Welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice.
This practice invites you to journey within and rediscover the stillness that resides there,
The place of deep inner calm,
Your inner resource,
And to experience the deep rest that Yoga Nidra offers.
So ensure you are warm and comfortable as you enter this practice,
Taking all the time you need to create comfort here.
Lie on your back in Shavasana,
Extend your legs,
Allowing your feet to fall naturally open.
Arms rest by your sides with your palms facing upward.
You may want a thin pillow for your neck or a bolster or blanket under your knees to give additional support for your back.
Whatever you need to find the deepest comfort possible.
And if you have an eye mask or an eye pillow,
Place it over your eyes and take another blanket to cover your body,
Perhaps tucking it around the sides or over your feet to feel really cocooned in your little Nidra nest.
Take a deep inhale now through your nose and on your exhale,
Just sigh out your breath through your mouth.
You may want to take a yawn or a stretch,
Anything you want to invite your body to release,
To release and relax,
To relax and let go.
Take another deep inhale through your nose and exhale it again through your mouth.
Allow your entire body to soften here.
Release all tension.
Feel yourself melt into the support that meets your body.
Another two times now,
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
And now,
If it feels okay,
Seal your lips and settle into stillness in your body,
Your whole body,
And allow your breath to move with ease and without restriction through your nose.
Remain in stillness for this practice and say to yourself,
You will remain awake for the duration of this practice.
Knowing your body will sleep,
Your mind will sleep,
But your consciousness will remain awake.
Allow your muscles to relax.
Imagine them almost dissolving off your bones now as you sink onto the ground below.
And all the stresses and the strains of the day,
Let them just melt away.
This is your time.
Come into this moment,
This moment and yield to the ground.
Release yourself to the ground.
Notice how the air brushes your skin gently on your face as you inhale and exhale.
Notice the draw of the inhale through your nose,
Your body receiving.
And then the push of the exhale,
Your body releasing.
The draw and the release.
Notice everything.
And now listen.
Focus your whole attention on what sounds there are around you,
Near or far.
Imagine your ears now widening to take in all the sounds that are around you.
And one by one,
Listen intently to each and every sound.
Be aware of everything.
And now release it all.
Trust that all you are meant to see,
You will see within.
All you are meant to hear,
You will hear within.
And all that is meant to touch you,
To reach you,
Will come from within.
Trust that there is no truer reality other than that which is within.
Within you,
There is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.
Feel where this is inside your body,
Where you can feel fully yourself,
Your whole self.
Connect to this place,
Your inner resource.
Richard Miller,
The founder of the IRS School of Yoga Nidra,
Describes the inner resource as an innate sense of well-being,
A place of pure awareness that exists within each and every one of us,
A place of peace,
Ease and resilience that remains untouched,
Unbroken and whole.
This is the unchanging ground of your being,
Always present,
Waiting to be recognized,
To be named,
Owned and tapped into.
Breathe into this place,
Light it up with your breath,
Strengthen it with your breath,
Affirm it with your breath.
Breathe into this place and know that you can return to this place at any time during this practice,
This inner sanctuary,
Your inner resource.
Prepare to meet your Sankalpa,
Your intention,
Your heartfelt desire.
Sankalpa is a short statement in the present tense,
Starting with the words I am.
It is an unearthing,
An awakening of something that already resides deep within.
If you are already working with your own Sankalpa,
Prepare to repeat it silently to yourself three times in the space that now follows.
Or you may just like to stay connected to your inner resource,
Breathing into it,
Lighting it up,
Strengthening it,
Affirming it.
It is your choice.
Remaining still,
You will now move your consciousness around your body.
Move your consciousness,
Your full focus and awareness around your body to the different body parts as you hear them named.
And repeat the name of each body part as you hear it,
Visualizing it in your mind's eye.
Move with my voice and take your full focus and awareness to your right hand and your right hand thumb.
Visualize your right hand thumb and repeat it silently to yourself.
Now your first finger,
Second finger,
Third finger and little finger,
The palm of your right hand,
The back of your hand,
Your right wrist,
Your lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm and shoulder,
The right hand side of your chest,
Your right hip,
Your thigh and your knee,
Your lower leg and your ankle,
The sole of your right foot,
Your right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and little toe.
Now take your attention and your full focus and awareness to your left hand and your left hand thumb.
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger and little finger,
The palm of your left hand,
The back of your hand,
Your left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm and shoulder,
The left hand side of your chest,
To your left hip,
Your thigh and your knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
The sole of your left foot,
Your left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe and little toe.
Take your awareness to your back body,
Your awareness and full focus on your right foot,
Your left foot,
Both feet together,
Your right calf,
Left calf,
Both calves together,
Your right thigh and your left thigh,
Both thighs together,
Your right glute,
Left glute and both together,
Your entire back,
Lower,
Middle and upper,
Your neck,
Your skull lying heavy here on the ground.
