Welcoming you into this practice of yoga nidra.
This practice of conscious rest.
And as you arrive,
Know that you're not resting alone.
Even if you're in your own space.
There are others here alongside you who are taking a pause as well.
So there's many nervous systems choosing to slow down together.
In this practice.
Each time one nervous system settles,
It quietly supports the settling of the whole.
So there's nothing you need to achieve here,
Nothing to follow perfectly.
Sense my voice coming in and out of your consciousness.
This is normal and natural as we go into the state of Yoga Nidra.
So just being here is enough.
Simply allowing yourself to rest.
Is already a participation and a contribution to this broader field.
And begin to notice your body being supported.
Ground beneath you.
.
.
Receiving your weight.
.
.
Without effort,
Without expectation.
And invite your attention gently into the physical body.
Notice where the body meets the surface beneath you.
Sensing into the back of your head.
The shoulders.
Back body.
The pelvis,
The legs.
There's nothing you need.
To hold yourself up.
Still allow gravity.
To do the work.
And if it feels right,
Sense the ground beneath you as steady,
And stable.
A reliable ground,
A foundation that remains.
Whether you're active or at rest.
As your body settles and softens,
You may notice a settling beyond your own edges.
As though your rest makes it a little easier for others to rest too.
And as the body continues to settle,
And to open to a sense of welcoming.
You're also welcome to allow a simple intention to arise.
So not as something to achieve,
But more just a gentle orientation of being.
So if it feels supportive.
You might silently take in these words and just allow them to echo quietly within you.
I am rooted.
Steady and present for what unfolds.
I am rooted,
Steady,
And present for what unfolds.
I am rooted,
Steady,
And present for what unfolds.
Letting the words settle naturally like a seed resting in fertile soil.
Watered by the steady rhythm.
Stream of the breath.
Now we'll journey with our attention slowly throughout the body.
Simply sensing your way along.
Inviting attention to the inside of your mouth.
Tongue resting.
Teeth spaced apart.
Sense the space inside the jaw.
The lips.
The jaw softening.
Shapes.
Nose.
Eyes resting back in their sockets.
Forehead.
Temples.
Scalp top of the head.
And now allow attention to move down into the neck.
Shoulders.
The upper arms.
Elbows.
Lower arms.
The wrists and hands.
Hands resting.
Bring attention now to the chest and ribcage.
The upper back.
And the solar plexus,
The space beneath the breastbone.
Often engaged in effort and direction.
So without trying to change anything,
Invite this area to soften.
To rest from doing.
To rest from managing.
Allow the breath to move naturally here.
As you bring attention into the belly.
The pelvis.
The hips.
Receiving the flow of breath.
And now the legs.
Eyes.
Knees.
Lower legs.
Ankles.
Fake.
Soles of the feet.
Notice now the contact with the ground as attention travels back up to the base of the spine.
The root of the body.
Sensing it stable and supported.
Sense the whole spine as a highway of vibrating sensations.
And sense that vibrating sensation expand out throughout the entire body.
Whole body.
From head to feet.
From feet to head.
Resting as one unified field of sensation.
As your body settles,
The collective field settles with you.
And now begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
There's nothing you need to change.
Simply sense the breath moving in and out of the body.
The gentle rise and fall of belly and chest.
The subtle rhythm of the in and out flow.
And if it feels supportive,
Allow a simple pattern to emerge.
With the inhale,
Count to four.
At the top of the inhale,
A brief pause.
Then the exhale for a count of four.
And a brief pause.
So inhaling together.
One.
2.
.
.
3.
.
.
4.
.
.
Pause.
Exhale together,
One.
2 3 4 Pause Continue on your own.
Matching the pace to your natural breath as you count to four.
On the inhale and the exhale.
Continue with the count.
Let the breath feel like a quiet scaffolding for spaciousness.
A structure that holds without effort.
Each pause is a moment of containment.
A place where the body knows how to rest.
If the mind drifts,
Gently return to the count of the breath.
And come back to your natural flow of breath.
As the breath settles,
Notice how the body responds,
Perhaps a softening.
Or a feeling like a little more help.
And now sense the earth beneath you.
Dark.
Fertile and quiet.
Deep beneath the surface of the buildings,
There is soil.
That knows how to receive.
A place where nothing is rushed.
Sense the back of your body being held by this earth.
And from this grounded support.
Begin to sense a subtle warmth at the center of the body,
At the solar plexus.
Sense it like the first light appearing on the horizon before dawn.
Not yet a sunrise.
Not yet movement or action.
Just the quiet knowing that something is gestating and preparing.
You are at a threshold between release and renewal.
Between rest and what will come next.
There is nothing you need to do.
Simply allow the nervous system to register readiness without any urgency.
Don't let go of any images,
Even my guidance.
No breath to follow,
No image to hold.
Simply letting go into deep rest.
Dropping down into the awareness.
In which the body is resting.
In which the breath is moving.
In which sensations and thoughts arise and gently pass.
Nothing to tend to,
Nothing to improve,
Nothing to manage.
Rest in this domain of grace.
And as you rest here,
You may gently recall the intention that was planted earlier.
Without effort into the fertile soils of your being.
Rooted.
Steady.
Present for what unfolds.
Let these words simply color the field of awareness as a quiet resonance rather than a task.
Begin to notice the simple presence of the body again.
The weight of you being held.
The contact.
With the ground.
And sense the space around you.
Without leaving the steps.
When you're ready.
Slowly let yourself drift back to the surface of waking consciousness.
Depending what time of day it is for you,
You may choose to remain.
Here longer.
Or without hurry.
You can begin to shift.
Into meeting your day.
There's no rush.
As you begin to reorient your awareness back to your body and the space around you,
To Know that there is this quality of steadiness and rootedness that doesn't end here.
Into the rest of your day.
Continues into your listening,
Your relating.
All the ways you will meet life.
Allow for small movements to return.
Perhaps in fingers and toes.
And then slowly.
Bringing a bit of movement back in.
Again,
If you choose to just remain here and rest a little longer,
You're welcome to just drift off on your own.
And otherwise.
Coming back into.
A more upright position.
Beginning to ease.
And wishing everyone a nice rest of your day.
This yoga nidra is now complete.
Namaste.
