Prepare for today's practice of yoga nidra.
So taking the position of shavasana become comfortable wherever you are lying on your back with your spine straight and aligned.
You can rest your head on a thin pillow.
Maybe have some blankets over you.
Have your arms by your sides with your palms facing upwards.
Your legs stretched out in front.
So your whole spine is completely elongated and aligned from the very top of your head all the way in between your feet.
And allow your feet to fall open naturally.
For the duration of this practice you will be lying still listening to the sound of this voice while the body rests,
The mind rests,
But your consciousness is awake and alert.
There is nothing that you need do in this practice.
With yoga nidra we are not trying to change anything.
Simply be present in this moment and for the duration of practice.
All you need do is allow yourself to take rest.
So in this practice we are not asking for anything to change.
We are nurturing the conditions to support change to be present.
To enable change to happen naturally.
Allow your body to be completely supported by the floor.
And if it's comfortable for you,
Gently close your eyes.
Take a moment here to ensure that you are really comfortable.
At your most comfortable.
And if you need to adjust,
Take the time to do that now.
And then once settled,
Resolve not to move your body.
To allow stillness and invite rest.
Become aware of the present moment.
Become aware of the space that your body is in.
Become aware of sounds around your body.
Of sensations inside your body.
And then sensations of the clothes covering you.
Maybe the air that's brushing your skin.
Be aware of all sensation.
And then be aware of any scent that you might be able to smell at this time.
And then move your awareness to your mouth.
And notice if there's any residual sense of taste in your mouth.
And then bring your attention to the sense of sight.
Even though your eyes are closed.
Notice the darkness behind your closed lids.
Or there might be patterns of light.
Echoes of the external world.
Or perhaps nothing at all.
Don't try here.
Just notice what is present.
And then gradually allow all awareness to withdraw from the external world.
And move into your internal world.
Like curtains being drawn at the end of the day.
The outer world doesn't disappear.
It just becomes distant.
Sounds drift to the edge of awareness.
Touch grows quiet.
And light softens into shadow.
Attention loses its hold on what lies outside.
And begins its gentle return home.
To your internal world.
Allow the senses to settle.
And awareness to rest.
Turned inward.
At ease.
And then bring your attention to your breath.
Your natural breath.
Feel the breath in your body.
Feel it moving in and out of your body.
And as you breathe.
On the inhale receive the breath.
And send it gently.
Softly.
Throughout your whole body.
Feel the breath landing.
Throughout your whole body.
And on every exhale.
Allow your body to sink further.
As if the earth was receiving your body.
Holding your body.
Allow everything to simply be.
As the body now rests.
And the mind grows quiet.
There is space for Sankalpa to be introduced.
Sankalpa is a short clear resolve.
It reflects a heartfelt intention.
That which you would like to cultivate more of.
To be present in your life.
Sankalpa is repeated silently.
Three times at this point in the practice.
And again at the end.
It is expressed as a statement.
Beginning with the words.
I am.
And is spoken to yourself concisely.
And positively.
Giving life to it.
To make it already true.
You may have a Sankalpa you are working with at the moment.
Or you may choose to use one of the following for this practice.
I am whole and complete.
In this moment of rest.
I am allowing the conditions I need.
To be present.
I am at ease.
Held.
And quietly.
Becoming.
The Sankalpa may be understood as a seed of intention.
Placed gently in the field of awareness.
Repeated softly.
And then allowed to settle.
And take root.
So prepare to repeat your Sankalpa.
Now.
Starting with the words.
I am.
Then allow it to dissolve.
Knowing it has landed.
It has been planted.
And is rooted.
Now resting.
In the fertile soil.
Of your awareness.
We now move your awareness systematically around your body.
Move your mind quickly.
From point to point.
Feel the awareness touching each body part.
Allowing your awareness to move as though it is settling.
Like something gently finding its place.
Being received.
Bring your awareness to your right hand.
And to your right hand thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
And little finger.
Palm of your right hand.
Back of your hand.
Your right wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Your right armpit.
The right side of your chest.
To the right side of your waist.
And your hip.
Your thigh.
And your knee.
Your shin.
And your ankle.
Your heel.
And the sole of your right foot.
Top of foot.
Your right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And little toe.
Now move your attention to your left hand.
And to 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.
Your lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
And shoulder.
Your left armpit.
The left side of your chest.
To the left side of your waist.
Your hip.
Your thigh.
And your knee.
Your shin.
And your ankle.
The sole of your left foot.
The top of the foot.
Your left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
And little toe.
Now moving your attention to the back body.
To your heels.
Both your calves.
The backs of both your knees.
And your glutes.
Your lower back.
Middle back.
Upper back.
Your neck.
The nape of your neck.
Then to your head.
Your whole head.
Your whole head.
Your whole head.
Then move your attention to the crown of your head.
Your forehead.
And your temples right and left.
Your right eyebrow.
And your left eyebrow.
And the space between your eyebrows.
Your right eye.
Your left eye.
Your right ear.
And your left ear.
Right cheek.
Left cheek.
And your nose.
The bridge of your nose to the very tip of your nose.
Top lip.
Bottom lip.
Your teeth.
And your tongue.
Your chin.
And your throat.
Your right collarbone.
And your left collarbone.
And the space between your collarbones.
The right side of your chest.
The left side of your chest.
Your whole chest.
The whole of your right leg.
And the whole of your left leg.
Both your legs together.
The whole of your right arm.
And the whole of your left arm.
Both your arms together.
Your whole body.
From top to bottom.
Right to left.
Inside out.
Your whole body.
Made one.
Resting.
In the one field.
Of awareness.