And now take your attention to the top of your head,
The crown of your head,
Now to your forehead,
Continuing to repeat each name silently to yourself whilst visualising it as well,
Your right eyebrow and left eyebrow and the space between your eyebrows,
Your right eye and your left eye,
Left eye,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Your nose and the tip of your nose,
Your right nostril,
Your left nostril,
Your right cheek and your left cheek,
Your mouth,
Your entire mouth,
Allow the jaw to hang heavy and loose with a soft focus of your awareness,
Your tongue to lie in the base of your mouth and your teeth upper and lower,
Your face,
Your whole face,
Your throat,
Your right collarbone and left collarbone and the little dip between your collarbones,
Your right side of chest and the left side of chest,
Your whole chest,
Your abdomen,
Your pelvis,
Your whole right leg,
Your whole left leg,
Both legs together,
Your whole right arm and your whole left arm,
Both arms together,
The whole of the right side of your body,
The whole of the left side of your body,
The whole of your back body and the whole of your front body,
Your whole body,
Your whole body,
Your whole body,
Bringing your attention back to your breath again,
Begin to watch your breath from the back of your mind as if you were watching another,
Breathe in from the crown of your head and on your exhale send the breath to wherever you feel your inner resource to be,
Nourishing it.
Continue here at your own pace following the rhythm of your own breath,
Bringing the inhale in from the crown of your head and directing it to your inner resource.
Watch your body in your mind's eye,
Lying here at rest,
Lying here in the stillness,
Witness your body as if an observer,
See the places where your body is connected with the ground,
Matter meeting matter,
Matter meeting matter,
Those places where your body is receiving energy from the ground below,
See your back body lying connected with the ground and now there's places receiving energy from the air,
Those places which are not connected to the ground,
Your face,
Your entire front body,
Open and ready to receive and now move between these two,
Feeling the weight and the heaviness of your body,
Your dense matter on the ground and the nourishment that it is receiving from the earth and then the lightness of the energy from the air you breathe into your body,
Lying here,
Open and ready to receive.
Now allow these two to merge into one,
Allow the energy from the earth and the energy from the air to merge into one in your body,
In your place of stillness within,
In your inner resource.
Let go of the need to separate,
The either,
The or and let everything simply be.
Now visualize some things I am going to name,
Do not try hard here,
Trust whatever comes from the source of your imagination,
In your mind's eye imagine the still water of a lake and its perfectly smooth surface,
The ancient presence of mountains steadfast in their stillness,
Their majesty and grace,
An anchor holding steady in the stormy sea,
The flickering flame of a single candle,
A dense forest,
The steady beat of your heart,
An intricate Celtic knot,
The ripples made from a single pebble being thrown into calm water,
A spiral staircase,
The deep roots of an old oak tree grounded in the earth,
A full moon of contemplation,
The still center of a moving wheel,
Open arms ready to embrace you,
A dormant seed holding all the potential of new life,
Your quiet power within,
The purity of a lotus flower,
An empty bowl,
An empty bowl,
Sitting in meditation,
The darkness of a cave,
The stillness within,
The stillness within,
The stillness within,
The stillness within,
Returning to your place inside that feels like home,
Your inner sanctuary,
Your inner resource,
Empty your mind and let go to the stillness within,
To your ever-present,
Unchanging inner resource.
Dissolve now into the space that now follows and let your everything unfold.
May today there be peace within,
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant,
To be,
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others,
May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you,
May you be content with yourself just the way you are.
And remember you can always return to this place at any time after this practice through your connection with breath,
The place inside which has always been and which always will be.
Return to your sankalpa,
Prepare to repeat it and welcome the feeling or attribute your own unique sankalpa brings,
Welcome it into your bones,
Let it soak into your skin,
Into your mind as you feel it take form in your body,
In your life,
In your world.
And now repeat it to yourself three times for mind,
Body and soul,
Unless you're staying connected to your inner resource.
Once again bring your attention back to your breath,
Just watch it in your mind's eye,
Just be conscious of its ease moving in and out of your body.
And notice how you're feeling now,
How rested you feel,
How calm,
How quiet.
You may want to continue to lie here for a little while longer or maybe journal or perhaps reflect on today's practice or maybe you'd like to remove your headphones now and drift off to sleep.
It's your choice but whenever you do return keep all of these feelings with you in your heart.
And if you are coming back start to breathe a little deeper into your body now,
Start to feel the ground underneath you and maybe give a little movement in your fingers,
Your toes,
You might want to take a stretch,
Whatever feels good for you today.
And you might like to cover your eyes with your palms now,
Feeling the warmth from your hands and gently widening your fingers now to let the shafts of light and life in.
Take your time here as you return back to this space and take a moment to be grateful,
Grateful to yourself for making the time for you in this practice,
Grateful for all the things you have in your life.
So welcome back to your world,
May the peace which passes all understanding keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and presence of love.
This practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
