You may want to lay on your back or sit in a comfortable manner,
Maybe in a chair.
If you're in a chair,
Making sure your back's supported and maybe having your feet on the earth.
Check in with your spine that it's nicely aligned and that you feel grounded.
And now's the time to make any movements or adjustments that you feel could maximise how comfortable you are right now.
Know that you can change position at any time.
It's absolutely fine to do that.
And you may want to close your eyes or just soften your gaze so that you're not looking at anything in particular.
Now during our practice you can return to this level of awareness at any time.
It's your practice.
You could maybe just listen to the sound of my voice or come back to the practice whenever you choose to.
Tonight's practice is going to be about the body and breath.
There will be no visualisation in this practice,
But there will be an extended rotation of consciousness around the body and focus on the breath.
So just allow yourself to be comfortable and sense the sounds around you passing in and out of your awareness.
Maybe sense the space around you.
Maybe bring your awareness to your body and feel the back of your body where it contacts any surfaces,
Maybe beneath you or behind you.
Let the weight of your body settle down.
And sense the front of your body.
Maybe notice the outside of your body,
The touch of the air against your skin and the touch of your clothing.
Now take your awareness if you wish inside and feel the familiar sensations of your body from head to toe.
As you bring your attention within,
Feel the movement of your breath.
The breath moves out and in,
Again and again.
As you exhale,
The breath empties,
Releasing feelings inside,
Relieving fatigue and strain.
As the breath moves in,
It fills you with a sense of gentle wellbeing.
Now if you wish,
Take your attention to the navel region and maybe soften the muscles there and let your belly rise on the inhalation and fall on the exhalation.
The abdomen rises as the lungs fill and falls as the lungs empty.
Let your breath flow smoothly,
Relaxing all effort,
Feeling the flow of your breathing,
Beautifully relaxed.
Gently travel now if you wish from the crown of your head down the body,
Relaxing all the way from the head to the toes.
And gradually bring your awareness back through your legs to the base of your spine.
Slowly move from the base of your spine up to the crown of your head,
Sensing your whole body and breathe as if your entire body is breathing.
Cleansing and nourishing your body with each breath.
Let your whole body rest.
Now we're going to begin moving through 61 points in the body.
You may want to visualize a light or a colour moving from point to point or appearing at each point.
Or you may like to just allow your attention to rest at each point,
Feeling that point of the body.
If you don't feel that you want to,
Then you don't have to follow this.
Maybe just listen to my voice.
So let's start by bringing the attention to the first point,
The centre of your eyebrows.
Then to your throat,
To your right shoulder joint,
Right elbow,
Right wrist joint,
Tip of the right thumb,
Tip of the right index finger,
Tip of the right middle finger,
Tip of the right ring finger and tip of the right little finger.
To the right wrist joint,
The right elbow joint,
The right shoulder joint.
Once again to the front of your throat.
Then to the left shoulder joint,
The left elbow joint,
The left wrist joint,
The tip of the left thumb,
The tip of the left index finger,
The tip of the left middle finger,
The tip of the left ring finger and to the tip of the left little finger.
To the left wrist joint,
The left elbow joint,
The left shoulder joint and back to the throat.
Now take that awareness to the heart centre,
The centre of the chest,
To the right side of your chest,
To the heart centre,
To the left side of your chest and to the heart centre once more.
Now to the area where your navel is located.
Now to the area directly between your hip joints at the pelvic centre.
Take that awareness to your right hip joint,
Your right knee joint,
Your right ankle joint,
To the tip of the right big toe,
The tip of the right second toe,
The tip of the right third toe,
The tip of the right fourth toe and the tip of the right little toe.
To the right ankle joint,
The right knee joint,
To the right hip joint and then to the centre of the pelvis once more.
Move in that awareness to the left hip joint,
The left knee joint,
The left ankle joint,
Tip of the left big toe,
Tip of the left second toe,
Tip of the left third toe,
Tip of the left fourth toe,
Tip of the left little toe.
To the left ankle joint,
The left knee joint,
The left hip joint,
Once more to the centre of the pelvis.
Then to the area where your navel is located,
To the heart centre in the centre of the chest,
Up to the front of your throat and then to the eyebrow centre between your brows once more.
We're going to work through our 61 points again,
But this time I'm going to invite you to just allow for your natural breath to inhale and exhale at each of these points.
Bring in a sense of cleansing and nourishing to every area of your resting body.
So once again,
Bring your attention to the eyebrow centre.
Allow for an inhale and exhale.
Moving that awareness to your throat centre.
Taking an inhale and exhale.
Moving your awareness to your right shoulder joint,
Smoothly inhaling and exhaling.
Now to the right elbow joint,
Taking that inhale and exhale.
Now to the right wrist joint,
Inhaling and exhaling.
Taking your awareness to the tip of the right thumb as you breathe in and breathe out.
