Allow your eyes to close gently.
Let go of any residual effort,
Any form of breath control and any need to lie down in a certain way.
Notice if there is any subtle effort to do it right and allow yourself to fail at it from the onset.
There is no way of succeeding at this practice.
Notice if there is any need to know what is coming and free yourself into a world of not knowing anything at all.
Notice any subtle expectation to feel a certain way,
Any hope to have a particular experience and see if you can let that go,
Abandon hope.
See if you can even let go of the expectations for this practice to be restful.
Allow all expectations to soften down just like your body is softening down towards the earth right now.
Welcome yourself in this yoga nidra just as you are,
With whatever is arising in you right now.
No need to fix it or change it.
No need to augment it or diminish it.
Rather than having an experience,
Let the experience have you.
Rather than receiving a yoga nidra,
Let the yoga nidra receive you,
Offer all of your being to this rest.
No effort,
Sweet surrender.
Take a moment to notice your breathing,
Just the effortless natural flow of the breath,
The breath that is the sustainer of our life force,
Our prana.
Become aware of the very first contact between the breath and the area just underneath the nostrils.
Notice the air gently brushing your skin and forming very subtle tingling sensations.
And these very sensations can be a signal for your whole face to relax a little more.
No effort.
Notice the difference in temperature between the air that you breathe in and the air that you breathe out.
The fresh air coming in to revitalize every cell of your being with new prana,
New life force,
And the heavy air coming out infused with the warmth of your body.
Become aware of the air traveling up your nostrils and down your throat.
Notice if one nostril is perhaps more dominant than the other.
Notice the air brush the back of your throat and this subtle contact can be a signal for your throat to relax and surrender to gravity.
Follow the air down your throat and into your rib cage.
Notice the rise and fall of your rib cage with every inhale and every exhale.
Very simple.
So simple yet so magical how every muscle knows what to do without your conscious input.
There is so little that we know about how we breathe and it certainly requires none of our control or intelligence.
So let life breathe you as it already does.
With every inhale a new beginning,
With every exhale a new end,
With every inhale new energy,
With every exhale new release,
With every inhale a new direction,
With every exhale a new surrender,
With every inhale a new life,
With every exhale a new death,
New life.
New life,
New death,
New life,
New death.
From the very first breath you took to the very last breath you will ever take.
Such a mystery.
Become aware of the pause at the end of the exhalation and as you do so give it full expression,
Full attention.
Let your attention sink in that pause at the end of the exhalation.
Notice your whole torthole breathing.
Every muscle that has to expand for your breath to come in,
Every space between the ribs that needs to broaden out,
Every muscle that has to contract for you to breathe out,
Every space between the ribs that needs to narrow down.
So many small unconscious precious movements.
Become aware of your whole body breathing,
Your whole skin breathing and as you do so invite a feeling of lightness in your body.
In your body feeling as light as a feather,
As light as the air that you breathe in.
Take a moment to feel your skin from within,
Your skin and your sense of touch.
Your skin and your sense of touch are intimately related to the element of air or value in Sanskrit.
That in us which connects us to love,
Freedom,
Compassion,
Joy and courage.
So take a moment to welcome the element of air and your sense of touch.
Take a moment to notice any gross sensations on your skin,
Any obvious ones.
Perhaps the contact between your skin and the floor or the mat.
And as you notice these points of contact they can be a signal for this particular part of your body to relax a little deeper.
Allow your awareness to become more sensitive and fine tuned.
Become aware of the more subtle sensations on your skin.
Perhaps the contact between the skin and your clothes or the blanket.
Notice any areas of warmth or cold on your skin.
Any itching sensations.
Any comforting touch.
Or any areas of discomfort.
And every time you notice a new sensation it's a new reminder to relax this part of the body even deeper.
A new permission to rest.
Allow your awareness to become even more sensitive and fine tuned.
And as you do so notice the very subtle sensations on your skin.
Any tingling sensations.
Any areas of numbness.
And the gentle contact between the air and the skin.
Perhaps you can even notice the temperature of the air.
The moving or unmoving quality of the air on your skin.
Become aware of your skin expanding like a giant membrane with every inhalation.
And contracting back down with every exhalation.
Start becoming curious about the boundary that the skin represents between you and the rest of the world.
Feel into that boundary.
That apparent separation.
And as you do so ask yourself really if your eyes are closed how would you know where you end and the rest of the world begins.
You might notice that this boundary isn't always so clear.
It's not always so apparent.
Perhaps it is more blurry than our mind tells us.
Let your awareness expand even more.
Beyond the limits of your physical body.
Let it wander wherever it wants to wander.
Completely free.
Let it move freely between thoughts,
Objects,
Sensations,
Feelings.
Let your attention freely venture out and explore.
Let it fulfill its nature which is to reach out.
Let your attention be fully free and completely uncontrolled.
In total wonder of the inner and outer world that you exist in.
You can even imagine it like a young child playing with her friends and totally forgetting the passing of time.
Unburdened by any problems,
Shoulds and musts.
Completely free.
And once your attention has wandered off and played enough,
Imagine it getting happily exhausted from the world of objects.
Happily saturated with new impressions.
And just like a young child,
It's starting to get hungry and ready for sleep.
Let your attention effortlessly return to its source.
Flow back your attention from the world of objects and let it turn back towards the subject,
To that from which it arises.
And this return can be so nourishing for all of your being.
A sweet,
Sweet return home.
And let yourself rest at home.
