Hello and welcome to this Yoga Nidra,
Where the intention and the invitation is to welcome a sense of inner safety and security by creating an imaginary circle of protection.
You can tap into this practice in preparation for sleep or if you are feeling maybe a sense of worry or anxiety even starting to creep in.
So to begin,
Take your time to create a comfortable setting,
Your Yoga Nidra nest,
Where your physical body can rest and be held fully.
You might want to be lying down on your back,
On your side or perhaps in a reclined position.
Check in in your physical environment,
Looking around.
Notice if you would like to maybe close or open a window.
Position yourself in a meaningful way to you and take your time to land and settle.
If you would like to gather any more props,
Any layers to keep yourself warm and cozy,
Do that.
And when you feel like you are ready to settle and welcome stillness,
You might want to close your eyes,
Inviting your awareness inwards.
Know that you can always return back to the outer space if needed,
If the internal space becomes too much.
Welcoming physical stillness or perhaps addressing any discomfort so that you can be that 1% more at ease.
Connect with your body as it is,
To your natural breath coming and going,
To the state of your mind and emotions,
Knowing that you are welcome exactly as you are.
The whole of you is welcome.
And I invite you to bring a bit more awareness and consciousness to your breath,
Slowing it down a little and directing each inhale to travel lower into your torso.
And also imagine that as you inhale,
Your entire torso expands,
Radiates in all directions.
So with each inhalation,
Your belly moves further up,
Away from the ground.
But there is also a gentle push against the ground holding you,
As much so that also your ribs move sideways.
And that each exhalation is this effortless return back to centre.
Taking a couple of rounds in your own time,
Perhaps slowing down each breath at a time,
Bringing this radiant nature to your inhalation and the return to exhalation.
Inhaling in all directions and exhaling as a gentle return.
With the next couple of breaths,
See if you can allow for each of these exhalations to be maybe twice as long as the inhale.
There is no need to count,
You don't need to be specific.
Simply allowing for the exhalation to be longer,
Deeper.
And in that way,
Perhaps even bringing a little bit more ease and relaxation to your physical body and to your mind.
And then letting the breath find its natural rhythm.
No more need to control it in any way.
Land in your heart,
In the space behind your breastbone,
With your awareness and be present to your heart.
Perhaps there is a certain desire that arises.
Perhaps you have a sankalpa,
Your heart's vow of resolve.
You might want to put that into words,
As an accomplished fact,
Not as something that you wish to happen in the future.
You might want to repeat with me,
Three times,
Silently,
Inside your heart,
I am safe and held,
I radiate peace and joy.
If these words bring aliveness and ring true in your own experience,
You might want to repeat them three times more,
Silently,
Or perhaps simply being present to your heart,
That might be enough.
I am safe and held,
I radiate peace and joy.
Releasing any effort.
Imagine yourself now surrounded by a circle.
The entire body exactly where you are,
Lying down.
The whole body held in the shape of a circle.
Any color,
Any thickness,
It might be made out of light.
You might imagine it being drawn with chalk.
The color and the shape can be your own unique.
Just know that this circle is magical in a way that it holds you safe,
And nothing from the outer space,
Anything on the outside of the circle,
Nothing can penetrate and enter your own experience.
This circle is actually a three-dimensional sphere.
In that way,
You are in this bubble of protection,
Protected from the top,
The bottom,
And all sides.
You don't need to hold onto this image because that circle is there.
And being reassured by its presence,
You can now start moving your awareness by rotating it through your own physical body,
Resting here,
Deeply held.
The body itself is still.
It's your awareness that travels,
Touches the individual parts of your body as I bring your awareness there.
Beginning by sensing the space between your eyebrows,
Your throat center,
Behind the breastbone,
The right collarbone,
Right shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist,
The palm of your right hand with the five fingers,
The first finger,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth finger,
Your right wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Collarbone,
Back to your heart center,
The right side of your chest,
Your right waist,
Right hip,
Knee,
Ankle,
The foot on the right side with the five toes,
The first toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
And the fifth toe,
Right ankle,
Knee,
Hip,
Back to your pubic bone,
Navel,
Heart center,
Across to your left collarbone,
Left shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist,
And the palm of your left hand with the five fingers,
First finger,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth,
Your left wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Collarbone,
Back to your heart center,
The left side of your chest,
Left waist,
Hip,
Your knee,
Ankle,
And the left foot with the five toes,
The first,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth,
Left ankle,
Knee,
Hip,
Pubic bone,
Navel center,
Heart center,
The pit of your throat,
Your mind's eye,
The third eye center,
The tip of your nose,
The space between your lips,
The tip of your chin,
Your right eye,
Right ear open and listening,
Your left eye,
Left ear open and listening,
The whole body,
Your whole body resting,
Safe and held,
Can you imagine there is a point of warm light radiating,
Shining from your heart center,
It might be the same color as the circle of protection you started with,
Or perhaps it's not,
Connecting to the warm radiance of that light,
Originating from your heart,
And notice that with each inhalation the light radiates outwards,
In a big circular motion,
As you inhale it spreads out through your body and beyond your body,
And with each exhale you bring your awareness back to the single point of light,
With each inhale there is the radiating outwards motion of the light with your breath,
And with each exhale there is that return to the single point of light,
Taking a couple of rounds just like that,
The inhale radiates out,
The exhale is that single point of awareness,
Can you now bring both to your awareness simultaneously,
The breath coming and going,
And there is this simultaneous awareness of the radiating outwards,
And the single point of light,
Both existing at the same time,
You may release,
Feeling into the natural rhythm of your breath,
And starting to evolve that circle of protection that you find yourself in,
Reconnecting to the shape that you created,
And perhaps there are some additional guardians that might appear in your awareness,
Or that you might want to visualize actively,
You might welcome any specific people,
People from your past or current,
Your teachers,
People who look after you and that you trust,
Or perhaps these are other living beings,
Animals,
Perhaps your spirit animal,
Maybe it is some spiritual beings that you connect with,
Or perhaps it remains quite abstract,
Has this living sphere of protection,
Perhaps there is a color,
Or perhaps is this simple sense of being safe,
If visuals come to you easily,
You might draw that circle of protection with all the guardians,
With as many details as you would like,
You can get all of your senses involved,
There might be a certain smell that brings you this idea of safety,
There could be a certain sound,
Make this your own unique circle of protection,
And then releasing any imagery or visuals,
Can you feel into the sensation in your body,
In your experience,
When you know that you are protected,
Held and safe,
What might that feel like?
You don't need words to describe it,
Simply be with it,
Now releasing the protectors of their duties,
Allowing for that circle to perhaps slowly fade into the background,
Perhaps that sense,
That inner felt sense of safety remains,
Without you actively holding on to it,
Land with your awareness back to your heart center,
And reconnect with your heart's presence,
Perhaps by repeating the sankalpa we begin with,
I am safe and held,
I radiate peace and joy,
Or your own version,
As this yoga nidra practice is slowly coming to an end,
Take your time,
Gently,
Slowly,
Reconnect with your own rhythm of your breath,
Reawakening your physical body,
Perhaps with a little movement,
Perhaps with a stretch,
Inviting the sounds of the environment into your ears,
And then when you feel ready,
Returning back to your regular everyday state of awareness,
Knowing that this sphere of safety is always there for you,
You can return to this practice as many times as you would like,
To strengthen your inner knowing of safety,
Thank you for your practice,
And I hope to see you again soon.
