Hello.
Welcome.
Before we begin,
I just want to take a moment to set the space so you know what to expect and really so you can just let yourself settle in.
This practice is called Yoga Nidra.
It's sometimes also called Yogic Sleep.
What that means is we're going to guide your body and mind into a state of really deep rest.
A place between waking and sleeping where your whole system gets to just relax.
You don't need any experience with Yoga Nidra before or meditation.
You don't need to do anything right.
Really the whole point is that there's nothing to do at all.
A couple things to note.
First,
Whatever arises during this practice is welcome.
You might feel deeply relaxed.
You might feel restless.
You might feel emotions you weren't expecting or you might feel nothing at all.
Thoughts might come and go and your mind might wander completely.
All of that is okay and all of that is normal.
None of it means you're doing it wrong.
Really your only job here is to stay as comfortable as you can and to gently follow my voice when it feels natural to do so.
That's it.
Second,
You're in control the whole time.
If at any point something doesn't feel right,
A word,
An image,
A sensation,
You can simply let it pass.
You don't have to go anywhere that doesn't feel safe.
This is your practice.
And third,
If you fall asleep,
It's perfectly okay.
It happens all the time and it doesn't mean you missed anything.
Your nervous system will receive this even in sleep,
So don't fight it if it comes.
Now let's take a moment to get really comfortable.
Grab a blanket,
Maybe an extra pillow underneath your knees,
An eye pillow if you have one.
When you're lying down,
Let your legs open naturally.
Let your arms rest a little away from your body.
Take a few moments to make this genuinely feel good in your body.
When you're ready,
We'll begin.
Let your eyes close or soften your gaze down towards the floor.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Not just the idea of it,
But the actual surface.
How is it meeting your body right now?
Notice your heels,
The backs of your legs,
Your arms,
Your hips,
Your spine,
Your shoulders,
The back of your head.
Notice that the earth is holding all of it.
You don't have to do anything to earn that.
You don't have to do anything with this body or for it.
Just be in it without an agenda.
I've got the time.
You don't need to track when this ends.
That's my job.
Yours is just to arrive.
Breathe in.
I'm going to exhale.
Settling just a little more in that support.
One more inhale and let it go.
Coming back to your natural breath.
Now let a simple intention arise.
Not something to think hard about.
Just a quiet truth that lives somewhere in you.
Maybe something like,
I'm here.
I'm home.
I belong to myself.
I'm safe.
Whatever word feels true for you today,
Say it once.
Move awareness slowly through your body now.
Not to fix anything or change anything.
Just to visit.
Just to say,
I'm here.
Notice the top of your head,
Your forehead,
Your right eyebrow,
Your left eyebrow,
That beautiful space between your eyes,
Your right cheek,
Your left cheek,
Your jaw,
Your throat,
The front of your neck,
The back of your neck,
Your right shoulder,
Your right elbow,
Your right wrist,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Your whole right hand,
Your right hand,
Your left shoulder,
Your left elbow,
Your left wrist,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Middle finger,
Little finger,
Your whole left hand,
Both arms together,
Your chest,
The space around your heart,
Your heart,
Rising and falling,
Your hips,
Your right thigh,
Your right heel,
The sole of your right foot,
Your right toes,
Your left thigh,
Your left knee,
Your left heel,
The sole of your left foot,
Your right knee,
Both legs together,
And somewhere within all of the sensation,
Something that is aware of it,
Quiet,
Steady,
Watching.
That's also you.
Shift your awareness just beneath the surface of the physical,
Not to control it,
Just to notice what's already happening.
Your body has been breathing your whole life while you slept,
While you forgot you had a body at all.
This breath is life moving through you.
Feel the inhale,
The way it fills you from the inside,
Your ribcage,
Your belly,
Even your back body,
And the exhale,
The body releasing what is no longer needed.
Every exhale,
A natural act of trust.
The body lets go before that next breath has arrived.
It is always known more is coming.
Notice the aliveness the breath carries,
Moving through you like through water,
Always moving,
Always renewing,
And you are not just a body.
You are this too,
This living current of energy that animates everything.
Gently now become aware of your inner world.
Thoughts might be arising,
Plans,
Memories,
Fragments of conversation.
That's okay.
The mind thinks the way the lungs breathe,
It's just what it does.
