Welcome to your practice.
Make sure that you are comfortable.
You can do this practice lying on your back in the yoga posture Shavasana or if that doesn't feel so good for you then come into any position that feels comfortable.
Take any support that you need for yourself.
Blankets or pillows so that you won't feel distracted by your body as you practice.
And if it feels best for you,
You can also do this practice sitting.
And as you begin to settle just take a moment to acknowledge that these next few minutes are for you.
For your rest,
Rejuvenation and well-being.
There's nowhere else that you need to be.
Nothing else that you need to be doing.
No people to please,
No obligations to fulfill.
For these next few minutes you are free to do nothing but rest.
Now bring the awareness to the breath and take a long deep breath in.
As you breathe in,
Visualize the breath moving from your feet all the way up to your head.
And as you breathe out,
Feel all of the muscles in your body letting go and releasing.
Take three more deep breaths like this.
Inhale from the feet to the head.
Exhale to feel the whole of the body releasing and relaxing.
As you breathe,
Listen to the gentle sound of the breath washing over your body like a wave.
With every exhalation,
The whole of the body relaxing more deeply.
And now let's begin the rotation of consciousness around the body.
Begin by bringing the awareness to the top of the head.
Rest the awareness at the top of the head.
And the eyebrow center.
Bring the awareness to the eyebrow center.
And move the awareness to the space between the collarbones,
The right shoulder,
The right elbow,
The right wrist,
The tip of the right hand thumb,
The tip of the right index finger,
The tip of the right middle finger,
The tip of the ring finger,
The tip of the right little finger,
The right wrist,
The right elbow,
The right shoulder,
The space between the collarbones,
The left shoulder,
The left elbow,
The left wrist,
The tip of the left hand thumb,
The tip of the left index finger,
The tip of the left middle finger,
The tip of the left ring finger,
The tip of the left little finger,
The left wrist,
The left elbow,
The left shoulder,
The space between the collarbones,
The center of the chest,
The left side of the chest,
The center of the chest,
The right side of the chest,
The center of the chest,
The navel,
The lower abdomen,
The right hip,
The right knee,
The right ankle,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
The fifth toe,
The right ankle,
The right knee,
The right hip,
The lower abdomen,
The left hip,
The left knee,
The left ankle,
The left big toe,
The second toe,
Third toe,
The fourth toe,
The fifth toe,
The left ankle,
The left knee,
The left hip,
The lower abdomen,
The navel,
The center of the chest,
The space between the collarbone,
The eyebrow center,
The top of the head.
Feel into your body and feel into all of the places where the body feels tired.
Bring the awareness to the feeling of tiredness in the body.
Feel into the places that feel tired or exhausted.
Feel the feeling of tiredness as fully and as vividly as you can.
Notice what you feel in all of those tired places and welcome that feeling,
The feeling of tiredness.
And now feel into your body and feel into the places that feel awake and alive.
Feel into the places that are energized and filled with vitality.
Feel the feeling of awakeness as vividly and as fully as you can.
Welcome that feeling of awakeness.
Intensify the feeling in all of those places that you feel it,
The feeling of awakeness.
And are you able to feel both of those feelings at the same time?
Can you feel the feelings of tiredness and awakeness inside the body together?
The feelings of tiredness and awakeness happening in the body together.
Tiredness and awakeness together.
Move the awareness to the center of the chest.
Feel into the center of the chest.
Observe the gentle movements that happen in the chest as you breathe in and out.
The gentle rising and falling of the chest with every breath.
And follow the wave of the breath as it ripples out into the whole of the body.
Watch the breath gently rippling into every part of the body,
Into every limb,
Every organ,
Every cell.
And keeping the awareness at the center of the chest,
At the heart center,
These next few minutes are yours to simply be.
Slowly begin to turn the awareness back outward.
Become aware of any sounds that are happening in your environment around you.
Just let the awareness jump from sound to sound.
There's no need to get too involved in any one sound.
Just notice that they're there.
Acknowledge them.
Bring the awareness back to the breath and watch the breath flowing in and out.
Notice how each breath gently reawakens and revitalizes the body.
Notice how your body naturally wants to wake up and move and continue with the day.
And as you feel this reawakening within your body,
Begin to make some small movements with the fingers and the toes,
And with the ankles and the wrists,
And give yourself a stretch in any way that feels good for you.
And when you're ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
Your practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
Thank you for listening.
