This is Sarah Eyler.
Welcome to this Icelandic dream Nidra,
Inspired by the majestic beauty of Iceland.
Whether you're using this practice to recharge your nervous system or to help you fall asleep,
Yoga Nidra allows the nervous system to fully experience rest and gives you a chance to step away from the chatter of the thinking mind.
Beginning by finding a quiet place,
Taking all the time you need to get comfortable,
Supported by pillows and bolsters,
Covering yourself with blankets and closing your eyes as you snuggle down into your Nidra nest.
Making sure that you feel warm,
Safe and supported,
Like you've just come inside on a cold winter's day and you're resting in front of a warm fire.
Begin to establish a connection to your body by taking a deep breath in through the nose and then a big exhale out of the mouth.
Again take another deep cleansing inhale through the nose.
And then a big exhale,
Sighing it all out.
And then last breath in.
And as you breathe out,
Release any lingering resistance,
Any tension.
Allowing your breath to settle into a natural rhythm.
Allow your lips to soften and part,
Your tongue to drop back and down.
Allow your eyes to drop back towards the center of your head,
Heavy like stones.
And release any tension in the space between your eyebrows.
Your entire face and head softer and heavier now.
Bring all your awareness to your mouth.
Notice any and all sensation lingering in your lips,
Teeth,
Inside of the mouth,
Gums and tongue.
Notice sensations flowing throughout the entire mouth.
Coming back just to your lips,
Aware of all the nerve endings in both lips.
Notice pulsing and simmering with sensation.
Blowing your awareness now to the tips of your fingers.
Each finger alive with sensation.
Each fingertip touching and sensing.
Noticing each point of contact.
Lips alive with energy.
Blowing your attention now down to the tips of your toes.
Noticing rivers of warmth flowing into all of your toes.
Nose sensitive and feeling.
Can you now imagine your lips,
Fingers and toes all connected?
All pathways connected and flowing with energy.
Noticing sensation in the entire body now.
Resonating through every cell.
Trusting that you are exactly where you're supposed to be and that there's nothing to do but listen to my voice.
Bringing an intention into your mind now.
Maybe an intention or synculpa that you've been working with over time.
Or bringing in a statement that deeply resonates with you.
A statement expressing what you most want to bring into your life right now.
Perhaps it's creativity or love or peace or kindness.
Or it could even be a simple statement such as I am resting deeply.
Bringing your personal intention into your awareness now and repeating it silently three times.
Allow yourself to sink down and soften even further.
Letting gravity do its work.
Simply surrendering to rest.
Allowing yourself to absorb this experience of deep rest.
Dropping away even farther now from the thinking mind and becoming fully present in your body.
Noticing sensations present in each body part as I call them out by name.
Starting with the crown of your head.
I'm flowing down through the center of your head.
Coming to rest at the center of your forehead.
Noticing the right eyebrow.
The right eye.
Right eye socket.
And now the entire right eye itself.
Awareness to the left eyebrow.
The left eye.
Eye socket.
And the entire left eye.
Moving to the right ear.
The entire right ear listening for sounds in the distance.
And then over to the left ear.
The entire left ear scanning for sounds.
Awareness moving down to the nose into the feeling of air flowing in and out.
Attention flowing to the inside of the mouth.
The roof and bottom,
The tip of the tongue,
And the base of the tongue.
Noticing both lips.
Both lips alive with sensation.
Thousands of nerve endings pulsing and alive with sensation.
Flowing down the middle of the throat into the chest.
And then over to the right shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
The right wrist,
The palm,
The very tip of your right thumb,
The tip of the second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
Tip of the fourth finger,
Tip of the pinky finger,
And then all the nerve endings and the tips of all the fingers on your right hand.
Attention flowing back to the center of the chest.
And then over to the left shoulder,
The left upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
The left wrist,
Palm,
And then the very tip of the left thumb,
The tip of the left second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
Tip of the fourth finger,
And tip of the pinky finger.
Noticing sensation in all the tips of the fingers on the left hand.
And then both hands at once,
Noticing any sensations in the tips of all ten fingers at once.
Then back to the center of the chest,
The navel,
Pelvis,
And then over to the right hip,
The right thigh,
The knee,
The shin,
Ankle,
The very tip of the right big toe,
The tip of the second toe,
Tip of the third toe,
Tip of the fourth toe,
And tip of the pinky toe.
From the tips of all the toes,
Alive with sensation and energy.
Back up to the center of the pelvis,
And then over to the left hip,
The left thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Tip of the left big toe,
Tip of the second toe,
Tip of the third toe,
Tip of the fourth toe,
And tip of the pinky toe.
All the tips of the toes on the left foot,
Open and sensing.
And then all the toes on both feet,
Pulsing with sensation and awareness all at once.
Sensing all your toes,
Fingers,
And lips at once.
Alive with sensation.
And then becoming aware of the whole body all at once from head to toe.
Then bringing your awareness just to the right side of your body,
As if the left side has fallen away into shadow.
Focusing only on the right side of your body.
And then awareness just to the left side,
As if the right side has fallen away.
Awareness just of the upper body,
And then just the lower body.
And then the whole body.
Resting your attention now on your breath,
The quality of your breath,
And how it flows in and out in an effortless cycle.
Begin to count your breath from 10 to 1.
Just stating in your mind 10 I am breathing in,
And 10 I am breathing out.
Counting down from 10 to 1 at your own pace.
And then counting down from 10 to 1 at your own pace.
I invite you now to imagine a winter landscape covered by a vast glacier.
A glacier formed slowly over time.
Seeing a floating iceberg.
A sparkling pale blue iceberg floating in a glacial lake.
Seeing a powerful flowing waterfall.
A waterfall cascading down a mountainside and eventually winding its way to the sea.
The night sky.
A dark night sky dotted with millions of twinkling stars.
The northern lights.
The night sky lit up with a blue and green swirling pattern of the northern lights.
A thermal pool.
Steam rising from the pool on a cold winter's night.
Black sand beaches stretching as far as the eye can see.
A band of horses.
Horses grazing in a windswept field covered with lichen,
Moss,
And grasses.
Cozy log cabin.
A cozy log cabin surrounded by fresh fallen snow.
Can you imagine yourself walking through the snow?
A cold arctic wind on your face.
Walking towards the cabin.
Your whole body cold as you make your way towards the door.
Opening the door and all at once being enveloped by the warmth of a roaring fire.
Resting by the fire and allowing the warmth to return to your body.
Feeling warm,
Cozy,
And safe.
Mesmerized by the flames.
Gazing intensely into the fire.
Feeling peaceful and calm as you notice your intention statement appearing in the flames.
Can you bring your intention statement now back into your awareness and repeat it softly in your mind?
Resting by the fire.
Feeling its warmth.
Bringing your way back into wholeness.
Feeling vast and open as the highest mountain,
The oldest glacier,
Or the deepest ocean.
Allowing yourself to sink further into deep rest.
Feeling the warmth of the fire and the coziness of the cabin.
Feeling safe,
Connected,
As you sink down even further.
Taking the choice now to gently drift off to sleep or to come back to full awareness.
Transitioning back by bringing small movements into your body.
Or continuing on into sleep by releasing any last bit of consciousness.
Whether you're journeying on to sleep or continuing your day,
Thank you for practicing with me.
Go in peace.
