Yoga Nidra: All The Air You Can Breathe

This yoga nidra focuses on claiming space to rest and nourish ourselves. When we slow down in this we way we can to feel the dimensions of spaciousness both inside and around us. Take time to explore the practice of deep rest, opening to new possibilities of living a rested life.

Transcript

We're going to take time together in the practice of yoga nidra,

So please lie down,

Make yourself as comfortable as you can,

Lying on your back,

Arms by the sides of the body,

And make any adjustments that you can so that you can settle with ease into this precious time with yourself.

Notice the contact points between your body and the surface that you're resting on.

Feel the support of the earth beneath you,

Inviting a slowing into the body,

Giving yourself space,

Letting your attention move towards the breath,

Feeling the air on the skin,

Listening to the sounds around you,

Coming into stillness.

If you have a touchstone,

An object from nature or an object that is comforting for you,

You can hold that in your left hand and begin to feel a connection to it.

If you don't have a touchstone,

You can,

For now,

Just imagine one,

Sensing its texture,

Shape,

Temperature,

Energy,

And now just listen and see where you're guided to place the touchstone,

Either on or off the body.

And you can return your awareness to the touchstone at any point during this practice.

And if you don't have a touchstone,

You can just return your awareness to this neutral place in your body,

Just sensing the inner sanctuary within you.

If any discomfort arises during this yoga nidra practice or you choose not to follow my instructions,

That's fine,

Just knowing that you always have a neutral inner sanctuary to return to,

Or you can simply bring your awareness to the touchstone.

Relax the arms by the sides of the body,

Let the hands be in any position that's comfortable for you.

Feel the energy in the hands and the arms.

As I read a few lines to you from the poet James Cruise,

Just allow the words to enter your awareness.

There should be a room in every house or office building set aside strictly for breathing.

No speaking allowed,

No phones,

Clocks,

Or other devices may be brought inside.

Let the walls be empty and white,

Only potted ferns stirring next to the windows thrown open to a night breeze bearing the scents of jasmine and lilac.

You can count if you like,

Until your heartbeat slows to its own natural pace and your mind is as a blank page in the back of a book.

If someone asks for direction,

Say it's in the room at the end of the hall with nothing in it but a few plants and all the air you can breathe.

Allowing the eyes to gently close and the gaze,

If they are open,

To soften.

Allowing this to be an invitation to jern inwards.

Let the earth hold your thoughts as you rest,

Inviting yourself just to come home to the body,

Sensing the quality of the connection between your body and the ground.

It's natural in yoga nidra to go in and out of hearing.

You can allow the mind to drift but stay open to whatever arises,

Images,

Thoughts,

Sensations.

Taking a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in now,

Exhale,

Slowly let it go.

Taking another deep breath in,

And release it with a sigh.

And one more time,

Inhaling,

And as you exhale,

Just letting go of whatever you're holding onto or thinking about,

Let go into the space you're in.

The space can hold everything as you rest.

Say gently to yourself,

I give myself permission to rest.

Now it's time to set a heartfelt intention,

So listen for a while and let that intention just emerge from the space of your heart,

Perhaps asking,

What does my heart long for?

What do I need?

And allow yourself to imagine this intention as if it's already happening.

You can repeat this intention to yourself three times in the present tense,

Each time allowing the words to settle in the center of the heart.

Allow each intention to be planted like a seed in fertile soil.

If no intention is present,

Then just allow the heart's intention to arrive in its own way,

Or you could just say to yourself,

I am rested.

I take space to rest.

We'll now begin a journey through the territory of your body.

When you hear the body part named,

Just sense that part of your body and become aware of a softening,

A spaciousness,

And a stillness in that body part,

Giving each part of the body space,

Starting with the mouth,

The lips,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

The whole of the nose,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Both ears,

Right eye,

Left eye,

Both eyes,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow,

Space between the eyebrows,

Right side of the forehead,

Left side of the forehead,

The whole of the forehead,

Crown of the head,

Back of the head,

Neck,

Upper back,

Mid back,

Lower back,

Back of the right leg,

Back of the left leg,

The back of both legs,

Right foot,

Left foot,

Both feet,

Right ankle,

Left ankle,

Both ankles.

