Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.
You are here now and there is nowhere else you need to be.
So you might want to acknowledge yourself for taking this special time with yourself.
And just allow yourself to settle,
Inviting a slowing into the body.
Bringing attention to the feeling of the air on the skin.
Noticing the sounds around you.
Allowing this practice to open you to a state of deep rest,
Restoration and grace.
Listen now to this poem by the poet Julia Fehrenbacher.
Trust what you can't see.
Move forward despite the wobbly groundlessness of I don't know.
Breathe,
Love,
Create,
Show up as you are every day no matter what.
Go to where the wild irises grow.
Say thank you for all of it.
Weeds,
Cracks,
Sunbeams,
That hand on your shoulder,
The forever throb of ache.
It's all a doorway,
A hand leading you back to grace.
So to be here is more than enough.
Taking time just to relax into where you are.
And holding the intention simply to be present and to notice whatever arises with kindness.
As you breathe out you might allow a settling,
Feeling the ground beneath you.
See if you can let your attention move all the way to the end of the out-breath,
Noticing the pause at the end of the out-breath.
And see if you can feel and sense the pause at the end of the in-breath.
Noticing the space of the breath.
And setting the intention to welcome whatever arises.
As the settling deepens,
You might allow each out-breath to settle.
As the settling deepens,
You might allow each out-breath to bring more attention into the space of the heart.
Taking some time just to listen to the heart.
Perhaps there is a heartfelt desire for yourself right now.
Or a desire for the world.
Sensing into the deep core of the heart.
What is the intention or wish for yourself right now?
See if you can welcome that desire in and repeat it to yourself three times.
And if you can't find an intention,
Maybe just using the intention,
I am deeply rested.
And now welcoming in a sense of being safe and well.
There might be a memory of a sense of wellness and safety.
Or it might be an imagined sense of being completely safe.
Completely well.
Safe and well.
Knowing this state is here for you to draw on.
Safe and well.
Now welcome the sense of the whole body resting.
Feeling the contact between the body and the floor and the earth.
Sensing the presence of the physical body and the movement of the breath.
Allowing the earth to hold you.
And the awareness now is ready to take a little journey around the body.
So as we move through the body,
Touching on each part.
See if you can welcome all the sensations just a little bit.
Touching on each part.
See if you can welcome all the sensations just as they are.
No need to analyze,
Just becoming aware of the body part.
If you want you can breathe some warmth or a sunbeam into that area.
Starting with the right hand thumb.
Right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Feeling the palm of the hand.
Back of the hand.
Right wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Right armpit.
Waist.
Hip.
Right thigh.
Right knee.
Right calf.
Right ankle.
Right heel.
Top of the right foot.
Sole of the right foot.
Right big toe.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Now move awareness to the left hand side of the body.
Become aware of the left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the hand.
Wrist.
Forearm.
Left elbow.
Upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Left armpit.
Waist.
Left hip.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Left calf muscle.
Left ankle.
Left heel.
Top of the left foot.
Sole of the left foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe.
Now aware of the back of the body.
Back of the head.
Back of the neck.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Right heel.
Left heel.
Now the front of the body.
Top of the head.
Forehead.
Right temple.
Left temple.
Right ear.
Left ear.
Space between the eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Nose.
Right cheek.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Neck.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Right side of the chest.
Left side of the chest.
Navel.
Abdomen.
The whole of the right leg.
The whole of the left leg.
Whole right leg.
Whole right arm.
Whole left arm.
Whole head.
Whole body.
The whole body.
The whole body.
Let go completely.
Feel the whole body.
Now begin to feel the breath moving in and out.
Let the breath take center stage in your attention.
Notice how the breath moves without any direction from you.
On each out-breath,
Feel the body resting.
Settled.
Grounded.
Heavy.
On each in-breath,
Notice the body welcoming a lightness.
On each in-breath,
Notice the body welcoming a lightness.
Alertness.
Wakefulness.
On each breath out,
Welcoming.
Rested.
Grounded.
Quiet.
With each in-breath,
Noticing lightness.
Wakefulness.
Breathing out,
Deeply grounded body.
Breathing in,
Light,
Awake body.
Moving between the two.
Now you will hear some words as part of a visualization.
Let it be effortless.
Let the images come and go as they want.
Let the images come and go as they want.
With no force,
No effort.
Pink sunset.
Gentle waters.
Weeds.
Stars in the sky.
Wild irises.
Cracks in the pavement.
Hands on shoulders.
Bees buzzing.
Sunbeams.
Four round moon.
Doorway to grace.
Rest here.
Now feel the whole body.
Sense the ground beneath you.
Feel the movement of the breath.
From the sanctuary of rest,
Come back to your intention,
Your heartfelt desire,
And repeat it inside of you three times.
You might like to pay attention to the heart.
Is there a message there for you?
Listen.
And now feel the whole body inside of you.
Feel the movement of the breath.
And now feel the whole body in this room.
Feeling the whole room around you.
Start to feel the clothing on the skin.
Notice if there are any movements in the body.
Just listening to how the body might need to move or stretch now.
You might like to thank yourself for taking this precious time.
Your yoga nidra is now complete.
Your yoga nidra is now complete.
