Yoga Nidra: Presence-ing

Welcome to deep rest in your own clear presence. Yoga Nidra offers such a blessing space to let go, turn within, and become fully present in the perfection you already are. I invite you to partner here with your dear body and drift into bliss. This practice is 24 minutes long and is accompanied by gentle music. Please ... surrender and enjoy!

Transcript

Namaste.

Welcome to Yoga Nidra.

My name is Shelley and I will be your guide for this practice.

Nidra is a timeless form of yoga where we lie down,

Cozy in,

And allow awareness to move and shift and deepen while the body rests layer by layer.

We slowly drop down into quieter spaces of being,

Into our own spacious presence.

Nothing to do save relax,

Let go,

And follow the sound of my voice.

If you would please begin by getting as completely comfortable as you can,

Laying your body down on some sweet form of firm yet easeful support.

Perhaps directly on Mother Earth or on a couch or a bed.

Some way of inviting the body to let go and surrender.

Bringing in any props for even more ease.

Perhaps a pillow behind the head,

A pillow behind the knees,

A blanket for warmth.

Anything that might assist in your process of releasing,

Relaxing,

Unwinding,

Letting go.

Taking your time to nestle in,

Finding a sweet balance of support and spaciousness.

Making any final adjustments to help the body release into stillness.

Adjusting the head,

Shoulders,

Shoulder blades,

The back body,

Pelvis,

Hips,

Legs,

Feet.

You may rest your arms gently away from the body,

Palms up,

Or you might rest your hands on the body.

Listen,

Listen to what your body wants.

And now,

Closing down the eyes,

Turning deep within,

And inviting awareness to connect with the natural rhythm of the breath.

Where do you notice the breath in this moment?

Maybe in the nostrils,

Or the back of the throat,

Maybe in the chest,

Or maybe even in the belly,

Or perhaps somewhere else.

Just allowing awareness to gently synchronize with the already happening breath.

And then if you would please take a deep,

Conscious,

Full breath in,

In through the nose.

Hold for a beat at the top,

And then open,

Sigh,

Let it go out.

Again,

Big breath in,

Long sigh out.

And one more time,

And gently returning to the natural breath.

Resting here,

Breathing,

Being breathed.

It's time to call in your sankalpa,

Deep desire from the heart for the truth of your well-being.

A truth that is already here,

Longing to be recognized,

To be known.

In Nidra,

We call this deep heart's desire a sankalpa.

You might think of it as the heart's desire across eons,

Even beyond time.

Taking a moment to connect with a sankalpa you may already be working with,

Or checking in for the truth of your heart in this moment.

Or you might bring in a simple statement such as,

I am free,

Full of grace,

Whole,

And deeply resting.

Seeing what feels true for you in this moment,

And saying it to yourself inwardly,

Three times.

And now for a gentle rotation of consciousness through the body,

Guided by the sound of my voice.

The left fingertips,

All of the left fingers,

Back of the left hand,

The left palm,

Left hand streaming in all directions.

The heart center,

Space of the heart in the center of the chest,

The right fingertips,

All of the right fingers,

Back of the right hand,

The right palm,

The whole right hand streaming in all directions.

The heart center,

Space of the heart in the center of the chest.

Resting in the heart,

Might you widen awareness to welcome both whole hands,

Left and the right,

The right and the left,

Both hands together at once,

Extending from the heart.

And remaining in stillness,

While in the imaginal realm,

Slowly drawing the hands together in front of the chest,

Gently pressing the palms,

And then moving your joined hands to the center of the heart,

Just lightly pressing the thumbs into the sternum.

This is prayer pose or Anjali mudra.

So with this sacred mudra of the hands in the imaginal realm,

We'll take a sweet pilgrimage through the body,

Honoring the miracle of the body through various of its named parts,

Gathering awareness and bowing to all 10 toes,

Bowing to both whole feet,

Both ankles,

Both lower legs all the way around,

Both full knees,

Both upper legs all the way around,

Both hip sockets,

The pelvic floor at the base of the spine between the legs,

Bowing to the whole pelvic bowl,

The sacrum,

The lower back,

Both sides of the waist,

Bowing to the belly,

The ribs knit all around,

The mid back and the upper back together,

Bowing to the shoulder blades,

The armpits,

The whole chest,

Bowing to both collar bones,

Both shoulders,

Both upper arms all the way around,

Both full elbows,

And both lower arms all the way around,

Both wrists,

And both whole hands,

Both whole hands bowing and being bowed to,

Bowing to the center of the throat,

The whole neck all the way around,

The back of the skull,

Both lips,

Jaws,

Nostrils,

And the whole nose,

Both eyes nestled in their sockets,

The space between the eyebrows,

The inner mind's eye,

Bowing to both ears outside the skull and deep within,

And the crown of the head,

Bowing deeply to the crown of the head at the top of the skull,

Opening to the universe and beyond.

And then widening awareness to bow to your whole presence resting here,

The whole of your being,

Physical body,

Subtle body,

Energy radiating in all directions,

With palms joined together in the imaginal realm,

One last deep bow to your whole presence.

And then in the imaginal realm,

Allowing the palms to gently part and your hands coming to rest where they are,

Resting buoyant,

Resting whole,

Radiant presence,

Resting.

And in this radiant,

Spacious presence,

Resting,

Might you welcome awareness to the front side of the self,

The face and the whole front body,

This front side of the self that you present to the light of the world,

The front side also known as the individual or the personal side of the self.

Noticing the quality of presence in this front side of the self that you offer to the light of the world.

And now gently shifting through presence to the backside of the self.

The behind the scenes side of the self.

This backside is also known as the universal side of the self.

Like the dark side of the moon,

The side always kept turned towards the whole universe and noticing the quality of presence in the backside of the self,

The universal side.

And then shifting awareness through presence to the front side,

Again,

The individual side of the self.

And then shifting awareness through presence to the backside,

Again,

The universal side of the self.

And now widening awareness to welcome both sides of the self together at once,

The front and the back,

The individual and the universal,

The scene and the hidden,

The known and the unknown.

Resting buoyant,

Resting whole.

Resting within the great mystery.

Whole self resting.

Whole self buoyant and radiant.

Resting here,

Might you begin to hear way off in the distance,

A sound like a soft drumbeat far,

Far away,

Slowly,

Slowly drawing near.

And listening to this sound approaching from all directions.

A sound that you slowly recognize as your sankalpa.

Your sankalpa drawing near,

Coming to join you,

Resting here.

And wordless or in words,

Merging with this deep resonant sound of your heart's truth,

Your heart's desire.

Becoming one with your sankalpa.

Both of you absorbing into shared one presence,

Resting here.

Resting in this living truth of your heart.

Resting.

Resting in deep union.

Allowing yourself some moments to drift,

To rest and continuing to rest for as long as you wish.

Continuing to rest.

Or perhaps if you are ready,

Slowly beginning to come back in.

Moving up through the sweet layers of your presence.

Back towards the physical body.

Resting here,

Supported.

Taking as much time as you need.

If you're ready to start coming back in.

When you're ready to make this conscious gradual shift.

Taking your time.

Your remaining in sweet rest.

I thank you and your dear body for joining me in this practice of yoga nidra.

My name is Shelly.

It has been my honor to share this practice with you.

I bow deeply to your presence,

To the goodness of your being.

Namaste.

Reviews

Beautiful, calming bedtime practice for me. Bookmarking for anytime centering💚🌊🍃