So Hum: A Yoga Nidra To Disconnect And Reconnect

Hello,

My name is Clare and I am here to guide you through your yoga nidra practice today.

With reverence and patience,

I invite you to come to lay yourself down.

I urge you to take your time.

This is not to be rushed.

It is important that you feel comfortable here.

So doing what you need to do to ensure that.

Paying particular attention to how you place and prepare your body for your practice.

Offering your body any support it needs,

Things that you might have close by.

Possibly placing cushions under your knees.

What can be really exquisite is using a blanket to cover you.

To softly hold you as you rest here.

Perhaps you lift your head an inch off the surface that you are laying down on.

Draw your chin a little closer to your chest and softly place your head back down.

Perhaps you shimmy through the shoulders and allow the vertebrae of your spine to find their natural contours.

Perhaps notice where your hands instinctively want to land.

Perhaps your pelvis takes a few gentle rocks while the ankles and wrists slowly circle.

And if it's comfortable to do so,

You'll be closing your eyes.

I invite you to take a deep breath in.

And let it go.

Deep breath in.

And let it go.

One more deep breath in.

And let it go.

Letting go of the day so far,

Some excess energy,

As well as anything that might be to come.

Acknowledging you are moving into your sacred time and that despite whatever else is going on in your busy life,

You are here.

You have shown up for yourself.

You have created space to honor yourself via this rest.

Can you bring a soft focus to your breath?

Not necessarily changing the breath,

But perhaps weaving a little more space around each breath.

And could you begin to even out your breath,

Favoring neither inhale or exhale?

Tuning into this unique,

Miraculous,

Cyclical rhythm of you.

Noticing how on the inhale,

You expand.

And on the exhale,

You contract.

Inhale,

Expand.

Exhale,

Contract.

Inhale,

Expand.

Exhale,

Contract.

Just like everything in nature,

You are a cyclical being.

Ever evolving with each moment,

Each breath.

And perhaps now,

With the inhale,

You could say the word,

So.

Either out loud or in your mind.

Saying,

So,

As you inhale.

And then with the exhale,

Saying the word,

Hum.

Inhale,

So.

Exhale,

Hum.

And saying this like you would if you were talking to someone you love very much.

And seeing if the words settle with more ease and assuredness.

Inhale,

So.

Exhale,

Hum.

This Sanskrit mantra,

So,

Hum,

Means I am that.

And the word that refers to the universe.

Acknowledging our connection to the universal energy that is constantly supporting,

Nourishing,

And guiding us in the ways we need and desire.

That same ever evolving universal life force energy that moves through nature.

Causing blooms to blossom.

Roots to dig deep.

Ties to turn and leaves to shed.

Also moves through you.

Making your heart beat.

Your lungs breathe.

And your cells to continually renew.

So,

Hum.

So,

Hum.

I am that.

So now,

I invite you on a journey of awareness around your body.

First,

I invite you to place your awareness at the top of your head.

At the skin and follicles of your scalp.

Awareness now at the space between your eyebrows.

The third eye point.

Awareness at the left temple.

And the right temple.

The left eyebrow.

And the crease of the left eye.

The eyelashes of the left eye.

The back of the left eye socket.

Awareness at the right eyebrow.

And the crease of the right eye.

The eyelashes of the right eye.

And the back of the right eye socket.

Awareness at the left earlobe.

The right earlobe.

Awareness at the apple of the left cheek.

Apple of the right cheek.

Awareness at both nostrils as they breathe together.

Awareness at the left corner of the mouth.

Right corner of the mouth.

The top lip.

And the bottom lip.

And the whole of the tongue.

Awareness at the tip of the chin.

Awareness at the front of the throat.

Each side of the neck.

And the back of the neck.

Awareness at the top of the left shoulder.

And deep within the left armpit.

The crease of the left elbow.

And the veins on the inner left wrist.

The lines of the left palm.

And the fingerprints of the left hand.

That contain the mark of your personal uniqueness.

Awareness now at the space between your collarbones.

Awareness at the top of the right shoulder.

Deep within the right armpit.

The crease of the right elbow.

The veins on the inner right wrist.

The lines of the right palm.

And the fingerprints of the right hand.

Awareness back to the space between your collarbones.

The heart space at the very center of your breastbone.

Awareness at the left lung as it expands and contracts.

Awareness at the right lung.

Expand and contract.

Awareness at the belly button.

And all of the organs contained within the torso.

Awareness at the left hip bone.

The back of the left thigh.

The crease at the back of the left knee.

The knobbly bones of the left ankle.

And that little valley between the balls of the left foot.

The toenails of the left foot.

And awareness back at the belly button.

Awareness at the right hip bone.

The back of the right thigh.

The crease at the back of the right knee.

The knobbly bones of the right ankle.

And that little valley between the balls of the right foot.

The toenails of the right foot.

And awareness of the whole left side of the body.

The right side of the body.

And awareness of the whole back of the body.

The whole front of the body.

And awareness of the inside of the body.

Inside of the whole body.

The outside of the whole body.

The skin.

And where the skin makes contact with the fabric of your clothing.

And awareness of the entire body.

The entire body.

Resting into the connected being that you are.

Resting into the connected being that you are.

Resting into the connected being that you are.

Allowing that gentle awareness to rest within the entire body.

With patience and curiosity,

Simply noticing what arises.

Can you sense yourself evolving on a cellular level?

Your entire body in continual seasons and phases.

Constantly regenerating,

Shedding,

Restoring and regrowing.

That infinite,

Expansive,

Stardust part of yourself.

A reminder that you are part of something greater.

You are not alone.

The universe teaches us about connection.

Wherever we are,

We all look at the same sun.

The same moon,

In the same phase,

In the same sky.

And we all come from the same stars.

We are always connected.

And ever evolving.

It was Rumi who said,

Do not feel lonely.

The entire universe is inside you.

Can you still notice the expansion of the inhale?

And the contraction of the exhale?

That cyclical rhythm of your cyclical being.

Expand.

Contract.

Inhale,

So.

Exhale,

Hum.

Inhale,

So.

Exhale,

Hum.

So.

Hum.

So.

Hum.

I am that.

Speaking these words,

This mantra to yourself once again.

Either out loud or in your mind.

Notice how the words and their meaning feel within the body.

Noticing how the body receives these words.

As well as its inherent connection with the universe.

So.

Hum.

I am that.

Beginning to take deeper sips of breath now.

In order to allow that animation to deepen.

Perhaps beginning to wriggle the fingers and toes.

Window wiper the legs.

Maybe circle ankles and wrists.

Turn the head left to right,

Right to left.

Seeing how your body intuitively wants to move.

To allow awareness to resurface and gently awaken you.

Perhaps where you lay you take some lovely stretches.

Almost like a full body yawn.

In a moment,

I'm going to invite you to come to lie on your side.

Slowly,

Perhaps over the next 60 seconds,

Really taking your time here.

Eventually coming onto one side.

Perhaps keeping your eyes closed for now.

Using your hands and intuition.

Slowly guiding yourself into a seat.

Once you find yourself sitting comfortably.

I invite you to place one hand to your heart.

And the other hand to the earth or whichever surface is next to you where you sit.

I'm going to read you a poem by Tanya Markle.

To me,

Being spiritual means whispering to trees,

Laughing with flowers,

Falling in love with sunsets.

Consulting the waters and worshipping the stars.

One hand to my heart.

One hand to earth.

And sparkles.

Tons of them.

Take a deep breath in.

And let it go.

Thank you so much for allowing me to guide you in your practice today.

From my light to yours,

Namaste.