You have arrived here in this practice of Yoga Nidra.
Now is the time to get super comfortable and allow the body to settle into a state of stillness.
You are of course welcome to move the body as needed with the intention of coming back to stillness again.
Make sure you have everything you need.
A blanket and a pillow to support your head or your knees.
Are there any movements that you could make now to just be able to settle a little bit deeper into the practice?
Any adjustments needed can be done now.
And perhaps you could take a deeper breath and let out a sigh on the exhale.
Notice any sounds around you.
Are there any in the room with you?
Or are they outside of the room?
Notice any sounds that you hear and they will just take you deeper into this practice.
Can you feel your body on the surface you are lying on?
Your body settling against the earth below.
How does it feel to feel your body lying against the earth?
Your small body against the big body of the earth.
The earth holding you,
Cradling you,
Keeping you safe here.
Perhaps we could just notice how each part of the body feels and is settling against the earth.
The feet,
Legs,
Hips,
The whole of the back,
Shoulders and arms and hands,
The neck and the head.
All lying here,
Settled against the earth.
And if there is an intention that arises from the space of the heart in this moment,
Then just let that be felt however it needs to be.
And there may not be any intention and that is perfectly okay as well.
The intention could just be to be present in this practice of yoga nidra.
And whatever the intention is,
Whether to just be present for this practice or something that has arisen for you,
You are welcome to repeat it to yourself three times now.
Focusing on the breath now.
Letting the breath arise in the body naturally.
There is no need to force anything here.
Just letting the body breathe.
Maybe we'll count some breaths.
Count to nine.
The in-breath and the out-breath counting as one.
And continuing on the out-breath to go deeper into the practice.
So,
It would be inhale one,
Exhale one and so on.
And it's okay if you lose count.
You can simply just start over again.
And if you get to nine,
You could always count backwards,
Whatever feels good to you.
But on the out-breath continuing to go deeper,
More settled,
More relaxed.
On the out-breath you could allow the body to go deeper into relaxation.
Every out-breath taking you deeper.
The out-breath taking you just a little bit deeper into this practice.
Just breathing gently and smoothly,
However is needed.
And you have arrived.
As you keep breathing and going deeper on the exhale,
We'll take a little trip around the body.
Keep focusing on the breath as we go around the body.
Starting at the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Back of the hand,
Palm of the hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Waist,
Hip,
Front of thigh,
Back of thigh,
Knee,
Back of knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole of the right side,
Left side now,
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Back of hand,
Palm of hand,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Side,
Waist,
Hip,
Front of thigh,
Back of thigh,
Knee,
Back of knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
The whole of the left side,
The small of the back,
The middle back and the upper back,
The shoulder blades,
The whole length of the spine,
The back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Forehead,
Both eyebrows,
Both eyes,
The nose and both cheeks,
The lips,
Chin,
Ear,
Throat,
Both sides of the chest,
Centre of the chest,
Navel and the pelvis,
The whole body,
Resting in this space,
The whole body,
The whole body resting,
Still being aware of the breath and on the exhale going deeper still.
I invite you to see yourself on a coastal cliff,
Feeling the breeze on your skin and the rocks under your feet.
You look out over the cliff and you can see the sun gently setting and as you look down you can see the sun,
Clouds,
Blue sky reflected in the still ocean.
Seeing how both images are mirrored above and below,
You look into the horizon and you can see the two suns slowly getting closer together as the sun sets.
How does it feel to be in this space here with two skies and two suns?
The suns are so close together now that when you look at the horizon,
The suns become one,
They merge into one sun.
In this space the sky and sea are one,
There is no difference and there is one sun.
Here in this space everything is one,
Everything is connected,
Everything is one awareness.
This includes you as well.
Take your eyes off of the horizon for a moment and look down.
There is a puddle and you yourself are reflected in the water.
You could even take your hand and place it on the water and merge with your own reflection.
You are one with the water,
The earth and everything else in between.
Look up now and see that the sun has now set.
Instead of the orange glow of the sun there is now a blanket of darkness and stars.
You can't see where the sky ends and the ocean starts.
There is just one blanket of darkness and stars.
How does it feel to be in this space where everything is connected and one?
Stay here for a few moments as the darkness is holding you here,
Keeping you safe and just allow the intention from earlier in the practice to arise again here.
Perhaps you could release the intention into the oneness of everything,
Into the horizon,
Into the sky and the sea and yourself all at once.
And as we come to the end of the practice,
Just know that you can arrive in this space any time that you need and know that as everything is one,
You have never really left this space either.
This is an invitation to arrive back into awareness.
But if you prefer,
You can stay in this space for as long as you need.
And as you breathe,
On the inhale,
Coming back to awareness and awakeness.
On the inhale,
Coming back.
Coming back now,
Feeling the weight of the covers on your body and the feeling of the air on your skin.
Are there any tastes in your mouth?
Maybe having a deep breath to awaken the body further.
Coming back,
Stretching your hands and your feet,
Stretching your arms and your legs.
Welcome back.
I hope you have a nourishing rest of your day or night.
