This is an extended yoga nidra practice.
Yoga nidra provides tools to induce deep rest and restoration.
Now find a comfortable position,
Laying on your back.
Allow the legs to fall open naturally.
The arms rest a little away from the body,
With palms facing upward.
Take a moment now to become just 5% more comfortable.
Make any adjustments you need.
Begin settling into stillness.
Close down the eyes,
And let your vision rest.
Relax the eyes completely.
Take a slow breath in through the nose,
And release it fully through the mouth.
Again,
Breathing in through the nose,
And letting it go with a sigh.
One more time,
A full breath in,
And release.
Now allow the breath to return to its natural rhythm,
In and out through the nostrils,
Without any effort at all.
Begin to feel where the body meets the surface beneath you.
Notice the back of the head,
The shoulders,
The upper back,
The mid back,
The backs of the arms,
The backs of the hands,
The backs of the legs,
The heels resting.
Feel the weight of the body relaxing downward.
There is nothing to hold now.
Allow the jaw to soften,
The tongue to drop from the roof of the mouth,
And rest in the lower palate.
Let the tiny muscles around the eyes relax.
For the duration of this practice,
Allow the body to remain completely still.
Sensations may arise,
Tingling,
Warmth,
A sense of restlessness.
Simply notice these sensations,
But you do not need to respond.
Remain still,
And let the body rest.
You do not need to stay awake during this practice.
You do not need to fall asleep.
Just let my voice guide you.
Now open your senses.
Beginning with sound,
Hear distant sounds.
Now sounds closer to you,
Maybe outside,
Or in the room around you.
Notice that you are hearing,
You are not reaching for the sounds,
But sounds are simply arriving and departing.
Now smell the air around you.
Notice it traveling through the nostrils,
And warm on the exhale.
Feel air on the skin,
And the sensation of clothes or sheets against the body.
Become aware of the taste in your mouth,
And gradually let awareness move inward.
Notice the body expanding and contracting with each breath.
Nothing is required of you,
Just let the body breathe.
The body is breathing now.
Sense the heartbeat,
You may feel it in the chest,
Or in the throat,
Or the fingers.
The outer world continues to drift further away,
As you focus in on the heart space.
Now,
Allow your sankalpa to arise.
A sankalpa is a short,
Positive statement,
Or affirmation,
In the present tense.
It might be something like,
My body knows how to rest,
Or I am safe,
Or I am at ease.
Choose a sankalpa,
It can be your own,
Or one of these examples,
And bring it clearly to mind,
Then silently repeat it three times,
With full attention.
Let your sankalpa settle into your subconscious,
And return attention to the breath,
The nostrils,
The coolness of the air arriving,
And the warmth as it leaves,
The rise and fall of the chest.
The body is breathing on its own,
You are simply observing.
Now,
Begin to move awareness through the body.
As we move through the rotation of consciousness,
Draw attention to each part of the body,
And feel it from the inside.
Right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Little finger,
Feel the tips of the fingers,
Feel the space between the fingers,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the right hand,
Left hand,
Right wrist,
Forearm,
Right ear,
Right temple,
Right cheek,
Right side of the jaw,
Left thumb,
Index finger,
Feel the tips of the fingers,
Feel the space between the fingers,
Left wrist,
Left side of the jaw,
Right side of the chest,
Right side of the ribs,
Right waist,
Right hip,
Back of the knee,
Sole of the right foot,
Fourth toe,
Left side of the chest,
Left side of the ribs,
Left waist,
Left hip,
Left thigh,
Heel,
Sole of the left foot,
Second toe,
The back of the skull,
The navel,
Now become aware of the whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
The right arm and the left leg together,
The left arm and the right leg together,
The whole body resting,
Still and heavy,
Now with each exhalation slowly count down towards zero,
If you lose count,
Simply begin again from 25,
Feeling awareness slipping deeper into rest with every breath,
Now to explore opposite sensations,
Sense weight in the body,
The body is dense and heavy,
Sinking into the surface below,
Now become aware of weightlessness in the body,
Feel the body lifting like a feather floating on the breeze,
Feel the body floating in space,
Sense warmth moving through the body,
Deep warmth as though sunlight is illuminating the body,
Warmth moving upward through the body,
Now sense coolness,
A cool breeze moving through the body,
Refreshing the body,
Sense stillness,
The body is completely motionless like a stone on the bottom of a still lake,
Now sense subtle movement within,
A pulse,
Circulation,
Sense contraction,
Everything shrinking,
The body is small in a large space,
Now sense expansion,
The body opening outward in every direction,
Feeling the space around it,
Bring awareness now to the space between the eyebrows,
With eyes closed,
Allow the gaze to rest there,
Looking up to the space between the eyebrows,
Observe whatever arises now,
Now visualise the dark sky before dawn,
A single star shining,
The surface of still water,
A stone at the bottom of that water,
A cottage in the countryside,
A vast plain at dusk,
The earth,
Dew resting on leaves,
A full moon,
Waves lapping on the shore,
Nothing appearing now,
Simply awareness,
Return once more to your sankalpa,
Allow it to rise,
And repeat it silently three times,
Letting your sankalpa settle deeper into the subconscious,
Allow breathing to continue on its own,
While the body remains still,
If thoughts arise,
Let them pass like clouds,
Awareness is softening now,
You may drift into sleep,
Or you may rest here in stillness,
The practice is drifting away,
The voice is drifting away,
Come to the heart space,
Feel the gentle pulsations,
Rest here in the heart space,
Feel the body drifting into a deep state of rest,
Sleep may arrive on its own now.
