Good evening,
Welcome.
In this yoga nidra practice,
I'm going to guide you into sleep and to rest.
And so I invite you now to find a comfortable place for your body to rest.
Make sure you have everything you need,
Pillows,
Blankets,
And let yourself settle in,
Making any last movements that you need.
Once you're able to,
Let your body become still,
And imagine your thoughts like clouds floating by.
Allow them to come in,
But allow them to also go and float on.
Begin to take a slow breath into your body,
Taking in everything you experienced today.
And then let your breath out like a big sigh,
Slowly out,
Letting it go.
Maybe you try that again,
Slow inhale everything you experienced today,
And let your exhale help you let it out,
And settle into stillness with a natural rhythm of breath.
I'll guide you through this practice,
And if at any point you feel yourself drifting into sleep,
Let go of the practice and let yourself drift off.
In this practice we work with intention,
And we call it a heart's intention,
Or a heart's vow,
Also called a sankalpa.
Let your intention tonight bring you peace,
Bring you sleep and presence.
You can say something like,
I am letting myself rest.
I am giving myself time to be peaceful.
I am peace and calm.
Let yourself feel the words that you choose,
And say them to yourself quietly three times.
We'll begin the body scan as we move through each part.
You can either feel that part of your body,
Bring your awareness to it,
Or you can visualize twinkling stars and the silver glow moving through your body.
Sensing your right thumb now.
Visualize billions of shimmering stars.
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger.
Sense the palm of your right hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Right side chest,
Right side of your waist,
Right hip,
Knee,
Ankle,
Sole of the right foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
The silver glow of shimmering stars in your toes,
Right foot,
And filling up your right leg and the whole right side of your body.
Now sense the thumb of your left hand,
Twinkling stars and glowing light into your first finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger,
Palm of your left hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Left side chest,
Left side of your waist,
Down to your hip,
Knee,
Ankle,
Sole of your left foot,
First toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Sense the toes on your left foot and allow this light to gently,
Slowly move and twinkle through your left side body,
Filling up your leg,
Upper body,
And your whole left side.
Now sense this light at the tip of your tailbone and slowly,
Vertebrae by vertebrae,
Moving up the length of your spine,
Filling your back with your awareness with stars and light.
Gently coming up to your shoulder blades,
Back of your neck,
To the back of your head.
Sense both ears,
Temples,
And the top of your head,
Forehead,
And both eyes,
Nose,
Mouth,
Jaw,
Throat,
Down to the center of your chest and your heart center.
Imagine this silver glowing light,
Shimmering stars,
In the center of your chest.
Be with this place for a moment,
Be with your heart,
And now imagine this light in the center of your chest,
Like the billions of stars in the universe,
Bringing you a sense of peace,
A sense of rest and presence.
And from the center of your chest,
Imagine this light slowly spreading through your whole body,
Filling your whole body with love and with rest.
Begin to visualize with your own imagination,
With the eye of your mind,
Imagine the light of the moon shining on the forest floor,
And the dark green of the forest bathing in silver moonlight.
Witness the quiet,
The stillness,
And the peace in this place where you feel safe,
And imagine in a place close by,
The light of the moon shining on a body of water,
And its reflection in the gentle ripples of the water,
Swaying in a gentle rhythm,
And eventually settling into stillness.
Sense the peace all around you,
Reflecting the peace within you,
And let your mind find peace,
And let your body find rest.
