Welcome.
My name is Laura J.
Hansen and I am honored to guide you in the practice of yoga nidra.
Thank you for being here now.
Yoga nidra is a deeply restorative practice where felt sensation meets wild imagination.
It is a journey inward that begins with body and breath awareness,
Nourishing our nervous system as we move into deeper levels of rest and presence.
It is a practice of unlearning,
Releasing and coming back home to yourself.
It is a practice of meeting yourself where you are with curiosity and compassion.
It is the practice of truly being here now.
As you begin to settle into your space,
I invite you to find a comfortable place to lie down,
One that allows you to connect fully with the ground beneath you.
Consider the textures of the materials you bring into your yoga nidra nest as you gather blankets and thin pillows to elevate your comfort.
When you are ready to lie down,
Start by rooting through your sitting bones and the soles of your feet,
Knees bent,
And rolling back one vertebra at a time until your spine meets the earth and your head rests gently on the surface beneath you.
Give yourself permission to take up space as you stretch your legs long,
Rooting through your heels as they make contact with the ground below.
You may find your body asking for a little more support beneath your neck and knees.
Placing thin pillows beneath those parts of your body can be an invitation for you to sink more deeply into the earth.
Listen to the wisdom of your body here and allow yourself to make any changes if this position does not feel appropriate for you today.
As you settle in more fully,
Check in again with where you are now,
Noticing the temperature of your room and the light that fills your space.
Covering your body with a soft blanket may feel supportive,
And placing an eye mask or a soft towel over your eyes may help you shift your attention inward.
Consider any final physical adjustments or movements that may offer you even more comfort here,
Preparing to remain in stillness for the rest of the practice.
Allow your body to sink deeply into this sacred space,
Your arms falling out to just beyond the sides of your body,
Leaving space between.
Allow your feet to fall open as you begin to release the muscles in your legs.
Notice how it feels to connect deeply with the earth,
Rooting through the sides or the backs of your hands,
Your lower back,
And your shoulders.
Allow the weight of your body to melt into the surface below.
As you notice how it feels to be here now,
Deeply supported,
Intentionally rooted,
Start to shift your attention to the rhythm of your natural breath.
How does it feel to breathe in your body?
Invite curiosity here as you notice the sensation of your breath,
Its texture,
Its temperature.
Begin to explore your body and your breath with your awareness alone,
Your focus gently dancing from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head as you inhale,
And from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet as you exhale.
Begin to breathe in and out,
In and out,
As your awareness flows from your feet to your head,
Your head to your feet,
Your breath a gentle breeze drifting softly through your body as you sink more deeply into the earth.
Feeling fully supported where you are now.
Notice any sounds that may be pulling your awareness beyond as part of the experience,
Part of being here now,
Simply reminders of where you are in the world as you breathe in and out,
In and out.
On your next breath,
Begin to deepen your exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide with the sacred space around you,
Lengthening your inhales and exhales as your awareness flows from your feet to your head,
Your head to your feet,
Expanding outwards to the space beyond in both directions.
As you create more space for your breath to flow more freely in your body,
What sensations arise and where?
Not attaching story or meaning to them,
Simply noticing.
On your next breath,
Begin to explore the sensation of retention and release,
Holding your breath within and without.
Consider pausing at the top of your breath after a deep inhale.
Linger here and notice the sensations that arise.
When you feel called to release,
Allow yourself to exhale slowly.
Consider pausing again at the bottom of your breath.
Linger here and notice the sensations that arise.
Allow your next inhale to unfurl,
Beginning again and again,
Noticing the sensation of your breath in your body,
Lengthening and deepening,
Retaining and releasing that gentle breeze flowing within you and around you,
Enveloping you in a warm embrace as you sink more deeply into the earth.
After you feel complete with this exploration of breath and sensation,
Invite your body to return to the rhythm of your natural breath,
Inhaling without effort,
Exhaling with ease.
Resolve to maintain the stillness in your body,
Moving only if your body asks for subtle changes to maintain your comfort.
Allow your body to sink more deeply into the earth,
The weight of your limbs and the heaviness of your torso,
Fully supported and completely held by the ground beneath you.
Allow your awareness to flow again from your feet to your head and your head to your feet,
Pausing as your awareness reaches your heart,
Slightly left of center,
Deep in your chest.
As you focus your awareness on your heart space,
Notice the rhythm and sensation of your heart beating.
Continue to breathe in and out,
The rhythm of your heartbeat in a dance with the rhythm of your effortless inhales and exhales.
How awe-inspiring is it,
This innate wisdom of your body,
Knowing what to do and when to keep you living and breathing here and now.
From this place of awe and maybe even gratitude,
Shift your awareness even deeper within.
Notice as roots unfurl from the back of your body,
Behind your heart,
Into the earth beneath you.
Invite curiosity and compassion into this tender space like light and water,
Nurturing these tendrils that expand from within.
It is here in your heart that the practice of yoga nidra begins.
As you linger here in your heart space,
Notice what arises.
What is your heart asking you to remember about who you are and what you need?
