It's time to be kind to yourself and to give yourself some space to rest.
You are here now and there is nowhere else you need to be right now.
Just welcoming yourself to this practice.
And now just listen to these words by Tipiwa Mugabe.
It will always be your softest self that lifts all the heavy of the world sitting on your shoulder.
Always your softest self that can carry the weight of your crown.
It will always be your softest self that lifts all the heavy of the world sitting on your shoulder.
Always your softest self that can carry the weight of your crown.
So taking a gentle moment now to make sure that you are as comfortable as you possibly can be.
And we'll take a few deep breaths together.
And on the out breath making the sound ah or sighing out with any sound you need to.
So inhaling together and exhale.
Inhale belly and chest rise.
Exhale and sigh it out.
Inhale one more time belly and chest rise.
Exhale and release it out through the mouth.
And now be still.
Feeling the earth beneath you.
And on your next out breath just feeling the surface of the ground holding you.
This is your time to be held.
Your eyes are closed or partially closed to invite you to move your awareness inwards.
And you're invited to follow my voice and if at any time you lose track or fall asleep just catch my voice whenever you open to it again.
You can also choose to not follow in instruction and to return to my voice when you are ready.
And if you fall asleep that's okay that's what you need today.
So now placing both hands on your stomach and navel area and just breathe here.
Feeling the movement of the navel area with the breath.
Now place your hands on your heart just focusing your attention on this part of the body.
Feeling the heart through the hands.
Now you can leave your hands there or place your hands anywhere on your body any place that needs attention just see where you are drawn.
Listening to the body.
You can keep your hands here for yoga nidra or you can place the hands by the sides of the body and let them gently rest whatever is best for you.
And now just listening inside and just checking what is your most heartfelt desire?
What is an intention that you might have for yourself?
And if you find that taking time just to repeat that intention to yourself three times.
Almost like planting a seed into your psyche.
If it helps imagining the intention as if it's happening.
And if there's no intention you might use something like I feel rested or I feel safe.
And now welcoming a sense of being safe and well.
This might be a remembered sense of safety and wellness or it might be an imagined sense of being fully safe completely well.
You can return to this point of safety at any point in the practice or indeed in your life safe and well.
It is here for you and you can draw on it.
And now sense the whole body resting.
Feel the breath moving,
The body settling,
The contact between the body and the earth.
And now we'll allow our awareness to move around the body listening to what arises.
As we move through the body you can repeat the name of the body part or just breathe into that part of the body and allow it to soften.
Starting with the crown of the head and feeling the awareness in the space between the two eyebrows.
Feeling now between the collarbones at the hollow at the base of the throat.
Attention to the right arm now,
The right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Right wrist,
Right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Baby finger,
Right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
Back to the collarbones.
Now bringing attention to the left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Wrist,
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Baby finger,
Left wrist,
Elbow,
Left shoulder.
Attentioning to the place between the collarbones,
Softening here.
Now down to the space at the center of the back of the breastbone,
Left side of the chest,
Front of the breastbone,
Right side of the chest,
Center of the breastbone.
Attention down to the belly now,
Navel center,
Center of the pelvic area,
Right hip,
Right knee,
Right ankle.
Feeling into the right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Right ankle,
Right knee,
Right hip,
Back to the pelvic area,
Left hip,
Left knee,
Left ankle,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Left ankle,
Knee,
Hip,
Center of the pelvic area,
Navel center,
Heart center,
Space between the collarbones,
Space between the eyebrows,
And the crown of the head.
Now aware of the whole body resting,
Let the attention move back to the space between the two eyebrows,
The space between the collarbones,
And now back to the heart.
Welcoming now the whole of you,
Soften into the whole body.
Feel the contact between the body and the surface you're resting on,
Let go.
Soften every limb,
Soften into the sensations of the body now.
Now begin to consciously breathe in and out.
As you breathe in,
The breath fills your lungs from the bottom right up to the top,
And as you exhale,
Releasing the breath completely and allowing the belly to contract.
As you inhale,
Filling the lung from the bottom to the top,
Belly expanding,
Breathing into the chest,
And then exhaling,
Releasing the breath completely,
Belly can contract.
Continue to consciously breathe like this,
Sensing a gentle expanding with each in-breath,
And a releasing and softening with each out-breath into the earth,
Spaciousness and expansion on the in-breath,
And landing,
Softening into the body on the out-breath,
Expanding and landing,
Sensing expansiveness and softening at the same time,
Just opening to that exploration.
And now coming back to the whole body,
Paying attention to how the body feels as we bring in the following opposites,
Feeling now the body heavy,
The body grounded and heavy,
Feeling gravity and heaviness in the body,
Body heavy.
And now feeling the body light,
Light as a feather,
Body weightless,
Light,
Body light.
And now feeling all that you are right now,
All that you are a part of,
Holding both heavy and light,
Heavy and light.
And now see yourself lying down today,
Resting.
Notice what you are wearing,
Observe how you are breathing,
Every limb in the body softening.
Coming back to your space of safety,
That space of safe and well.
From here bringing your intention back into the space,
And as you say that intention to yourself three times,
Let it ripple into every cell of your body.
If there's no intention,
You might use the intention,
I feel rested in my life,
I feel restored.
Now let your attention travel down into the middle of the breastbone,
Letting each outbreath carry you into the space of the heart.
Resting into the heart and welcoming whatever insight arises from the space of the heart.
Gently resting into the heart space and feeling its warmth,
Sensing that inner stillness.
Your yoga nidra is now complete,
You can start to take a deeper breath in and a slower breath out.
Thanking yourself for taking this sacred time with yourself.
You can stretch the body in whichever way you choose to.
You might also like to tap the hands up and down the body as a way of awakening the senses or maybe just tapping the fingertips very gently in the space of the chest.
Celebrating the gift of your body and the gift of your heart,
The gift of softening into this body.
Perhaps as you carry yourself through the rest of your day or night,
Remembering to carry that softening with you.
