Welcome.
I'm going to guide you through a meditation practice,
A yoga nidra practice.
I'd like you to find space lying down,
Whether that's on the floor,
On your yoga mat,
Maybe even in your bed.
Make sure that you're comfortable.
Maybe you take pillows to support under the knees.
Make sure that you're warm enough to be here comfortably for a while.
Once you're lying down,
I just want you to move inward.
I want you to pay attention.
Listen to the sounds in the room.
Listen to the sounds outside of the room.
Start to become aware of sensation.
Take note of the temperature in the body.
Take note of the temperature of the breath drawing in and drawing out.
Maybe notice how the room smells.
Then start to visualize your own body resting on the floor.
Become aware of the presence of your whole body.
Feel your body resting.
Start to move inward and see if you can discover a place of safe haven within.
Take note if you feel loved and calm and safe.
Then feel that love,
That calm and that safe.
Maybe take note of anything that makes you feel a little safer,
Whether that be a friend.
Accentuate this feeling of that friend or a moment or a pet.
That love that that brings thinking of that person or thing or even place.
And spend a moment just visualizing how that feels.
Know that you can return to that anytime during the meditation.
A feeling of safety and love and calm.
Now come back to the awareness of the body on the floor.
See if you can be as still as possible without building any stress.
Notice your body.
Notice if you find that this is difficult or if this is easy.
Feel your whole physical presence on the floor.
Notice the feet and the toes.
Notice the soles of the feet.
Notice the ankles,
The calves,
The knees,
The whole lower leg.
And then notice the thighs and the backs of the legs,
Up through the hips.
Notice how your legs feel resting here on the floor.
Notice how your hips,
Both right and left,
Feel resting here on the floor.
Notice the low spine,
Mid spine,
The upper thoracic spine.
Notice that long column resting on the floor.
Notice all the organs in the belly,
In your belly button,
In the rib cage.
And notice your whole torso resting on the floor.
And for a moment pause at the heart.
Tune in to the beat of your heart.
Tune in to the breath in your lungs.
And then notice the shoulders,
The upper arms,
The elbows.
Notice the lower arms into the wrists,
Into the palms,
And all the way through each one of your fingertips.
See if you can sense any of your fingers more or less than the others.
And then notice all of the arms resting,
Both right and left,
On the floor.
Notice the front of the neck and the back of the neck.
Notice the back of the head and the sides of the face.
Notice the lips gently parted,
Teeth gently parted.
The tongue is soft.
Notice your nose,
Your eyes,
Both right and left.
Crown of your head and the forehead.
Notice the third eye,
That little space in between your eyebrows.
Let that be soft.
Now bring that awareness into the breath.
Feel that breath into the body through your nostrils.
Notice that cool air as it draws in,
Filling up the lungs,
Moving that breath into the chest,
All the way down to the belly.
And notice how as you exhale,
The body sinks a little bit deeper.
The body feels a little bit heavier.
The mind feels light.
Every time you breathe in,
You feel that lightness,
That sensation.
And every time you breathe out,
You feel that calm,
Restful,
Heavy.
Start to really breathe and slow down the breath.
I invite you to count the breath using an even inhale and an exhale.
If your breath is rapid or shallow,
Take a comfortable breath in.
Let the inhale and exhale transition be smooth and calm.
Without judging or trying to change anything,
Acknowledge any feelings and emotions that draw up.
If you notice anything specific,
Acknowledge how that makes you feel.
And if that's tension or anger,
See if you can try to imagine the opposite feeling or emotion.
See if you can let go of any judgment attached to that and simply fall into this calm state.
Use your breath to help you,
To guide you,
Draw into that.
Wash those thoughts and allow the exhale to soften you,
Not away from them,
But changing that judgment around them.
See if you can be completely non-judgmental about whatever comes up.
Perhaps you notice a belief or a judgment about this practice.
Notice that.
And then try to notice the opposite of this thought.
If you feel tension,
Then try to feel calm,
Relaxed.
If you feel sad,
See if you can search for some happiness.
Maybe come back to that person,
Place or thing that we thought of when we first arrived here today.
See if you can feel that love,
That calm.
Draw in on every subtle breath and draw out on every subtle breath.
Feel that breath draw in.
Embody that calm,
That heavy.
As the breath draws out,
Sink a little deeper,
But notice that lightness,
That clarity.
The front of the body and in the mind.
Maybe think of something that brings you great joy and peace.
Linger in that sensation,
Linger in those thoughts.
Linger in that sensation,
Linger in those thoughts of joy and peace.
Linger in the joy,
Breathe into the peace.
Now notice how the whole body feels.
Take a scan in the tips of the toes,
All the way up to the crown of the head.
Linger through every cell,
Every organ,
Every muscle.
See how calm the whole entirety of you feels in this moment.
Take a deep breath in.
Fill the belly with breath and open the mouth and sigh it out.
Take a deep breath in.
This time,
Hold that breath in.
Open the mouth and sigh it out.
Just take note of the whole body resting.
Notice the lightness of mind,
That clarity,
That pure sense of peace and calm.
Allow that calm to permeate every cell,
Every muscle.
Take one more deep,
Slow breath in and one more smooth,
Long breath out.
Namaste.
