Namaste.
This is Allie,
And today I am going to guide a short practice exploring some yoga nidra techniques,
And know that these techniques have a very calming and soothing effect on the nervous system,
And will help you cultivate a state of deep rest,
A sort of loving act of rebellion against our current pace and demands in society.
I invite you to take a moment to notice how you feel here now,
At the beginning of this practice,
And begin to allow yourself to settle in,
A deep breath in through the nose,
And exhaling through the mouth like you're fogging a mirror or a pair of glasses,
And again like that,
A deep breath in,
Filling the belly,
Filling the lungs all of the way,
And then exhale releasing,
Slowly sinking deeper,
And one more time,
Let your body become heavy,
Allowing your whole body to empty of tension,
Whole body is draining of tension with each exhale,
As you rest here,
Letting your breath back to a natural rhythm.
As you inhale,
Notice your body filling with awareness and sensation,
Exhaling tension,
Emptying out,
Inhaling,
Filling with the light of awareness.
Begin to welcome the sounds,
Letting your ears pick up on all of the different layers of sound,
Of the different sounds in your environment,
The sounds on this recording,
And could you imagine as if you could listen not just with the ears,
But with the whole body in a global way,
Listening,
And simultaneously letting aromas come to you within your nostrils,
Noticing the flow of air inside of the nose,
And also sensing your eyes,
Letting your eyes become heavy,
Releasing and relaxing from watching,
Reading,
Looking,
Let all of the little tiny muscles all around the eyes and behind the eyes relax so deeply now,
Noticing sensations now inside of your mouth,
And any tastes that are present on the taste buds,
Sensing warmth and humidity within the mouth,
And welcoming the whole skin of your body,
Sensitive and receptive to touch of the air,
Of the surface beneath you,
Clothing or blankets on the skin,
And imagining as you breathe that you could inhale into the skin,
As if the whole surface of the body could breathe in,
Becoming even more porous,
And as you rest deeply into the surface beneath you,
Could you welcome your sankalpa now,
And you can imagine a sankalpa like a seed that you're planting deep,
Deep in the depths of the subconscious mind,
And as you plant the seed here,
Trusting that it will flourish and grow,
And start to effortlessly integrate into your life,
Could you formulate this sankalpa in the present tense,
And welcome and experience it as true now,
You might welcome and trust in the intelligence of life that flows through me,
Or I welcome peace,
Rest,
Equanimity,
And steadiness into my life to support me in each and every moment,
And now,
Showering awareness through the different regions of the body,
Like a full body massage for your nervous system,
Could you bring all of your attention towards the crown of the head,
And now the center of the forehead,
The right eye,
The left eye,
The right nostril,
The left nostril,
The upper lip,
The lower lip,
The tip of the tongue,
The roof of the mouth,
Inside of the right cheek,
Inside of the left cheek,
The root of the tongue,
The center of the throat,
The pit of the throat,
The heart center,
The right shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist,
Palm,
Tip of the right thumb,
To the next finger,
And the next one,
The next finger,
And the little finger,
Back to the palm,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
The waist,
The hip,
The knee,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot,
To the big toe,
Toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe,
Sensing the entirety of the right side of the body,
The whole right side,
Front and back,
The whole right side of the body,
Saturated with sensation,
Filled with a light of awareness,
The whole right side,
Resting deeply,
And let your attention gather back in at the heart's center,
The center of the chest,
The left shoulder,
Elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the hand,
Tip of the left thumb,
To the next finger,
And the next finger,
The next,
The little finger,
Back to the palm,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Wrist,
Elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the hand,
Tip of the wrist,
Elbow,
Wrist,
Palm of the hand,
Hip,
Knee,
Ankle,
Sole of the foot,
To the big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe,
The whole left side of the body,
The entire left side,
Front and back,
The whole left side,
Left side,
Coming alive with energy,
Radiance,
Sensation,
The whole left side,
Filled with a light of awareness,
The whole left side,
Resting so deeply,
The whole left side,
And the whole right side,
Could you split your attention between both sides of the body,
Sensing the whole right side,
And the whole left side,
And could you let your attention gather in the palms of the hands,
As you breathe,
And sensing your natural rhythm of breath,
Letting your attention saturate both hands,
Sensing your body breathing in and out,
As you're sensing the right palm,
Could you imagine breathing in through the right palm,
All the way up the arm,
Towards your heart,
As you exhale,
Switching sides,
And imagining breathing down the left arm,
To the left palm,
Inhaling through the left palm,
Towards the heart center,
Switching sides,
Exhaling,
Down and out,
Through the right palm,
At your own pace,
Inhaling,
Through the right palm,
To the heart,
Switching sides,
Exhaling,
Inhaling,
Exhaling,
Breath nourishing the heart center,
Exhaling,
At your own rhythm of breath,
Inhaling,
Through the palm,
To the heart,
Switching sides,
Exhaling,
Inhaling,
Exhaling,
Heart center,
Switching sides,
Exhaling,
Gentle and natural rhythm of breath,
Just imagining or sensing as you're resting so deeply here,
Gentle breath,
Just as you welcome this gentle and natural rhythm of breath,
And the nurturing,
And nourishing effect on the heart center,
Could you let yourself start to rest back into the presence that's already here,
Resting back into the medicine of presence itself,
All around and within,
It's already here,
It's already happening,
And you are just enveloped by this natural presence that's already here,
Allowing yourself to be enveloped in a cocoon of pure presence,
Resting back into that pure presence that's already here,
Letting the already happening breath nourish your heart center as you float in the medicine of presence,
Could you welcome your sankalpa to be here now,
Letting this intention infuse the presence that you abide in,
Pure presence as you abide in this pure awareness,
Could you begin to sense the undercurrent of the rhythm of your breath,
Would you begin to sense the emotional tone that might be present here now,
The quality of mind,
Or the quality and frequency of thoughts that may be occurring in the background,
Could you start to sense the edges of your body,
Your physical body,
And the support that you rest on,
The air around you and the environment in which you're resting,
Feeling that density and sensation of the ground beneath you,
And taking a deep breath here,
In through the nose,
And out through the mouth,
And two sips in through the nose,
And you might exhale like you're fogging a mirror through the mouth,
Two in through the nose,
And long release through the mouth,
One more,
When you feel ready to begin adding some movements,
You could start with the fingers or toes,
Or you could nod the head slowly from side to side,
And begin to slowly add more movements as you're ready,
And begin to notice what might feel different from the beginning of your practice,
You checked in to notice how you were feeling,
And what may have shifted now to this present moment,
After exploring some different techniques,
Maybe entering into a state of deep sleep with awareness,
Or simply a deep state of rest and rejuvenation,
And noticing what may have shifted how you feel now,
And please be slow and gentle with yourself as you begin to slowly re-emerge from this rebellious rest,
This loving act of rest and rebellion,
It can be helpful to stay in a slow and easy pace for the next little while,
May you be happy,
May you be healthy,
May you be peaceful,
May you be free.
Namaste.
