IRest Within The Sensations Of Body

This iRest yoga nidra practice focuses on the sensations of the body. During this practice we also explore some opposites- right and left, warm and cool, vibrant and quiet. Exploring opposites opens attention to more than just experience of life. At the end of the practice you will hear the Tibetan sound bowl ring.

Transcript

So continue getting settled, Noting what props want to be where, How the blankets want to be just so. We're focusing on the comfort of our body. We want the body to feel restful when we're settling in for practice. There's no exact way that the body needs to be positioned. And of course, At any time in the practice, If you would like, You can change position if there's some discomfort that arises, You might shift or move. And that's perfectly okay. Settling in and noticing how this moment right now feels. There might be awareness of sounds, Thoughts. But what does the moment feel like if you could turn attention in just this moment, Noticing places in the body that might begin to feel a bit settled or at ease, You might turn towards these places, Turning attention towards the feeling of ease. And if it feels right, You might also welcome any images or words that may aid in the process of turning towards ease, Peace, Quiet contentment. Momentarily, You might also note what sings in the heart. If life were being lived through the heart, Through the heart's calling, What would that feel like? There may also be pictures for this. What does it look like when you're living through the heart in harmony with everything around you? Connected, Authentic, Living with true health and wellness. And as you're settling into your practice, Is there a small piece of this, This heart's calling for just this practice, Just this next little bit of time, This intention to feel peace, To rest, To experience a particular emotion that's been arriving, Or to just welcome what is being present in the moment. And if there is a particular intention for this practice, Welcoming that in the present tense, It's already true. In this moment, And then letting it go. Touching back to what's here, What's present now, Perhaps a feeling of peace or ease, Which you might touch back to at any point in the practice, If it feels right. And staying with what is present in this moment, As long as you like, Noting the sensations of the body, There may be particular sensations that are really calling to be noticed. And there's nothing to figure out here. Nothing to evaluate. Just just meeting, Saying hello to what's present in the body. And if a response is required, If there's a discomfort, There might still be a bit of shift or change, Welcoming the body to a more restful position. And then noting the sensation inside the mouth, The feeling of the roof of the mouth, The floor of the mouth, The inner walls of the cheeks, The tongue, Pool of sensation, Nothing that has to be fixed or changed. Simply welcoming all these sensations, Just as they are the teeth and gums, The jaw, The hinge of the jaw, The inner ears, And the external ears, Not looking at them or thinking at them, But attention dropping into them, The ears as sensation, Noting the feeling of the scalp, The back of the head where it rests on a surface, The top of the head, The sides, The scalp, Vibrant and alive sensations, Just as they are noting perhaps a coolness, The skin of the forehead, The eyebrows, Noticing the temples, The bones around the eyes, Feeling the structure, The solidity, And then letting attention drop into the sockets, The eyes floating in the sockets, The space of the sockets, Feeling your way moment to moment to the backs of the eyes, Right and left, Following back even farther to meet right and left at a midpoint somewhere in the center of the head, Feeling your way, The center point, Buzzing, Humming, Or quiet and still dropping attention down through the throat into the torso. Does this point come to land come to rest and noting what's present there as sensation? Is it solid or fluid? Does it have edges and borders? Or maybe opening out into the sphere of sensation of the whole torso, Front and back, One side and the other torso as a sphere of sensation, Top and bottom to all the way around. There may be a noticing of a flowing movement to this sensation as breath comes and goes or some other sensation moves through nothing to figure out. Just welcoming what is this moment, The torso, Feeling your way down into hips, Right and left, Both hips from hips feeling down legs, Just sensing taking your time down the legs, Surface of skin and deep inside alive with sensations, Perhaps some places and legs that feel a little quieter or farther away, Feeling your way through all the way down feet and toes, Perhaps shifting attention itself all steeping into one foot, Just one foot, And then attention, Drifting to the other foot, Back and forth, Noting one foot, And then the other, Letting go of the judgments, Valuations, One foot may feel bigger or smaller, One foot may feel farther away or closer, Just sensing one foot, And then the other, And then opening attention to both feet, Both feet, Both legs, Both hips, And the sphere of sensation of the torso, Noting the shoulders, Right and left, Both shoulders and taking your time from shoulders, Allowing yourself to allowing attention to drift down the arms, No hurrying no destination, Each moment drifting down the arms feeling all the sensations from the surface of the skin and deep inside arms all the way down to hands, Fingers, Noting where sensations may feel different places that feel warm or cool in the hands and fingers, Sensations that may be soft. Other places in hands may feel hard and before the mind labels or creates the story behind the sensations staying with the feeling hands and fingers, And then opening attention to the whole body hands, Fingers, Arms, Shoulders, Torso, Legs and feet, Neck and head, Whole body, Front and back, Outside and inside welcoming all of the sensations that are present this vast field feeling, Noticing the movement of breath as it flows through sensations and begin to count the breath counting the inhale counting the exhale without changing it without directing it simply counting at your own pace as you inhale and then counting as you exhale and beginning to become the doer of breathing as you breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of four at whatever pace feels comfortable for you breathing in for four and out for four staying with these counts and at the next breath extending the exhale inhaling for four exhaling for five breath coming and going inhaling for four exhaling for five with the next breath extending the exhale another count inhaling for four and exhaling for six just noting how sensations may change or shift as the exhale slows nothing to fix or change just this breath and extending the exhale if it feels right inhaling for four exhaling for seven moment to moment noticing as breath comes and goes sensations flowing with the breath and if it feels right to extend the exhale once more inhaling for four exhaling for eight and at the end of the next exhale letting go of counting letting go of the breath the body breathing itself the global global feeling of sensation of the body and noting any emotions or thoughts that are wanting to be noticed listening to the messages that come touching back to this feeling of peace and ease at any point settling into stillness and this stillness may open into a vastness empty quiet or following what's most true for you in this moment what's present there may be a momentary welcoming of the heart's song the heart's calling or just a quiet opening of joy or contentment just this whatever is present in this moment holding on to this deepest feeling that wants to be noticed remembering this as you begin to open the senses back to the space around you there may be an image or a word or a feeling that's traveling back like a companion wanting to be remembered and if so welcoming welcoming and carrying this with you as the ears open back to hearing and the room as the body and its sense of touch opens back to feeling the space and perhaps even eyes softly opening their gaze seeing nothing in particular just seeing feeling and hearing back to the place where you are and as the body begins to reawaken to this space welcoming what movement feels right in this moment stretches wiggles shifts taking your time as you come back to this moment