So come to your comfortable position,
Whether it's a Shavasana on the floor,
Whether in the bed,
Make sure you are warm.
Make sure you're warm and make sure you're comfortable.
And then having said all that you can move at any stage.
So in the practice,
If you don't feel comfortable and you feel you need to move,
Then you move and you get comfortable again.
So settling down,
Let's get ourselves settled,
Settling down into our practice of Yoga Nidra.
If you feel you want to repeat to yourself,
I am practicing Yoga Nidra,
I am practicing Yoga Nidra.
And Yoga Nidra is the form of awareness that we let come to the body resting on the earth,
Welcoming the body onto the earth,
Being supported on the ground,
In the bed.
Can you notice the form of your body that it takes on the earth,
The form of the body on the earth,
The support?
Perhaps there's parts of the body that might feel a little bit heavier.
There may be a space,
There may be areas of connection.
Can you become aware of these?
And for our practice of Yoga Nidra,
Allow yourself to be here and give yourself that permission to be here now and know that you are taking this time out for yourself.
Trust that whatever you do in this practice of Yoga Nidra comes from that place of deep intuitive wisdom,
Deep within us.
So give yourself permission to be here and to allow this form of deep rest to take place in whatever way is comfortable for you this evening,
Or this morning,
Or this afternoon.
And we hold ourselves in this place of compassion,
In this form of Yoga Nidra.
And we let the attention now,
If it feels comfortable for you to come to the breath.
Without getting too involved,
Noticing the inhale and the exhale.
Where that movement might be for you in the breath,
In the body.
Perhaps it's the nostrils cool air,
Can really feel the cool air here today,
Cool air through the nostrils as you breathe in warmer air as you breathe out.
Or maybe it's the rise and fall in the chest or the belly or bones.
Perhaps noticing that slight pause at the end of every inhale at the end of every exhale.
And if you like,
Bringing in the visualization as you breathe in,
Breathing in spring.
And that little pause being summer.
And as you exhale,
Exhale autumn.
And the little pause being winter.
And continuing with that breath.
Spring on the inhale,
Autumn on the exhale.
The pause of the seasons in between.
Perhaps even noticing with that breath in of spring the build up,
The openness to summer and then that autumn bringing us back down into the grounded earthiness of winter stillness.
If you like bringing to mind your San Calpa,
Your intention,
Affirmation,
Positive statements,
It can be a word or an image.
Form that in and repeat it mentally three times.
From here,
Repeating to yourself if you like I am practicing yoga nidra.
I am practicing yoga nidra.
Yoga nidra is the form of awareness.
And we take that form of awareness on a little trip around the body letting the attention land on each part of the body that is named letting your attention your focus center on each part,
Beginning with the right hand thumb.
And then the index finger,
And then the middle finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
All the fingers on the right hand.
The awareness then moving up through the wrist,
The elbow,
The shoulder,
The armpit,
Right side of the chest,
Right side of the waist,
The right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Sole of the right foot,
The instep of the right foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
All the toes on the right foot.
The awareness then moving over to the left hand on the thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
All the fingers on the left hand,
The wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Left side of the waist,
The left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Top of the left foot,
Sole of the left foot,
The instep of the left foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
All the toes of the left foot,
The whole of the left leg,
The whole of the right leg,
The whole of the left arm,
The whole of the right arm,
The backs of the heels,
Backs of the legs,
Back of the pelvis and hips,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the head,
Up to the top,
The crown of the head.
And at the crown of the head,
If you like visualising a new moon,
So the new moon is dark,
A new moon and then let the awareness come down to between the eyebrows.
Visualise if you like a crescent moon,
A crescent moon and then the awareness to the throat centre or the neck and we welcome in here the image of a half moon,
A half moon,
The awareness then moving down to the heart centre,
The space in between the chest and we welcome in the full moon here.
Then down to the navel,
Welcome in a half moon and then the area about five centimetres or two inches below the belly button.
Visualise if you like a crescent moon again.
And then down at the very end our root chakra at the very bottom of the spine.
Welcome in the new moon.
How would it be to bring the focus back up to the centre of the chest,
The heart centre and visualising or even sense,
Feel or imagine a full moon shining brightly in the heart centre.
That lovely silvery grey light that comes from the full moon,
Allowing the whole body to bathe in this full moonlight.
Awareness then to the whole body being supported,
Feeling a little bit more,
Letting go a little bit more into the support of the earth.
Knowing that you are supported,
Trusting that the earth has you.
The whole body resting deeply and then the awareness moving again,
Noticing the breath.
How would it be to begin to slowly and gently lengthen and deepen that breath?
Slowly,
Gently lengthening and deepening the breath.
Breath by breath,
It doesn't have to happen all at once.
Welcoming in a slower and deeper breath.
And if it was comfortable for you the next time inhaling 234 exhale 234.
Inhale 2345.
Exhale 2345.
Inhale 23456.
Exhale 23456.
Inhale 23456.
Exhale 23456.
Exhale 23456.
Exhale 23456.
Exhale 23456.
Exhale 23456.
Continuing with your own breath for a moment or two.
For the next few moments welcoming in any sensations,
Any thoughts or emotions that may arise.
Welcome all just as it is knowing at the same time you are supported by the earth,
Supported by your breath.
Welcome in images of cold and snow and ice.
Icicles,
Frost,
Winter,
Dark.
And then welcome in the images or anything associated with sun and heat and dry,
Hot,
Desert,
Summer.
Going back again then to the cold,
To the ice,
The wind,
The snow.
And then back to that heat and fire,
Dry,
Summer.
Going from one to the other.
Take a couple of moments going from one to the other,
The elements of one to the elements of the other.
And then see how it is to bring both in at the same time.
Bringing in the sensations,
Anything that goes with the elements of hot and cold at the same time.
Fire and ice at the same time.
Winter and summer at the same time.
Holding those in our place of awareness for a moment or two.
And then taking your time,
Letting the awareness come to that place behind the mind's eye,
Almost as if there was a little screen in front of us.
Welcoming any images,
Any words,
Anything that comes from our inner wisdom,
Our deep intuitive knowing.
Welcome everything just as it is.
And in this space of knowing,
In this space of inner wisdom,
We invite in some silence and we trust this silence.
And in that fullness of silence,
Maybe some peace arises,
Maybe some hope arises.
I'll mind the space for these few moments.
Michael we are 20 minutes away from a closed session.
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