Let the body rest.
Take your time to get comfortable.
Adjusting as you need to so that you can be still and relaxed through this Nidra.
Yoga Nidra is the practice of hearing and feeling as we bridge the worlds of sleep with our conscious mind.
Just listen to my voice as I guide you on a journey through the body and through a visualisation to create calm and peace in the body and mind.
If there are any thoughts that keep returning to you now,
Make a note of them as if you were writing them on a piece of paper and put them to one side.
You can get these later.
Create for yourself a sankalpa,
A positive affirmation in the present tense.
Something like I am the curator of my life.
Or I bring in that which is good for me and good for others.
Or I am capable.
Set your sankalpa and repeat it mentally three times now.
Now bring your awareness into the body.
Let it travel like a spark from one part to the next as I name it.
Beginning with the right hand.
The right hand thumb,
First finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger and little finger.
The palm of the hand,
The back of the hand.
The wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm and right shoulder.
Tumpet and rib by rib relaxing.
To the waist and hip.
Right thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Foot and toes.
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Sending your awareness now to the left hand.
Left hand thumb,
First finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger.
The palm of the hand,
Back of the hand.
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder.
Tumpet and down the left side,
Rib by rib relaxing.
To the waist and hip,
Left thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Foot and toes.
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth,
A little toe.
Take your awareness up the back of the body from the heels,
Over the calves,
The backs of the thighs,
Buttocks,
Lower back,
Mid back,
Upper back,
Shoulder blades,
The back of the neck,
The back of the head,
The top of the head.
Now over the face,
Relaxing over forehead,
Eyebrows,
Eyes,
Cheeks,
Nose,
Upper lip,
Lower lip,
Chin and jaw.
Relaxing through the throat,
Relax over the chest,
The belly and down over the legs to the tips of the toes.
Feel the meeting places between the body and the floor.
Concentrate on the space between the body and the floor.
Now bring in the feeling of heaviness into the body.
Imagine the body very heavy,
So heavy it feels as though the body is sinking into the earth.
And now experience lightness.
Bring a lightness into the body that feels as though the body is lifting up from the floor.
Let the body rise and then bring your awareness to your breath.
Note the breath entering and leaving the body through the nose.
Feel its passage into the body through the nostrils,
Over the throat,
Into the lungs and back out through the nostrils.
Watch the breath travel in and out.
Become an observer just watching carefully,
Noticing without judgment.
Now look to the space between the eyebrows,
The place we call the third eye.
Notice if there are any colors or patterns here.
Watch the dark space carefully.
Now visualize an overgrown path in a wooded area.
You are traveling along this path,
Pausing sometimes to pull back branches.
A little black bird perches near you and sings.
You stop to listen and watch.
He flies off ahead and you follow.
Soon he leads you to a gate and beyond it is a field with an array of wild flowers.
You go through this gate encouraged by the black bird and soon you are wondering amongst the petals,
Brushing them with your fingertips.
You are drawn to a patch of poppies.
Together they are brilliant red,
Bursting with life.
You see their delicate stems and see how their roots grow down into the earth.
Explore a little further.
You find a stream that runs into a large pond before continuing on to reach the sea.
And beneath the surface in the cool water are many goldfish darting in and out from shady spots.
You watch their movements,
Their fluid flicks of thin,
Elegant,
Orange,
Flowing.
All the while a bright yellow sun beats down,
Reflected in the surface of the pool.
A dazzling yellow burns hot in the sky and you feel its heat warming.
You feel the heat inside the body.
Behind you the wood calls again,
Its bright green leaves beckoning you into the shade,
Comfort and compassion.
Before you reach the covering of trees you take a look at the clear sky,
Expansive and freeing.
A brilliant blue sky.
You find your voice and let out the words you wish to say into the breeze.
And as you reach the gate again you notice covering the wooded floor is a carpet of blue bells.
You know the way through their purple bells.
You are guided,
Guided by the earth,
The sky,
The sun,
The stars.
Bring your attention back now to the third eye space.
Notice here.
Watch carefully without judgement.
And bring your attention back to your sankalpa,
Your positive affirmation in the present tense.
Again repeat it mentally three times now.
Bring your attention back into the body.
Take a fuller deeper breath in.
Fill the body with breath and let all the breath out.
Gently begin to wriggle the fingers and wriggle the toes.
Turn the head from side to side gently.
There is no rush.
This ends the practice of yoga nidra.
Thank you.
