Hello,
Welcome,
I'm Gabriella and this is a short morning yoga nidra practice to help you arrive fully in the present moment and gently prepare for the day ahead.
Finding a comfortable position,
Lying down in shavasana pose or seated,
Allowing your body to be supported in some way,
So whether that's on a mat on the floor or on your bed or on a chair,
Setting the intention to remain completely awake and aware for the practice.
I'll give you a moment to settle into position and letting your eyes close softly.
For the next ten minutes or so there is nothing you need to do,
Nowhere you need to go,
This is your time.
Begin by bringing awareness to your breath.
Simply notice the breath as it is,
So no need to judge,
Feel the inhale arrive and feel the exhale release.
No need to change anything,
Simply observing.
Begin to gently deepen the breath,
Inhaling slowly through the nose and exhaling slowly through the nose,
Allowing each breath to become smooth and steady.
As you inhale,
Feel the breath move through the whole body.
And as you exhale,
Feel the body soften and settle.
Allow the inhale and exhale to become equal in length,
Balanced,
Calm,
Rounded.
Let the breath become quiet and effortless again,
Carrying a sense of ease.
Now bring awareness to the body,
Feeling the crown of the head,
The forehead,
The eyes,
The ears,
The cheeks,
The jaw softening.
Moving awareness to the neck,
The shoulders,
Releasing any tension held there.
Moving down through the arms,
The elbows,
Wrists and both hands,
Feel the chest rise and fall,
The belly soft and relaxed,
The hips heavy and supported.
Awareness moves down the legs,
Thighs,
Knees,
Shins,
Calves,
Ankles,
Feet,
The heart,
The whole body resting,
The whole body resting,
The whole body resting.
Begin by sensing the body as a heavy weight,
Weighted,
Grounded,
Supported by the surface beneath you,
Feeling the weight of your body on the ground,
Feeling the force of gravity pull you down deep into the earth.
Now gently sense the opposite,
The body becoming light,
Spacious,
Buoyant,
Effortless.
Your body is becoming light as a feather,
Moving between heavy and light,
Finding balance between grounding and ease.
Now we begin a countdown of our breath,
Starting at the number 11,
We're going to inhale for 11 and exhale for 11,
Inhale for 10 and exhale for 10 and continue counting down with each breath,
Slowly and comfortably,
All the way to zero.
If you lose the count along the way,
Gently return to the beginning or to the last number you remember,
Inhale for 11,
Exhale for 11,
Inhale for 10,
Exhale for 10 and so on.
Now imagine roots growing from your body down into the floor beneath you,
Strong steady roots connecting you to the ground,
Allowing these roots to travel down through the floor below you into the earth,
Traveling down through the stone,
The rock,
The water,
The metal,
The lava,
The crystal,
To the energetic core of the earth.
Feel the support of the earth beneath you,
Calm,
Stable,
Present.
Let this grounding earth energy rise gently through the roots up into your body,
Holding you,
Nurturing you,
Protecting you.
Begin to bring awareness back into the room with eyes remaining closed,
Noticing the ceiling above you,
The walls around you and the floor beneath you,
Feeling your body in this space here and now.
Turning over to one side for a moment before slowly beginning to sit up,
We'll close the practice with our eyes closed.
First I invite you to rub your palms together to generate a bit of heat and gently placing them over your eyes,
Taking a moment to arrive,
Together,
Softly or silently,
We will chant Om Shanti Shanti Shanti to close today's practice.
So inhaling to begin,
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti When you're ready,
Gently open your eyes and carry this calm into your day.
