Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra,
Your practice of Yoga Nidra,
Where you don't have to do anything,
There's nothing to do,
Nowhere to go and no one to please.
We'll be in practice for 15-20 minutes or so.
So lying here in your space,
Your space,
Noticing your body on your surface,
On your surface,
On the earth,
Lying on the earth,
Breathing in gently,
In and out,
And as you breathe out,
Breathe out down to the earth,
Giving your breath to the earth and letting the earth support you,
And as you breathe in,
Breathe up from the earth,
Breathing out and down into the earth,
Let your awareness go down to the earth,
Breathing in,
Back up from the earth,
Breathing out and down to the earth,
Breathing in,
Back up from the earth,
Letting the earth support you,
So you can rest for this practice.
Noticing the sounds around you in your room,
In the space,
In your space,
And gradually letting those sounds diminish,
Feeling the warmth from your own internal heat,
From the fire in your belly,
Keeping you warm as you're lying there.
Noticing the flowing nature,
Flowing of your breath and your body,
Where your body is always moving,
Even ever so slightly,
Flowing like water.
And then taking three long,
Slow,
Deep breaths,
Three long,
Slow,
Gentle,
Deep breaths,
Breathing in the air,
Breathing out the air,
Allowing yourself to melt even further into the earth as you breathe.
The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now,
And I invite you to take a rotation around the body.
As I mention a part of the body,
Please take your awareness to that part,
And if you wish,
You can repeat the name of that part in your mind,
Silently to yourself.
So we start with the right hand thumb,
Right hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the body,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Right thigh,
Kneecap,
Back of the knee,
The shin,
The calf,
The ankle,
Heel,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Left hand thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the body,
Left waist,
Left hip,
The thigh,
Kneecap,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
The calf,
Ankle,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
Heel,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The heels touching the ground,
Calves,
Back of the thighs,
The buttocks,
The parts of the lower back that touch the ground,
Shoulder blades,
The back of the shoulders and shoulder girdle,
The whole of the spine,
The whole of the length of the spine,
The whole of the spine,
The neck,
The lower part of the skull,
The back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
The chin,
The front of the neck,
The throat,
The space between the core bones,
The bone in the middle of the chest,
The right side of the chest,
The left side of the chest,
The diaphragm,
Lower belly,
The right leg and the left leg,
The right leg and the left leg together,
The right arm,
The left arm,
The right arm,
The left arm together,
The head,
The whole head,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole body lying on the earth.
Take a moment now to return to your breath,
Noticing your breath,
Just noticing as you're breathing in and breathing out.
And as you breathe in,
Imagine that your breath is moving from your feet all the way up to the top of your head.
And as you breathe out,
Imagine that your breath is moving from the top of your head all the way down to your feet.
Breathing in from the feet to the top of the head.
Breathing out from the top of the head to the feet.
Breathing in from the feet to the top of the head.
Breathing out from the top of the head to the feet.
And continue with this pattern and this pace.
Now let your breathing return to normal as you're lying there supported by the earth.
I invite you now to join me on a short visualisation as you find yourself in a beautiful forest by a waterfall,
A waterfall coming from the highest,
Highest hill there is around.
And as it comes down,
It comes down into a small pond.
And from the small pond,
It turns into a bubbling stream,
A small stream.
And as you follow the stream,
Notice how small the stream is,
And that there are lots of rocks in the stream,
And the water is navigating around the rocks,
Flowing over the rocks.
And walking along a bit further,
The stream becomes a little wider.
The rocks are still there,
And the water is still flowing around them and over them,
But there's more room for the water as the stream gets wider and wider.
As you're walking along,
The water is flowing with ease as the stream gets wider and wider.
And then you come to a small clearing,
And the sun comes through.
The sun is very,
Very hot,
Very hot.
And so you bend down and splash yourself with the water,
Which is very,
Very,
Very cold.
And the water cools you down to a medium temperature.
And continue to walk along by the stream as it gets wider and wider,
Navigating the rocks with ease.
And now the stream gets really,
Really wide into a big,
Wide river.
And it goes so wide,
It then becomes the sea,
And you find yourself standing in front of the sea.
And looking across to the horizon,
Almost in infinity,
So much space.
Looking to your right,
Looking to your left,
So much space.
The water has come from the stream,
Over the rocks,
Into the sea.
So much space.
In this vast,
Spacious sea.
And it feels like you could look at that view forever.
And now becoming aware of the space in your room.
This space you're in,
A familiar space.
Becoming aware of any sounds around you.
The sound of your own breath.
Maybe there are sounds outside.
Becoming aware of the feel of the ground.
The touch of your clothes.
Any familiar smells in the room.
In the space that you're in.
Take another three deep breaths.
And still with your eyes closed,
Give yourself a stretch.
A stretch and a yawn.
Stretch and a yawn.
And then curling up.
Stretch and a yawn and curling up into a ball.
And coming over onto one side to rest.
Still with your eyes closed.
And as you begin to sit up,
Support your head as you come up with your bottom hand.
Push yourself up.
Still with your eyes closed.
And then rubbing your palms together.
Placing your hands over your eyes,
Your palms over your eyes,
While you're sitting up.
And open your eyes and look into the darkness of your palms.
And gradually release your hands down to let the light in.
The practice of yoga nidra is finished.
Ariyam Tatsat.
Thank you for your practice.
