Hello,
My name is April and welcome to this Yoga Nidra practice.
I invite you to set yourself up in whatever relaxed or reclined position feels best for you.
This could be on your bed,
Or on the floor,
Or on a sofa,
Using blankets,
Pillows,
Anything around you to help give you support and make you feel as comfortable as you possibly can be.
Asking yourself the question,
How can I make myself just 10% more comfortable?
Taking your hands alongside your body or your hands on your belly or chest.
Really rolling your shoulders open,
Maybe rocking your head side to side a time or two.
Feeling your body settle.
Start our practice with a few inhales through the nose,
Exhale through your mouth.
Taking a nice deep inhale,
Exhaling it out through your mouth.
Maybe one more inhaling deeply,
And exhaling out through your mouth with a sigh.
Going back to your natural breath,
Whatever that may be.
Noticing your breath.
Where is your breath moving into your body?
Where do you feel your inhale and your exhale?
Gently drawing your attention to the very tip of your nose.
Noticing any differences in your inhale and your exhale.
Maybe your inhale feels cooler.
Maybe your exhale feels a little bit warmer.
Just sensing your inhale and exhale at the very tip of your nose.
Then gently drawing your awareness to your chest.
Noticing the rise and fall of the space of your collarbones,
Your chest.
Maybe that space right above your navel.
Noticing the expansion out to your side body.
Maybe even feeling your breath as it moves into your back body,
Pressing a little bit against the floor on your inhale and pulling away from the floor on your exhale.
Gently begin counting your breaths from the number 10 backwards.
Inhale and an exhale,
9.
And so on all the way down to 0.
And with each breath,
With each count,
You feel yourself becoming more and more relaxed.
More relaxed than you've ever been in your life.
Calm and soothed,
Your body soft.
1.
If at any time you find yourself forgetting what number you're at,
Don't worry about it.
Just start back again at 10.
Sensing with each breath,
You are a little bit more relaxed.
Whatever number you're at,
Just letting go of the count of your breath and letting your breath be whatever it wants.
Next we're going to set our sankalpa,
Our intention.
Our intention is an affirmation or an intention that helps us connect to something we deeply desire,
Something that is our heart's desire.
It's often phrased or framed in the past tense as if it already exists in your life.
Our sankalpa today is simple but very powerful.
I am free.
Allow yourself to imagine what this means for you as you live your daily life.
Then softly repeating the sankalpa to yourself three times.
Feel it become a part of who you are.
After you've repeated your sankalpa for the third time,
With an exhale,
Release your intention into the universe.
Begin to notice the earth rising up to support your body wherever it touches,
Your heels,
The back of your legs,
Your hips,
Your back,
Your arms,
Your hands,
And your head.
As you feel the earth rising up to support you,
Sense your body releasing into the earth's embrace.
I want you to imagine drawing a circle all the way around your body wherever you're lying.
As this circle is drawn all the way around you,
This clear transparent dome comes up over you.
This circle,
This dome is a circle of protection and safety.
Maybe bringing to mind all the things or people or situations that make you feel safe and protected.
Perhaps calling on your ancestors,
Those living or passed on,
To support you and protect you and keep you safe at all times.
Now imagine drawing a second circle right outside the first circle.
The transparent dome comes up over that inner circle and feel the energy here of healing.
Feel restoration,
Compassion,
Warmth,
Acceptance,
Healing of mind,
Body,
And spirit supporting you here.
Now imagine drawing a third circle right outside the first two,
Feeling the transparent dome come up and over and letting this be a circle of intention and infuse this circle with the energy of your sankalpa.
I am free.
Feelings yourself safe and protected,
Filled with love and compassion,
Acceptance,
Mind,
Body,
And soul healing.
Feel your intention,
Filling the space around you with energy.
Now we're going to do a body scan.
Just listen to the sound of my voice and softly settle your awareness in whatever space my voice tells you.
Just moving softly and gently without intention or too much focus,
Just a gentle brushing up against the spaces that I mentioned.
