Welcome to this yoga nidra practice for alignment.
Let's start by getting as comfortable as possible.
You can lie down with a bolster or a pillow under your knees and perhaps something under your head for extra support.
A blanket always feels really nice to keep you warm as the body can cool down when you enter a state of deep relaxation.
There will be short periods of silence for you to have your own experience and let go into the practice.
Although it's called yogic sleep we're not planning to go to sleep.
We are hoping to surf the interface between waking and sleeping.
But if you do fall asleep then that's fine.
It's part of the process and maybe it's what you really need more than anything else right now.
If you become uncomfortable and really have to move then go ahead and move.
Sometimes the urge to move might just be resistance to going deeper.
So try observing the urge to make sure you really do have to move.
If anything in the nidra makes you feel uncomfortable and you want it to stop all you have to do is move your fingers and toes and open your eyes and you will come out of the nidra state.
Now that you are as comfortable as you can be take a moment to arrive in the space you have created for yourself.
As you start to flutter your eyes closed start to notice what's around you.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Is it warm?
Soft?
Rubbery?
Feel the weight of the blanket you've placed over yourself.
Its texture.
How cozy it makes you feel.
Listen to any sounds around you from wherever you are in your home.
Outside.
Notice the temperature of the air on your skin,
On your face.
Is it warm in the space you're in?
If you are outside is there a gentle breathe?
Start to connect to the sensations of the space around you.
As you breathe in imagine that the inhale travels from your feet all the way up your front body.
The breath pauses for just a moment above your head before falling back along your spine back to your feet on the exhale.
It lingers at your feet before the next inhale begins.
Inhale,
Spring rises up the front body.
Pause while summer ripens overhead.
Exhale,
Fall descends down along the spine.
Winter drifts below the soles of your feet before your next inhale brings spring once again.
On the inhale,
Spring rises up the front body.
Pause while summer ripens overhead.
Exhale,
Fall descends down along the spine.
Winter drifts below the soles of your feet before your next inhale brings spring once again.
And now come back to your own natural rhythm of breath,
However that feels to you today.
Imagine yourself standing by a body of water.
Perhaps it is a lake,
Or maybe you're on a beach.
Create an image of this space in your mind's eye.
Hear the water gently lapping against the shore.
The sand between your toes.
That warm glow of sunshine on your face.
And allow yourself to smile.
Let the feeling that smile gives you wash over you,
Just like the sunshine you're standing beneath.
In this moment,
In this safe space on this calm beach,
You are standing in the center of your own circumstances,
Perfectly aligned with all aspects of your life.
Opportunity and prosperity are ahead of you,
And the challenges that have brought you to this moment are behind you.
You are standing at the center of your own circumstances,
Perfectly aligned with all aspects of your life.
Now we come to a phase of rotating the awareness around the body.
When I name a part of the body,
Just hold your awareness there.
Begin at the point between the eyebrows.
Feel the light between the eyebrows.
The little hollow at the base of the throat.
The right shoulder.
Right elbow.
Wrist.
Right thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Fourth finger.
Little finger.
Wrist.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
Base of the throat.
Left shoulder.
Elbow.
Wrist.
Hand.
Left thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Fourth finger.
Little finger.
Wrist.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
Base of the throat.
Center of breastbone.
Inside of left breastbone.
Inside of right breastbone.
Navel.
Center of pelvic floor.
Right hip.
Knee.
Ankle.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Ankle.
Knee.
Hip.
Center of pelvic floor.
Left hip.
Knee.
Ankle.
Big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Ankle.
Knee.
Hip.
Center of pelvic floor.
Navel.
Breastbone.
Base of throat.
Eyebrow center.
Whole body.
Whole body.
Your whole body resting.
I invite you to take yourself back to standing at the edge of that beautiful,
Calm and peaceful body of water.
Feeling the sand between your toes and the sun upon your skin.
Let that image wash over your mind.
You are standing in the center of your own circumstances,
Perfectly aligned with all aspects of your life.
Opportunity and prosperity are ahead of you.
The challenges that have brought you to this moment are behind you.
And now,
Letting the image of the calm waters ebb away into the distance,
Begin your slow and gentle return.
Slowly start to make your way back.
Feeling your body.
And listening to the sounds around you.
Gently begin to move your hands and feet.
And take some deep inhalations.
Maybe stretch your arms over your head.
Draw your knees up to your chest.
Rock from side to side.
And then roll over onto one side.
And in your own time,
Make your way up to a seated position,
Keeping your eyes closed.
And here,
We will close our practice.
