Hey,
It's Sydney,
And I would like to welcome you to this moment of gratitude.
Let's slow our bodies down.
Maybe you move a little bit slower as you gather your blankets,
Pillows,
Bolsters,
Anything you need to get cozy.
Make your nest,
Get supported,
Get snuggly.
Move with intention.
Maybe there's one or two more things you could do to make yourself even 5% more beautiful.
Comfy.
In a traditional yoga nidra practice,
We often encourage a reclined on your back position.
But the truth is,
Not many of us feel rested or comfortable lying on our backs.
So if that doesn't feel good in your body in this moment,
I encourage you to lie on your side or sit in a chair or even lean against the wall.
There is no prize for suffering through your meditation position.
Lean into it.
Feel supported,
And allow your body to be held wherever you are.
The human nervous system is literally built to keep our hearts pumping and our bodies breathing.
And that is priority.
Survival.
So whether it's a bear,
A boss,
Bills,
Babies,
Or gluten,
Our nervous system doesn't really care.
It's constantly reading our physiological responses and responding accordingly,
Which doesn't always match up to our situations.
And this isn't a glitch that we do this.
Wire to notice and avoid the destroyers of life.
Our nerve systems are really good at scanning for what's wrong,
What's missing,
What needs fixing,
But guess what my friends?
There's more to it than that.
The other sides of life,
And I'm talking about joy,
Play,
Pleasure,
Connection,
Beauty,
Gratitude,
Are just as valid to our mortal experience as the hard stuff.
And there's actually some really interesting physiology behind this.
When we are experiencing something we perceive as safe or meaningful,
Nourishing,
Our nervous systems can begin to shift out of that constant state of vigilance and gratitude in particular has been associated with changes in stress physiology.
Heart rate and blood pressure all come to nice normal levels and even sleep improves.
It's not magic and it's not about pretending that the hard things aren't happening.
It's giving our nervous system more information.
There's more here than the hard stuff and the idea behind a gratitude practice is that we give ourselves some grace and forgiveness for all the times gratitude feels hard.
Because sometimes gratitude is really f***ing hard.
I chose a yoga nidra style practice for us to facilitate the movement through all of the layers of our being,
Body,
Mind,
And spirit,
And to truly plant the seeds of gratitude deep within us.
Not with the expectation of an immediately fully grown tree,
But tiny sprouts.
Little moments,
Little reminders,
And with time and nurturing,
Perhaps those sprouts allow us to feel gratitude more often alongside the heaviness of life rather than instead of it.
Before we begin I want to invite you to choose a sankalpa which is a simple intention or a heartfelt resolve that you can carry with you through this practice.
Think of it less like a goal you need to accomplish and more like a seed that you're planting.
For this practice your sankalpa might have something to do with gratitude but it doesn't have to.
Maybe something like,
I am open to noticing what is good.
Or there is enough,
Or I trust the wisdom of my body.
If you can't come up with something or you're not hearing it,
Doesn't feel right,
A simple I am here does the trick almost every time.
So choose something that feels true or something you're gently growing towards.
There's no need to force it,
Figure it out perfectly or even fully believe it just yet.
Plant the seed and then let the practice do what practices do.
Give it some space,
Some nourishment and a little time.
I invite you to start feeling your breath.
Breathing in and noticing how your body shifts to accommodate your lungs full of air.
Noticing how your heart rate changes with your inhales and exhales.
Or listening to the air entering and exiting your nostrils or your mouth.
Taking nice,
Big breaths in,
And slow,
Luxurious exhales.
Following your own pace.
Breathing deeply.
Noticing the clothes on your body.
You're supporting pillows and bolsters.
The weight of your bones.
Drawing your awareness towards the heart.
Noticing the flow of blood through your body.
The noises of your digestive system.
And allow for a moment.
Your sankalpa to be at the forefront of your thinking.
And I want you to repeat it.
Three times in your head.
The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.
