Hello and welcome to this month's Yoga Nidra meditation practice.
You are peace.
Peace is something you already have.
It's something you already are.
It isn't something to find once everything in your life is sorted and fixed.
Nor is it waiting for you on a holiday somewhere beautiful and quiet.
Although that might be nice.
Wherever you go,
Whatever you do.
You take yourself with you.
And your life comes to.
So peace is simply this.
Being with yourself.
Just as you are.
And being with your life just as it is.
Please find the most comfortable position for your practice today.
There's no correct way to be in this meditation so long as your body is supported.
And you have created enough space for you to breathe easily and without effort.
You could lie on your back.
With lots of pillows to support.
Your head and your neck and shoulders and lower back.
You can lie on your side.
You could sit in a chair or recline back.
Laying against a wall.
I recommend using as many props as you can find.
To be super comfortable.
As you feel into the position you have taken Ask yourself,
Could I be five?
Or 10% more comfortable?
And if the answer is yes,
Please pause this recording.
And adjust yourself.
There's no need to rush or hurry.
You have plenty of time.
Time is on your side.
While you continue to find your place.
Let's begin.
To sense and feel the breath without doing much,
Just noticing to begin with.
And you might like to close down your eyes or soften your gaze.
And as you notice your breath.
Inhaling and exhaling through your nose.
You might like to deepen your inhale.
Inviting the whole body to receive the breath.
And as you exhale,
Invite the whole body to release any holding,
Gripping,
Releasing tension.
And letting go of whatever it was you were doing before we began.
Leaving it outside the room.
And coming back to the simple act of breathing.
Whole body receiving.
And whole body releasing.
And for the next 6 to 8 breaths.
.
.
Let's soften different areas of the body as you settle in.
Softening the forehead.
The eyes.
And shakes.
Your jaw.
The throat and neck.
Spreading across the shoulders.
Arms,
Hands.
The front and back of the chest.
And down the spine.
Softening all the nerves surrounding the spine.
Your belly.
The leg.
Right down to the soles of your feet.
The whole body sinking into your yoga nidra space.
And if it feels appropriate.
You might like to sense and feel into an intention for this practice today.
You might ask yourself,
What are you longing to feel?
Perhaps it's peace.
Balance.
Clarity.
A sense of lightness,
Whatever it is.
Remember,
Call it in.
What is it that you need?
And in your own intuitive way.
Repeating or sensing the feeling of this intention.
Perhaps in your heart center.
Letting your intention land and plant into the soil of your body.
And then guiding your attention into the middle of your chest,
Your heart space.
Right behind the breastbone.
And take three deep breaths.
Into the centre of your heart space.
And on your third exhale,
Float your attention from your heart center down to your toes.
And feel into all 10 toes.
Just noticing the sensations of your toes,
The tips of the toes,
The pads,
The nails.
The physicality and sensations inside the toes.
Then moving your attention to the soles of both your feet.
Both ankle joints.
Your calf muscles and your shin bones.
Your kneecaps.
And the knee joints.
The thighs.
Both hip joints.
Sensing into the genitals and the pelvic bowl.
Belly,
Sensing up towards the navel.
Feeling the whole ribcage.
And then the lungs inside,
The ribs.
The physical heart.
Sense into your throat.
And the whole neck.
Spreading down into the shoulder joints.
Upper arms.
Elbow joints.
Lower arms and wrists.
In the palms of both your hands.
And into all your fingers and your thumbs right to the tip.
Three breaths.
As though you were breathing in and out of the fingertips.
On the tips of your fingers,
Guiding your awareness to the nape of your neck,
And into the base of your skull.
The back of your head.
Your jaw.
Both ears,
Cheekbones,
The bridge of your nose.
And the tip of your nose.
The back of your eyes.
The point between your eyebrows.
Your forehead.
Both hemispheres of your brain.
Your temples,
And the crown of your head.
Now allow your awareness to spread from the crown of your head to include the whole body.
Whole body from the crown of the head to the tips of your toes and fingers.
The space that your body occupies.
The whole physical body.
You may notice.
Now just the sensations of your body breathing.
As the body receives the breath.
There's a sense of expansion.
And as the breath releases,
A contraction.
The breath enters the body.
And releases again.
As the breath moves into the body.
It dissolves.
Into the lungs.
Circulating down through the body and up.
Circulating all around the body.
Now counting your breaths.
From ten,
Down to zero.
Each inhale and exhale is one count.
Starting with 10.
Inhaling… Exhaling.
.
.
Nine,
Inhaling,
Exhaling.
.
.
If you get lost,
Start again at 10.
And if you arrive at zero before you hear my voice again,
Begin at ten.
Gently release that counting technique.
Allow yourself to witness your body lying here as though you were watching from above.
Your body resting.
Or you think.
Effortlessly.
From this place of witness begin to recall what it feels like.
To be at peace.
Perhaps a moment when you felt free.
Settled and completely at ease.
A glimpse of a memory.
Simply let the feeling of peace arrive in whatever way it comes.
Notice where you sense it in the body.
Peace.
A quality of peace.
And now for a moment gently let that go.
And recall the feeling of your life happening.
Just as it is.
The everyday pace.
Moving from one activity to the next.
The conversations.
The distractions,
The busyness of an ordinary day.
Notice how that feels in the body,
Life.
Happening just now.
As it does.
And now.
.
.
Coming back to peace.
Allow the feeling of peace to come alive again.
A quiet presence.
Ease peacefulness and let life come back into the picture as well.
Everything still happening.
Still occurring.
Still asking things of you.
And yet peace is here at the same time.
Life as it is and peace at the same time.
Not one replacing the other.
But both here side by side.
Notice what that is like.
Peace and life.
Happening together.
Resting in the container of it all.
Let it be.
Gently.
Bring your attention to the center of your heart space.
Deep behind your breastbone.
And rest here.
You are peace.
You are freedom.
Eternal.
Timeless.
Spacious.
Rest back.
You will hear my voice again in three minutes.
Gently and slowly come to witness yourself.
Resting here,
Your whole body.
Calling your attention back into your physical body.
Back to the breath.
And if you're.
.
.
Drifting off to sleep.
Sweet dreams.
And if you're waking up.
Gently begin to bring a little bit of movement into your hands and fingers.
Your toes and your feet.
You might like to take a stretch.
And slowly come back into the space where you are practicing today.
Blink open your eyes and look around the room.
You might reach for your journal and free ride.
Or just take your time coming back into your daily life.
Remember.
Peace is always there beside you.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
I'll see you next time.
