Welcome!
You've arrived for this night of rest and I'm glad you're here.
Yoga Nidra is often called deep rest for your whole being.
Using this systematic approach to full body and mind relaxation can help you connect with your own natural wisdom,
Your ability for healing and relieving stress.
Tonight we'll rest in a way that honors your nervous system.
Inviting ease,
Not forcing effort.
You don't need to listen closely and you don't need to stay awake.
Your subconscious will still benefit from the practice.
Your body knows how to find rest.
Your mind knows how to return to the body's rhythm and will work with both.
If sleep comes quickly,
Let it.
If you drift in and out,
That's natural.
And if you remain awake for a while,
That's okay too.
Rest can exist in many forms and your body can still rest deeply.
Before you settle into your Yoga Nidra posture,
Take a moment to set an intention for your practice so it can sink into your subconscious.
This intention is called a Sankalpa.
This Sankalpa can help you make a positive change in your life as your brain enters delta wave frequencies where you are very receptive to change.
For your Sankalpa,
Choose something that aligns with your deepest desires.
This statement is positive in nature and is in the present tense.
So you may choose to start the statement using the words,
I am.
As you are solidifying your intention,
Feel it in your heart as if it is true.
Perhaps imagine what your life might be like when it is true.
You can keep the same Sankalpa for as long as you like and come back to this practice frequently to send a consistent message to your subconscious.
Let the ground beneath you support you.
The bed holds you.
You are held by the quiet of the night.
I invite you to get cozy and comfortable.
Anywhere you feel a natural need to adjust,
You may do so.
There's no rush.
Settle into comfort.
Take a full,
Soft breath in.
Exhale with a sigh if that feels good.
You're invited to release effort now.
There's nowhere to go,
Nothing to do.
Tonight is about being supported.
With each breath allow the body to settle a touch deeper into the fabric of the bed.
You're allowed to rest in whatever way feels most nourishing to you.
Quiet.
Sleepy.
Or lightly aware.
All of it is okay.
Just allow yourself to be here as you are.
Bring your attention to your environment around you.
Listen to the farthest sound outside the room.
Listen to the closest sounds inside the room.
Allow yourself a moment to become aware of anything else you can sense.
Any smells,
Tastes,
Or anything you can see inside your closed eyelids.
Gently bring your attention to the support that holds you.
The place where your body is resting.
The layers of covers.
The air around you.
Each is steady,
Present,
And reliable.
The ground beneath the bed is solid,
Steady,
Unmoving.
You don't need to imagine anything.
Just noticing that something reliable is here,
Supporting you,
And has been here long before you lay down.
Notice the feeling of gravity.
How the body is gently drawn downward.
Allow the weight of your body and your bones to become heavy.
Nothing to resist.
If thoughts arise,
Treat them like weather.
They drift by.
You don't have to chase them.
And you can return to the body's felt sense of relaxing whenever you're ready.
Before we move on,
Let's take a little more time to feel how supported you are right now.
You might notice the bed beneath you.
And beneath that,
The floor.
And beneath that,
The earth itself.
Solid.
Quiet.
Reliable.
You don't need to imagine it in detail.
Just a simple knowing that something steady is here.
You can allow your body to rest into that support.
As if the earth is holding you.
Cradling you with no need to hold yourself up.
Notice the places where your body feels most heavy.
Maybe the hips.
The shoulders.
The backs of the legs.
Let those areas soften even more.
As if they're being gently received.
Let that sense of being held settle into your body.
Bring a soft awareness to your breath.
No need to change it.
No need to deepen it.
Just noticing.
The breath arriving.
And the breath leaving.
You might notice the breath moving most clearly in the belly.
Or the chest.
Or the gentle flow of air at the nostrils.
Wherever it's easiest to feel is just right.
As you rest with the breath.
See if the body is willing to soften even a little more.
Feel each breath as energy moving through you.
Inhale with a sense of energetic expansion or inspiration.
Exhale with a sense of letting go.
Letting go of any need to hold on or control.
You can let go with every exhale.
You can make room.
You can more clearly focus on what's most important to you.
With each exhale see if the body softens even a little more.
The jaw loosening.
The shoulders easing.
The belly no longer holding itself in.
The breath knows what to do.
The body knows how to rest.
You don't need to control it.
If the mind wanders,
That's okay.
When you notice it,
Gently return to the sensation of being here.
Breathing.
Resting.
Supporting.
Now we'll move through the body slowly,
Inviting each area to rest.
Welcome all sensations you experience just as they are.
Letting awareness rest where it's invited.
Noticing sensations or the absence of sensation.
If awareness fades or sleep comes,
You can let it.
Bring your attention to the crown of the head,
The very top.
Let the scalp soften.
The forehead smooth.
The space between the eyebrows widen slightly.
The eyes rest deeply in their sockets.
The muscles around the eyes relax.
The space behind the eyes growing quiet.
No effort behind the eyes.
Let the jaw soften.
Notice where your upper lip touches your lower lip.