Maybe there's an intention or quality or a feeling you desire to embody more fully in your life.
Whatever it is that your heart reveals to you,
Reframe in a statement that begins with I am using positive language,
Present tense,
Such as I am worthy or I am full of peace.
Silence is your promise to yourself,
Your truth vow.
Repeat this potent I am statement three times silently to yourself,
Feeling the truth of your promise to yourself,
Welling up within the roots of your heart and expanding beyond.
As we move deeper into the practice,
Allow your inhales and exhales to continue flowing with ease,
Letting go more fully as your awareness dances along various points in your body.
Resolve to follow along with your awareness,
Feeling into the sensation of the body point you made.
If your attention ebbs and flows with the sound of my voice,
Know that you may always return to your heart space as an anchor point.
It is here in the practice that your body may begin to drift into the state of sleep as you sink into deeper levels of rest.
Resolve to keep your mind aware and invite whatever experience arises for you to unfold.
Beginning in the roots of your heart space,
Allow your awareness to gently glide to your brow center and back to your heart.
Feel your right temple return to your heart.
Feel your right cheek return to your heart.
Feel your right shoulder return to your heart.
Feel your outer right ribs return to your heart.
Feel your right upper thigh return to your heart.
Feel your right ankle return to your heart.
Feel the whole right side of your body now.
From the soles of your feet to the crown of your head,
Feel the whole right side of your body in full presence and felt awareness,
The whole right side.
Then feel into the rooted space of your heart.
Feel your left ankle return to your heart.
Feel your left upper thigh return to your heart.
Feel your outer left ribs return to your heart.
Feel your left shoulder return to your heart.
Feel your left cheek return to your heart.
Feel your left temple return to your heart.
Feel your midbrain,
The space between your ears.
Feel the whole left side of your body now.
From the soles of your feet to the crown of your head,
Feel the whole left side of your body in full presence and felt awareness,
The whole left side.
Return to your heart and connect from your midbrain,
The space between your ears,
To your brow center,
Completing the path of full embodied heart centered awareness.
From your heart,
Travel to your pineal gland,
Deep in the space between your ears,
Bringing your felt awareness there.
Now allow your awareness to flow throughout your whole body.
Your whole body,
Feel it now.
Feel all the points of your body and the space between those points and experience of complete wholeness in your body.
Gently glide your awareness back into the rooted space of your heart.
Feel the contraction and expansion of every heartbeat,
Nourishing your entire being in its perfect rhythm.
Now shift your felt awareness back to the rhythm of your breath.
Your effortless inhales and exhales,
That gentle breeze flowing through you and around you.
On your inhales,
Allow your awareness to expand out along the edges of your body.
On your exhales,
Allow your awareness to contract,
Drawing your awareness back to your heart.
Explore the sensation of expansion and contraction with curiosity,
Simply noticing what arises as you allow your awareness to travel out even further in space,
Beyond your physical body to the room around you and the realm beyond you and back again into the deep caverns of your rooted heart.
Allow this felt sensation of expansion and contraction to ebb and flow with the rhythms of your body,
Releasing your hold on what should be and instead softening into the potent presence of what truly is now.
Allow the natural rhythm of expansion,
Far and wide and contraction deep and narrow,
To amplify your awareness of your energy as your physical being starts to dissolve.
On the next flow of expansion,
Expand to the edge of the earth and rest here in awe of pure spacious awareness.
As you find your awareness drawing inward on the next ebb of contraction,
Allow your awareness to rest upon a neutral point in your being.
Where does your awareness innately land?
It can be your brow center or your heart or another point altogether.
Linger here in this neutral place,
Your anchor point,
With nowhere to go and nothing to do but be right here,
Right now.
Begin to notice the heaviness of your being,
The places and spaces that weigh you down.
Allow yourself to descend into that heaviness so that all that is is the sensation and energy of heaviness drawing you down towards the earth below.
And then release the heaviness to the earth,
Allowing it to fall away,
Drawn by gravity.
Begin to shift your awareness,
Noticing the lightness of your being,
The spaces and places that uplift you.
Allow yourself to rise with the quality of ether and air so that all that is is the sensation and energy of lightness,
Lifting you up towards the expanse above lightness.
And then release the lightness to the realm beyond,
Allowing it to dissolve entirely,
Evaporating into the space above.
Return to your neutral anchor point where you have nowhere to go and nothing to do but be right here,
Right now.
Allow yourself to become aware of how it feels to be depleted,
To feel disconnected from your roots,
The parts of you that lie deep within the sacred space of your heart.
How does it feel to be depleted?
Where does the sensation arise?
Then allow this feeling,
This energy of being depleted,
Of not having access to what gives you life and meaning and joy and peace to fall away.
Let it go.
Adjust your awareness now to how it feels to be deeply nourished,
To be intimately connected to your roots,
The parts of you that lie deep within the sacred space of your heart.
How does it feel to be nourished throughout your entire being?
Where does the sensation arise?
Then allow this feeling,
This energy of being deeply nourished,
Of having an abundance of what brings you life and meaning and joy and peace to dissolve.
