This Yoga Nidra is an invitation to make a home inside of yourself.
A place of kindness where all of you is welcome.
So I'd like you to take some time not to strive or fix or try and become a better version of yourself.
This is an opportunity to pause,
To listen.
And perhaps to create a little bit more space inside of you.
As we practice,
There's nothing you need to achieve.
Simply allow yourself to be guided.
And if at any point something doesn't feel comfortable or appropriate.
You can always return to the feeling of the body.
Resting here.
Did this be a time of coming home to yourself?
Finding a comfortable position lying down.
Making sure that you're warm and supported.
Allowing the body to settle.
And if it's comfortable for you allowing the eyes to close.
For the next while you can simply receive.
Feel the support of the earth beneath you.
Notice the points where your body meets the ground.
The back of the head.
The shoulders.
Arms and hands.
Back of the pelvis,
Legs,
Heels.
Feeling the steadiness of the ground beneath you allowing yourself to arrive here.
Giving yourself permission to rest.
Bring your attention to the breath and as you feel the breath allow the words of this poem to just enter your body,
Enter your awareness.
Letting the words land however they need to.
The most important thing.
I am making a home inside myself.
A shelter of kindness where everything is forgiven,
Everything allowed.
A quiet patch of sunlight to stretch out without hurry.
Where all that has been banished and buried is welcomed,
Spoken,
Listened to,
Released.
A fiercely friendly place I can claim as my very own.
I am throwing arms open to the whole of myself.
Especially the fearful.
Fault-finding,
Falling apart,
Unfinished parts.
Knowing every seed and weed,
Every drop of rain has made the soil richer.
I will light a candle.
Pour a hot cup of tea.
Gather around the warmth of my own blazing fire.
I will howl if I want to,
Knowing this flame can burn through any perceived problem.
Any prescribed perfectionism.
Any lying limitation,
Every heavy thing.
I am making a home inside myself where grace blooms in grand and glorious abundance.
A shelter of kindness that grows all the truest things.
I whisper hallelujah to the friendly sky.
Watch now.
As I burst into blossom.
So taking some time now.
To set an intention for this practice time.
Allow that intention to rise from the space of the heart.
Perhaps it's the simple intention,
I'm making a home inside of myself.
Or I meet myself with kindness.
No need to force an intention,
Just allow the intention to arise,
Repeating it to yourself internally three times.
And now we will be rotating awareness around the body.
Letting awareness arrive into particular parts of the body with an in-breath.
And as you exhale,
You can let the sound out with the breath,
Perhaps a sigh or some,
Or perhaps just the sense of setting something down.
And if silence feels right for you,
Then follow what is right for your body.
Letting each breath move in its own way,
In its own pace.
Giving your body space to lay down whatever it needs to.
Starting by bringing awareness to the feet,
Inhaling into the feet.
And as you exhale letting go of any sense of effort.
Holding,
Carrying into the earth beneath you Bringing awareness now to the lower legs.
As you inhale,
Aware of the lower legs.
And as you breathe out,
Letting whatever they have been holding release into the ground.
Now aware of the knees as you inhale,
Sensing the knees.
And as you exhale allowing them to soften into the support below.
Bringing awareness into the thighs now as you inhale gently.
And as you exhale letting the earth receive them Now inhaling into the hips and the pelvic region.
And as you exhale allowing the weight of anything there to release.
Now inhaling into the belly and as you breathe out softening into the belly.
Breathing now into the lower back and as you exhale leading up.
Inhaling now into the chest and as you do so sensing any space around the heart And as you exhale releasing old heartache or worry or grief.
Feeling and sensing into the shoulders as you breathe in.
And as you breathe out,
Letting go of any burdens you've been carrying.
Inhaling,
Sensing the arms Exhaling,
Releasing into the earth Breathing now into the hands and the fingers.
And as you exhale allowing any sense of gripping to soften.
What have you been holding?
Breathing now into the whole of the spine.
And the whole of the back.
Exhaling,
Allowing the back to soften.
As you inhale now into the throat,
Noticing any unexpressed truths or words.
Exhaling,
Releasing.
Sensing now the jaw and the tongue.
Noticing any clenching and softening as you exhale.
Breathing into the cheeks and the eyes releasing any sense of effort of taking things in.
Breathing into the space now between the eyebrows.
As you exhale releasing overthinking,
Mental chatter.
Breathing in now to the top of the head.
And as you exhale surrendering into the whole body whole body away.
Noticing the whole body as a field of sensation.
Present to the whole body.
Resting here.
Now bring your attention to the natural breath.
Notice where you feel the breath most clearly at the nostrils or in the chest or in the belly Simply witnessing the body receiving the breath the body releasing the breath.
Feeling the nourishment of each in-breath.
And the release of each outbreath.
Perceiving.
Releasing.
Receiving.
Releasing.
Letting the breath breathe itself.
Now we'll explore some opposites.
Simply noticing the possibility of each experience.
Becoming aware now of heaviness,
Feeling the whole body heavy.
Heavy and supported,
Whole body heavy.
And the lightness Sensing the whole body light,
Weightless.
Are now aware of both heavy and light.
Both heavy and light.
And now become aware of any sense of holding.
Sense of being gathered or contained holding I'm now noticing opening.
The body spacious.
The breath moving freely.
Noticing now holding and opening.
And now sense effort,
The feeling of doing.
The feeling of doing.
And now notice ease,
The sense of nothing to do,
Nothing to become.
Ease.
And now bring your attention to the space between the eyebrows.
See yourself approaching a beautiful home.
It may look exactly as you would like it to look.
Or you might simply notice a doorway.
Knowing that this is a home that belongs to you.
As you approach the door opens and you enter,
Noticing the qualities of this place.
Perhaps there's some light.
And warmth.
Perhaps there's a comfortable chair.
A soft badge.
A window looking unto the sky.
A place of welcoming.
You see yourself pouring a warm cup of tea,
Feeling the warmth in your hands.
Inviting all parts of you into this home allow yourself to rest here Do you have a place here?
And now allow your attention to come back to the space between the eyebrows.
Begin to sense the physical body again,
The body resting on the ground.
Feeling the breath and the weight of the body.
Aware of the room around you.
The sounds.
You might bring awareness to your hands and to your feet.
And bring awareness to your heart as you take some time just to come back to the intention that you set.
At the beginning of this practice.
You might silently repeat.
I am making a home inside of myself.
I welcome myself here.
Or any other intention that arises from the space of the heart,
Repeating it to yourself three times.
Begin now to gently move the fingers and the toes,
Perhaps stretching the arms overhead any way that you feel the body needs to stretch.
If you feel that you want to continue resting,
Feel free to allow the body to do so.
If you feel ready to after your stretch you're also welcome to roll onto one side taking your time here.
When you're ready you might slowly come up to your seated position.
Placing a hand on the heart and one over the belly,
Feeling the warmth of your hands.
I'm suffering yourself the words,
I am home.
When you are ready you can allow the eyes to gently open.
This yoga nidra is now complete.
