If you haven't already,
Take a little bit of time before we begin to make yourself really comfy and cozy.
Your body should feel warm and supported.
And then once you find that comfy,
Cozy position,
Let yourself slowly come into stillness.
And begin to take a few deep breaths.
As you breathe in through your nose,
All the way down into your belly,
Imagine sinking gently into the surface beneath you.
And with each exhale,
Imagine softening all the edges of your body,
Softening the edges of your thoughts.
Take another full,
Deep breath,
And imagine you could breathe deeply into your mind space.
And let some fresh air in,
Making way for peaceful energy.
And you could breathe in deeply through your nose,
And maybe sigh out through your mouth,
Letting go of anything stale,
Anything that's ready to be released.
And let's plant the seeds of intention now.
The intention I'll offer for this practice is,
I treat my body and spirit with love and tenderness.
I treat my body and spirit with love and tenderness.
And if this sankalpa resonates with you,
You can softly repeat it to yourself.
And if it doesn't resonate,
You can choose your own.
Either way,
Let the energy of these words softly settle within.
And over the next few breaths,
Slowly begin to shift your attention toward your body.
Let your awareness float and drift around your body,
Imagining all the parts of you gently rooting down into the earth.
Grounded and held entirely.
Bring your awareness to the heel of your left foot,
To your left calf muscles,
The back of your knee,
Hamstring,
And your left glute.
Notice all the muscles on the left side of your spine,
Your left shoulder,
Left arm,
Wrist,
And the palm of your hand.
Feel all five fingers on your left hand,
Soft and open.
And gently float your awareness back up your arm,
To your shoulder,
And move up the left side of your neck.
Sense your left ear,
The sounds that float into your left ear.
Notice your left temple,
Eyebrow,
And whatever there is to see behind your left eyelid.
Feel your cheekbone,
And soften and release the left side of your jaw.
And take into awareness now the whole left side of your body.
The whole left side of your body,
Warm and grounded.
And gently anchored here in this space.
And slowly begin to guide your attention to the heel of your right foot,
To your right calf muscles,
The back of your knee,
Hamstring,
And right glute.
And now,
Notice and soften all the muscles on the right side of your spine.
Sense your right shoulder,
Your right arm,
Wrist,
And the palm of your hand.
And feel all five fingers on your right hand.
And float slowly back up the right arm,
To the shoulder,
And slowly up the right side of your neck.
Feel your right ear,
And sense the sounds that float into your right ear.
Notice your right temple,
Eyebrow,
And whatever you see behind your right eyelid.
Feel your right cheekbone,
And the soft,
Relaxed right side of your jaw.
Feel your whole right side,
The whole right side of your body,
Warm and grounded.
And can you bring both sides together,
Feeling your whole body,
Your whole body warm,
Grounded,
Gently anchored here in this moment.
And in your own time,
Begin to draw your awareness to your breath.
Notice the steady,
Reliable pace of your breath,
The slow,
Soothing rhythm.
And begin to feel the expansiveness of each breath,
Each inhale flowing into your body and creating space,
Gently stretching the muscles and the tissues,
Giving them just a little more room to soften and settle.
Feel all the parts of your body.
All the parts of your spirit.
Softening and settling more and more with each breath.
Inhaling expansion,
Space to grow.
Exhaling and settling,
Softly rooted and held.
Continue to watch and feel your breath.
Gently begin to notice anything there is to notice now.
Any sensations in your body,
Any thoughts or images in your mind.
And there's no need to change or perfect anything you find.
Everything is exactly as it should be.
And continue to hold your awareness here in your mental space.
And in this space,
Begin to imagine the following images.
Imagine a clear spring morning.
Fresh air through open windows.
Feel your bare feet on cool,
Damp earth.
Smell a cool rain falling.
See a small seed resting in soil.
Roots growing downward.
A soft beam of light.
A bird resting in a tree.
And a garden filled with spring flowers.
Begin to imagine yourself standing in a quiet,
Peaceful garden.
It's nighttime and you feel perfectly safe under the leaves.
Light of the moon and the stars.
The air is calm and still and softly scented by the flowers around you.
Take in the luscious garden beds.
Stone benches.
A soft,
Dirt path that spirals around this peaceful place.
And you can choose a place to sit among the flowers.
To sit among the flowers and run your hands along their soft petals.
To feel their cool,
Smooth leaves.
And to notice that some of these blooms are still tiny buds,
Tightly curled inward.
Some are just beginning to open,
Their petals slowly unfurling.
And others are fully in bloom,
Wide and soft and radiant.
Notice the beauty of each individual flower,
As they grow in their own way,
In their own time.
None of them rushing.
And none of them the same.
But each absolutely perfect.
Take a slow breath in,
Filling your lungs with fresh air.
And imagine that as you rest here among the flowers,
You could absorb their peace.
Their gentle message of patience and compassion.
Knowing that everything in your life too will bloom in its own perfect time.
And that whatever stage of blossom you currently exist in,
You are whole and perfect.
Slowly,
You can let these images fade away.
And gently notice any thoughts or feelings that linger.
And gently draw back to mind your intention.
It might have been,
I treat my body and spirit with love and tenderness.
Let these words and the intention behind them wash over you.
And when you're ready,
Reconnect with your breath.
Feeling its steady rhythm,
Its gentle rise and fall.
And begin to wake up your other senses.
And begin to notice the temperature of the room.
The texture of the props and clothing on your skin.
The solid ground beneath you.
Taking any sounds that you can hear outside of my voice.
And gently remind yourself that you've been practicing yoga nidra.
And now our practice is coming to a close.
Send your awareness out into your physical body.
Once more,
Simply noticing how it feels to rest here.
And when you're ready,
Slowly begin to invite soft,
Slow movement back in.
You can take all the time that you need to move,
Stretch,
And when you're ready,
Come all the way back to awake.
