We'll begin by finding a position where your body can fully rest.
Lying down on your back is ideal.
With the arms slightly away from the body and the palms facing up.
And if you need a blanket or pillow,
Maybe some support under the knees or anything else,
Take some time to make those adjustments so that you can make yourself as comfortable as possible.
And then once you've settled,
Allow the eyes to close and to become a bit heavy.
And take a slow breath in through the nose.
And a long breath out through the mouth.
And again,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Allowing the weight of the body to settle downward.
And one more time,
Big,
Deep breath in.
And a long,
Full breath out.
Letting go of any last little bit of movement.
And know that from this moment on.
There is nothing that you need to do.
There's no effort that needs to be made.
No place to go.
So just allow yourself to be fully here.
Arriving in this moment.
And now tell yourself three times,
Here begins the practice of yoga nidra.
I will stay awake and aware.
And I am open to receive whatever I need today.
And now tell yourself three times.
I am becoming more whole every day.
We'll begin by moving through the body.
Releasing any held tension that you have here.
We'll be doing a bit of a tense and release exercise.
So as we go area by area,
You'll put some intentional tension in the muscles.
So then when you release,
You can completely soften and relax the muscles.
Will begin with the feet.
Bringing your awareness to your feet.
Curling the toes,
Tightening the feet.
Inhaling here,
Filling up with air.
And exhale completely releasing and relaxing the feet.
Now moving up to the legs.
Tightening the thighs and the calves.
Squeezing these muscles around the bones.
Holding this tension here for a moment as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
The muscles in the legs and around the knees completely melt and release.
And letting your legs and feet become completely heavy.
And now moving your awareness now to your hands.
Curling the fingers into fists.
Holding for a moment as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
Letting the fingers relax and the muscles in the hands soften.
Maybe feeling a bit of warmth spreading through the palms.
And now bringing your awareness to the arms and the shoulders.
Lifting the shoulders up slightly towards the ears,
Squeezing and clenching.
Holding for a moment as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
The arms and the shoulders.
Soften under the weight of gravity.
The shoulder is dropping away from the neck.
Now bringing your awareness to the jaw.
Squeezing and clenching the jaw.
Inhaling here and exhaling,
Softening the jaw.
And allowing the tongue to rest easily in the mouth.
And now the face,
Scrunching up the face.
Inhaling and exhaling all the little muscles of the face let go of their grip.
And now the whole body at once.
Squeezing,
Clenching,
Firing up the muscles.
Inhaling here.
And exhaling,
Letting it all go.
The whole body melting and releasing downward.
Completely supported and held.
Now feeling the front side of your body.
And feeling the backside of the body.
Noticing the right side of the body.
And the left side of the body.
Notice the whole body.
As the muscles unwind.
The body softens.
And you feel yourself sinking and melting down into the surface beneath you.
The whole body free of tension.
The muscles resting.
And your body completely at ease.
Under the gentle hug of gravity.
And the support from the surface beneath you.
And now bring your awareness to the natural rhythm of your breath.
Just noticing your breath.
Feeling the cool air move into your body as you breathe in.
And the warm air leave your body.
As you breathe out.
And now imagine that with every inhale.
The breath spreads throughout the body.
Like a wave of nourishment through you.
And then as you exhale.
Allow the body to release what it no longer needs.
Inhaling,
Receiving.
And exhaling,
Letting go.
Now allow the breath to move towards an area of your body that needs healing.
You don't need to know exactly where that might be.
Or decide why that part of the body needs it.
But just notice where your awareness and breath naturally goes.
And as you inhale,
Imagine the breath carrying oxygen and warmth.
And health to this area.
And as you exhale,
Imagine tension dissolving.
The body knows what to do with this breath.
So allow yourself to breathe and be.
And just let the body absorb all it needs on the inhales and release anything it needs to release on the exhales.
We're now going to move through a series of opposing feelings and sensations for the body.
And as I call them out,
Just allow yourself,
Without question,
To just experience them fully.
Feel your body become hot.
Like you're sitting close to a fire.
And now feel your body become cold.
Like you stepped outside in a cold winter's night.
And now feel your body become strong.
So incredibly strong.
And now feel your body become weak.
Notice now a pure sensation of happiness.
And of sadness.
Now feel yourself become completely confident.
And now insecure.
Now feel your body become tense.
And feel your body become relaxed.
Completely and totally relaxed.
And now imagine.
Around you as a cocoon of light.
Considering this light and thinking about it.
What color is it?
Visualizing the light around you being soft and warm.
Feeling comforting.
Almost like that early morning sunlight peeking through the curtains.
And you take a breath in.
And as you exhale,
You imagine your body's muscles loosening up just a little bit more.
Not slowly untying themselves.
Your guarding,
Your clenching,
Any physical holding is released.
There's nothing that you need to do.
Within this sacred space.
You can feel yourself being bathed in healing light.
And within this cocoon of healing light energy.
It naturally goes wherever you need healing,
Love.
Or extra support.
You and as you breathe.
Feel the light being drawn into you.
With every inhale.
Exactly what your body needs is drawn in.
Maybe it's nourishment or oxygen,
Healing,
Restoration.
With every exhale,
Your body releases what it no longer needs to hold.
Maybe that's fatigue or strain.
Stagnation or tension.
You are not making the healing happen.
You are just allowing it to naturally happen here within this safe space.
This beautiful healing cocoon of light.
Your body knows what to do.
It just needs the space to do it.
So all you have to do is just rest and be bathed in this cocoon.
Healing light.
Allowing yourself to be cared for in this way.
And now tell yourself three times.
I am becoming more whole with each day.
And now begin to notice your breath again.
And feel the body resting on the surface beneath you.
Begin to notice the sounds in the room.
The temperature of the air on your skin.
And slowly invite small movement in.
Like a lean fingers and toes.
You'd be finding a full body stretch if that feels good to you.
And then when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
And take your time to return.
Thank you so much for joining me for this yoga nidra practice.
