Yoga Nidra For Creativity

This is a Yoga Nidra by Uma Dinsmore Tooley.

It's a practice that embodies the total Yoga Nidra method with the intention of nurturing creativity.

So welcome home to yourself.

Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.

It's time to get comfortable.

Lie down on your back.

Take the time to arrange yourself so that you feel that you are well supported.

Place cushions and pillows under your head and wherever else suits you so that you can feel absolutely at ease.

Having support underneath the knees can really help to let the lower back settle.

Since your body temperature may drop during the practice,

Cover yourself with a blanket or put socks on or a sweater to keep warm.

Make whatever adjustments are necessary so that you feel super comfortable.

So let's begin.

Settle in and allow the body to become still so that there is no need for any further physical movement during this practice.

If the desire to move does arise during the practice,

Simply watch it.

It will probably go away and you can remain still.

If the desire to move returns,

Do so with awareness and return to comfort and stillness with zero desire for movement.

Now become precisely aware of the position in which you are lying.

Know the shape and the posture of the body.

Know the shape and arrangement of the room.

Feel the points of contact between the body and whatever you are lying upon.

Be comfortable.

Notice the breath going all the way down to the very end of the exhalation and all the way up to the height of the inhalation.

Welcome the full cycle of every breath as it goes all the way down to the depths of the exhalation and then all the way up to the heights of the inhalation for a few breathing cycles.

Welcome each cycle of breath as if each breath were breathing you,

As if the rhythm of the breath is like the cycle of a full day as it spans from morning,

Noon to night.

Each breath coming in is like the dawning of the day.

The height of the breath is like the noon time,

Bright and full and it's the evening as the breath begins to leave and then the end of the exhalation is like the nighttime of the breath,

A time of rest,

Waiting and quiet until the new breath dawns,

Ascending to the noontime,

Afternoon and descending into the evening and nighttime and at the bottom of the breath where there is nothing to be done but simply to wait and rest,

Waiting until the next dawn of the breath arises and so on with every cycle of breath,

Effortlessly noticing the cycle of the breath unfolding and with increasing spaciousness and ease the body settles deeper into stillness and in the space of awareness that is yoga nidra,

Invite your attention to travel down on the exhalation as if coming to the space behind the center of the breastbone,

As if the exhalation could carry your awareness inside to the space of the heart,

Exhaling into the heart space and simply to be there in that space.

At the end of the exhalation to invite that space to be a place of welcome for whatever creative insight may be arising now or in the future,

To rest the awareness in that space of that heart and maybe if it feels appropriate and comfortable to you to bring a little question,

A question about the next step in whatever creative project you may be involved with,

Whatever the next step might be,

Maybe bring a question there about that step but it's simply enough to rest the awareness in the space of that heart,

Your heart and to know that there is a welcome space and from that space now,

From the end of the next exhalation,

Invite for the experience of the whole body to be as the night sky at the end of the exhalation,

Settling into the night time of the breath and inviting this experience of the whole body to be as beautiful as a dark night sky and as the awareness travels around the night sky of the body,

It's as if the little stars shine in the night sky of the body,

As if the whole body becomes filled with constellations of shining stars in the night sky of the body.

Begin by inviting the awareness to travel to the crown of the head as if a little star was shining there and then allow for the awareness to travel down to the space between the two eyebrows,

A star there and then down between the two collarbones in the space of the hollow of the base of the throat,

A little star shining there and then stars shining on the right arm from the right shoulder,

Elbow,

Wrist,

Tip of the right hand's thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and little finger.

Stars in the space of the right wrist,

Elbow and shoulder,

Invite the awareness to settle back at the star between the collarbones and then across and over to a star placed in the left shoulder,

Elbow and wrist,

More stars at the left hand's thumb,

Index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger and little finger,

A star in the space of the left wrist,

Elbow and shoulder and back to the hollow at the base of the throat,

A star between the collarbones,

A star down in the space behind the place,

At the center behind the breastbone,

A star behind the left breast,

Back to the star at the center of the breastbone,

A star behind the right breast and back to the star behind the center of the breastbone and all the way down,

A star in the belly,

Behind the navel,

A star in the pelvis,

Let there be a star in the center of the pelvis and then over to the right hip,

Knee,

Ankle and five little stars,

One each on the tip of the right big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe,

