Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.
This practice is here to allow you to explore deep rest.
And as we sink more and more into deep rest,
We can meet more and more of our true sense of self,
Our self with a capital S.
In a culture of having to get everything done,
We can resist slowing down.
This practice invites you to slow down safely,
Meeting your full experience with love and care.
It's time to be kind to yourself.
It's time for self-care,
So allowing the body to be as comfortable as possible,
Making any adjustments needed to allow the body to let go.
And now take some time just to scan through your day,
Reviewing everything that has happened in the last 24 hours up to this moment,
All the different events that occurred leading up to now,
The big moments,
The small moments,
Perhaps even the difficult moments.
And when you're ready,
Opening to this moment,
This breath,
Noticing the sounds around you in the room,
And noticing the sounds beyond your space,
Noticing the support of the ground beneath you,
And now opening to a sense of the sky above you,
And noticing you in the space between earth and sky.
When you're ready,
You might like to place your touchstone in your left hand,
Or you might choose to place it on a place in the body that's calling for it.
And if that's not right for you,
You can place the touchstone anywhere off the body.
If you don't have a touchstone,
You might imagine an object from nature or an object that you love.
Imagine holding it in your hand.
And now invite in the words of this poem by Julia Fehrenbacher.
The poem is called A Prayer for Every Day.
Let me breathe only grace today,
Only that which slows,
Steadies,
Softens,
Sparks.
Only that which permits and pardons and points to the blossoms inside the broken,
The poetry inside the pain,
The nourishing newness inside the now.
Let me breathe only grace today,
Only that which invites me to speak my very own language for as long as I have breath,
Only that which hums,
You can,
You will.
Let me breathe only grace today,
Only that which notices the tired and says,
Lie back,
Love,
Rest for as long as you need to.
It's not about how much you do,
But about how full you are.
And,
My God,
How beautiful you are when you are full.
So opening now to that which notices the tired and says,
Lie back,
Love,
Rest for as long as you need to.
It's time to breathe with grace and to breathe only grace.
You might like to begin to imagine your intention as if it's already happening.
And when you're ready,
You can repeat that intention to yourself three times.
So if you have an intention you're working with already,
Invite it silently into your own heart,
Feeling the heart's longing for your life,
The deepest longing maybe just for this time of your life.
And if you can't find an intention,
You might just use the words,
I breathe with grace.
In this yoga nidra,
You can feel free to follow my voice,
And if you prefer not to follow my voice,
You might just choose to feel your breath and to breathe with grace.
We're going to journey now through the body.
And as you sense each and every part of the body,
As I name the parts,
You might bring a softening or a sense of grace or just the breath to those areas.
So bringing your attention to the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Baby finger,
Right wrist,
Elbow,
Right shoulder,
Right armpit,
Right side of the torso,
Right hip,
Right ankle,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe.
Attention now to the left thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Left wrist,
Elbow,
Left shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left side of the torso,
Hip,
Left knee,
Right arm,
Ankle,
Foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe.
Attention now to the middle of the pubic bone,
Navel point,
Belly,
Middle of the chest,
Middle of the throat,
Mouth,
Nose,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Both eyes together.
Right ear,
Left ear,
Both ears together,
Space between the eyebrows,
Space between the eyebrows,
Forehead,
Crown of the head,
And now feel the whole of the right side of the body,
The right side of the body,
And feeling the left side of the body,
The left of the body,
And now the back of the body,
The back of the body,
Aware now of the whole body,
Aware of the whole body,
Whole body breathing grace,
And as you breathe in you might breathe in grace right through the top of the head,
Breathing out through the tips of the feet.
Now we're going to slow down the breath,
Inhaling for a count of one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Holding,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhaling,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Holding the breath out,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhaling for a count of four,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Holding for a count of four,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhaling,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Holding,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Continuing breathing like this in your own way and time.
Slowing down with each breath,
And now just releasing that breath pattern,
And as you slow down the breath feeling the belly full.
No judgement,
Just feeling fullness in the belly.
You might sense the fullness with each in-breath.
And now noticing the sensation of emptiness in the belly,
Feeling the belly empty.
Perhaps noticing that emptying on the out-breath.
And now bringing the sensations of empty and full together.
Breathing these two sensations together,
Empty and full,
Full and empty.
The dance of both together.
And now bring your attention to the brow point and rest here.
And now witness yourself in the greenery of nature.
You are standing with a large mountain in front of you.
The mountain is tall and steady and upright.
And you see the sky above the peak of the mountain.
You notice the rugged slopes of the mountain and the base of the mountain solid on the earth and wavering and strong.
You feel yourself breathing that mountain into you.
Becoming like the mountain,
Grounded,
Centred,
Whole.
As you stand there,
A storm arrives and you stay steady,
Grounded,
Feeling the weather pattern around you.
The winds blow and you hear the words,
You can.
You are a solid breathing mountain.
And sensing the storm coming to quiet,
You feel a completion.
Noticing the breath in the body,
Steady.
You hug yourself with love and acceptance for all that you are.
As you hold yourself,
You feel the belly and the golden light expanding from the belly through the whole body.
And you stand here bathed in the golden light of you.
Now as you stand here,
Sensing a circle of wise ones around you.
The energy of your guides,
Your mentors,
Your teachers,
All those that support you with their presence.
Letting them hold you.
Opening to any messages or gifts that they might have for you right now.
And now bringing your attention to the space of your heart.
Going deep into the heart.
And listening to a whisper from the heart in the form of words or feelings or images.
What does your heart have to express to you?
And if nothing comes,
Just allowing that,
Trusting.
And bringing your attention back to the brow point and resting here.
This practice is now coming to a close.
You can begin to locate your body in the room.
Feeling the texture of your clothing.
And noticing the points of contact between your body and the earth.
You might want to check if more rest is needed.
And if you can,
Rest for as long as you need.
And if you are waking up,
You might like to stretch the body.
Making any movements that you feel the body needs.
If you feel ready to bring the body up,
You can roll the body to one side.
Take your time here.
You might like to thank yourself for taking this journey to explore.
Your Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
