Welcome to your Yoga Nidra practice today,
Where we will journey together deep into the rainforest,
Allowing the sounds of the jungle to calm and soothe your nervous system,
To plug yourself in to the power of the forest,
And to return feeling rested and recharged.
Take a few moments to prepare,
Making sure you have everything you need to completely rest and relax comfortably,
In your bed,
On a couch or a yoga mat.
Is there anything you could do to get even more comfortable,
Perhaps extra pillows or blankets to keep you warm and cosy?
As you settle in,
Start to scan through your body,
From your head to your feet,
Scanning slowly through the body and noticing if you are holding any tension,
And start to soften and release the tension in your body.
Perhaps in your face and jaw,
Shoulders,
Hands or feet.
Bring all of your attention to your breath.
Notice the natural rhythm of the breath moving in and out of your body.
Perhaps you feel the coolness in your nose as you inhale,
The warmth as you exhale,
The expansion of your chest,
The movement at your belly,
As air moves in and out of your body.
Focus all of your attention on the inhalation and exhalation.
And now we will start a controlled breathing practice,
Where we will count the inhalation for a count of four,
Hold at the top for four,
And exhale for four.
So inhale for 1,
2,
3,
4,
Hold for 1,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
And hold 1,
2,
3,
4.
Inhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
And hold 1,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale 1,
2,
3,
4,
And hold 1,
2,
3,
4.
Continue at your own pace for the next few breaths.
Letting go of that,
Allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm,
Returning all of your attention to the air moving in and out,
The expansion and release of air.
Thoughts may come and go.
Gently guide your attention back to the breath moving in and out.
Welcome in an intention for this practice.
A simple phrase in the present tense.
For example,
I am resting deeply to restore every layer of myself.
Mentally whisper your heart's vow to yourself three times.
And now we begin a rotation of consciousness.
Following the guidance of my voice,
Allow your attention to move from one area of the body to the next.
You might feel sensations in the body,
Or nothing at all.
Know that whatever you experience is perfect,
Just as it is.
Bring all of your attention to the centre of the throat,
Jaw,
Tongue,
Roof of the mouth,
Teeth and gums.
Inside of the right cheek,
Inside of the left cheek,
The whole mouth,
Lower lip,
Upper lip,
The right nostril,
Left nostril.
The whole nose,
Feeling the sensation of the breath in and out of the nose.
The right ear,
Folds of the ear,
Ear canal,
Inner ear,
Listening.
The left ear,
Folds of the ear,
Ear canal,
Inner ear,
Listening.
The right eye,
Eyebrow,
Temple,
Cheekbone,
Behind the right eye,
Resting back.
The left eye,
Eyebrow,
Temple,
Cheekbone,
Behind the left eye,
Resting back.
Between the brows,
The mind's eye centre,
Crown of the head,
Back of the head,
Back of the neck,
Inside of the throat.
The whole head and neck,
Base of the throat,
The heart centre,
Right side of the chest,
Right shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow.
Forearm,
Wrist,
Palm and back of the hand,
The right thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Little finger.
Palm,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
The right side of the chest,
Left side of the chest.
Left shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Forearm,
Wrist,
Palm and back of the hand,
Left thumb,
First finger,
Second finger,
Third,
Little finger.
Palm,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Base of the throat,
Heart centre.
Ribs and lungs,
Back of the heart,
Whole back,
Belly,
Navel,
Right hip,
Thigh,
Knee.
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe.
The right foot and the right leg,
Navel,
Left hip,
Thigh,
Knee.
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe.
The whole left foot and left leg,
Both legs together,
Tailbone,
The spine from the tailbone to the back of the head.
The whole right side of the body,
Attention throughout the right side of the body.
Allow attention to move to the left side of the body,
The left side of the body.
The whole body,
The whole body as a unified field of sensation,
Feel sensation throughout the whole body.
Bring your attention back to the breath,
The easy natural flow of air moving in and out of the body.
Your body effortlessly breathing itself.
Without changing the natural rhythm of breath,
Imagine breathing in through the sole of the right foot,
All the way up to the crown of the head.
And exhaling all the way down the left side and out of the left foot.
Inhaling from left foot to crown of the head,
Switching sides down the right side to the right foot.
Easy natural breath,
Feeling the energy of the breath moving through the body.
From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head,
Switching sides,
Exhaling down to the sole of the other foot.
Just imagining the flow of pranic energy flowing throughout the body,
In and out,
In and out.
On your next inhalation,
Start to count down from ten,
Inhaling ten,
Exhaling ten.
Inhale nine,
Exhale nine,
Continuing down at your own pace.
And now,
Welcome the feeling of softness in your body,
Sensing all of the places where a natural softness is occurring.
Feel all the places in your body where softness resides.
How does softness feel in your body?
Where do you feel it?
And now,
Welcome the feeling of rigidity in your body,
Sensing all of the places where a naturally dense and rigid feeling occurs.
Feel all of the places where hard,
Rigid tissues reside within your body.
How does rigidity feel in your body?
Where do you feel it?
Coming back to the feeling of softness,
Feeling all of the areas that are soft.
Then welcoming density and rigidity again.
Can you sense both opposing sensations simultaneously?
Feeling soft and rigid at the same time.
Bring your attention to the space in front of your closed eyes.
Notice the darkness and any light or colour.
And begin to welcome the images of a tropical rainforest.
The vibrant greens of the plants and the trees.
The vibrant greens of the plants and the trees.
Soft ferns carpet the forest floor.
The sounds of the birds,
Insects and animals around you.
You see flashes of red wings of the birds in the canopy above you.
Breathe in the rich scent of the soil.
Feel the warm touch of the air on your skin.
The magnificent trees around and above you,
Standing tall and strong.
Notice a stream or river of fresh sparkling water flowing into a larger pool of crystal clear blue water.
You might want to lay down by the water or perhaps float in the crystal clear blue.
Laying here you feel your body soften as you rest back,
Held and effortlessly supported.
It starts to rain.
The drops of water gentle on your skin,
Washing away,
Washing away.
The edges of your body are undefined,
Indistinct.
Where you end and the living forest begins.
Why not rest here a while in the infinite space of awareness?
Welcome back your intention for this practice.
Allow your heart's vow to rest here with you.
Start to notice your body laying on the surface beneath you.
Start to notice your body laying on the surface beneath you.
Your head,
Shoulders,
Hands,
Hips,
Heels.
Become aware of the edges of your body.
And slowly start to reawaken your body,
Making small gentle movements.
Take a deep breath in and let it out.
One more deep breath in and out.
Before you open your eyes,
Become aware of the space around you,
The walls and windows.
And slowly start to flutter your eyes open,
Taking time to return to the waking state.
Notice how you feel at the end of this practice today,
In your body and mind.
Thank you for practicing Yoga Nidra with me today.
Namaste.