See if you can simply watch without climbing inside any thought,
Without pushing any away,
Like clouds moving across an open sky.
They arise,
They drift,
They dissolve,
And the sky remains.
Now the emotional weather of this moment.
Want to analyze it or fix it,
Just to acknowledge what's actually here.
Tiredness or grief,
Tenderness,
Relief.
Whatever is here it's welcome.
Place a hand on your heart if that feels ray or just bring awareness there.
Whatever is present,
Be present.
You don't have to resolve anything.
Understand it.
Explain it and make it mean something.
Just let it be here,
Held in the warmth of your own awareness.
Emotions aren't problems to solve.
They're energy moving through.
The energy given space always moves.
If there's something heavy you've been carrying,
You don't have to put it down forever.
But for right now,
You might set it beside you.
It'll be there if you need it.
Notice some sensations now.
You don't need to create them.
Just be curious about what's already here and notice.
You can observe sensation without becoming it.
There's something in you that watches.
It's always steady.
Heaviness Lightness Stillness Now check in with the emotional weather of this moment.
Not to analyze it or fix it.
Just acknowledge it.
There might be some tiredness or grief.
Maybe some tenderness.
Maybe simply a quiet blankness.
Whatever is here is welcome.
Whatever is present,
Be present.
You don't have to resolve anything.
You don't have to understand it or explain it.
Emotions are not problems to be solved.
They're energies moving through.
An energy that is given space always moves.
If there is something you've been carrying,
Something heavy that you've been holding,
You don't have to put it down forever.
But you might,
Just for now,
Set it beside you.
It'll be there if you need it.
But you don't have to hold it for the next few minutes.
Now I'll invite you to notice some sensations.
You don't need to create them.
Just be curious about what's already here.
Notice you can observe these sensations without becoming them.
There is a part of you that can feel heaviness and simply watch it.
That part is always steady.
Heaviness.
The weight of your body.
The beautiful gravity of existing.
Now lightness.
The edges of you softening.
Becoming less defined.
Perhaps in your hands,
Your chest,
Your belly,
The air on your skin,
The gentle coolness of each inhale.
Stillness in movement.
The breath rising and falling even within the stillness.
Notice the part of you that's been watching all of this.
That quiet,
Steady awareness behind every experience.
It was not tired when your body was tired.
It was not swept away when your emotions were loud.
It simply watched.
It simply knew.
That awareness is you too.
Perhaps the most essentially you thing there is.
Now I invite you to imagine somewhere at the very center of your chest there is a light.
It doesn't have to be bright.
It might be soft like an ember or a single candle in a quiet room.
This light is not something you created or earned or have to maintain.
It's always been there beneath the busyness beneath the stress beneath the striving beneath every story you've ever told about who you are and who you are not.
It was here patiently waiting for you to remember.
As you rest here now you might notice that light beginning to grow filling your chest spreading warmth into your shoulders your belly your hands not forcing just naturally expanding because warmth when given space always grows.
This is the part of you that has never been damaged never been diminished never been lost it has simply been waiting beneath the noise for a moment quiet enough to be felt.
This is who you actually are Now imagine above you a vast open sky that might be the soft grey of an early morning the deep blue of a still afternoon or the quiet dark of a night scattered with stars Whatever sky feels like coming home to you you are held beneath this sky small and safe and completely belonging The sky has seen every version of you every season every chapter and it has never turned away you are known here you have simply been on your way back to yourself and here you are you are also the sky intimate and infinite human and whole you rest here there is nothing more you need to be right now gently now let your intention return that quiet truth you placed in your heart at the very beginning it has been moving through every layer of you while you rested here feel it now not just as words but as something alive in your body something you recognize say it once more to yourself this time let yourself receive it and slowly now very gently begin to guide you back start to deepen your breath just slightly letting each breath become a little more full and begin to notice the sounds in the room around you letting the world come back in softly on your own terms wiggling your fingers and your toes let a little movement return to the body maybe a gentle stretch arms overhead or through the legs whatever feels good ready no rush at all let your eyes open softly letting the light in gradually take a moment before you move anywhere just to sit with yourself with all of yourself and every layer of you that showed up here today however this landed for you today it was right your system took exactly what it needed you showed up for yourself for every part of yourself and that is no small thing carry that light with you as you move back into your day or into your dream state you know where to find it now you always did Namaste
