Welcome to this practice of relaxing yoga nidra.
Begin by finding a comfortable position laying down on your back.
You can prop yourself up with pillows under the knees to support the lower back.
Your feet can splay open to the sides,
Legs a little apart,
Palms facing up or inwards.
If it's comfortable you can scoot your shoulder blades in and down your back,
Really getting as comfortable as possible.
Feel all of the places where your body touches the surface below you.
Feeling the back of your head,
Your back,
Your buttocks,
The calves,
Your arms and hands.
And letting the surface below you take all of your weight.
Oftentimes we can be tense without even knowing it.
So just bring your awareness fully into your body and allow it to relax.
Begin by noticing any sounds that are going on around you.
So start by noticing the loudest sound you can hear,
The most obvious sound.
And then bring your awareness to the farthest sound you can hear,
The most subtle sound.
You can hop your awareness from sound to sound,
Just spending a moment or two with each sound before moving on to the next.
And then bring your awareness closer to your body.
What can you hear that's close to you?
Maybe noises within the room.
Maybe noises within your own body.
Perhaps you can hear your breath.
Perhaps you can hear your own heartbeat.
Bring all of your awareness into your heart space.
The energy of your heart coming out from your chest and from your back.
And just noticing what's here.
What's alive in your heart space right now?
Perhaps it's an emotion or a physical sensation.
Maybe you can even visualize a color.
Just staying curious.
There are no right answers.
Being present with your heart.
And I invite you to send your heart some gratitude for beating,
For keeping you alive,
For allowing you to feel.
And from this heart-centered space,
If you like,
You can set a sankalpa or an intention for today's practice.
Trust that whatever is coming up for you is exactly what you need.
And if nothing's coming up,
You can always use,
I am completely loved beyond my comprehension.
So if you'd like to use an intention,
Go ahead and repeat it to yourself or out loud three times as if it's already been done.
And when you're done,
Release it.
It's in the universe's hands now.
And bring your awareness back into your breath now.
Nothing to change here.
No effort required.
Just noticing how the breath is moving through your body.
Noticing which parts of your body are moving with the breath and which parts of your body want to move and just let them move in whatever way feels good.
Maybe repeating to yourself,
Inhaling as I inhale,
Exhaling as I exhale,
If your mind needs something to focus on.
We will now begin our journey of consciousness throughout the body.
So when I say a body part,
All you have to do is bring your awareness into that part of your body.
But there's no way to do this practice wrong.
So if you get distracted,
That's perfectly normal and totally okay.
Whenever you're ready,
Whenever you can,
Just come back to the sound of my voice.
It's also perfectly normal to drift in and out of consciousness or to go in between the state of being awake and being asleep.
So begin by bringing all of your awareness into the right side of your body,
Specifically the right hand thumb,
Pointer finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Right wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Middle toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
And now we'll move to the left side of the body,
Into the left hand thumb,
Pointer finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
The left big toe,
Second toe,
Middle toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
And now we'll bring our awareness into the back side of the body,
Starting with the right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Right hamstring,
Left hamstring,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Lower back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
The whole spinal cord,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
Back of the head,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Inner ears,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Skin between the eyebrows,
Bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
The whole nose,
Right eyelid,
Left eyelid,
Both eyeballs,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Gums,
Teeth,
And tongue,
Right side of the jaw,
Left side of the jaw,
Chin,
Throat,
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone,
The whole chest,
The upper belly,
Navel,
Lower belly,
The whole pelvis,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Head and neck,
Right side of the torso,
Left side of the torso,
The right leg with the left arm,
The left leg with the right arm,
Whole body,
Whole body,
Your whole body completely relaxed.
Now feel your body as heavy.
Sense as if your body was made of lead.
It's so heavy,
It's sinking into the ground,
Fully embodying the sensation of heaviness.
And now feeling your body as light,
Weightless,
Imagining if your body was filled with cotton wool.
Your body is so light,
It could float through the air,
Your body is so light,
It could float through the air,
Feeling,
Sensing lightness and weightlessness.
And now come back to neutral,
Your natural body weight.
Now we'll begin to say some affirmations.
You can repeat them to yourself if you'd like,
Or you can just listen.
I am safe.
I am protected.
I am supported.
I am held.
I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.
I feel at home in my body.
I feel at home in my mind.
I am doing enough.
I give enough.
I am doing my best.
I am enough.
I am worthy of love exactly as I am.
I am worthy of love exactly as I am.
I am love.
And you can rest in the resonance of these words.
And if you'd like to drift off to sleep,
You can go ahead and do so.
Otherwise,
When you're ready to come back into your body,
You can gently wiggle your fingers and toes and take some nice gentle stretches.
Take your time blinking your eyes and coming back up to seated.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
Namaste.
