Welcome to this practice of yoga nidra on the element of air which is associated with freedom and spaciousness.
It can be quite helpful for intentions around letting go,
Clarity or creating mental and emotional space.
So in this nidra we welcome freedom,
Openness to life,
To breathe in peace and breathe out tension.
So allow yourself to get as comfortable as you can be,
Ensuring that you're warm and cozy and well supported so that the body can rest and let go.
And in this practice of yoga nidra you will listen to my voice and to some instruments and you will also find moments of silence as I guide you through a journey of deep rest.
Begin by noticing the sensation of the air on the skin.
Noticing the parts of the body that are covered and uncovered.
Bringing your awareness to the air at the tip of the nose as you breathe in and breathe out.
Perhaps noticing a cool air as you breathe in,
Warm air as you breathe out.
And as you notice the difference in temperature in the air at the tip of the nose,
Perhaps bring your awareness to sensation of temperature around the rest of the body.
The back of the body and the front of the body,
The extremities at the tips of the fingers and the tips of the toes,
The core,
The chest.
Notice the warmth behind your closed eyelids and welcome anything you can see behind your closed eyelids.
Shadows,
Shapes,
Colors.
Bring your awareness to the sensation of moisture behind your closed eyelids as your eyes begin to settle.
And feel the sensation of moisture inside the mouth,
Around the gums and the teeth and under the tongue.
Welcoming any tastes,
Those that you can name and not name.
Any smells,
Those that you can name and not name.
And as you welcome the liquids and the water in the body,
Welcome any sounds that the body can make.
Perhaps the digestive juices as your body lying horizontally settles into deeper rest and digestion becomes active.
As your body changes state from activity to rest,
You might notice other little sounds that might arise from within.
Coughs and sneezes and yawns.
Bring your awareness to all you can hear and welcome all noise to this practice.
Sounds that are farther away,
All the way above,
All the way below,
To the right side,
To the left side.
Sounds that are nearer by,
The sound of my voice and the chime.
And sounds within,
More intimate to you like the sound of your own breath.
And feel yourself fully held and fully supported by the surface beneath.
Letting go of anything to do,
Pressures,
Deadlines,
There's no one to please.
There's no way of getting this practice right or wrong as we're stepping out of doing and we're stepping into being.
And in this place of being,
There is freedom.
And simply being here is enough.
Welcome freedom and openness to life,
Breathing in peace and breathing out tension.
And feel into the spaces in the body and the spaces in between each part of the body as I mentioned them.
Feeling into the crown of the head.
Feeling into the whole scalp,
Every hair follicle,
Every hair.
The space between each part of the body.
The space between each hair.
The whole spaciousness around the head.
The whole head.
To the forehead,
Feeling the spaciousness between the eyebrows.
The left eyebrow to the right eyebrow.
Right eye and eyelid,
Eyelashes.
Left eye,
Eyelid,
Eyelashes.
Feeling light and spacious.
Left ear,
Right ear.
Right cheek and left cheek.
Feeling lightness spread through the bridge of the nose and the spaciousness on the right nostril and the left nostril.
Upper lip,
Lower lip.
The space between the lips.
Both lips together.
From the chin to the throat.
Left collarbone and right collarbone.
The space between the collarbones.
Left shoulder and right shoulder.
Right upper arm,
Elbow and forearm on the left arm and on the right arm.
The wrists on the right and on the left and both hands.
Left hand,
Right hand.
The palm of the hand,
The back of the hand.
And all 10 fingers.
Thumbs,
Index fingers,
Middle fingers,
Ring fingers and little fingers.
Feeling into the spaces in between each finger.
All 10 fingers together.
The whole right hand and the whole left hand.
The whole left arm and the whole right arm.
Both arms together.
Feeling light and spacious.
Down through the armpits on the left side and on the right side.
Right ribcage,
Left ribcage.
The space between each rib on the right and on the left.
Down through the waist on the right side and the left.
Left hip and right hip and down the legs.
Thighs on the right side and the left.
Knees left and right.
Shins right and left.
Ankles left and right and both feet.
Tops of the feet and soles of the feet and all five toes.
On the left foot and all five toes on the right foot.
Big toes,
Second toes,
Third toes,
Fourth toes and little toes.
Feeling the spaces in between each toe.
All 10 toes together.
Heels left and right.
Calves right and left.
Back of knees left and right.
Back of thighs right and left.
Left buttock and right buttock.
The whole right side of the body and the whole left side of the body.
Left and right.
Right and left.
Light and spacious all the way through.
Feeling into the pelvis.
Pelvis connecting the right side of the body and the left side of the body.
Upper body and lower body.
Feeling the right side of the pelvis and the left side.
Front and back.
Top and bottom.
From the pubic bone to the tailbone and up through the spine.
Every vertebrae and the space between each vertebrae.
Up the lower back on the left side and the right.
Middle back right and left.
Upper back left and right.
Right shoulder blade and left shoulder blade and the space between the shoulder blades.
At the center and the front of the space between the shoulder blades lies the heart space.
Right at the back of the center,
The middle of the breastbone.
Feeling into the heart space.
Feeling into the whole heart space.
Allowing it to feel open,
Spacious,
Expansive,
Free and light.
As if with every inhale you can allow that chest and heart space to expand and on the exhale contract.
Welcoming expansion and spaciousness as you inhale and exhale to release,
Contract,
Let go.
Inhaling to feel expansive,
Free and open.
Exhaling to release tension,
Rigidity,
Heaviness.
Inhaling to open and expand and exhaling to contract and sink.
Welcoming the sensations in the body of being full and expansive,
Contracting and empty at the same time.
From this place visualize a gentle breeze.
Perhaps walking through an open field or a mountaintop where the wind is soft on the skin.
The temperature is just as you like it and it's your favorite time of day.
As you connect with the feeling of the breath,
You begin to imagine it moving effortlessly in and out of the body.
Like the air passing through a window.
Feeling the air touching the skin.
Feeling the air inside the body and outside the body.
Feeling light,
Spacious,
Free.
Free and open to life.
Breathe in peace and breathe out tension.
Feel the sense of expansion in the chest and in the lungs as you allow the breath to move easily and comfortably.
Connecting to the breath and feeling it at the tip of the nose as you inhale and exhale.
Perhaps noticing a cool air as you breathe in,
A warm air as you let it out.
Feeling the temperature in the body,
The parts of the body that are covered and uncovered.
Feeling as well anything you can see behind your closed eyelids.
Shapes and shadows,
Colors,
Lights.
Welcoming once again the sensations of moisture behind your closed eyelids.
As your eyes rest,
Settled.
Sensations of moisture inside the mouth,
Around the teeth and under the tongue.
Welcome all tastes,
Those that you can name and not name.
Feeling all the water and fluids in the body.
Noticing the parts of the body that are more tense.
The parts of the body that are free.
The points of contact of the body and the surface beneath.
Feeling the body,
Feeling into the body and welcoming sounds and noise.
Those that are farther away and those that are nearby.
Those that are intimate to you and those that are all the way to the edges of what you can hear.
As you gently and softly reawaken.
Come back,
Come back,
Come back.
This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.
Thank you for listening.
