time as sensation.
Sensation of the upper chest and the back,
Belly and the lower back.
The entire torso as vibrant sensation without going into thinking,
Just allowing sensation to be as it is.
Alert and awake to sensation in the pelvis,
The glutes,
The hips,
The entire left leg and foot.
The entire right leg and foot.
Both legs at the same time as radiant sensation.
As you welcome now the entire body,
A field of vibrant sensation,
Alert,
Present,
Sensing the entire body as sensation and if it's helpful,
Weaving in your inner resource and feelings of being secure,
At ease,
Sensing well-being throughout your entire body as you're welcoming the body breathing.
The sensation of the abdomen expanding and relaxing with each breath.
The body breathing and that felt sense of your inner resource of peace,
Ease and well-being with each breath.
And notice and welcome emotions and thoughts that may be present in your body and mind without trying to change them,
Just allowing them to be.
If it's helpful,
You can welcome opposites of these emotions and thoughts.
Welcome actions that help you feel in harmony with yourself and the world around you.
Welcome feelings of ease and well-being throughout your entire body and the joy of simply being.
Imagine yourself going about your daily life all the while awake and aware as awareness in which all of life is unfolding.
Awareness awake and aware of itself.
And gently as you're ready,
Begin slowly opening and closing your eyes.
Several times open and close,
All the while welcoming your inner resource of feeling grounded and connected with yourself and the world around you.
Seeing those feelings of being secure and at ease.
And revisit your heartfelt desire,
Allowing it to be present with you and that inquiry of your message to the world with your life.
Those feelings of being at peace,
At ease.
Bring those with you as you're ready to come back into your regular life and with your eyes open and wide awake.
State of mind and body.
Allow those feelings of well-being to remain with you as you move back into your daily life and whatever you'll do next.
And as we close,
I have a quote I wanted to share with you from Rumi.
Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love.
It will not lead you astray.
Thank you for sharing your practice with me today.
And if you have time,
I encourage you to journal about your practice and how it supports you.
Have a great day.
