Welcome to this guided yoga nidra.
Resting into the presence of now.
My name is Catherine and I will be guiding you today.
Will start to prepare for yoga nidra or yogic sleep.
This is a state between waking and sleeping.
Where your body will deeply rest.
And awareness will remain gently awake.
Begin by finding a comfortable position laying on your back.
And just allow the feet to fall open naturally.
Rest the arms slightly away from your body.
With the palms turned upward if it feels comfortable.
Adjust anything now.
So that your body feels comfortable and can remain still.
For the duration of your practice.
If you'd like.
You may wish to place a rolled blanket under your knees.
And a support of a pillow under your head.
And you can cover yourself with a blanket.
As your body will cool.
As it relaxes.
And just take a final moment to settle.
And allow stillness to come.
Feel the support beneath you.
And just allow the body to release.
Relaxing the face.
The shoulders.
Arms,
Torso.
Legs.
Know that there is nowhere to go.
Nothing to solve.
And notice the simple fact.
You are here.
Not in yesterday's awareness.
Not in tomorrows.
Just here.
Now.
And lightly bring your awareness to your breath.
Inhaling through the nose.
Exhaling softly through the mouth.
One more time,
Inhale fully.
And exhale releasing your breath.
And just allow the breath to become natural.
Effortless.
In Yoga Nidra,
We plant Sankalpa.
This is a heartfelt intention spoken in the language of present tense.
As though already true.
You may choose a simple and meaningful resolve.
Perhaps I rest in the presence of now.
Or I am deeply grounded and awake.
Or peace is already here.
Or I trust this moment completely.
Or I am whole.
Exactly as I am.
Or if you'd like,
You can choose your own Sankalpa to arise naturally.
Repeat your Sankalpa mentally three times.
With sincerity and feeling now.
Place a small pause in between.
Now let your sankalpa settle into the deeper mind.
Like a seed plant placed into the fertile earth.
We now begin the rotation of awareness through the body.
Do not move unless necessary.
Simply place your awareness lightly on each part as it is named.
Move into awareness of your right side.
And bring awareness to the right hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Fourth finger.
5th finger.
Moving into the palm of your hand.
The back of your hand.
Rest.
Or on elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Right side waist.
Bye.
Nee.
Path.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
4th toe.
Fifth toe.
Entire right side of the body.
Now moving your awareness to the left side.
Bring awareness to the left hand thumb.
Second finger.
Third.
Fourth finger.
5th finger.
Moving into the palm of your hand.
Back of the hand.
Your rest.
For her.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Armpit.
Left side waist.
Bye.
Me.
Path.
Ankle.
Heel.
Sole of the foot.
Top of the foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third too.
Worth till.
5th toe.
The entire left side of the body.
Moving now into the back body.
Bringing your awareness to the back of the head.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
The entire upper back.
The middle back.
Lower back.
Moving into the right buttock.
Left buttock.
Back of the right leg.
And back of the left leg.
Both heels.
The whole back body resting against the earth.
Now moving into the front body.
Bringing awareness to the forehead.
The right temple.
Left temple.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
And the space between eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Right here.
Left ear.
Noobs.
The tip of your nose.
Moving into the upper lip.
Lower lip.
Both lips together.
Ciao.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Moving down to the center of your chest.
Upper abdomen.
Navel.
Lower abdomen.
Pelvis.
Entire front body.
Becoming aware of the whole body together.
The whole body together.
The whole body together.
The entire body lying here.
Breathing.
Present.
Feel the outline of the body.
The space the body occupies.
The quiet aliveness within it.
Whole body awareness.
Now bring awareness to the breath.
Do not change it.
Simply observe.
Feel the breath moving naturally through the nostrils.
Cool air entering.
Warm air leaving.
Notice the rise of the belly as you inhale.
And the soft fall of the belly as you exhale.
Effortless.
Simply breathe.
And observe how the breath breathes itself.
There is no effort.
There's no controller.
Only this living moment and movement.
Imagine each exhalation dissolving tension from the body.
Each inhale bringing quiet awareness.
Each exhale softening time.
Each inhale arriving here.
We now explore opposites.
Not to choose one over the other.
But to witness both.
To discover the awareness that remains unchanged.
Beneath all experiences.
Begin to feel the body becoming very heavy.
Dance.
Way it did.
As though sinking deeply into the earth.
Happy legs.
Heavy arms.
Heavy torso.
Of a head.
Completely heavy.
Now experience the opposite.
The body becoming light.
Weightless.
Floating.
Buoyant.
As though suspended in air.
Like legs.
Tight arms.
My chest.
Light face.
A whole body of light.
Now move between heavy and light.
Happy.
And now let both dissolve.
And rest in simple awareness.
Now imagine warmth spreading through the body.
Gentle sunlight on the skin.
Warmth in the chest.
Warm hands.
Warm belly.
Warmth radiating everywhere.
Now sense coolness.
A soft evening breeze.
Cool air against the forehead.
Coolness in the palms of the hands.
