I want to share with you the intention that I'm coming to this practice with.
It just lit some incense to clear the space and to set an intention and what the voice that came to me was this and I invite you to repeat it with me.
May this practice be blessed.
May this practice bring healing to myself and to others.
So this is a really deeply nourishing and soothing practice.
May this practice be blessed.
May this practice bring healing to you,
To me,
And to everyone around us.
You'll need two blocks and you'll need either a yoga bolster.
If you don't have a bolster just a bunch of pillows will do.
You do need the blocks because we're going to start with opening the heart and the bolster will be to elevate the legs.
So if you don't have any pillows or bolsters you can get away with that.
What I'm going to invite you to do is to actually come to a wall space and sit on the floor and take a moment.
You can extend your legs or you can have your legs really any way you want but just set yourself for a moment lean against the wall and your arms you know you can place your arms wherever you'd like.
Go ahead and close your eyes if it's not a good fit to close your eyes because you feel really overwhelmed.
You can keep them open and find a specific point on the floor or in front of you to gaze at.
And as you sit here against the wall on the floor give yourself a moment to feel however you're feeling right now.
And envelop yourself with kindness love and compassion.
If your best friend was calling you and feeling how you're feeling right now I am sure you would be kind and loving towards them.
And it's okay if it's hard to be as kind and loving towards yourself but just know that it's the invitation and a tiny bit goes a long way.
Breathe a little bit deeper through your belly let your belly expand.
Slowing down the breath bring the breath more to the belly.
It's going to help support the parasympathetic nervous system.
It's going to help us trigger the parasympathetic system meaning trigger that rest and digest state.
If you feel that placing your hands on your body is helpful in any way go ahead and do that.
And make sure your spine is relatively elongated against the wall because we're going to go to a little bit of breath in a second before we settle to into our heart opener.
So allow yourself to land to arrive however you are.
You know the saying right?
Come as you are.
You hear it sometimes and it's really appropriate here.
Just arrive as you are.
Let yourself exhale and let yourself inhale to the count of 4.
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Let that go.
Take a normal breath in and a normal breath out.
Maybe out of the mouth.
We're going to count the breath again.
We'll continue inhaling to 4 but we're going to exhale to 6.
If that's straining in any way come back to 4.
You don't need to follow what I'm doing.
Take an exhale.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Let that go.
Take a normal breath in and a normal breath out.
We'll resume the count again and because holding the breath full is also soothing for the nervous system and it's triggering for the parasympathetic nervous system,
The rest and digest,
We'll hold the breath full for two counts.
Again,
If that's too much for you,
You're welcome to hold just one or not hold at all.
So we'll inhale to 4,
Hold to 2 and then exhale to 6.
If you need to change anything here in the count,
Please adjust.
Take an exhale.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold 1,
2.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold 1,
2.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Inhale 4,
3,
2,
1.
Hold 1,
2.
Exhale 6,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1.
Let that go.
Take a normal breath in and a normal breath out.
Notice how you're feeling.
You can compare a little bit.
You can compare to how we started.
You don't have to,
But notice how you're feeling right now.
That's what matters the most.
If your eyes are closed,
Go ahead and open them.
And so you won't need the bolster for now.
I'm going to invite you to take your two blocks.
You can place them like an equal sign or you could have the top one,
The one at the heart,
A little bit higher.
It's up to you.
I like them at an equal sign,
So this is where I'm going to start.
Place that to the side for now.
And we'll start with feet down onto the mat.
And so you're going to bring the bottom of your ribs to the lower edge of that bottom block.
And then the block under your head,
You're going to need to adjust so that your head is really supported.
And keep your knees bent and your feet down for now.
Once you have that,
Go ahead and open your arms next to you.
You might need to kind of wiggle your shoulder blades flat underneath you.
And you could either walk your feet away from each other just a little bit out and bring your knees into touch.
You could keep just regular feet down,
Knees up,
Or you can elongate and lengthen your legs.
It's up to you.
So either constructive rest in the legs,
Long legs,
Or just normal feet down,
Knees bent.
We'll be here for a few minutes.
And you can start by noticing which parts of your body feel tense and gripping and holding right now without any judgment.
Maybe it's in the face,
Maybe it's in the neck and shoulders,
Maybe it's in the chest,
In the back,
Maybe it's in the sacrum or the hip flexors.
Just feel the tension,
Acknowledge the tension.
Or if you totally flopped and it feels like a relief,
Just surrender,
Acknowledge that too.
If you're feeling no tension at all,
Take note of that.
And from this place,
Start to let yourself be held and grounded.
And if your mind immediately got busy again,
Feel free to repeat counting the breath like we started with.
You don't have to,
But sometimes when the mind is really all over the place,
It's helpful to give it a place to land.