As we move into the mental body,
We're going to play with a couple of pairs of opposites.
This isn't about deciding which one is better or trying to hold on to the good feeling.
We're simply noticing,
Because life is both.
Enough and not enough,
And connected and separate.
And gratitude doesn't ask us to pretend that the harder experiences aren't here.
It simply gives us another place to rest our attention.
So without needing to figure out anything,
Let's explore our pair of opposites.
Bring your awareness to the feeling of enough.
Nothing to add,
Nothing to fix.
Nothing to change,
Just enough.
What is the experience of enough in your body?
What does your heart rate do?
How does your breathing change?
Is there tension or softness anywhere in your body?
Notice how your body feels in the experience of a nap.
It's all information,
We're not judging what we feel,
We're noticing.
Now I want you to feel not enough.
The feeling of reaching,
Wanting,
Needing something to be different,
And simply notice how your body responds to not enough.
Check with your heart,
Your breath.
The tension or temperature.
Tingles,
Any sensations in your body,
What are you noticing?
About the experience of not enough.
Let's revert back to the feeling of enough.
Now,
Not enough.
And not enough.
Now let's hold them both at the same time.
Enough and not enough.
What do you notice about holding both experiences at the same time?
How does your body respond?
Now let's bring our awareness to the feeling of connected.
Connection to yourself connected to another connected to earth to life Yield the experience of connection.
Remaining curious about any stories that come through.
Sensations in the body.
Now,
Sub-breath.
The feeling of being on your own,
Apart.
Disconnected.
What does that feel like?
Where does your mind go?
What does your body do when we're experiencing separation?
Back to connected.
Now separate.
Notice the feelings around separate.
Bringing your body and mind to the sensations of the experience of connection.
And allow that to melt into separates.
And finally,
We'll smush them both together,
Feeling both connected and separate at the same time.
Once again,
Letting them both be here,
Both valid experiences.
Noticing our beautiful capacity to experience the whole spectrum of being human.
Now let's have a play with a little scene of gratitude.
This is something I've been practicing for a few months now,
And it really resonates with me,
So I hope it resonates with you too.
I want you to think of something you're grateful for.
Something small.
Or somebody.
Who's made an impact on your day,
Or on your week,
Or on your years on this planet.
Maybe you've seen a rare animal in your neighborhood.
Perhaps you found a coin on the ground.
Maybe you got a phone call from a friend you haven't talked to in a long time.
Breathe in.
To how it feels,
How you felt when you first experienced it.
Allow the sensations to build and grow,
Each cell becoming attuned to the frequency of gratitude.
Perhaps you feel your body softening.
Your jaw relaxing.
The wrinkles in your forehead smoothing out.
Notice in your body where you feel that it's easier to feel the gratitude.
Notice where perhaps gratitude feels a little bit more foreign.
And can you simultaneously hold the gratitude for your item or person or event in your life and for your body right now in this moment?
Find some gratitude for every cell.
Every bone,
Every fiber of your being.
It's alright if that feels foreign too.
You can just breathe in the meantime.
Remembering how gratitude feels in your body.
Becoming accustomed with this frequency so we can invite it back again and again and again,
Especially when times feel really hard and challenging.
Take a deep breath in.
Releasing all the sensations now,
Coming back to a neutral,
Coming back to your body just as it is.
And letting the sensations of gratitude be an echo.
And know that's waiting for you whenever you're ready to return to it.
Starting to breathe a little deeper and shifting through your wrists and your ankles.
Perhaps taking a yawn or a sigh.
Taking a big stretch.
And slowly allowing your body to come back online and your mind to return to the room.
Remembering.
Everything you need to remember.
And energetically giving yourself a nice squeeze of support.
You're welcome to sit up or remain lying down.
Stay exactly as you are.
You choose.
Our practice of yoga nidra is complete.
As always,
I'm grateful that you had a listen today,
And I can't wait until we meet again.