Sense the inside of your mouth.
Your teeth,
Gums,
And the tongue rest lightly in the mouth.
Allow the neck and throat to release any tightness.
Letting go of any holding here.
Let the shoulders drop downward,
Away from the ears with gravity's help.
If you notice any tension,
Simply acknowledge it.
And invite a slower exhale toward release.
You're not forcing anything,
Just noticing and allowing.
Move your awareness down the right arm.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
Palm.
Let each part become pleasantly heavy.
Soften the hand.
Right thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Little finger.
Each finger resting.
Move your awareness to the left arm.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
Palm.
Soften the left hand.
Left thumb.
First finger.
Second finger.
Third finger.
Little finger.
Let the left hand be heavy.
Bring awareness to the chest and the space around the heart.
You don't need to change anything here.
Just resting,
Noticing the rise and fall of breath as it occurs.
And if it helps,
Place a soft intention to allow ease with each inhale.
And release with each exhale.
Sense the upper back supported.
Notice the rib cage.
The gentle expansion with breath.
Sense the belly.
Allowing the belly to be soft.
Nothing held in.
The breath moving easily.
Sense the lower back.
Let the pelvis become more grounded.
Feeling the weight sink into the bed.
Imagine the earth beneath you providing steady,
Quiet support.
If any sensation arises,
Simply acknowledge it and return to the sense of heaviness and safety.
Shift awareness to the right leg.
Right thigh.
Knee.
Knee.
Calf.
Ankle.
Foot.
Heavy and relaxed.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
The sole of the foot resting.
Shift awareness to the left leg.
Left thigh.
Knee.
Ankle.
Ankle.
Foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
Let it be heavy and relaxed.
Feel the soles of the feet resting gently.
Toes soft.
Sense the entire body as a whole resting from head to toes.
Like a leaf on a quiet forest floor resting without effort.
If awareness drifts,
That's natural.
Without judgment,
Return to the sense of being held by the bed,
The room,
The quiet of the night.
As the body rests,
We'll gently explore a few simple sensations.
Notice warmth in the body.
Perhaps from the blankets,
Skin,
Or the ambient environment.
Or the natural warmth in the chest or belly.
Just noticing warmth.
Now sense coolness.
Maybe the air on your skin or a cooler place in the room.
Warmth and coolness coexist.
Both allowed.
Notice heaviness in the body.
The weight of your limbs resting down.
No effort required.
Now notice lightness.
Perhaps in the breath or the feeling of space around the body.
Heavy and light.
Both present.
There's nothing you need to choose.
The body can hold opposites with ease.
Now let go of naming sensations altogether and rest in a neutral state.
A neutral,
Quiet state.
An open,
Receptive space.
A simple sense of being.
If the mind wanders,
You can acknowledge it softly and return to the sense of the body resting.
And if sleep comes here,
You can let it.
As the body rests,
Bring gentle attention back to the breath.
Observing the natural rhythm without trying to control it.
Inhaling.
And exhaling.
You might notice a subtle pause at the end of the exhale.
A quiet moment.
A natural stillness.
There's nothing to do in that space.
Nothing to hold onto.
If it feels helpful,
Imagine the breath like a slow tide.
Arriving.
Receding.
Without effort.
The body knows how to rest.
The breath knows how to breathe.
You can trust this.
If thoughts come,
Witness them as if you are watching a flowing river of thoughts.
See them surface,
Flow by,
And disappear.
Each breath cycle naturally rises and is released.
Similarly,
Our thoughts rise and release.
Let this bring comfort to you,
To allow your thoughts to drift down the flowing river of thoughts as you observe them.
Each thought a single drop of water in the flowing river,
Moving with all the other thoughts.
Rising and falling and flowing away.
Returning again and again to this sense of being held.
To the sensations of your breath and your body relaxing.
You are safe to rest now.
Held by the night and supported by the ground beneath you.
Sense a safe place inside you.
A place where you feel secure and loved.
The place where your inner peace that you were born with is within you.
Remaining relaxed and calm,
Allow this love and peace to expand.
Now allow yourself to go deeper still.
Simply be present with your truest self.
Letting all the layers of yourself dissolve.
Let what seems like boundaries blur.
Sensing a place of oneness inside of you.
That is the place of your inner wisdom,
Your intuition,
Your truest self.
Here inside you is where your present awareness and insights reside.
When you pause and simply be,
Your mind stops and you open into expansiveness.
Open into spaciousness.
Open to oneness.
From here you are invited to let go of my voice.
You don't need to actively listen anymore.
You can allow yourself to drift into sleep or into deeper rest for as long as your body needs.
There is nothing you might miss.
Nothing important is coming next.
Just rest.
If you wake later in the night,
This same steadiness is still here for you.
The same ground.
The same quiet support.
Let the body sink.
Let the mind soften.
Let the night hold you.
My voice will continue to fade now and you can rest as deeply as you need.
Your body knows how to return to wakefulness when you're ready.
The ground remains here.
The room remains quiet.
You are safe.
