Beautiful soul,
Welcome to this guided yoga nidra inspired practice created to support you in falling deeply asleep.
My name is Laurence and I feel truly honored to be your guide tonight.
It is time to rest now,
This day is done.
So let's begin by making sure you feel safe and supported.
You might want to start this practice lying down on your back,
Your head supported by a pillow or lying on your side,
Whatever feels most comfortable for you,
Taking all the time you need to find your position and remember you can always adjust the body at any time.
Take a deep breath in and let it out with a sigh,
Again inhale and sigh it out with every exhale feel your body sinking into the bed,
With every exhale let go of any expectations,
With every exhale surrender deeper and deeper into this experience,
However it arises for you,
You are safe here,
You can rest now,
Bring your awareness now to the head as you inhale,
Gently notice sensations in the head,
As you exhale allow it to gently soften,
The forehead smooths,
The eyes rest back into their sockets,
The jaw unclenches,
The tongue rests easily in the mouth,
Now bring awareness to your arms,
Inhaling gently noticing your arms and as you exhale allow them to soften,
Inviting your shoulders to melt away from your ears,
The upper arms soften all the way down to the tips of your fingers,
Bring awareness to the torso,
Belly softens with the breath,
Every exhale your body settles more fully into support,
Bring awareness to your legs,
Inhale notice your legs,
Exhale allow them to become heavy,
Relaxed,
The whole body fully supported,
Ready to rest,
Now begin to sense the breath as a gentle wave,
As you inhale imagine a wave of relaxation flowing from the toes up through the legs,
The torso,
The neck to the crown of the head and as you exhale the wave gently rolls back down from the head through the body all the way down to the toes,
Just feeling this breath moving through you like a wave of relaxation,
Coming up with the inhale and back down with the exhale,
Sensing the movement of breath,
Soothing,
Rocking you gently towards relaxation,
Now gently bring to mind a simple intention,
A sankalpa offered quietly to yourself,
You might want to use the words I rest deeply now,
Repeat your intention silently three times alongside three breaths,
Let this intention settle without needing to hold on to it,
Now following the guidance of my voice invite your awareness to scan gently through your body,
Simply noticing sensation in the parts as I name them,
Starting with your right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of your right hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
The right side of the chest,
Right waist,
Hip,
Knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the right foot,
All five toes,
Notice sensations in your left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Your left shoulder,
The left side of the chest,
Waist,
Your left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Toes,
Awareness to the back of the body,
Your heels,
Back of the knees,
Lower back,
Mid back,
Upper back,
Shoulder blades,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Notice sensations in your forehead,
Your eyes,
Nose,
Cheeks,
Jaw,
Throat,
Chest,
Belly,
Front of the legs,
The whole front body,
The whole back body,
The whole body resting.
The whole body now,
Bring awareness to your natural breath,
Observing the inhale and the exhale,
Noticing your natural breath,
Perhaps once again sensing your breath moving through you like gentle waves of relaxation,
Moving up the body with the inhalation and down the body with the exhalation.
Just observing the body breathing naturally and now gently allow images to arise.
You might want to imagine yourself in a place in nature,
Somewhere that you feel safe.
This might be a real place or somewhere from your imagination.
Picture yourself in this place that feels calm,
Supportive and welcoming.
Imagine,
Feel all the sensations of this place.
What can you see around you?
What do you hear?
Can you smell or taste something?
Is there something you can touch?
Take some time now to create the feeling of being in this place.
You might want to explore further.
Perhaps you feel called by a little path leading somewhere.
You might want to follow this path.
If you want to,
You might visualize yourself beginning to walk on this path with every step your body feels lighter,
Your breath softens,
Your mind becomes quiet.
As you follow this path,
You encounter a little building,
A special place like a cabin or tree house.
This place welcomes you.
Maybe there is even someone greeting you,
Welcoming you.
It might be a person that you love or a beloved pet that is really happy to see you.
You are welcomed here.
You are invited to come inside,
Find a comfortable nest where you can rest and relax deeply.
Notice the sensations and the feeling of being held,
Protected,
At ease.
Rest in this feeling.
Rest in simple awareness,
In this quiet sense of presence.
Gently recall your intention.
I rest deeply.
I will now slowly withdraw my voice,
Allowing you to drift naturally,
Peacefully.
Into sleep or deep relaxation.
There is nothing more to do now.
Nothing more to listen for.
May you rest.