Slowly bring your awareness to the center space between your eyebrows,
The whole of your forehead,
Your temples,
Eyelids,
Your eyes,
Your cheeks,
Your ears,
Your jaw,
Your nose,
The tip of your nose,
Your tongue,
Your teeth,
Your lips,
Your chin,
The center of your throat,
The hollow of your throat,
Center of your right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Your right wrist,
The center of your right palm,
Back of your palm,
Tip of your right thumb,
Right pointer finger,
Right middle finger,
Right ring finger,
Tip of your right pinky,
Back to the center of your right palm,
Back of your right hand,
Your right wrist,
Your right elbow,
The center of your right shoulder,
The right side of your chest,
The right side of your belly,
The right side of your hips,
The center of your right hip,
Your right knee,
Your right ankle,
The center of the arch of your right foot,
The top of your right foot,
Tip of your first toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Your fourth toe,
And your pinky,
Back up to the center of your right foot,
The arch of your right foot,
Your right ankle,
Your right knee,
Your right hip,
Softly noticing the entire right side of your body,
All the way from your head down to the tips of your right toes.
Gently bring your awareness back to the hollow of your throat,
The center of your left shoulder,
Your left elbow,
Your left wrist,
Center of your left palm,
Back of your left hand,
Tip of your left thumb,
Left pointer finger,
Left middle finger,
Left ring finger,
Left pinky,
Back to the center of your left palm,
The back of your left hand,
Your left wrist,
Left elbow,
The center of your left shoulder,
The left side of your chest,
The left side of your belly,
The left side of your hips,
The center of your left hip,
Your left knee,
Your left ankle,
The center of the arch of your left foot,
The top of your left foot,
The tip of your first toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Back to the center of the arch of your left foot,
The back of your left foot,
Your left ankle,
Your left knee,
The center of your left hip,
Sensing the entire left side of your body from your head all the way down to the tips of your left toes.
You're sensing your left and right sides of your body together.
Gently bring your awareness to the very top of your head,
The back of your head,
The back of your neck,
Your shoulder blades,
Upper back,
Your middle back,
Your lower back,
The back of your hips,
The back of your thighs,
The back of your calves,
Your heels,
Your feet,
The front side of your calves,
Front of your thighs,
Front of your hips,
Your belly,
The center of your chest,
Your shoulder blades,
Your collarbones,
Shoulders,
Upper arms,
Lower arms,
Hands,
Fingertips,
The front of your neck,
Your face,
Sensing your entire body from the very top of your head down to the bottoms of your feet and from the bottoms of your feet to the very top of your head,
Front and back,
Left and right,
Top and bottom,
All at once,
A moving field of energy.
Now we're going to explore opposites in our body.
I want you to just imagine a time when you felt as light as you could,
Light as a feather,
Light physically,
Emotionally,
Mentally,
Joyous and ebullient.
Now imagine feeling heavy,
As heavy as a mountain,
Dense,
Perhaps weighted down or weighty.
Now imagine feeling light and heavy at the same time,
Feeling a sense of balance between the two.
Now imagine a time when you felt particularly strong,
Physically,
Emotionally or mentally.
You felt like a hero,
The world open to you,
You could do anything.
And now imagine a time when you felt weak,
Uncertain,
Doubtful,
Unsure,
Physically,
Mentally or emotionally.
And now imagine feeling both strong and weak at the same time,
Sensing a place of balance between the two.
Now imagine a time when you felt super relaxed,
Fully supported,
At ease.
And now imagine a time when you felt very tense,
Your muscles all engaged,
Your mind super focused.
Now imagine relaxed and tense at the same time,
Finding a sense of maybe alert,
Awakeness and awareness.
Gently draw your attention to the space right between your eyebrows,
The space of your forehead.
And imagine out in front of your face or your eyes a screen,
Like a movie screen.
At first the screen is just white and then it is blue like a blue sky,
Clouds moving across the sky slowly,
Sunlight on a flower.
Imagine birds flying,
A horse running on the beach,
The ocean waves coming in and going out,
A butterfly flitting from flower to flower,
A gentle breeze on a lake,
And returning that vision here to a blue sky,
And then back to a white screen,
And softly releasing that screen,
Gently returning your awareness just to your body and your breath.
And now imagine a time when you felt very relaxed and relaxed,
Your mind super focused,
So relaxed to theme.
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