Right knee,

Left knee,

Both knees,

Right hip,

Left hip,

Both hips,

Right side of the torso,

Left side of the torso,

The whole torso,

Right hand,

Right arm,

Left hand,

Left arm,

Both hands and arms,

Right shoulder,

Left shoulder,

Both shoulders,

Now aware of the whole body,

Whole body aware,

Notice sensations in the whole body,

Feel the whole body,

Feel the darkness in the inner eyelids,

Feel the inner space,

Let go completely,

Now it's time to bring awareness to your breath,

Let the breath be center in your awareness,

Let it come and go without directing it,

Just trusting your way of breathing,

Notice how the breath moves without you having to do a thing,

Just sensing the natural rhythm of each breath,

Now bring your attention to the short pause at the top of your in breath and at the end of the out breath,

Feel into the space at the top and the space at the end of the breath,

Feel the moving breath and the space between each breath,

Moving and space,

On your next in breath notice where the breath is coming from,

On your out breath feel the space around you,

Feel the space from your body to the walls of the room you're resting in,

On each out breath noticing the space from your body to the walls of the room and now on your next out breath breathe out into the infinite space beyond the walls of the room where you are resting,

Feel the merging of the out breath beyond the walls and to infinity now,

Breathing out into infinite space,

All the air you can breathe,

Welcoming what is here,

Feeling all the space,

Now return to a natural breath and be still,

Bring your attention now to the darkness in your inner eyelids,

Noticing any areas of holding or tightness,

Beating any areas of constriction,

Letting the tension be here with kindness,

Now notice any areas of softening and space in the body,

Without analyzing this just opening to noticing space in the body,

Softening into the space in the body,

Now notice what is tight in the body and what is spacious in the body,

Inviting a full awareness of what is here,

Moving deeper into an open spacious awareness,

Room for tight and space,

Now see yourself walking slowly in nature,

Taking in the beauty of trees and greenery around you and the vast sky above you,

On the way you pick up a pebble feeling its smooth texture,

Its soothing presence in your hands as you walk,

This is your touchstone,

Your reminder to pause and rest whenever you can,

You follow the path slowly to a clear safe space,

Here you find a bench that invites you to sit and gaze at the space and the vista around you,

You feel the vastness of the sky and the landscape,

The space of this place,

All the air you can breathe,

All the space you need,

Now imagine yourself in the rested life you desire,

Perhaps you are already living this life,

Perhaps there is more rest and care that can enter,

Feel your rested life on the inside and beyond you,

Sitting on the bench you rest in contemplation of this more rested life,

Taking in the beauty around you,

The gift of your breath,

The sounds of nature,

The peace of this place,

This deep rest of being,

Inviting your attention now just to the space between the eyes and lie in stillness in the sanctuary experiencing the silence,

From the sanctuary of rest you can bring your intention back into awareness,

Repeating that intention to yourself three times,

Allowing it to fill the entirety of your body,

Letting that intention come to you in its own way or using the intention it's safe to rest or I am rested,

Deepening your breath now,

You might begin to sense a circle of wise beings around you,

A council of wise support and care,

Guides,

Teachers,

Wise beings in whatever form,

Feeling their presence and their support in your intention to rest,

Feel them supporting that intention for a rested life,

Now bringing attention to your heart and your heart center,

Begin to breathe in and out through the heart,

Giving yourself space to see if there's a message in the heart waiting for you to listen,

In the form of a word or a phrase,

An image,

A feeling,

Whatever you receive here holding it with gentle care,

For a few more moments bringing your attention to the space between the brow point,

Sensing the space,

The silence,

Now very very slowly begin to emerge from the practice,

As you begin to move the body,

Moving,

Sensing the space inside you,

The space around you,

Feeling the texture of clothing against the skin,

May we all be safe,

May we be happy,

May we take care of ourselves with ease,

May we all be rested,

This completes the yoga nidra