Let it fade away.
Return to your neutral anchor point,
Your brow center,
Your heart,
Wherever it may be,
The place where the power of the present moment resides with ease.
And here,
In the beauty of the present moment and all that is,
Allow yourself to feel wholeness emanating throughout your entire being.
Wholeness.
This wholeness now.
As the feeling of wholeness swells throughout your being,
Allow yourself to become aware of your presence within a beautiful sanctuary,
Your own personal oasis,
Bordered by lush greenery and the wisdom of ancient oaks protected from the outside world from any unwanted visitors.
As you survey your sanctuary,
Teeming with life and energy,
You notice that you are being greeted by your favorite wildflowers,
Vegetation,
And woodland creatures.
What do you perceive?
Sounds of birdsong and water gurgling from a nearby brook draw you further inward into this sacred space,
Lush undergrowth and warm moss cradling your feet with every step.
The gentle breeze affectionately rustles the leaves of the ancient oaks,
The soft whispers guiding you forward,
Deeper into your oasis.
A garden emerges from a clearing ahead,
Somewhat hidden from view.
As you approach,
You notice that the garden is wild and overgrown,
Weeds and roots that are not your own stifling its growth.
What do you see encroaching on the space?
What do you choose to prune to discard from your garden?
Now release what you have pruned away,
Discarding any remnants from your sacred garden.
As a gentle offering to yourself,
Lie down in this bed of freshly tilled soil that you have cleared for yourself,
Allowing it to hold you here in its tenderness and softness.
As you rest here,
Sink deeply into this bed of warm earth,
Cradling you here in the middle of your garden.
A light rain begins to fall,
Each cleansing drop landing softly on your skin and the soil around you.
Washing away the remnants of what was and gently uncovering what could be.
The sound of the raindrops lulls you into a deeper state of peace,
Of presence,
Here in your inner garden,
Fully supported by the earth below.
As the rain slowly fades away,
You notice sunlight dancing through the forest canopy,
The light catching on the fallen raindrops,
Glistening on the leaves of the greenery that surrounds you.
The beams of sunlight expand and contract,
Enveloping you in a warm embrace that flows deep into your heart space.
Rest deeply in the fullness and wholeness of your being here in your heart,
Basking in the beauty of the present moment,
Held by pure spacious awareness.
Gradually,
You become aware of the tendrils from your rooted heart nestling into the fertile soil below.
What seeds are you planting here in this sacred space?
What is your heart calling you to sow?
As you linger here,
Deeply rooted and fully supported in the soil of your inner garden,
Nurtured by the light and water that nature so generously provides,
Connect more deeply with your heart space and the roots within.
Nurture your rooted heart with expansive curiosity and compassion here.
Allow your truth bow,
Your promise to yourself to arise,
Feeling the depth and breath and fullness of it flowing through you and around you,
Unbridled and unabated,
Fully embodied and blossoming from within.
It is here in your heart that the practice of yoga nidra is complete.
As you feel the wholeness of your being here in this sacred space,
Begin to deepen your inhales and lengthen your exhales.
Notice the sensations that arise in the depths and edges of your body as you expand your capacity for breath,
Nourishing every cell in your being with each exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Bring your awareness to your back body,
Tuning in to the surface that supports your head and neck,
Your shoulders,
Your arms and hands,
Your back and hips,
Your legs and feet,
Your whole body feeling fully supported by the surface beneath you.
Notice any textures or fabrics that make contact with the surface of your skin and the temperature of your breath moving in and out.
As you continue to inhale and exhale fully and deeply,
Tune in with any sounds that connect you more deeply with the space around you.
Take your time as you shift your awareness to the room that you are occupying,
Keeping your eyes closed as you remember who you are and where you are now.
Feel the truth and depth of that knowledge deeply rooted within and without.
Rest here,
Giving yourself permission to pause in the fullness of the present moment.
Remember yourself space to move slowly with intention,
Introducing gentle movement wherever your body calls you to attend.
Allow that subtle movement to blossom into a full body movement,
Taking up as much space as you can.
As you are ready,
Roll onto one side,
Enveloping yourself in a tender embrace as you linger here for a few rounds of breath,
Tuning in with the quality and sensation of your presence here with each inhale and exhale.
As you feel complete in this posture,
Slowly come to a seated position with as much ease as possible.
How does it feel to tune into the energy and sensation of ease rather than effort even here?
Place one hand on your heart space and one on your belly.
Pause here to connect more deeply with the internal and external sensation of your breath,
A rhythm that is uniquely and powerfully yours.
As you prepare to return to whatever lies ahead in your day,
Know that you can always return home to yourself.
No matter what beckons for your attention,
No matter what may arise that unsettles your sense of peace,
Of calm,
Or your groundedness in who you are and what you need,
Know that you can always choose to anchor in your breath.
May you offer yourself gratitude for choosing to nurture your whole being today and may your inner garden flourish with what brings you the most peace and the most joy.
Thank you for being here now.
Thank you.
