Welcome,
My name is Natalie and this is a yoga nidra practice to help soothe your nervous system.
And you can think of it like a soothing healing balm for your heart and your nervous system.
You might place a pillow or support under your knees,
Maybe an eye pillow or an eye mask over your eyes.
And as you settle into stillness,
Know that it's okay to make adjustments through this practice.
But if you can find stillness,
Let yourself do that now.
Notice your body here and take a slow breath into your nose and gently release your breath.
Fill up again,
Expanding through your chest,
Belly,
Back and releasing the breath.
Let your shoulders soften one more time.
Settling into stillness,
Soften your eyes and allow your body to breathe for you.
So let your body choose a natural rhythm of your breath.
You can imagine any tension you might be carrying from your week,
From your day,
Gently melting,
Slowly fading away.
Guide your attention now to the center of your forehead,
Into the space between your eyebrows,
Your third eye center.
Allow your eyes to soften and just tune into any sensations that may be there,
Any feelings and welcome them.
And with your focus here on your mind's eye,
You might start to allow an intention of your heart to rise to the surface.
It could be a visualization,
It could be forming words,
It could even be a feeling that comes up.
It could be a simple phrase,
I am peace,
I choose myself.
My nervous system is calm and in homeostasis.
Let these words form from a place of truth within you,
A place of knowing.
I'm repeating it a few times.
And this heart's intention that you've chosen today can be something that you come back to every day,
Like a seed being planted.
You can come back,
Check on it,
Water it,
Nourish it,
And watch it grow.
Allow your attention to drift up to the top of your head.
Notice anything you feel here.
Let your full attention rest on the top of your head.
And then allow your attention to ripple down the back of your head,
Sensing your right ear,
Left ear,
The base of your skull,
The back of your neck,
Your upper back and spine,
The center of your back,
The center of your low back,
The base of your spine,
Your tailbone,
Your sacrum,
Your pelvic bowl.
Sense your right glute,
Your hamstrings,
The back of your knee,
Your right calf,
Heel,
The sole of your right foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The top of your foot,
Ankle,
Shin,
Knee,
Thigh,
Hip bone,
The center of your lower abdomen,
Your pubic bone,
Tailbone,
Left glute,
Hamstrings,
Back of your knee,
Calf,
Heel,
Sole of your left foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe,
The top of your foot,
Ankle,
Shin,
Knee,
Thigh,
Hip bone,
Lower abdomen,
Navel center,
Solar plexus,
Heart center,
Right side of your chest,
Right shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Palm,
Thumb,
First finger,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
All five fingers,
Your right hand,
Arm,
And shoulder,
Heart center,
Left side of your chest,
Left shoulder,
Left shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Palm,
Thumb,
First finger,
Second,
Third,
Fourth finger,
All fingers,
Left hand,
Left arm,
And shoulder,
Heart center,
The center of your throat,
Chin,
Right side of your jaw,
Left side of your jaw,
Top lip,
Bottom lip,
The tip of your tongue,
The root of your tongue,
Your teeth,
And the sides of your cheeks,
Right cheekbone,
Right eye,
Eyebrow,
Temple,
Left cheek,
Eye,
Eyebrow,
Temple,
The tip of your nose,
The bridge of your nose,
The space behind your nose,
Cheeks,
And eyes.
Let your attention rest here,
Sensing your breath moving in,
Moving out,
Feeling the temperature of your in-breath and your out-breath,
Sensing this difference as you let your body breathe naturally.
And from your nose down to your belly,
Notice your breath.
And this time,
Bring your attention to the expansion as you fill up and the softening as you let your air out,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Keeping your attention on your breath,
In and out,
Natural rhythm.
Imagine your heart's intention,
Filling your body with your in-breath and then settling into your body with your out-breath.
Notice what it feels like to breathe in and then to become your heart's intention,
Allowing it to fully integrate into your body as a feeling,
As a sensation.
Imagine each inhale you take can move through your whole body,
Down to your fingers,
Down to your toes.
And with your exhale,
A full body awareness,
A full body softening,
Allowing any tension or anything that might be holding on to soften a little bit.
Imagine you can send each breath to every corner and every part of your body.
With your exhales,
Let every part of your body soften down,
Full attention on your body,
Your breath,
Fully present with your unique experience.
And continuing to breathe in this way naturally,
Observing your breath,
Observing your body and the changing nature.
Begin to count each breath,
Starting with number 10,
Inhale 10,
Exhale 10,
Inhale 9,
And so on down to 1.
Gently guide your attention to your third eye center,
Your mind's eye,
And begin to visualize a snowy mountain in the distance,
Sunlight painting the snow a brilliant shade of orange,
And the outline of the trees frosted with snow,
The blue sky and the orange,
Pink,
Yellow clouds.
And the sun slowly sets,
Shining its last light on the snowy mountains,
A sense of purpose,
Witnessing something so much bigger,
Witnessing something so beautiful,
A gift from the natural world.
And now returning one more time to your heart's intention,
To your inner purpose,
And gradually bring your attention back to your body.
Notice the support underneath,
Notice the stillness of your body,
And the natural movements of your heartbeat and your breath.
If you feel ready to,
You can flutter your eyes open.
Thank you for being here today,
And I wish you a peaceful rest of your day.
Until the next time.
