Welcome to this Yoganitra for sleep focusing on self-compassion.
I'll guide you through the practice,
But you don't have to listen to everything I say.
Sometimes you might drift off a bit so that my voice is just a safe sound in the background,
A reminder that you're cared for,
That I'm here for you.
And I've chosen the theme self-compassion because many of us can be quite hard on ourselves sometimes.
And with self-compassion we can learn to meet ourselves with care and understanding and become more confident.
So this will be our focus for this Yoganitra.
And as you know,
Yoganitra is the softest yoga style of all,
But possibly one of the most powerful ones.
Because you get to connect with yourself on a deeper level beyond all those ideas and illusions of how it should be or what it should look like.
So this is a place where you don't have to perform,
You don't have to do anything,
Just receive the practice.
So let's start by rubbing the hands to connect with the body.
And maybe the hands get a bit warmer.
And then place the hands on your belly,
Warmth and compassion towards yourself.
And tune in.
What are you telling yourself right now?
Is it kind?
And what do you need to hear?
If you were a caring friend,
What would you tell yourself?
And how do you feel right now?
And knowing that what you feel will change,
Feelings flow,
But the mind sometimes tend to overanalyze.
Let's give the mind something else to focus on.
Let's connect with the breath.
Bring your awareness to your hands on your belly,
Feeling your breath underneath your hands.
Your body is breathing for you.
Your body cares for you.
And if you like,
Press your fingertips gently towards your belly,
Like a very gentle massage.
Allowing the belly to soften,
Allowing the mind to soften.
Maybe you can even feel your pulse underneath your fingertips.
In a moment,
We'll exhale a few times with a sigh,
Letting go of tension and maybe starting to let go of old versions of yourself.
Patterns,
Habits,
Guilt,
Things that no longer serve you,
And creating space for what's nurturing and important to you in your life now,
Because we change.
So in your own time,
Exhale a few times,
No rush.
And I'll be silent for a moment.
And after your next exhalation,
Natural breath.
And just observe the natural rhythm of the breath,
If you like,
Or invite another rhythm.
Maybe inhaling to count of four,
And exhaling to count of four,
Or another number if you like.
Inhalations,
Same length as exhalations.
And now observe the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves your nostrils.
The temperature when you inhale and exhale.
The texture of the breath.
Is one nostril more dominant than the other?
And continue like this if you like.
Just observing the breath.
Or on your next exhalation,
Imagine exhaling through the left nostril,
And then inhaling through the left nostril,
And exhaling through the right.
Inhaling through the right,
And exhaling through the left.
And continue in your own time.
And I'll be silent for a minute.
Okay.
And after your next exhalation through the left.
Going back to natural breathing.
Your breathing,
Your softening,
Your resting.
And we'll rotate the awareness around the body.
As I mentioned,
The body part,
You can simply hold your awareness there.
Or imagine filling each part with a nurturing golden light.
A golden light gently touching the top of the head.
The forehead.
The eyes.
The nose.
The lips.
The whole mouth.
The cheeks.
The whole face.
And the ears.
The back of the head.
The neck.
The golden light touching the right shoulder.
The right upper arm.
The right forearm.
The right hand.
The whole right arm.
And the golden light touching the left shoulder.
The left upper arm.
The left forearm.
And the left hand.
The whole left arm.
And the chest.
The heart.
The golden light in your heart.
The belly.
The whole belly.
And the golden nurturing light touching the right hip.
The right thigh.
The right lower leg.
And the right foot.
The whole right leg.
And the left hip.
The left thigh.
The left lower leg.
The left foot.
The whole left leg.
And the bottom of the spine.
The golden light flowing up along the spine.
Lower back.
Mid back.
Upper back.
The whole back.
And then back to the head.
And the whole body.
And feel.
Are there any parts of the body that need some extra care right now?
Any tension somewhere?
And bring your awareness there.
And if you like,
Imagine pouring more nurturing golden light into it.
And you're softening.
You're recharging.
And now your whole body again.
Your whole body is glowing.
And you're breathing.
You're softening.
You're resting.
And now imagine sitting by a window.
Perhaps in the room you're in now or somewhere else.
Maybe a place where you've been or a safe space in your imagination.
Imagine that the window is open.
It's a beautiful evening and you're watching the world outside.
And maybe you're on holiday.
And you're relaxed.
There's nothing you have to do.
And you don't have to interact with the world outside the window if you don't want to.
You don't have to do anything.
So you're sitting there watching the world outside.
And maybe there's a soft and fresh breeze from the window.
And the curtains gently move in the wind.
And you're warm and safe where you are.
Snuggled up with a blanket and maybe a cup of tea.
Watching the clouds in the sky passing by.
Like feelings passing by.
Like thoughts passing by.
Sometimes slowly and sometimes fast.
What do the clouds look like today?
And you're watching the clouds change shape,
Size,
Speed.
The clouds,
They dissolve or drift away.
Like your feelings are always changing.
Sometimes slow,
Sometimes fast.
So what else can you see outside the window?
And what sounds do you hear?
Observing clouds passing by.
You're breathing.
You're softening.
You're resting.
You're drifting into sleep.
Sleep well.
And the Yoganitra is now over.
But I'm still here for you.
And remember that no matter what you're feeling right now,
You're not the only one.
Remember that you're cared for.
Remember that you're loved.
