Please find a comfortable spot to lie down in.
It could be your bed,
Maybe a couch or even the ground.
Grab as many blankets and pillows that your body likes to have to feel held.
And dim the lights or cover the eyes.
And as you're starting to settle into your space,
Just ask yourself if there's anything you could do to get 1% more comfortable.
And know that it's always worth the extra effort so that your body can be more comfortable.
Let's move through a few rounds of breath called the physiological sigh.
So you'll take two sips of air through the nose,
With a long breath out through the mouth.
Two sips in through the nose.
Long breath out,
Mouth.
Two sips in.
Long breath out.
Do one more.
Now invite your body to be heavy.
See if you can move your thinking mind into feeling the body resting.
Notice the sensation of the surface that you're lying upon.
Are there any sounds that you're aware of beyond this recording?
Soften the eyes or the jaw,
Fingertips,
Belly and the toes.
Feel like the Earth has your back and invite yourself to lean into the sweetness of gravity.
Tune in to what gravity feels like as a loving reminder to rest and to surrender.
Let's take a moment to set our intention for this practice.
In Yoga Nidra,
Intention is called sankalpa,
Or your personal North Star.
Take another deep breath and listen to this intention that's designed just for you.
Could you whisper your intention to yourself,
In your own mind,
Three times?
Just give yourself permission to be right here,
Resting.
There is nothing that you have to attend to in this moment.
If your brain wants to be busy,
Just remind your brain that you will get to whatever it thinks is important a little later,
And that right now is time to nestle into all your greatness,
All your beauty,
And all that you bring into this world.
Move our awareness through various parts of our body,
Just to help support the thinking mind.
Start by bringing your awareness to the forehead.
Feel like all the wrinkles of the forehead could start smoothing out.
The eyebrows,
The left eye,
Notice any hints of light beneath the left eyelid,
Any darkness,
Any patterns beneath the left eyelid,
And the whole left eye is resting.
To the right eye,
The eyelid,
Light beneath the right eyelid,
Darkness,
Pattern,
And the right eye resting.
Notice both eyes at the same time,
And both eyes heavy.
The bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
The flow of air moving in and out of both nostrils,
The left ear,
The left ear listening,
And the right ear,
Right ear listening.
Notice both ears taking in sounds at the same time.
Awareness to the inside of the mouth,
The tip of the tongue,
The roof of the mouth,
Inside the left cheek,
Inside the right cheek,
The top teeth and the gums,
And the bottom teeth and the bottom gums,
The space in between the lips,
The chin.
Awareness to your heart.
Could you sense your heart pumping blood throughout your body?
Left shoulder,
Left elbow,
Wrist,
The palm,
Fingertips.
Could you sense the space in between your left fingers,
To the left waist,
Heel,
The sole of the left foot,
And tips of the toes,
And feel the touch of air surrounding your left foot.
Sense the entire left side of the body.
The entire left side of the body.
Awareness back to your beating heart,
To the right shoulder,
The elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the hand,
Tips of the right fingers.
Could you sense the space in between the fingers,
The right waist,
Sole of the right foot,
Tips of the toes.
Could you sense the touch of air surrounding the right foot.
Feel the entire right side of the body.
The whole right side of the body.
Could you feel in between the left and right side of the body,
The midline.
Allow your awareness to dissolve.
Dissolve away from the edges of your body.
So that awareness can swim around you.
And as the awareness starts to float off,
Could you still notice how your body breathes all by itself.
The magic of your body holding itself together and breathing.
Feel the breath as if it was your own internal tides.
As the air moves in,
The body changes its shape.
Gets a little wider and full,
Just like the ocean at high tide.
And as you exhale,
The body deflates,
The water retracts,
And the body rests.
As you inhale,
The tide moves in,
The body gets full.
And as you exhale,
The tides move out.
A sense of space arrives once again.
Just feel your own tides.
And could you begin to count your breaths,
Your natural breaths,
From the count of seven all the way down to one.
As your body inhales,
You count seven.
Exhale,
Seven.
Inhale,
Six.
Exhale,
Six.
And now feel like you've landed deeper within your own universe.
Sense the inner walls of your body like floating through space.
Listen to the wisdom of you.
Sense the breath moving slow.
As a reminder that slow and steady is home.
Feel the wave-like motion as your body breathes.
And how that sends signals to all the internal nerves,
Cells.
Reminding each piece and particle of your whole being that you are just the simplicity of your existence right here.
And that whatever you are,
Is shining a light all around you.
Like your own star,
And contributing to the collective of all life.
Your strength.
Your radiance.
A daughter of our strong Earth.
A radiant sister of the stars and the planet.
Divine daughter of all.
And behind your closed eyes could you begin to imagine that you're lying on your back in the middle of a big grassy meadow.
Tall trees in the outskirts that protect the meadow.
White fluffy clouds providing filter from the sun as they gently float by.
The distant sound of a gentle creek.
Cleansing the soul.
Feel the sunshine.
The sound of the grass as the gentle breeze moves through.
Chirping birds in the distance.
Buzzing bees in the distance.
And whatever else you notice right here as you lie on your back in your own presence.
Existing and pulsating with all that's around you.
You are a part of this beautiful tapestry that's creating this beautiful place.
From this grassy field you decide to take a walk to the creek.
To splash water on your head and your face for a cleansing.
When you arrive you sit at the edge of the water where it's still.
And you look down into the water and you see your own reflection.
Your own beautiful reflection.
And then you gather the water and just cleanse yourself.
Clearing your space.
Clearing any negative thoughts.
Feeling the cool water as it refreshes you and resets you.
And then go find a warm rock to lie on.
And just soak up the sun for a little bit.
And keep listening to the nature that's around you.
Like being held by your own inner sanctuary.
Keep resting.
Feel the permission to rest.
As nature always reminds us to slow down.
Allow your surroundings to cleanse you.
Trillions and trillions of cell tissue healing right here.
Keep sinking and deeply resting into the knowing that you are enough.
Now begin to count your breaths from 1 all the way to 7.
Exhale 1.
Keep going to 7.
Now invite your awareness to come back to the edges of your body.
And back into the room that you're resting in.
You can start to deepen the breath.
Maybe wiggle the fingers and the toes.
And just slide your hands right over your heart.
Take 3 deep breaths into your heart.
And just say to yourself,
I am enough.
And see if you can feel that in your body.
What it feels like to be enough.
What would your day look like today?
If you walked with the knowing that you are enough.
Just visualize that for a moment.
And thank you so much for taking the time to care for your heart and your being.
Namaste.
