Yoga Nidra - Open To Grace - 30 Minutes

A 30 minute Yoga Nidra practice inviting you to open to grace through rest & receptivity.

Let the world fall away, and journey through body awareness, breath, opposites and visualisation to release all effort and soften into the spaciousness of being.

This practice is suitable for everyone and can be practiced any time that suits you - any time your body seeks deep, conscious rest.

Transcript

So welcome,

Welcome to your Yoga Nidra practice.

My name is Kate Rock and I'll be guiding you through practice today.

So come to rest in Shavasana.

Make yourself comfortable with props,

Pillows,

Bolsters,

Blankets,

Maybe an eye mask or headphones.

Whatever helps you feel fully supported today.

Creating the most comfortable place for your body to rest is all that is asked of you.

So let this be an offering to yourself,

A gesture of care to yourself.

And when you are ready,

Allow your eyes to gently close.

And feel yourself begin to settle into stillness.

Let the outside world fade away.

All tasks,

All places,

All people,

All distractions,

Just let them drift softly away.

And turn toward the inner space.

And just breathe here.

Feel the presence of your body here now.

Feel the contact points of your body with the ground.

And sense the weight of your body resting here.

Allow the body to grow soft and weighted.

Let your face relax,

Your jaw gently releasing,

Be soft.

Being reminded of these words by Thomas Merton,

We must empty ourselves of all that we think we are,

That we may become what we were destined to be.

What may come needs space,

Only the empty cup can be filled.

Here in this emptiness,

This fertile space,

Prepare to plant your Sankalpa,

Your seed of intention,

Your heart's deepest desire.

Prepare to repeat your Sankalpa three times silently to yourself with three breaths.

With each inhale,

Invite your Sankalpa into your heart.

And with each exhale,

Let it settle deep inside.

We now come to rotation of consciousness.

Your invitation here is to journey through the inner landscape of the body.

Awareness flowing like light through the vessel of your being,

Illuminating every curve,

Every corner and breathing spaciousness into every place it can.

Simply notice,

Simply feel and be aware.

Bring your full attention to your right hand and your right hand thumb,

First finger,

Second finger,

Third finger and little finger,

The palm of your hand,

The back of your hand,

Your right wrist,

Forearm,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Thigh,

Knee.

Shin and heel,

Sole of the right foot,

Top of the foot,

Your right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and little toe.

Now bring your full attention 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 top of your hand,

Your left wrist,

Forearm,

Elbow,

Upper arm,

Shoulder,

Armpit,

Waist,

Thigh,

Knee,

Shin,

Ankle,

Heel,

Sole of the left foot,

Top of the foot,

Your left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and little toe.

Bringing your attention to the back of your body,

Your heels right and left,

The backs of your knees right and left,

Your right glutes and your left glute,

Your lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

The back of your neck,

The back of your head,

The crown of your head.

Now move your awareness and attention to your forehead,

Your right temple and your left temple,

Right eyebrow,

Left eyebrow and the space between your eyebrows.

Your right eye and your left eye,

Right ear and left ear,

Right cheek and left cheek,

Your nose,

Your lips,

Your teeth and your tongue.

Your whole mouth,

Your whole mouth,

Your chin,

Your throat,

Your right collarbone and your left collarbone and the little valley between your collarbones.

Your heart center,

Your solar plexus,

Your navel and your pelvis,

The whole of your chest,

The whole of your chest,

Your arms right and left,

Your legs right and left,

Your chest,

Your head,

Your arms and your legs,

Your whole body,

Your whole body,

Your whole body,

Your whole body at rest.

Open to receive.

Bring your attention to your breath.

Watch your breath.

No effort,

No control.

Just simply be aware and watch.

Be the observer.

Notice your breath as it moves in and out of your body.

Inhaling,

Exhaling,

Your body breathing itself.

Now become aware of the stillness at the top of your inhale and again at the end of your exhale.

A subtle pause,

Almost hidden between the endless rhythm of breath.

Ride this gentle wave,

Resting for the briefest of moments in the pause until the next breath rises and like a wave turning over,

Coming home to shore.

These pauses are the gateways,

The tiny openings into the spaciousness,

The moments of pure potential where nothing is yet formed.

Be curious and feel the quiet joy of these pauses.

The emptiness that is all there is.

The fullness that is all there is.

Invite this sense of emptiness into your whole body.

The vast open expanse you carry inside of unspoken potential.

Now turn toward a sense of fullness.

Feel a rich presence spreading throughout your body.

A deep satiation and a sense of completion.

Return back to the emptiness,

The wide quiet chamber within.

Spacious and unbound.

And then welcome back fullness.

Feeling a gentle tide rising through you.

Warmth and satisfaction filling every cell.

And staying here in your rested state of equanimity,

Invite a sense of uncertainty into your body.

An apprehension,

An unknowing.

And now soften into calm.

A calm certainty,

A quiet confidence that what is needed will be revealed in good time.

Then gently return to uncertainty.

And then back to a feeling of calm,

Of an assured certainty.

And now let these opposites fall away.

Rest in the knowledge that beneath these,

Beneath all thought,

All perception,

There is only the one true awareness.

Abide here,

Beyond the opposites of thought,

In the stillness of your true nature.

Invite your attention now to go behind your closed eyes.

To that empty space behind your eyes.

Chidakash,

The inner sky.

The field which holds all thought,

Sensation and experience.

And the pure awareness that silently witnesses it all.

Breathe here,

Be the observer.

Call to your imagination in this space the following images.

Do not force anything to come.

Rather allow images to unfold in this space.

Imagine a gentle flowing river.

A lantern lighting up a dark corridor.

An empty mirror of your reflection.

A pause in the music of a symphony.

The silent cave inside your heart.

A field of wildflowers.

An empty book waiting to be written.

The vast open sky at night.

And the space between the stars.

Waiting in the stillness before the dawn.

Emptying yourself to be open to grace.

Open to grace.

Open to grace.

Allow everything to now dissolve into emptiness.

The emptiness of all there is.

And let grace reveal itself.

Let go and receive.

Come back to your heart.

Overflowing with the riches of life that was,

That is and will still be.

And prepare to plant your sankalpa again here.

Your heart receptive and open.

Ready to receive and make real.

Repeat your sankalpa three times now.

In the welcoming space that awaits.

Begin to notice your breath again.

Softly deepening.

Gently returning.

And feel your body resting here.

As though held in a quiet unseen embrace.

Sense the contact points with the earth.

Your heels,

Your hips.

Your shoulders,

Your head.

The steady presence beneath you.

Always here.

Always holding.

Maybe invite some small movements now.

Wiggling the fingers.

Softly moving the toes.

Perhaps rolling the wrists and ankles.

Or gently turning the head from side to side.

Bring to mind the room that you are lying in.

The clothes that are covering you.

And invite the sounds to come back in.

The sensation of touch.

Keeping your eyes closed for a little while longer.

Take a full breath in.

And let the exhale carry away what is no longer needed.

Each breath a gift.

Arriving in its own time.

And notice the quality of being that remains.

Quiet,

Spacious and whole.

A grace,

A presence.

That accompanies you always.

Carry this with you now.

As you return to your day.

Knowing you can rest in this stillness whenever you choose.

And take a moment to feel gratitude.

For your body that carries you.

For your breath that sustains you.

And for the mystery of life that holds you.

And when you are ready.

Softly open your eyes.

Welcome back to your world.

May the peace which passes all understanding.

Keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and presence.

Of love and grace.

Wishing you a wonderful rest of your day or evening ahead.

Thank you.

Reviews

Beautiful , thank you!