Welcome to your Calming Sensitive Nervous Systems Yoga Nidra practice.
This practice is helpful if you're experiencing sensory overwhelm and everyday stress.
Begin by doing your best to find a place with minimal distractions,
Maybe sitting up in a chair or lying down in a place that you find safe and comfortable.
You may want a blanket nearby or a pillow or cushion to place under your head and neck,
Just building yourself a cozy nest.
Comfort and stillness are important for our Nidra practice,
So just spend the next few moments ensuring that you are as comfortable as possible,
Making any small adjustments that will help to settle your body.
We'll begin by breathing slowly and evenly in and out through the nose,
Drawing our attention to the breath,
Allowing our breath to reflect the qualities that we'd like to see in our mind and body.
Gentle breath,
Spacious breath,
Patient,
Quiet,
Easy breaths,
Free from stress and overwhelm.
And the more we settle in to our cozy nest,
Just observing the breath,
Remembering there's no need to intentionally change our breath,
Just being present with where we are in this moment and noticing our breath from a place of deep curiosity instead of judgment,
As if our breath is the most magical thing we'll observe all day.
You may close your eyes,
Allowing your body to soften and sink a little bit further into the surface beneath you.
As sensitive people,
Even though our mind and emotions can easily time travel to many different places at once,
Our physical body is always in the present moment.
This means that our breath is always in the present moment.
So we'll practice using our breath as a way to keep our minds present,
With the understanding that perfection is not the goal,
Only acceptance of where we are today,
And the open mind and heart to make progress.
If you like,
You may say the words silently to yourself,
Inhale,
Exhale,
Feeling the breath,
The sensation of movement of air in and out through the nose,
The sensation of the rise and fall of the belly,
Just noticing the breath moving throughout the body itself.
Notice how even in the most quiet moments of breath,
There is movement in all the layers of our being.
No matter how subtle,
There is always movement in and out through the nose,
Always movement in the chest,
The shoulders,
The belly,
Our breath in a continual process of exchange,
In and out,
In and out.
The body gently rising and falling with each breath,
And as you observe the breath and its movement,
Notice too how there's always movement in our mind.
Even with our attention on the breath,
The mind is still active,
Maybe drawing you away from the practice.
And when you notice this,
Just calmly take a note of it as movement,
A shift,
And move your attention back to the movement of the breath as it moves through the body.
The goal of our practice is not to stop our active mind,
But simply to notice our thoughts as they pass through.
Now we'll go through a gentle,
Calming body scan.
Taking a full breath in and a long breath out,
Begin by bringing your attention into your body.
Notice the feeling of the weight of your body on the chair,
Or the floor,
Or wherever you are.
And as you breathe,
Notice how your chest and belly expand to allow the air to enter your lungs.
And as you exhale,
Bring awareness to the stillness and allow your body to soften a little more deeply.
Now bring awareness to the crown of your head,
Noticing any sensations in the scalp,
Down the back of the head,
To the sides,
Bringing awareness to your face,
Your eyes,
The sensation of breath through your nostrils.
Bring awareness to your cheeks and lips,
And allow them to soften.
Notice your jaw,
And if you're holding any tension in your mouth or tongue,
Just let your face be soft.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Now notice your neck and your throat,
Let them be soft.
Notice your shoulders and arms,
Feel any sensations as you gently release tension from your shoulders,
On your upper arms,
Elbows,
Forearms,
Wrists,
And hands,
And down through your fingers.
Noticing any tightness,
Any temperature sensations,
Maybe noticing what the fabric of your clothing blanket feels like against your skin.
Continuing to breathe in,
And to breathe out,
Now moving our attention to the chest and the belly,
Feeling the movement as we breathe,
Noticing in our belly if we feel any tension or tightness,
And if we do,
Just allowing it to soften.
Bringing awareness now to our upper back,
And now the lower back,
And noticing if we're holding any tension,
And if we are,
Inviting some release and softening into those spaces.
Now continuing to travel down to our legs,
Our thighs,
Knees,
Calves and shins,
Our ankles,
And finally bringing attention to our feet.
Noticing any sensations that we might feel there,
Noticing the points of contact against the surface that's supporting us,
Any sense of temperature,
And just noticing any feelings or sensations of energy that might be present in our feet.
Continuing our breath,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
And now noticing our whole body,
From the top of our head,
All the way down to our toes,
Staying with the intention of watching our breath,
And returning our awareness to the breath as many times as we need to,
With curiosity,
With gratitude,
And accepting the movement of our mind as we work to no longer attach ourselves to the stories that our mind tells us,
Just doing our best to be present instead with the movement of our breath,
Being present with the sense of breath in our body,
Noticing the gentle upward lift that accompanies each inhale,
And the release of the shoulders and the softening that accompanies each exhale.
Stay with the breath,
Stay with the body,
Not fighting against activity in the mind,
Instead recognizing this movement of the mind as movement of energy,
As natural as the movement of our breath,
And in this moment we can simply observe this energy,
We can allow our mind to move and play while attaching to none of it,
Pushing nothing away,
Just letting it all float on by,
We don't hold on to the inhale and we don't force the exhale,
We allow for the process,
The breath comes in,
The breath goes out,
Its movement is continuous,
Knowing that we can rest here as we practice resting our mind in that same space,
Staying with a sense of our breath through our whole body,
Just watching,
Letting it all be,
As we slowly come back now,
Gently allowing ourselves to slowly bring our awareness back into the physical space,
Feeling the weight of our body,
Making small slow movements,
Noticing the physical points of contact of our body,
The surface beneath us,
Noticing any sounds,
Smells,
Just bringing yourself back into the space around you,
Maybe with a nice easy gentle stretch,
Wiggling our fingers or toes,
Whatever feels right for your body at this moment,
Just remember to take your time,
Slowly opening your eyes whenever you're ready,
And gently press yourself up to sitting,
If you were lying down,
We'll end our practice now with a full gentle breath in,
And a long slow breath out,
And as we close our practice,
Just doing your best to be aware of your breath,
Be aware of your mind,
And how these two energies move through you for the rest of your day.
