Hello,
Welcome back.
I'm Sarah,
A somatic facilitator and coach,
Here to help you build nervous system resilience so you can live up to your fullest potential with ease and confidence.
I'll be guiding you through meditation.
Breath work.
Visualization and deep rest so that you can explore the pause between where you've been and where you're going.
Welcome to liminal space.
Today we'll be exploring a yoga nidra woven with the yogic principle ahimsa.
Which is translated as non-harming.
We usually think of harm as something we do to others.
So much of our attention is self-inflicted.
The inner critic.
Is driving the impossible standard.
The way we speak to ourselves in a way we would never speak to someone we love.
So today we practice pausing as an act of kindness toward ourselves.
You don't need to take in every word.
You'll take what you need and leave what you don't.
My voice is simply a thread.
You might follow it,
Or maybe you just drift alongside it.
Find that comfortable position lying down.
Let the weight of your body be fully supported by the earth beneath you,
Your feet falling open.
Your arms,
Taking up space by your sides.
Palms facing up,
Open to receive.
And if it feels safe to do so,
Allow your eyes to gently close.
Take a slow inhale through the nose.
And a long steady exhale through the mouth.
Feel your body arrive and land.
There is nowhere else you need to be and nothing else you need to be doing.
You are here.
And for the next 10 minutes or so,
There's no one you need to be.
But maybe you can be the most present you have been today.
If you'd like to plant a Sancalpa.
Quiet in a resole.
Sow that seed now and let it be planted.
Perhaps today it carries the flavour of gentleness.
Feel it take up space in your body.
As you start to soften.
We'll begin by moving awareness through the body.
And as we do,
I invite you to meet each area kindly.
The way you would meet a loved one.
Not inspecting or seeking or judging.
Just visiting.
And we'll start with your right hand.
Wraps.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
Your right hip.
Me.
Ankle.
Inhale.
Toes.
The whole right side of your body.
The left hand.
Elbow.
Shoulder.
Ways.
Your left hip.
Me.
Ankle.
Heel.
Toes.
The whole left side of your body.
Ribs.
The whole spine.
The heart speaks.
The back of the head.
Crown of the head.
The whole body.
The whole body resting meeting yourself kindly as you rest.
Now bring your awareness to your breath.
Moving at its natural rhythm,
Not as doing but as being.
Let your breath breathe you.
And with each exhale Imagine setting something down.
A standard you set yourself.
Release it.
The comparison.
Release it.
The replaying of a conversation.
Release it.
The voice that stays your behind.
Release it.
You don't have to carry any of that while you are resting.
Imagine now that you're in a critic,
That harsh voice.
Appears before you.
As an object.
VEGA colour or symbol.
However it shows up for you.
Meet it.
It has been working so hard.
Believing it was keeping you safe.
Believing that if it pushed you,
You wouldn't fall behind.
If it criticized first,
No one else could hurt you.
You don't need to fight this inner critic.
Fighting it might in turn cause more suffering.
So instead,
Offer it a seat.
Let it rest too teach it that it doesn't always have to be on high alert.
Nothing is being asked of either of you right now.
Feel the body soften another layer.
The bones loosen and drop heavier to the earth.
Muscles melting around them.
Then silently if you'd like to offer yourself a few affirmations.
I am gentle with myself.
I speak to myself with kindness.
I rest without earning it.
I am gentle with myself.
I speak to myself with kindness.
I rest without earning it.
I am gentle with myself.
I speak to myself with kindness.
I rest without earning it.
And let the words land not only in your mind,
But in your body,
Your breath.
Your heart.
Rest here now,
With your inner critic by your side.
Nothing to do Nothing to fix.
Nothing to improve.
You are not a project.
You are a person.
And you do not always have to hold it together.
You are allowed to be held.
Slowly,
Gently.
Begin to return back to your body.
Back to the space of your surroundings.
Feel the shape of your body imprinting on the surface beneath you.
Temperature of the air touching your skin.
The sounds of the external world near and far.
Invite those small tiny movements back in as you twinkle your fingers and toes.
You might even take a full body stretch if the urge arises.
Then draw your mind's eye to your sankalpa.
The seed you planted.
Repeat it three times and let it land softly.
Allow this gentleness to be something you carry with you,
Not something you leave here.
And when you're ready your eyes flutter open and take this one little piece of advice with you today.
The way that you treat yourself teaches your nervous system what to expect from the world.
So let this be your lesson of safety If this practice softened something within you,
Please share it with someone whose inner critic might need a rest too.
Rest well and I'll see you next week.