To the tip of the right index finger,
The inhale and take in the exhale.
To the tip of the right middle finger,
Breathing in and exhaling.
To the tip of the right ring finger,
As you inhale smoothly,
Exhale effortlessly.
And then to the tip of the right little finger,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Move in to the right wrist joint as you inhale and breathe out.
To the right elbow joint,
Taking the inhale and the exhale.
To the right shoulder joint as you inhale and take the exhale.
Now take your awareness to the throat centre,
The front of your throat.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Taking that awareness now to the left shoulder joint as you inhale and exhale.
To the left elbow joint,
Inhaling and exhaling.
To the left wrist joint,
Breathing in and exhaling.
To the tip of the left thumb as you breathe in and out.
To the tip of the left index finger,
With the inhale and breathe in and out.
To the tip of the left middle finger,
Inhaling and exhaling.
To the tip of the left ring finger,
Breathing in and exhale.
Now to the tip of the left little finger,
Taking that breath in and releasing that breath.
Taking your awareness to the left wrist joint,
The inhale and the exhale happens.
To the left elbow joint as you breathe in and out.
To the left shoulder joint,
The inhale and exhale.
And once more to that throat centre as you take a breath here,
Exhaling.
Moving your awareness to the heart centre at the core of the chest.
Taking your inhale and your exhale.
Now move that awareness to the right side of your chest.
Breathing in and releasing.
Once more back to the heart centre.
Inhaling and exhaling.
And this time to the left side of your chest as you inhale and breathe out.
Once more back to the heart centre.
Breathing in and releasing the breath.
Now taking that awareness to your navel centre.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Now to the centre of the pelvis between the hip joints as you breathe in and exhale.
Take in that awareness to your right hip joint.
Inhaling and exhaling.
To the right knee joint.
Inhale and let that exhale go.
To the right ankle joint as you breathe in and exhale.
To the tip of the right big toe.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Now to the tip of the right second toe.
Inhaling and exhale.
To the tip of the right third toe.
Taking your inhale and letting it just leave with the exhale.
To the tip of the right fourth toe as you breathe in and out.
Now to the tip of the right little toe as you inhale and exhale.
Moving that awareness to your right ankle joint.
Allowing for the breath to enter and leave.
Now to your right knee joint as you breathe in and release the breath.
To the right hip joint.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Once more to the centre of the pelvis.
Inhale and releasing that breath.
Taking your awareness to your left hip joint.
As you take a breath in and out.
Moving awareness to the left knee joint as you inhale and exhale.
Now to the left ankle joint.
Taking that breath in and allowing it to leave.
To the tip of the left big toe as you inhale and exhale.
To the tip of the left second toe.
Breathing in and releasing that breath.
To the tip of the left third toe.
Taking your inhale and breathing out.
To the tip of the left fourth toe.
As that breath enters the body and leaves.
Now to the tip of the left little toe.
As you breathe in and exhale.
Moving that awareness to the left ankle joint.
As you exhale and release the breath with your exhale.
To the left knee joint now.
As you allow the breath to enter and then feel the breath leave.
To your left hip joint.
Taking that breath in and exhaling.
Now taking that breath and awareness to the pelvic centre.
Taking an inhale and exhaling.
Staying at the pelvic centre.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Letting that awareness move to your navel centre.
Inhaling.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Gifting your awareness to the centre of your chest to your heart centre.
Taking your inhale and exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Moving that awareness to your throat centre.
As you breathe in and release the breath.
Inhaling.
And exhale.
Inhale.
And exhaling.
And once more moving that awareness back to the eyebrow centre between your brows.
Allowing for the inhale and the exhale to happen.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhaling.
And exhaling.
And allowing your attention to release from the eyebrow centre.
And maybe you'd like to become aware of your body as a whole.
All of the 61 points of the body that you worked through simultaneously.
Allowing for your inhale and exhale to happen with ease.
As your breath moves in and out of the body again and again.
Your soft muscles allowing for the relaxed effortless smooth flowing breath.
Staying with that sense of the whole of the body if you wish for another moment.
And just know that you're breathing.
And maybe you'd like to become a little bit more aware of your breathing.
That natural effortless breathing.
Maybe spend a moment being aware of the rise and fall of your breath.
Maybe allowing it to bring a sense of renewed energy and wellbeing into your body and mind.
Maybe now let your attention move to any sounds that are nearby.
Now to sounds that are a little further away.
And now to the furthest sounds you can hear if there are any.
Perhaps now you'd like to develop an awareness of your room.
If you like let yourself start to be aware of your surroundings.
And also be aware of where you're positioned within that room.
The space around you.
Perhaps your fingers and toes would like to make some gentle movements.
Perhaps you'd like to take a nice deep breath and maybe a stretch also.
If you chose to close your eyes perhaps shielding them with your palms.
As you allow the eyes to gently open letting the fingers divide gradually letting that light in very very slowly.
The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
