Jai Ma!
Welcome to a powerful intention setting yoga nidra In Sanskrit,
The ancient language of yoga,
The word for intention is sankalpa Sankalpa almost literally means to become one with and so a sankalpa or an intention is like a heartfelt desire that we have and hold to become,
To do,
Or to nurture something within ourselves,
Within our life as a whole So sankalpa or intention typically unfolds over a period of time and any sankalpa that we hold is like a powerful seed,
A vibrational seed and it's said that in the practice of yoga nidra you are able,
If you wish,
If you so choose to plant this vibrational seed in the fertile folds,
The deeper layers of the mind in the subconscious mind So welcome,
Welcome and to prepare for your practice today I want to first just invite you to take this practice really lightly and sweetly and to,
You know,
Not take it so serious right?
At the end of the day these practices are meant to nourish and inspire and uplift you and so your intention or your sankalpa can be something as small or as large as you like.
It can arise in any form okay so it doesn't have to be a clear and rational thought.
A sankalpa can be a feeling,
An image,
A color even.
So just something you wish to cultivate and if you're listening to this at the start of the year this sankalpa might be something that you wish to cultivate through the rest of this year but really the new year can start anytime and perhaps you find yourself at the beginning of a new cycle in your life and you'd like to see something unfold in that new cycle So to prepare for the practice,
If you haven't already,
Do make yourself comfortable I invite you to lay yourself down in any shape that feels spacious and pleasing and supportive and as you lay your body down perhaps covering up also with a blanket or cushioning the support beneath you with blankets,
Pillows and just know that as you connect to the earth through the support of your bed or your floor whatever you're lying on you are plugging in to the earth field,
The earth's nourishing and loving energy field which we all belong to and as you settle and wiggle and shift into a restful place in your body perhaps calling in your sankalpa whatever feels natural whatever is naturally arising whatever sparks joy for you and through the the practice of yoga nidra now you'll be invited to call in this sankalpa in any form calling in the energy of your intention but for now letting go May these chimes be a sweet call back home to yourself a sweet call back into your restful being calling all of yourself into yourself settling deeper and deeper within and the invitation now is to take three big breaths inhaling deeply and completely and exhaling following the breath out finding that little space at the end of the exhale and breathing in fully and completely and maybe exhale with a sigh arriving all the way at the tail end of that breath out and one more like that and exhaling all the way out following that breath to arrive the little space of quiet and stillness and letting the breath be the breath flows effortlessly with each cycle of breath that flows through you the invitation is to simply bring awareness and attention to that space at the end of the exhalation when the old breath has gone out and the new breath has yet to begin there is a sort of pregnant space a quiet space of stillness there at the very end of the breath out in the space between breaths so how might that be?
To simply notice and welcome that space and welcoming the space within you to become aware of the space within you how might it be to become aware of the space within you and how might it be to become aware of the space around you aware of the space around you and within you all at once the invitation now is to call in your sankalpa to be with you in this space so how might it be to call in the presence of your sankalpa your intention to hold the presence of your intention within this space the invitation now is to imagine yourself as a seed to imagine yourself as a seed with a hard and protective outer shell that contains precious and powerful energies within the invitation is to imagine yourself as a seed filled with precious potential pure potential and as this seed you are held deep within the nurturing earth held deep within the nutrient-rich,
Life-affirming soils of the earth herself how might that be to be held in the dark,
Deep,
Rich and loving earth how might that be and as this seed there is nothing to be done but to receive receiving now the life-giving energies of the earth receiving now the life-giving energies of earth as a stream of sparkling light that enters through crown and soles through soles of feet and crown of head receiving,
Receiving,
Receiving the life-affirming light of the earth through the crown of the head and the face and the neck through the back of the head over scalp and neck receiving this life-giving energy through the head now and through soles of feet through soles of feet and shins and knees through thighs,
Hips and buttocks nourishing the roots of this pelvis life-giving light through root and head through the roots of this body and through the head receiving,
Receiving this light and now traveling in through the arms,
Through shoulders,
Elbows and arms receiving all the way through wrists and palms and fingers it's like 10 little streams through fingers and tips receiving this life-giving light like two streams travel through arms and hands splitting into 10 tiny streams of the fingers and thumbs Receiving this life-giving light also through the belly now through belly it travels up through lower belly and upper belly through arms,
Shoulders and throat and now these streams of life-giving light meet in the heart all streams and rivers meeting an ocean of heart like the streams and rivers of this great earth These tiny streams of the body now meet in the ocean of the heart receiving this life-affirming energy into the heart and at the same time it pours out This light pouring in and pouring out all at once How might it be to receive and to overflow with this light?
How might that be to receive and to overflow with this light from the heart?
How might that be to be in the whole body flooded with this life-affirming light Your whole being flooded with this life-affirming light and the invitation is simply to be in this space Simply to be in this space Let yourself be and simply being in the nourishing space of rest How is it simply to be in the nourishing space of rest?
And after receiving in this way the invitation is to come back to the feeling of your body resting here in this place Coming back to the sense of the breath coming in and going out and calling in again in this space of potential Calling in your sankalpa to be present with you now The invitation is to call in your sankalpa to be present with you within you now Breathing in the life-giving energy riding in on the breath Breathing out perhaps a sense of ease Ah perhaps inviting a deeper breath or even a sigh As we near the end of this practice we'll allow this practice to be integrated fully now Inviting a sense of gratitude Perhaps a sense of gratitude for the earth for the stars and the cosmos for the spirit guides and for the power of our deeper mind We give thanks and gratitude The practice of yoga nidra is coming toward a close now May the sound of these chimes be your call back Coming back to the space around you perhaps opening the eyes Loving a little stretch or a yawn Feel free to close this ritual off in any way that you choose The practice of yoga nidra is now complete Thank you so much for listening The practice is now complete Jai Ma