Coolness around the body.
Fresh and clear.
Again,
Sensing warmth.
And coolness.
Now release both.
And rest as awareness itself.
Now recall the feeling of striving.
Pushing.
Trying to control.
Trying to hold everything together.
Sense effort in the body and in the mind.
And now experience complete ease.
Nothing to force.
Nothing to carry.
Nothing is missing.
Everything allowed to be exactly as it is.
Feeling effort.
And feeling ease.
And now rest beyond both.
Present.
Where?
Still.
And now imagine now that you are lying peacefully.
In an open field.
Beneath a vast sky.
The earth beneath you is warm and steady.
The body completely supported.
Above you stretches an endless blue expanse.
Open.
Infinite.
And still.
There is nothing to do here except observe.
The sky asks nothing of you.
Notice the movement of the clouds drifting slowly overhead.
Soft.
White formations floating effortlessly across the sky.
Some are thin and wispy.
Some are full and luminous.
Some move quickly.
And some move barely at all.
Watch them without needing to name them.
Without needing to hold on to any shape.
Each cloud appearing and changing.
Dissolving.
Now begin to notice that thoughts move in the same way.
A memory arises like a cloud.
A plan drifts through.
And emotion forms and changes shape.
Sensation appears.
And fades away.
Nothing stays.
Everything moves.
And yet the sky itself remains untouched.
Open.
Unchanged.
Present.
Sense now that your awareness is like the sky.
Thoughts are clouds.
Emotions are clouds.
Sensations or clouds.
Experiences drifting through the vastness of awareness.
But awareness itself remains spacious and clear.
Perhaps a darker cloud appears overhead.
Heavy with worry or uncertainty.
Simply observe it.
No resistance.
No judgment.
Watch as even the cloud slowly changes form.
Softens.
Moves on.
Now bright clouds appear.
Golden edges lit by sunlight.
Feelings of joy,
Peace.
Pleasure.
Observe these two.
Beautiful,
Temporary.
Passing through.
Allow yourself to rest not in the clouds.
But as the sky itself.
Infinite awareness.
Spacious enough for every experience.
Clinging to nothing and rejecting nothing.
Feel the openness above you.
Boundless in every direction.
Horizon stretching endlessly.
No edges.
No limits.
A gentle breeze moves across the field.
You feel it against the skin.
Cool.
Alive and present.
The clouds continue drifting.
Slowly,
Effortlessly.
End.
The sky never struggles to let them pass.
Notice moments now where the gaps between the clouds pure blue openness.
Stillness.
Silence.
Rest your awareness there.
Rest your awareness and then notice.
Even when clouds return.
The openness never disappears.
It is always there beneath and beyond all movement.
Just as presence is always here beneath thought.
Now imagine the sky slowly changing colors.
Soft gold.
Pale pink.
Deepening blue.
The quiet beauty of transition.
Nothing forced.
And everything unfolding naturally.
You do not need to stop the movement of life to know peace.
You only need to remember the vastness that contains it all.
And silently repeat to yourself.
I am the open sky.
Thoughts come and go.
Presence remains.
Again,
I am spacious awareness.
Clouds drift.
And the sky remains.
Rest now in this vastness.
Open,
Still.
Endless.
And now feel yourself dissolving into the spaciousness of now.
No separation between awareness and the sky.
Only openness.
Only presence and only this moment.
And from this infinite sky a quiet light begins to glow from within the heart.
Soft as dawn.
Steady as the horizon.
With every breath,
This peaceful presence expands gently through the whole body.
Through the space around you.
Like sunlight filling the open sky.
Rest here for a few moments longer.
Completely awake.
Completely at ease.
Completely here.
And gradually begin to Deepen your breath.
And feel this natural movement of inhaling.
And exhaling.
Notice once again the physical body resting here.
The points of contact with the floor or bed.
The temperature of the air.
And the sounds around you.
Become aware of the whole body breathing together.
Whole body awareness.
Now return to your sankalpa.
Your heartfelt resolve.
And repeat it mentally 3 times with clarity and fleet feeling.
Trust that the seed has been planted deeply.
Now begin inviting small movements into the body.
Gentle movements in the fingers and toes.
Perhaps rotating wrists or ankles softly.
If it feels comfortable,
You can stretch the arms overhead.
And take your time.
If you'd like maybe roll slowly onto one side,
Resting there for a moment.
And notice the quality of your awareness now.
By it.
Open present.
Now when you're ready,
Slowly come to a comfortable seated position,
Keeping your eyes soft or closed.
And allow your hands to rest gently on your lap or perhaps bringing the hands together to Anjuli Mudra to the heart center.
And take one final deep breath.
And exhale completely.
And remember,
Presence is not somewhere you must reach.
It is what remains when you stop leaving this moment.
About inwardly to yourself.
To your practice.
To this breath.
And when you are ready,
Gently open your eyes.
And thank you so much for practicing with me today.
Wishing you peace,
Relaxation.
And presence.
And I'll see you again soon.
