In a world that rarely pauses,
This time in Yoga Nidra offers a profound space to rest and restore.
This guided session is inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching on the autumn leaf,
And it invites you to explore letting go with grace,
Trusting the natural cycles of change.
So,
Pause now and welcome yourself into the space of sacred rest.
Take your time to get comfortable,
Lying down in a comfortable position,
And invite your mind to quiet.
If you like,
You can move your mouth into a half smile,
And just allow that smile to spread into the whole body,
From the mouth down into the throat,
The chest,
The belly,
Feeling the sensations in the body smiling.
And you might want to invite a deep breath in,
And exhale with a slow deep sigh,
Feeling yourself letting go,
Arriving in this moment.
Your Yoga Nidra begins now.
And as you inhale,
Allow yourself to open your ears wide to the sounds around you,
The sounds in the distance,
And gradually bringing your attention to your body and your breath.
If you like,
You can inhale,
And as you exhale,
Breathe out through the pursed lip,
Inhaling,
And breathing out through the pursed lips each time you exhale,
Dropping into deeper silence,
A deeper letting go.
And continue to breathe like this,
And now return to your normal breathing.
If you have a touchstone,
You can hold it in your left hand,
Or you can imagine holding the touchstone,
Just an object that grounds and gathers the energy of this Yoga Nidra.
And you can also place the touchstone anywhere on the body or around the body that feels right for you.
And now follow the sound of my voice,
If you choose to,
Staying awake as best you can.
And if you fall asleep,
Let it be a nourishing rest for you.
Now place attention in the space between the eyebrows,
And allow these words by Thich Nhat Hanh to enter your awareness.
I asked the leaf whether it was frightened because it was autumn and the other leaves were falling.
The leaf told me no.
During the whole spring and summer,
I was completely alive.
I worked hard to help nourish the tree,
And now much of me is in the tree.
I am not limited by this form.
I am also the whole tree,
And when I go back to the soil,
I will continue to nourish the tree.
So I don't worry at all.
As I leave this branch and fold and frot to the ground,
I will wave to the tree and tell her,
I will see you again very soon.
Now it's time to repeat your intention to yourself three times,
Like planting a seed into the fertile soil.
And if you don't have an intention,
You can use the intention,
I let go,
Or I trust the flow of life.
Now let's rotate attention through the body.
You can repeat the name of the body part to yourself,
Or you can just bring the light of your own awareness to that part of the body,
Starting with the right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand,
Right wrist,
Right elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Right armpit,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Right calf,
Right ankle,
Right heel,
Sole of the right foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now we're of the left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth,
Fifth finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the left hand,
Left wrist,
Right hand,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Left waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Left knee,
Calf,
Ankle,
Left heel,
Sole,
Top of the left foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now shine the light of your attention to the back of the body,
The right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Right back,
Left buttock,
Spine,
Lower back,
Mid back,
Upper back,
The whole back,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Space between the eyebrows,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Left ear,
Nose,
Tip of the nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Throat,
Right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest,
Middle of the chest,
Navel point,
The whole of the right leg,
Whole of the left leg,
Both legs together,
Whole of the right arm,
Whole of the left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole of the back body,
The whole of the front body,
The back body and the front body together,
The whole of the head,
The whole body,
The whole body,
The whole of the head,
The whole of the back body,
The whole of the front body,
The whole of the back body,
Exhaling from the base of the spine up to the space between the eyebrows,
Inhaling from the space between the eyebrows down to the base of the spine,
Exhaling from the base of the spine up to the space between the eyebrows,
Up and down the spine like a trunk of the tree,
Feeling the breath,
Inviting a slowing down of each breath.
Now become aware of darkness.
Notice the darkness behind the eyes,
Just the space of darkness behind the eyes,
In the body,
Aware of darkness.
And now become aware of light.
Become aware of light in the body,
Light behind the eyes,
Light inside the body,
Light throughout the body.
And now aware of both light and darkness,
Space for both light and darkness.
And now see a leaf on a tree in autumn,
Sensing the forest around you and the leaf on the tree,
And that leaf is you.
Having lived a full season of growing and giving,
The time of letting go is here,
And you open,
Knowing you are the whole tree,
You are the roots,
The root,
The soil.
Knowing you are not ending,
You are transforming.
Feeling the breeze moving and lifting you from the branch.
As you drift down,
Dance down,
Joyfully,
To the earth,
Light,
Free,
Spinning down.
And as you touch the earth,
You feel yourself becoming one with it,
Nourishing,
Resting,
Becoming again.
Rest here now in the quiet of your being.
The leaf resting in the soil,
Alive,
Part of the whole,
Held by the earth.
And now feel the support of your circle of wise beings,
Feeling the circle of wise beings around you,
Feeling their care and their love.
Opening to your own heart,
Listening now for a message from the heart.
Be still and listen.
Let whatever you receive,
Rest here as you rest.
And come back now to your intention,
Repeating it to yourself three times,
Gently.
And begin to return to the body now.
Feel the breath again as it moves through your nose and through your chest and through your belly.
Feel the body rested and alive,
Knowing that this practice lives on in you as you move through the day or night.
If you're continuing to rest,
Just allow yourself to go deeper.
And if you are beginning to move,
You can just start to stretch the body in whatever way it needs.
Taking some deeper breath and taking your time.
Aware of the body and the surface you're resting on.
Thanking yourself for this time.
Like the leaf,
You are part of the whole.
May you float through change with peace and joy.
Your yoga nidra is now complete.
