Yoga Nidra To Listen

Enjoy an encounter with silence in this settling and supportive yoga nidra practice. We'll find our way to a safe and comfortable space from which we'll explore the experiences of our bodies and minds.

Transcript

Setting yourself up in a position of maximal comfort.

So here you are,

Maybe resting on your back,

Feet nice and wide,

Arms comfortably wide away from your body.

Experiment for yourself.

Does it feel better to let your hands face the ground or let your hands face the sky?

And I'd like you please with a nice deep breath just to settle in a little bit more and as you settle in a little bit more maybe noticing any tension in the body and taking this moment to relieve yourself if there's anything that you can do to make yourself just a little bit more comfortable.

Sometimes that can be just a little fidget of the shoulders,

A little wiggle of the hips,

Sometimes opening the mouth nice and wide to relax the jaw.

If you've been chatting through the day it can feel nice just to settle.

And we're gonna settle in with silence.

We're gonna settle in with silence with an intention to listen in to our own experiences in the body,

In the mind.

So we settle into the silence with an intention to listen in to what we often don't hear because we focus on the noise around us so much.

Sometimes we even cultivate,

We create the noise around us so that we don't listen in,

So that we don't listen in.

So we intend in this moment,

I'm listening.

I'm listening in to the experiences of my body.

I'm listening in to the experiences of the mind.

I'm listening in with curiosity,

With care.

And as we continue to settle in to the silence,

We recognize the safety of the support beneath us,

The ground holding us,

This wonderful resource that keeps us in a place of security.

And we weave this safety,

The support,

We weave this into our body and the mind now so that it is ever-present as we start to listen in more deeply.

I am safe and supported.

And so let's begin now just by bringing our awareness,

Please,

To the inside of the mouth,

Feeling the inside of the mouth as sensation and experience in the body,

Available in your awareness just as it is.

And then shift your awareness,

Please,

To the cheeks,

Shifting awareness to feel the neck and the shoulders,

The arms,

The arms as sensation in your awareness just as they are,

And the hands,

The hands so vibrant with energy.

Shifting awareness now,

Please,

Back and into the chest and the back of the chest,

The upper back and the mid-back,

Mid-chest,

And then the belly and the lower back.

Awareness moving,

Experiencing,

Experiencing the body and the pelvis,

Pelvic floor,

And the legs,

Please.

Shift your awareness to the legs and experience the thighs,

The knees,

The lower legs just as they are,

Radiant with sensation,

Alive in your awareness,

Feeling the ankles,

The feet,

And toes,

The heels.

Feel the whole sole of both feet and then let your awareness move slowly back up the body all the way up through legs,

Hips,

Torso,

Shoulders,

Arms,

And hands,

Neck and head,

The whole body alive in your awareness just as it is.

And now become aware of areas of ease in the body.

In this body scan,

You may have noticed areas of ease.

Find them,

Feel them,

Listening in to those areas of ease just as they are.

And then very intentionally,

Please,

Shift your awareness to any area of tension in the body just as it is.

No need to make it different,

To solve it,

Correct it,

Just as it is.

Listening in to an area of tension and then shifting back to an area of ease in the body and then to an area of tension.

And now please hold both areas in your awareness,

Areas of ease and areas of tension,

Not looking to solve,

Not looking to merge,

But simply to allow both experiences in this silence.

Listening in to the experiences of tension and ease,

Allowing both.

And now please,

Just as we did with the body,

Let's inquire into the condition of the mind just as it is.

A little mind scan,

Perhaps noting if the mind feels alert,

Awake,

Or perhaps a little dull,

Sleepy,

Distracted,

Focused,

Quite sharp,

Or wandering.

Just inquiring.

And in this mind scan,

I'd like you to see if you can identify some story or some theme in the mind that's very present as you listen in to the silence.

Pick up on a story or a theme that's very present in the mind in this moment and just listen.

With no need to respond or fix or shift,

Just allow.

Giving space and,

Of course,

Always remembering the resource of support,

The ground that's been woven into this experience.

And so as you listen in to the vast mind scape,

You recall that you are supported.

And so now as you listen to that story or theme that's very alive in the mind,

I'd like you to now notice that you can shift your attention to a story or theme that's quite opposite.

And so if there was perhaps a story,

Let's say,

Of a cloudy day,

You could shift your awareness to a story of a sunny day.

Perhaps there's a theme of frustration.

Can you shift your awareness to what feels to you like the opposite of frustration?

Simply listening in to that vast mind scape and noting the existence of an opposite story or theme.

Locate it.

There it is.

And now I'd like you to shift back to the original story.

Listen.

This is an experience in the mind,

Just as it is,

Alive and radiant,

Always moving in our awareness.

And then shift that awareness to its opposite.

Locate it in that vast mind scape and then notice,

Oh,

Another experience,

Alive,

Arising and unfolding like a billowing cloud in your awareness.

And then shift back again.

Original story,

Original theme.

And once more,

Shift.

Opposite story,

Opposite theme.

And now realize that both exist in your awareness.

See what it's like to hold both so gently,

Both like billowing clouds that arise and unfold in the vast,

Beautiful expanse of our awareness.

All of the stories of mind,

All of the themes,

Arise and unfold,

And then pass through our field of awareness.

And just notice how both exist.

No need to make one go away.

No need to prefer the other.

Both exist.

And we can rest in the awareness,

Simply observing,

Simply listening.

And so now,

Please,

A nice deep breath into the whole body,

A nice deep breath for the mind scape.

Feel the ground beneath you.

Start to become aware of the contact between your body and the ground,

The weight of your feet and hands and head.

And another nice deep breath.

Feel the body moving now with the breath.

And as the body moves with the breath,

Perhaps you also begin to move your fingers and toes.

And then as you begin to move your fingers and toes,

Maybe you decide to open your pretty eyes.

And you start to come all the way back now,

Coming all the way back,

Coming all the way back with an awareness of your listening skills.

And so my dears,

Maybe pulling your knees to your chest,

Gently stretching your spine,

And then rolling over onto your side and coming all the way back,

Coming all the way back.

And so as you come all the way back,

Take a moment to reflect on the journey you've made and what you learned in the silence.

And then offer yourself appreciation,

A thank you from your heart for the time you take to practice.

And I thank you too.