Fifth toe,

A star inside the right ankle,

Knee and hip,

Back to the star in the pelvis,

Over to the left hip,

Knee,

Ankle and five little stars at the tips of the left big toe,

Second toe,

Third toe,

Fourth toe and fifth toe,

A star inside the left ankle,

Knee and hip,

Back to the star in the pelvis,

Up to the star behind the navel,

Up to the star behind the center of the breastbone and up to the star between the collarbones,

To the star between the eyebrows and to the star on the crown of the head and in the space of awareness which is yoga nidra,

Be aware of the whole body resting with a constellation of shining stars in the night sky of the body as the body rests and in the space of awareness,

Invite for the attention to rest now,

Into the place,

Behind the place,

Between the two eyebrows,

The star there,

Invite for the awareness to settle now,

Into the place,

At the space,

Between the two collarbones,

The star there and then come home to the deep heart school,

To the space behind the center of the breastbone,

To the star there,

A tiny star in that space,

Welcome home to yourself and now in the space of awareness which is yoga nidra,

Let the incoming breath make spaces between all of the stars in the great constellation of the night sky of the body,

As if when the breath comes in,

A little more space opens up between each star and its neighbor,

Maybe as the breath comes in,

The stars move out,

Wide across the great expanse of the heavens and then as the breath goes out,

It's as if all of those stars from up there in the heavens very gently settle down into the earth of the body and with every breath that comes in,

The constellation of those stars in the night sky of the body would open out a little wider and bigger and with every breath that goes out,

All of those stars in the constellation of the night sky of the body would settle down into the earth of the body so gently as if at the end of every exhalation,

Each star would find a little home for its brightness in the earth of the body,

So gentle and soft,

So bright,

Each breath in,

The stars spread out a little wider,

A little higher and each breath out,

All of the brightness of all of those stars lands gently in the earth of the body and be with these two forms of awareness for the next few rounds of breath,

Spaciousness on the inhale as the stars spread out,

Welcoming the brightness of the stars to land in the body as the breath settles,

As the breath comes in,

All the stars spread out a little and as the breath goes out,

The brightness of the stars lands in the body gently and invite the possibility that both those forms of awareness could be present at the same time,

So how would that be in the space of awareness,

Which is yoga nidra,

To welcome in the spaciousness that comes in with the inhale and at the same time welcoming in the sense of grounding the light of the stars as if there could be spaciousness,

Expansiveness and groundedness fully earthed at the same time,

So how would that be to be expansive yet fully grounded at the same time and let go of that exploration and now simply invite the light of all of the stars in the constellation of the body to simply settle into the space behind the centre of the breastbone as if when the breath goes out,

All of the light of the stars would shine in behind the space at the centre of the breastbone and then from that tiny bright light,

The heart centre when the breath comes in to allow for all of the stars to spread out wide and high amongst the heavens and when the breath leaves for all of the light of all of those stars to gather in the centre of the heart at the back of the space behind the centre of the breastbone,

So moving between those two forms of awareness,

A great expansiveness on the inhale with space between the stars and then gathering in on the exhale all the light of all of those stars settling right in behind the centre of the breastbone into the space of the deep heart's core.

Moving between those two forms of awareness with each round of breath and then in the space of awareness which is yoga nidra,

Invite for those two forms of awareness to co-exist.

So how would it be at the same time to have that expansiveness but to be fully centred at a single point of focus,

To have that centred single point of focus but yet to be in a space of expansiveness at the same time?

So how would that be?

Where would that be?

And then letting go of that exploration,

Coming in with the awareness settled in the deep heart's core behind the centre of the middle of the breastbone.

Come home to yourself and simply be in the space of the heart and in that space feel that there is a welcome for the awareness to come home and for whatever creative insight might be just right,

Just now.

Perhaps for that to be present,

For there to be an answer to the question that you may have had at the beginning of the practice but it is more than enough to simply rest the awareness in this space.

Feeling into the warm welcome that's in the space of the heart,

Breathe a little louder and sense now that the warm welcome could be extended out as you breathe and begin moving and stretching.

Stretching your arms,

Legs and more as we come to the end of this practice of yoga nidra that you could carry a warm welcome for all that arises in the rest of the day.

And for all that unfolds in the dreams of the night,

Breathing freely and easily,

A little louder now,

Reawakening as you come to the end of this practice for creativity.

When you are ready,

Roll to your side for as long as you like and then rise up to sitting.

This yoga nidra is now complete.

Thank you.

Shanti,

Shanti,

Shanti.