So welcome to this practice of yoga nidra.
Welcome home.
Once we experience the turn of the seasons,
Moving away from the lighter months and into the darker half of the year,
It can throw up a lot of challenges.
Even grief about the loss of daylight,
Just the general state of the world.
If we can nestle into the body in these challenging darker months,
Perhaps even turn towards the darkness,
It might give us some comfort.
It might even help us to look inside ourselves for solace,
Rather than looking externally.
So this yoga nidra practice is intended to help us feel that whatever's going on in the world around us,
That we can simply come home to the body.
So welcome home to yourself and welcome to this practice of yoga nidra,
A practice of homecoming.
I'm taking these first few minutes of the practice to get really comfortable.
Making sure that you've gathered everything you need.
Perhaps an eye mask,
Socks,
Warm blankets.
And feeling that you can arrange your body in whichever way you like.
There's no way to do this practice wrong,
Because there isn't anything really to be done.
Just to be present and receiving this practice is more than enough.
You can lie in any position,
Maybe on the side with a pillow between the knees and the ankles,
A pillow beneath the head.
We might prefer to lie on the back,
But just finding that position now and settling in.
And know that you can change position if you need to at any point during the practice.
Any background sounds that are in the space where you are right now,
Perhaps outside the space.
Just be part of this practice.
Know that you can take exactly what you need from this practice.
Having a sense of the arrangement of the physical body.
Perhaps a sense of the orientation of the body in the place where you find yourself.
And feeling the touch of air upon the skin.
Perhaps noticing the contrast between the parts of the body that are covered by clothing or blankets,
And the parts that are uncovered.
As we allow stillness to settle in over the body,
Feel that there's a spaciousness in the breath.
Almost like a homecoming in the cycles of the breath.
Each breath taking you deeper into the body.
Into the home of the body.
Almost as if the body was being breathed by this breath.
Just coming and going.
We'll invite our awareness now to take a journey around this landscape of the body.
Perhaps greeting each place that's named like an old friend who's always been there.
And you might simply move the awareness to each place.
Or you might like to imagine a warm glow there,
Like a half in the home of the body.
And right wrist,
Forearm,
Right hip,
Top of the right thigh,
Back of the thigh,
Top of the knee,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Right heel,
Sole of the foot,
And the top of the foot.
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the little toe.
All of the toes together.
The whole of the right side of the body.
Glowing with the warm phylite of the half of the physical body.
And then moving the awareness across to the left,
The tip of the left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Middle finger,
The fingers and thumb together,
Palm,
Back of the hand,
The wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Left armpit,
Side,
Waist,
Hip,
Top of the left thigh,
Back of the thigh,
Top of the knee,
Back of the knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
The heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
All of the toes together.
The whole of the left side of the body.
Glowing with a warm soft light.
And the awareness moving to the tailbone.
The lower back,
Middle back and upper back.
The right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade and the point between the two shoulder blades.
The back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Very crown of the head.
Awareness moving to the forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Right eye,
Left eye,
The eyebrow centre,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right nostril,
Left nostril and the tip of the nose.
Your upper lip,
Lower lip,
Tip of the tongue,
The chin,
Right side of the neck,
Left side of the neck,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
The point between the two collarbones,
The heart centre,
The navel,
The lower belly and the pelvis.
The whole body,
The whole physical body.
And then seeing if it's possible to experience the body as very cold now,
Perhaps even shivering,
As if you've been out in the snow.
And now experiencing the body as extremely warm,
As if you're sitting by a warm fire.
And now alternating between these two states,
Experiencing the body as cold and then warm.
And then seeing if it's possible to hold both of those two states in our awareness at the same time,
Feeling cold and warm together at the same time.
And then letting that go.
And just for a moment now,
Seeing if you can cultivate a feeling of gratitude for this body,
This vehicle in which you find yourself.
Not the body you used to have or the body you wish you had,
But the body you have right now.
All of its aches and pains,
Perhaps illnesses,
Challenges,
But creating space around all of that.
Holding the body in its fullness,
In its complexity and its messiness.
Feeling the entirety of the body.
And then,
Can we hold that with some gratitude?
Feeling that this body is our home.
And once again,
Feeling the touch of air upon the skin.
Perhaps the warmth beneath the covers.
And just bringing awareness to the breath.
Perhaps starting to take a slightly deeper breath as we come towards the end of this practice.
Bringing some movement to the fingers and the toes.
Taking any movement or stretch that feels delightful and delicious to this physical body.
And as you come back to the waking state of consciousness,
Seeing if you can take this feeling of solace in the body out into the rest of the day.
Whenever challenges present themselves,
Can we breathe deeply into this body and feel ourselves to be back home.