Still.
Grounded.
And held.
Bring awareness to your breath again.
Feel the breath entering your body.
And the breath leaving your body.
This natural cycle of breath.
Now bring your awareness to the right side of your body.
From the crown of your head all the way down to the sole of your right foot.
And breathe in and out of the right side of your body.
No effort.
Simply be aware of your breath moving in and out of the right side of your body.
Now shift your awareness to the left side of your body.
From the crown of your head all the way to the sole of your left foot.
And allow the breath to move in and out of the left side of your body.
And now bring your awareness to the centre of your body.
Go inside the spaces of your spine.
To the midline.
And then to your quiet centre.
Be aware of your breath in this space.
In the centre of your being.
And sense an inner seed resting here.
Undisturbed.
Remain here quietly.
Connected with your breath.
Connected with this inner seed at rest.
And then widen your awareness to take in your whole body.
Feeling it as fertile ground.
Ground for this inner seed.
Allow yourself to sink into the weight of your body.
As though you are resting into the earth itself.
Feel the heaviness of your body as it gives itself fully to support.
Effortlessly.
And naturally.
Every trace of tension softening like water slowly soaking into the earth.
Muscles release from your bones.
And the body opens gently,
Kindly into ever deeper rest.
Then allow a sense of lightness to be present in your body.
As if a single tender shoot were growing upward.
Drawn naturally toward light.
Toward the sky.
Feel this lightness throughout your whole body.
Buoyant.
Alive.
And then return again to heaviness.
A welcome heaviness.
The feeling of being fully held by the earth.
Nourished.
Satiated.
At ease.
And once more notice lightness return.
An inner buoyancy.
Rooted.
Yet free.
Grounded.
Yet open.
The body lightly opening toward warmth.
Toward space.
Toward all the quiet potential there is.
Now bring your awareness to stillness.
A deep unmoving quiet pervading your whole body.
A sense of profound rest.
And then sense subtle movement.
The soft pulse of your breath.
The gentle rhythm beneath the surface.
The quiet vibration of life itself.
Notice the contrast between stillness and movement.
Between heaviness and lightness.
Move between these opposing states.
And then let go.
And notice that awareness itself remains unchanged.
Always present in heaviness.
Always present in lightness.
Present in stillness.
Present in movement.
Sensations come and go.
Awareness remains.
Awareness is all there is.
We now move to visualization.
Images will be named one after another.
There is no need to hold them,
Interpret them or create them clearly.
Simply allow each image to arise and fall away.
In Chidakash.
The inner space of awareness behind your clothes.
Your closed eyes.
Receive these images quietly.
Without effort or explanation.
And allow whatever appears in your inner space to arrive and pass naturally.
Imagine the morning mist.
The dark nourishing soil.
A smooth unmarked stone.
Layers of the earth.
The gentle warmth of the sun.
The inside of a shell.
A subtle stirring beneath the surface.
Roots hidden deep underground providing stability,
Nourishment,
Life.
An unopened bud.
The still earth at dawn.
Your inner seed.
Your inner seed.
Your inner seed.
See your inner seed.
Resting in the dark nourishing soil of your fertile body.
Nothing is asked of this seed.
It does not need to grow.
It does not need to change.
It rests.
Carrying all its quiet potential within.
And now allow even this image to soften.
Its edges to blur.
Its form loosens.
Until it no longer asks to be seen.
The sense of shape fades.
Like a memory dissolving at the edge of waking.
Leaving behind only a quiet knowing.
Awareness opens.
There is no centre to hold.
No boundary to cross.
Allow the inside and the outside to lose their meaning.
Knowing what remains is presence resting in itself.
Be still and let what is be.
Trusting everything will unfold in its own good time.
Allow everything to unfold.
The secret of life is to trust the unfolding.
As the practice now moves towards completion.
And your body is resting more deeply.
And your mind has softened and turned inward.
In this state of profound rest.
Awareness is quieter.
And what is repeated now can be received at a deeper level.
Prepare to repeat your sankalpa again.
Silently.
Gently.
I am whole and complete in this moment of rest.
I am allowing the conditions I need to be present.
I am at ease.
Held.
And quietly becoming.
Whatever your sankalpa.
Prepare to repeat it now three times.
And rest in the quiet confidence that it has been placed.
Held.
And entrusted to unfold in its own good time.
Now gently bring your awareness back to your natural breath.
And in your mind's eye notice your body resting on the floor.
The points of contact.
The sense of weight.
And the quiet support beneath you.
Become aware once more of sounds around you.
Nearer sounds and more distant sounds.
Begin to deepen your breath slightly.
Inviting a little more movement.
A little more wakefulness.
Gently move your fingers and toes.
Small unhurried movement.
As though waking from a nourishing sleep.
And when you are ready.
Slowly roll onto your right side.
Take a brief moment and notice the state of your mind and body now.
Notice any sense of ease.
Of clarity.
Or quiet presence.
Acknowledge this time you have taken for yourself.
To rest.
To listen.
To tend to what is within.
As you begin to return to the outer world.
Allow the effects of this practice to accompany you.
Into movements.
Into activity.
Into all the moments that wait.
And will follow.
Remembering what is meant to grow.
Knows how to wait.
And in your own time allow your eyes to gently open.
Welcome back to your world.
May what has been planted within you.
Quietly reveal the joy and wholeness.
That already exists in this wonderful 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.
Remember there is only one corner of the universe.
That you can truly tend to.
And that is you.
Thank you so much for taking your time today.
To practice with me.
I wish you a wonderful rest of your day or evening ahead.
Shine bright.
Shine bold.
Shine in love.
Thank you.
