Gather any pillows,
Blankets,
Anything you might need to get comfortable.
And also noticing in your body if you feel ready to be still or if you need to stretch a little bit.
So as you come down into your comfortable position,
It might take a little bit of movement.
So finding your way onto the back of the body,
Option to have pillows behind the neck,
Under the knees.
If you'd like to remain seated,
Just making sure you have support for your back,
Extending the legs.
As we find our way into stillness,
Keeping the eyes open and gazing up,
Taking a moment to gaze around your room,
Feeling a sense of your room as a container,
Sensing your connection to the floor,
The space of the walls and ceiling.
And as you're ready,
Allowing your eyes to close down,
Perhaps covering them.
As we settle into practice,
The invitation is to be still,
But please know it's okay to move your body if you feel uncomfortable or restless and it's okay to open your eyes.
Make a choice now that until the end of our yoga nidra that you will be gentle to yourself.
You will listen and you will support your body,
Whether that's with movement or stillness.
Let's begin with the affirmation,
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I invite my body to rest.
I invite my mind to slow down and yet I remain awake and aware.
Yoga nidra is a practice of being present.
Shifting our awareness from the thinking and planning mind to the senses,
Sensing and feeling.
Turn your awareness inward.
Begin to sense the comfort of your body.
Noticing if there is anything you could do to get even a little more comfortable.
Maybe shifting the head,
The shoulders,
The hips.
Adding a prop or taking one away.
Begin to feel the connection points between the backside of the body,
The heels,
The back of the knees.
The sacrum,
The back of the pelvic bowl,
Supported by the floor.
The shoulder blades,
The back of the arms.
The center of the back of the head.
Welcoming support for the entire body.
Drawing awareness to your ears.
Sensing the right ear.
Tracing the outline of the earlobe.
Welcoming the vibrations of sound.
Drawing your awareness to the left ear.
Tracing the outline of the earlobe.
Welcoming the vibrations of sound.
Noticing the sounds in your space.
The sound of my voice.
The sound of this drum.
What would it be like if you could receive sound through your entire body?
A global awareness of sound.
And welcoming your attention to rest on the sound of your own breath.
Listening intently to the inhale and exhale.
And let's bring in the technique of Dhirga Pranayama,
The full yogic breath.
Welcoming the breath into the belly.
When you hear this tone,
Inhale into the belly.
And when you hear this tone,
Exhale,
Completely emptying the belly.
Breathing in.
Filling the belly.
Moving up to the ribs.
When you hear this tone,
Breathing in to the side ribs.
And out.
In to the ribcage.
Welcoming this breath to expand and contract.
Moving the breath to the top of the chest.
Breathing in to the heart and the collarbones.
And out.
Filling the top of the lungs.
Linking these three breaths all together.
Belly,
Ribs,
Chest,
And out.
Taking three more rounds.
An option to hold for a moment at the bottom of that exhale.
And welcoming back your natural rhythm of breath.
And gathering all of your awareness to the heart center,
The center of the chest.
Beginning to notice sensation here.
Noticing temperature.
Feeling cool,
Warm.
Sensing the rhythm of your heart.
And I'll guide you in a rotation of awareness.
Around the body.
As I name each part,
Focus your awareness here.
And open to sensations present.
You may feel the pulse of your heartbeat.
You may feel a tingling.
Or perhaps there's no sensation.
All of these are just fine.
Bringing attention to the right shoulder blade.
The front of the right shoulder.
The right elbow.
The right wrist.
The back of the right hand.
The palm of the right hand.
The thumb and each of the fingers.
Sensing the tip of the fingers.
One.
Welcoming sensation through the entire right side of the arm.
Bringing your attention back to the center of the chest.
Breathing in at the heart.
Awareness flows to the left shoulder blade.
The front of the left shoulder.
The left elbow.
The left wrist.
The back of the left hand.
The palm of the left hand.
Bringing awareness to the tip of the thumb and each of the fingers.
One.
Could you welcome sensation through the entire left arm?
Sensing the whole left arm together.
Gathering that focus back to the center of the heart.
The navel center.
The center of the pubic bone.
The tailbone.
The back of the left hip.
Sensing into the whole hip joint.
The right hip.
The center of the right thigh.
The right knee.
The right ankle.
Sensation flows along the top of the right foot.
The sole of the right foot.
Noticing sensation on the tip of the toes.
One.
Two.
Welcoming sensation through the entire right leg.
Sensing the right leg from the soles of the feet up into the hip.
And shifting awareness to the left side.
The back of the left hip.
The front of the left hip.
Sensing the whole hip joint.
The center of the left thigh.
The left knee.
The left ankle.
The top of the left foot.
The sole of the left foot.
Sensing the tip of each of the toes.
One.
Welcoming awareness through the entire left leg.
Sensing the whole leg together.
Gathering your attention at the tip of the tailbone.
Gliding up the length of the spine.
Sensing the low back.
The mid back.
The upper back.
The center of the back of the head.
The center of the back of the head.
Noticing sensation through the whole scalp.
The center of the top of the head.
The center of the forehead.
The tip of the nose.
The tip of the tongue.
Sensing the whole length of the tongue.
One.
Sensing the inside of the mouth.
The base of the throat.
Awareness returning to the center of the chest.
Resting in the space of the heart.
I invite you to keep a light focus on the space of your heart.
And the sensation of your breath.
Perhaps bringing back that three part Dhirga breath.
Waving through the low belly,
The ribs,
And the chest.
With each breath,
Letting yourself sink deeper in to rest.
Listening.
Sensing.
Finding refuge in the stillness.
Allowing yourself to sense,
To drift,
To dream,
To settle.
To receive exactly what you need.
Breathing in to the chest.
As we begin to wake our body.
Returning refreshed.
Bringing our attention back to the breath once again.
Taking two sips of air in through the nose.
And a short exhale with the sound HA.
In,
In,
HA.
Sending this fresh air and fresh energy to the center of the chest.
To the center of the mind.
To the center of the heart.
Imagine this energy coming in through the nose and out through the palms and the feet.
Welcoming back your natural breath.
Reorienting yourself to the space around you.
Remembering this container,
The shape of the walls.
The sensation of resting on the floor.
The space between you and the ceiling above you.
And bringing awareness back to the ears.
Noticing the sounds in the distance.
Noticing the sounds in your space.
Noticing any fragrance or aroma.
And as you feel ready.
Welcoming movement slowly and intentionally back into your body.
Beginning with the fingers and the toes.
Scrunching and stretching.
Perhaps touching finger and thumb.
Middle finger and thumb.
Ring finger and thumb.
Small finger and thumb.
Beginning to bring circles in to the wrists and the ankles.
Perhaps stretching up and overhead.
If your legs have been extended,
Slowly drawing one knee up and the other knee up.
You might squeeze them in toward the body.
You might feel nice to open them,
Rocking side to side.
Perhaps bringing in circles or windshield wiper movement.
And as you feel ready,
Rolling on to the side of the body.
Taking a few breaths in a fetal pose.
This moment symbolizes our return from deep rest.
Reborn as the newest version of ourselves.
You might linger here or come back to a seated position.
And again,
Tending to your body.
So perhaps you'd like to do some stretches.
Rolling the neck or rolling the shoulders.
Bringing those hands together at heart center.
Thank you for joining me in this Yoga Nidra practice.
Namaste.
