As you find your way to your nidra nest,
Allow your body to settle and be completely at ease.
Let the earth receive the full weight of your body.
Sensing the weight of the pelvis.
The way the spine connects with the earth.
Let the limbs be heavy.
And the back of the head sink.
Into the surface.
That it's on.
Make any adjustments to create the conditions for maximum comfort.
Give your body the support.
It's asking for.
And allow the earth to cradle you.
Let the breath settle.
And as the body grows quiet,
Sense that the spine is never entirely without movement.
Can you sense the subtle,
Continuous undulation?
Just notice.
And take a moment now to envision your inner sanctuary.
This may be a real place or something imagined entirely.
In your imagination.
A place where you feel a sense of ease.
It may be somewhere in nature,
A room you love,
A time of day.
A place that brings you a sense of peace.
As you imagine yourself stepping into this space,
Notice the quality of the air around you.
The light.
Of this imaginal space.
The textures.
And the ground beneath you.
Notice how the body responds to your inner sanctuary.
And know that you can return to this place at any time throughout the practice.
And from this place of ease and peace,
I invite you to shape an intention for this practice.
What is alive in you right now?
Shape this into a single affirmative statement.
And repeat it silently to yourself three times.
Planting the seeds of your desires.
In the rich,
Fertile soil.
Of the body psyche.
And as we take a journey through the body,
Know that as I name each part,
Just bringing attention and awareness to rest lightly on the area of the body.
Is the healing balm.
That your body is asking for.
So as I name a part of the body,
Allow your attention to move to that area.
Left hand.
Left fingers.
The palm of the left hand.
The back of the left hand.
The whole left hand at once.
Left wrist,
The forearm.
The elbow.
The upper arm,
And the left shoulder.
Moving to the right hand.
The right fingers.
The palm of the right hand.
The back of the right hand.
The whole right hand.
The right wrist,
The right forearm.
The elbow,
The upper arm,
And the right shoulder.
Sensing both shoulders at once.
Notice the shoulder blades resting on the earth.
Bringing your attention now to the back of the head.
Sensing it resting on the earth.
The crown of the head.
The forehead.
The skin of the forehead.
The eyebrows.
The left eye.
The right eye.
Both eyes at once.
The nose,
The mouth.
The Jaws.
Allowing the jaw to soften.
Sensing the whole inside of the mouth.
Moving your attention to the hollow at the base of the throat.
Sensing the sternum.
The left side of the ribcage.
The right side of the ribcage.
The back of the ribcage.
The whole ribcage now.
Expanding and contracting.
On the waves of the breath.
Spiraling into the heart center.
Dropping into the belly.
Allow your awareness.
To arrive at the pelvis.
The left hip socket.
The left leg.
The thigh,
The knee.
The shin.
The calf of the left leg.
The left ankle and the left foot.
Sensing the whole left leg.
From the hip bone or the hip socket to the feet.
Coming now to the right hip socket.
And the right leg.
The right thigh.
The knee.
.
.
The shin.
The right belly of the calf.
The right ankle,
The right foot.
The whole right leg from the hip to the toes,
Sensing them at once.
Sensing both legs now.
Bringing your attention now into the bowl of the pelvis.
And the left hip bone,
The right hip bone,
The sacrum,
The sacred bone at the base of the spine.
Rest here for a moment.
Sense the weight of the sacrum resting on the earth beneath you.
Moving your awareness up through the vertebra of the spine.
Beginning with the lumbar spine.
Just sensing your way up.
The spinal column.
Moving at your own pace from the sacrum all the way to the base of the skull.
Sensing the placement of the vertebrae,
Energetically,
Intuitively moving through the central axis of your body.
Sense the whole spine at once,
From the sacrum to the crown.
Resting in the breath.
Bring your awareness now to the natural ebb and flow of the breath.
Your inner tides.
And without changing anything,
Noticing the natural rhythm of the inhalation and the exhalation.
Bring your awareness now to the left side of the body.
Sensing the left nostril.
The left side of the throat and the left side of the spine.
And as you inhale,
Imagine the breath entering only the left side of the body.
Inhaling to the left.
Exhaling through the left.
Imaginally allowing the breath,
Inviting the breath to move from nostril to the base of the spine.
On the inhale,
And from the base of the spine out on the exhale.
Moving at your own pace.
As you inhale,
And exhale.
Through the left side of the body.
And the bottom of the next exhalation.
Moving the inhale to the right side of the body.
Moving the breath through the right nostril,
Throat,
And spine.
Down to the sacrum on the right side.
And exhale from the sacrum out the right nostril.
Inhaling the right side of the body.
Exhaling the right side of the body.
Moving at your own pace.
The ebb and flow of your own breath.
And with the next exhalation.
Releasing all influence on the breath,
And allow yourself to return to the natural rhythm.
And rest in a felt sense of the whole body.
Allow the body to grow softer,
More liquid and porous.
And allow the mind to become spacious.
And as thoughts or emotions move through,
Watch them.
Watch them move through like you might watch clouds move through a wide sky.
Allowing the thoughts and emotions to arise and pass and dissolve.
The sky unchanged.
Notice that you are the sky.
And now notice the earth beneath you.
Notice how she holds the weight of your body.
Your breath.
Notice how she receives and holds you.
Sense the support of the Earth.
Sense how she rises up to meet you.
Allow yourself to be held.
And now extend your awareness to the people in your life who offer support.
Those who have held you recently or long ago.
And let their presence gather around you.
Feel the warmth of being held not only by the earth,
But by your community.
By your people.
Sense the presence now of your guides.
The angels,
Allies,
Ancestors,
Masters,
And teachers,
Whatever form that takes in your own tradition.
But sensing the unseen support that is always available.
The intelligence that moves through and around you.
Allow yourself to feel held from above,
From below.
All around.
And now bring your attention inward.
To the architecture of your own body.
The bones that carry you.
The spine that holds you upright,
Allowing for movement.
Sense the support of the intelligence of the body's structure.
And now,
Dropping into stillness.
With gratitude spiraling inward to listen.
To the place in you that knows what you need and what you want.
The part of you that is learning to ask.
The part of you that continues to learn the art of supporting yourself.
Let yourself rest in the field of support and love that exists around you and within you.
And in the silence,
Allow your intention to return.
And from this place.
State your intention once again,
Three times.
Knowing that your intention has been heard and is held.
And as you sense the weight of your body resting on the earth.
Sense the ebb and the flow of the breath.
Allow your awareness to return slowly.
Sensing the quality of the light.
Any sounds around you.
And the way that the air presses against your skin.
Bringing our yoga nidra to a close,
Resting here for as long as feels good for your body.
Remembering to take exquisite care of yourself and move slowly as you wake up.
May your vision be clear.
May your voice be true.
May your heart be open.
May your actions be wise.
That concludes our Yoga Nidra.
