Welcome.
Settling down now into your place,
Wherever you land,
However you land.
Bringing some kindness in as a support so that you may listen,
Be able to hear what it is that the body is needing,
What it is that the mind,
The heart are needing.
Calling in any physical support as well.
Leaning into and perhaps sighing down into all of these supports.
Settling down.
Perhaps your eyelids would love to close and they close softly.
They close softly,
Meeting ever so gently,
Holding the eyeballs softly.
Perhaps you can get a real sense of the different temperatures of the breath.
Feeling the breath coming and going.
As it comes in,
Does it feel maybe a little cooler,
Like a breath of fresh air,
Fresh energy coming in?
As the breath goes out,
Is it perhaps a little warmer,
A little warmer having touched,
Having met the inside of this body?
So how is that?
Just to notice,
Just to witness with total openness the warmth of the breath going out and the coolness of the breath coming in.
Two sides of the same breath cycle,
Weaving through this being,
Weaving a little nest for rest.
And with this breath now,
This effortless breath,
Receiving this breath to weave a nest of rest from the heels.
The breath could travel in up the whole back body to the back of the head.
And from the back of the head,
The breath could travel out all the way back down to the heels.
Traveling up and down the back of this body,
Weaving this body in a little closer to the earth,
Inhaling from heels to back of head and exhaling from back of head to heels.
How is that to be breathing along the whole back body,
Sensing this back body connected to the earth or the space just behind you.
And now weaving this nest for rest from the two big toe mounds.
Two big toe mounds,
The breath could come in and travel up to the nostrils.
It could travel back down from nostrils to big toes as it goes out.
Weaving from big toe mounds to nostrils at whatever pace,
Feel supportive,
Effortless,
Sweet.
Weaving the whole front of this body into rest,
Meeting nostrils to big toe mounds.
And now how might it be to weave this basket of breath and rest between the two outer sides of the body.
From the outside edges of feet,
The breath could travel in and all the way up to the very top of the head.
And as the breath travels out,
It could fall back from top of head to outer edges of feet.
Weaving these two sides of the body into this nest with the sweetness of the breath coming and going,
Traveling all the way through to nourish,
To touch every place on its way up and down.
So how is that?
And now the invitation is to steady the awareness,
To let the breath go and steady the awareness on the top of the head and the soles of the feet.
At the same time sensing this whole body,
This whole being welcomed into this nest.
Your whole being from the soles of feet to crown of head and every place and every space in between,
Warmly welcomed.
How might it be to imagine yourself lying right on the earth,
Earth beneath,
Moon and stars above,
Twinkling in the vast,
Dark and deep night sky.
You witness these lights and they witness you.
They witness you.
How is that to be witnessed and also to witness?
To meet yourself like an old friend,
Like you answer the door and to your surprise and delight you open this door and a dear old friend that you haven't seen in so long stands before you and the heart blossoms.
How is it to meet yourself in this way,
Like the dear old friend?
And now the invitation is to simply allow these sounds to travel through the ears.
No need to pay any attention.
Allow these sounds to effortlessly guide a warm welcome to each part of this body.
Bringing a warm welcome as if you could meet each place in kindness and friendliness.
From the crown of the head to the two eyes,
The awareness meets at the point just between the two eyes and the eyebrows.
A warm welcome for the two nostrils,
The two ears,
Meeting on the tip of the nose.
A warm welcome for the upper lip and the bottom lip,
Meeting on the tip of the tongue.
A warm welcome in the throat,
Left shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist.
Holding this warmth in the palm of left hand.
Traveling back from the palm into the wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder and back to that meeting place in the throat.
From the throat this warmth carries into the right shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist.
Holding the warmth in the palm of the right hand.
From right palm back up through the wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder and back to the meeting place,
The center of the throat.
This warm welcome travels down now and expands inside the chest,
Warming the whole heart.
Traveling down inside the belly,
Warming the whole belly.
Traveling down into the pelvic bowl,
Warming the whole pelvic bowl.
Awareness settles the very base of the pelvis.
Traveling into the left hip,
Knee,
Ankle and all the way through the sole of left foot.
From left foot to ankle,
Knee,
Hip and back to the center of the pelvic floor.
Traveling into right hip,
Knee,
Ankle and this warmth settles all the way through the right foot.
From right foot to ankle,
Knee,
Hip to that meeting place right in the center of the base of the pelvis.
From this root awareness travels back up through the belly into the heart space.
From heart back up through the throat,
Point between the eyebrows and settling the very top of the head.
Now sensing the warm welcome throughout the whole body from crown of head to tips of toes.
This warm welcome spreads throughout the whole body into every place,
Every space.
Now the invitation is to call awareness home inside the heart,
The meeting place.
Welcome home.
Welcome home to the heart and may the heart blossom,
May it expand and open up into just the right amount of space.
How is it to be held in this deeply private interior space?
Home with your own heart held within this private,
Intimate interior space and yet you are not alone.
You have never been alone.
We're in this space.
There is the breath,
Your old friend as old as time itself.
There is this body,
A dear friend,
Your home,
Your home.
There is this earth who carries you beneath every step.
There is this inner guide who resides here in the home of your heart like an old friend.
How is it to sense that you are both held in a private space and yet you are not alone in your space where there is all of this loving welcome,
These loving friends,
Supportive energies.
And this is your space and so you are absolutely free to be exactly as you are,
To be exactly as you are,
To be held and to hold exactly as you are in this moment,
Sensing the breath coming and going.
Your most intimate friend.
And as this practice of yoga nidra gradually draws towards a close,
May this breath either lull you into a deep and restful sleep or may it enliven you and energize you as you begin to make your way back to the surface,
Taking all the time that you need,
Meeting all of your needs with the utmost kindness and friendliness.
Perhaps feeling the warmth of your own hands as they rest somewhere on your somewhere on your body,
Over your heart,
Over your belly,
Any place.
Whenever and if ever you are ready,
Perhaps the eyes will start to crack open just a touch,
Just to let a little bit of light back in if that's where you're going.
Meeting this light as if for the very first time and yet as if it has always been with you.
Practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
If you're moving out of this place,
Take your time moving,
Stretching,
Yawning,
Maybe taking some deeper breaths and either rolling over to rest or making your way up and onward.
Thank you so much for listening.
The practice is now complete.
Haryom tatsat,
Haryom namaste.
