Hello,
Good evening,
And thank you for taking this time for yourself before bed to bring your mind and your attention towards the intention of rest.
First,
Find yourself in a comfortable place where you won't be disturbed for the next moment,
Lying on your back,
Perhaps using a pillow underneath the knees for support or a blanket for warmth.
As the body rests,
You may become colder.
Make sure that you have a warm blanket nearby and that your clothing is not too tight but loose enough for you to be comfortable.
As you settle in on your back,
Prepare for the practice of yoga nidra by taking a deep breath in and letting it out.
In this practice,
We're going to relax the body,
The mind,
And the spirit as you prepare to take your spirit on a journey into your dreams.
We are going to practice progressive muscle relaxation,
So taking a deep breath in and out,
Breathing in and out,
Taking each part of the body and flexing it to experience tension and then letting it go to experience release.
As I call each body part,
Holding for the in-breath and on the release,
Exhaling deeply and allowing that body part to completely relax,
Noticing the difference between the tense and relaxed states.
Start by bringing your attention to your feet and toes.
Flex the toes,
Creating tension just for a moment,
And then on an exhale,
Relax the toes completely.
Moving to the ankles,
Flex them and relax.
Moving to the calves and shins,
Flexing,
Creating tension,
And then exhaling to release the tension,
Bringing tightness to the thighs and exhaling to release.
Flexing the hips and lower abdomen and lower abdomen and release.
Flexing the core and the bottom ribs and release.
Flexing the chest,
Release.
Flexing the shoulder blades and release,
Bringing tension to the shoulders,
Bringing them up towards the ears.
On a breath out,
Release and relax,
Squeezing the biceps and triceps and releasing,
Opening the fingers wide,
Flexing the forearms and release,
Holding the fists together in a closed shape and release,
Bringing tension towards the neck and release,
Bringing the face close together,
Scrunching the eyebrows down and the chin upwards,
Release,
Opening the face up,
Eyebrows towards the forehead,
Mouth open wide,
And exhale to release.
All at once,
Flexing the entire body,
Holding this tension as you breathe in,
And at the top of an inhale,
Holding,
Releasing on the exhale.
Notice the body in its entirety,
Lying on the ground,
Comfortable.
Notice any remaining areas of tension and using your awareness and your breath,
Relax those areas.
Take a deep breath in through the nose,
Filling the space of the abdomen and the chest and the throat.
Exhale through the mouth,
Nice and slowly.
We will now move on to making ourselves aware of the breath.
The mental body is relaxed and eased of tension through awareness of the breath.
As each thought comes to mind,
Simply allow the breath to carry it away like a leaf blowing through the wind.
Take another round of deep breaths in through the belly,
Then chest,
Then throat.
Feel the body deflate as you exhale.
Notice where you are feeling the breath in the body.
Allow yourself,
Let the breath breathe you with each inhale as it naturally wants to,
Each exhale counting backwards from 27.
Continue to be aware of the feelings in the body caused by each breath,
Relaxing the body with each exhale,
Filling the body with your presence with each inhale.
If you lose track of the number that you are on,
Beginning back at 27,
Taking each breath one at a time,
Your awareness is here and now.
With each breath,
You become present to the state of being.
With each breath,
You become present to the state that your body is in,
Is connected to your mental body.
Picture of where you are in the room right now,
Visualized in your head,
Relieving tension within that body with each breath.
Letting go of the awareness of the breath,
Return to your picture of yourself,
Lying on the floor as you are right now.
Know that you are breathing and that you are safe,
That your body is lying on the floor undisturbed and restful.
Now,
Attending to your spirit and your consciousness,
Bring your mind back to where you were one minute ago and observe yourself in that state.
And now,
To five minutes ago,
Notice what you were feeling five minutes ago.
And even further,
Half an hour ago,
Where was your spirit?
What was your consciousness attending to?
What do you remember experiencing that time like?
You bring that experience to the present moment.
Returning to an hour ago,
Recall your experience from one hour ago.
What sensations did you feel?
What events did you create?
Returning to two hours ago,
Where was your body?
Where was your consciousness two hours ago?
Can you bring that experience to the present moment?
Returning to six hours ago,
Can you recall the experience of your body,
Mind,
And consciousness six hours ago,
Present moment?
Twelve hours ago,
Where were you physically?
Where were you mentally and energetically?
What was the experience like being in that space twelve hours ago?
What were your goals and desires twelve hours ago?
How did you create your existence twelve hours ago?
One full day,
Recall where you were this time yesterday.
What were your goals and intentions twenty-four hours ago?
Did your experience twenty-four hours ago help to create the reality that you experienced and led you to this moment here and now?
Can you recall your experience from twenty-four hours ago?
What did you do to prepare for this moment here and now?
Drawing your mind back to this space that you are in,
Visualize your body lying on the floor here and now,
Taking a deep breath in.
Visualize the room that you are in.
Visualize the floor underneath you,
The walls within the room,
The ceiling above you.
Visualize yourself within the room,
Within the space that you are occupying.
You are fully present with your body in the room.
Begin to make small movements,
Wiggling the fingers and toes,
Turning the head.
These movements to spread throughout the whole body,
Bringing you to a state where you are ready to go towards your next step in the evening.
Once again,
Send yourself gratitude for being here and taking this time to prepare yourself for rest and relieving tension before bed.
I will see you here again tomorrow.
