Welcome,
Welcome.
It is time to be good to yourself.
Daring to rest starts now.
Wherever you are coming in from,
I invite you to start settling in.
And if you've been rushing around,
It might take a little time to settle your body.
So give it a little time.
Mindfully settling your body into wherever you are resting.
Chair,
Bed,
Couch,
Wherever you find yourself tonight.
And then ask yourself if there is anything else you need to be more comfortable.
And listen for the answer.
Move,
Shift,
Add the blanket,
Whatever you need or whatever you heard when you asked.
And you might start to close your eyes if that feels comfortable.
Let's rest together.
Place your attention on the soles of your feet.
Begin to feel roots growing out of each foot and then out of your tailbone,
Your whole spine,
Neck,
And the back of the head.
Send the roots into the floor beneath you.
The soil,
Rock,
And stone,
And into the planet.
And then your roots reach all the way to the core of the earth.
Your whole body grounded,
Rooted,
Present.
Now take a deep breath in and exhale with a deep sigh,
Releasing tension in your body as you exhale.
And again,
Inhaling and exhaling,
Maybe with a sigh,
Letting go of stress.
You are completely supported by the earth.
Feel this.
Throughout Yoga Nidra,
You are invited to follow my voice,
But you can always take breaks from the instructions and follow your breath instead.
And you can follow your breath until you feel ready to return.
If you fall asleep during our Yoga Nidra practice,
Then trust that sleep is what you needed today.
And throughout the whole practice of Yoga Nidra,
You can adjust your body mindfully whenever you need to.
Just ask your body what it needs.
Now it is time to acknowledge your intention for today's practice.
If you don't have an intention defined already,
One that you're working with,
A question to ask yourself is,
How would I like to be spending my time and living my life?
Answer this in the present tense as if it is already happening.
Maybe something like,
I speak my truth.
Before repeating your intention,
First take a moment to bring an awareness of your intention into your body.
You might want to visualize yourself as if the intention is already taking place.
Feel this in your whole body.
When you feel ready,
Repeat your intention to yourself three times.
We will move into body sensing.
Follow my voice from point to point.
This will move fairly rapidly to help you keep your attention on the body.
You might find it helpful to repeat the name of the body.
The name of the body part to yourself,
As I call them.
We begin at the space between the eyebrows,
Middle of the throat,
Right shoulder,
Right elbow,
Bend of the right wrist,
Right thumb,
Right index finger,
Right middle finger,
Right ring finger,
Right little finger,
Bend of the right wrist,
Right elbow,
Right shoulder,
Middle of the throat,
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Bend of the left wrist,
Left thumb,
Left index finger,
Left middle finger,
Left ring finger,
Left little finger,
Bend of the left wrist,
Left elbow,
Left shoulder,
Middle of the throat,
Middle of the chest,
Right nipple,
Middle of the chest,
Left nipple,
Middle of the chest,
Navel point,
Middle of the pubic bone,
Right hip,
Right knee,
Right ankle,
Right big toe,
Right second toe,
Right third toe,
Right fourth toe,
Right small toe,
Right ankle,
Right knee,
Right hip,
Middle of the pubic bone,
Left hip,
Left knee,
Left ankle,
Left big toe,
Left second toe,
Left third toe,
Left fourth toe,
Left small toe,
Left ankle,
Left knee,
Left hip,
Middle of the pubic bone,
Navel point,
Middle of the chest,
Middle of the throat,
And back to the space between the eyebrows.
Feel all sensations in your body.
Just notice.
Moving your attention to the air on your skin.
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
Cool,
Warm,
Comforting?
Now bring your attention to the air you are breathing.
Awareness of the air you are breathing.
Notice how it moves through your mouth and windpipe.
Sinking deeper into the sounds of the air moving through your mouth.
With each breath,
Your muscles release tension and you sink deeper.
Each breath,
Calming the body,
Grounding the body.
Focus on your skin.
Senses as you breathe.
Completely present to the sensory experience in your body.
Now begin to count backwards as you breathe from nine to zero like this.
Nine,
I am breathing in.
Nine,
I am breathing out.
Eight,
I am breathing in.
Eight,
I am breathing out.
Continue breathing like this from nine to zero at your own pace.
If you lose count,
Go back to the beginning.
If you finish,
You can start again.
Breathing in and out through the lower abdomen,
Full of awareness.
Counting down from nine to zero.
Your breath like a prayer,
Honoring all that you feel.
Notice sensations in your body.
Let your breath return to normal.
Begin to feel your body getting lighter,
Weightless.
With every breath,
The body becomes lighter and lighter.
Whole body light like a feather floating in the autumn breeze.
Now feel the body getting heavy.
With every breath,
The body becomes heavier and heavier.
Like the weight of a boulder,
Your body heavy.
Now sense both light and heavy in your body.
Holding opposite sensations at the same time.
The body light and heavy at the same time.
Release these opposites.
Now begin to notice the body getting hot.
Notice your entire body filling with the heat of a roaring fire.
Now sense the body becoming cold.
Notice your entire body cold as ice.
Now sense both hot and cold filling the body.
Holding these opposites at the same time.
Release these opposites and feel your body as it is.
However you feel,
Allow these sensations.
Bring your attention to the space between your eyebrows.
Listen to your breath.
Feel the air moving through your windpipe,
Your vocal cords.
Preparing to speak your truth aloud when you are ready.
Rest here.
Here in this deep state of relaxation,
Repeat your intention three times,
Like a deep vow to yourself.
Welcome your intention as a river flowing throughout your whole body and now flowing through your daily life.
You begin to welcome your wise counsel.
Notice them,
The wise ones,
Your guides and mentors,
Those who support you to honor your voice.
As you notice them standing around you,
You see they have arrived with blessings and perhaps even an offering.
Receive these blessings and offering.
On your next breath in through your heart,
Ride your breath like a wave and see where it wants to go in the body.
Wherever it arrives,
See if there is a soul whisper,
An image,
Word,
Or phrase from your soul.
Whatever you receive,
Exhale the soul whisper from your heart.
Just be curious.
The Journey by Mary Oliver.
One day you finally knew what you had to do and began.
Though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice.
Though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles.
Men to my life,
Each voice cried,
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do.
Though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations,
Though their melancholy was terrible.
It was already late enough and a wild night and the road full of fallen branches and stones.
But little by little,
As you left their voices behind,
The stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world,
Determined to do the only thing you could do,
Determined to save the only life you could save.
If you are ready to sleep,
Listen to that desire begin to drift off to sleep,
Sweet dreams.
If you are waking,
Slowly begin to wake now,
Gentle movements.
May your voice keep you company as you stride deeper and deeper into the world.
Slowly,
Slowly bringing more and more attention to the outer world.
Notice the room around you,
Maybe opening your eyes,
Waking your whole body up,
Welcoming it back.
Earring to rest is now complete.
Be good to yourself.