And especially counting and regulating the breath physically,
Manually is helpful.
But otherwise,
I'll be quiet for the next minute or so.
And let yourself rest before we lay down in Savasana for Yoga Nidra.
And if you take a few breaths,
Check in.
Is there any part of your body that would be open to softening?
Take one more big breath in and a big breath out.
If your legs are long,
You can bend your knees and place your feet down again.
And go ahead and roll towards one of your sides and use your elbow and your hand to press yourself up.
Great.
So we're going to get set up for Savasana and I'll guide you through a short Yoga Nidra practice as we get there.
The way I would recommend to get into this shape is to have the legs a little bit elevated.
So you could have your blocks at a low or a medium setting.
Even a high setting would be alright.
And you would place your bolster or your pillows on top of your blocks.
Sometimes the back of my head,
After a few minutes,
Starts to be sore.
So if you are prone to that,
You might want to place something under your head as well.
You're trying to have no parts of your body touching anything to set up for Yoga Nidra.
So make sure you have space around you.
And I wouldn't recommend wearing an eye mask or an eye pillow either because you don't want any pressure on the eyes.
So with the legs on the bolster,
Go ahead and lay down and then open your arms in a shape that feels comfortable and sustainable.
Adjust your head so that your chin isn't too far in but too far out either.
So your head is really aligned with the rest of your body.
Your spine is long.
And then take a moment to arrive here.
The legs might be kind of still holding a little bit here so give them a second to soften and release any muscle engagement.
And a little differently than how we usually start,
Here actually bring your awareness to your pelvis because it's the place that feels a little bit heavier right now with the position of the legs.
So bring your awareness to the center of your pelvis please.
You can just find awareness there or you can visualize a point of light or some warmth,
Whatever works for you but you don't necessarily need to use any of these techniques.
Your awareness travels to the right hip,
The front of the hip,
The sides,
Around the joint,
Without moving anything,
Awareness at the right hip.
Awareness travels to the right knee,
Front of the knee,
Back of the knee,
All around the joint.
Awareness moves to the right ankle,
The top of the right foot,
The sole of the right foot,
The tip of the right big toe.
Awareness to the second toe,
The third toe,
Fourth toe,
And the fifth toe.
Awareness to the entire right foot,
Moving around,
Nourishing and healing.
May this practice be blessed.
Awareness to the right ankle,
Right knee,
Right hip,
Center of the pelvis.
May this practice feel healing for myself.
Awareness to the left hip,
Front of the hip,
Back of the hip,
All around the joint.
Traveling to the left knee,
Front of the knee and back of the knee,
All around.
Awareness and healing to the left ankle,
To the top of the left foot,
Without rushing to the sole of the left foot,
To the tip of the left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe.
Healing energy and awareness all around the left foot,
Left ankle,
Left knee,
Left hip,
Center of the pelvis.
May this practice be blessed.
Awareness travels to the belly button,
Front of the belly,
As well,
All around.
Up to the solar plexus,
Up to the heart center,
Right center of the heart.
Awareness to the right shoulder,
To the right elbow,
All around the joint,
Front of the elbow,
Back of the elbow,
All around.
To the right wrist,
Healing and awareness to the palm of the right hand,
To the top of the right hand,
To the tip of the right thumb,
Tip of the second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
Tip of the fourth finger,
Tip of the pinky finger.
Awareness and healing all around the right hand,
Right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
Right side of the heart,
Center of the heart.
May this practice be healing for myself.
Left center of the heart,
Awareness to the left shoulder,
Front of the shoulder and back of the shoulder,
All around the joint.
Left elbow,
Left wrist,
Palm of the left hand,
Top of the left hand,
Tip of the thumb,
Tip of the second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
Tip of the fourth finger,
Tip of the pinky finger.
Awareness and healing all around the left hand,
Left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Left side of the chest,
Of the heart,
Center of the heart.
Awareness to the throat,
Back of the neck.
Awareness travels to the third eye.
May this practice be blessed.
May this practice be healing for myself,
For everyone around me.
Awareness and healing travels to the crown of the head,
All the way at the top.
And like a tiny opening at the crown of the chest,
There may be some light or energy shooting out the crown of the head.
Let your intention be for the next few minutes to not fall asleep,
To stay present.
Maybe a deeper breath invites itself into your body.
Some movements in the fingers and the toes.
Really gentle.
Eyes stay closed.
Awareness stays present in the entire body.
And with your eyes still closed,
You can move your feet down onto the earth or onto your props.
And roll to a side that feels comfortable for you,
Appropriate for you.
And when you feel ready,
Go ahead and press yourself up to a seat.
Take a moment to acknowledge how you're feeling now.
Any shifts in your energy,
Any shift in your emotional state.
And when you feel ready,
You can start to open your eyes and take good care of yourself.
