Hello and welcome.
My name is Tatyana and this is the practice of Yoga Nidra.
As you prepare for practice today,
You can lay yourself down on your back with a pillow,
A blanket and something light to cover your eyes.
You can bring your arms and legs extended away from your body,
Palms facing up or in and just be here for a moment,
Arriving in this time and place,
Ready to practice Yoga Nidra.
You can imagine the space that you are in,
In your mind's eye.
Perhaps there are walls that hold you,
Remembering the color of the blanket that holds you.
And just take a deep breath in and a big breath out.
Let's do two more of those.
Big breath in,
Big breath out.
Last one.
Just allow yourself to become a little heavier on the ground,
On the surface beneath you.
Let it take the weight of your body,
Releasing any holding,
Any tension,
Letting it melt down into the earth.
As we begin the practice of Yoga Nidra,
We call upon the wisdom of the tree.
Much like a tree,
There is more to us than what meets the eye.
Trees have wandering roots that move deeply into the earth,
Almost twice their height.
And we have wandering roots of our own,
Our nervous system.
When trees need to weather a storm,
It is those with deep roots that manage to see the other side.
And just like us,
When we have a connection and a foundational practice for our nervous system,
It becomes easier to weather challenges.
When tree roots become deeper and more established,
They're able to reach new heights.
And just like us,
When we are grounded,
We are able to achieve and conquer new things for ourselves,
Go for and pursue things that we want,
That we desire,
And that we dream of.
So,
Let us use this wisdom of the tree.
Let us place our roots so deep that we can weather any storm.
Let our roots grow deep so we may rise high above.
For when our roots are deep,
Strong,
And plentiful,
The earth beneath our feet becomes sturdier.
And you can bring your awareness down into the bottom of your right foot,
Feeling the sole of your right foot,
Your heel,
The top of your foot,
Your big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Your heel,
Ankle,
Calf,
Shin,
Thigh,
Hamstrings,
Your right hip.
Your genitals,
Your pelvic bowl.
Then bring awareness to the bottom,
The sole of your left foot,
The top of the foot,
The big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
And fifth toe.
The heel,
Ankle,
Shin,
Back of the knee,
Hamstrings,
Left hip,
Genitals,
Pelvic bowl,
Feeling both legs together,
Feeling your abdomen,
The organs within your right side,
The left side of your ribcage,
The right side of the ribcage,
The very center of your chest,
Your spine,
Left collarbone,
Left shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm.
Wrist,
Tip of the thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
And fifth finger.
Top of the hand,
Palm of the left hand,
Then feeling the right clavicle,
Shoulder,
Upper arm,
Elbow,
Lower arm,
Tip of the thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Fifth finger,
Back of the hand,
Palm of the hand,
The very center of your chest,
Hollow of the throat,
Lower jaw,
Lower row of teeth,
Upper jaw,
Upper row of teeth,
Upper lip,
Left nostril,
Right nostril,
Both nostrils together,
Left cheekbone,
Right cheekbone,
Left eyebrow,
Right eyebrow,
Left eye,
Right eye,
Forehead,
Top of the head,
Back of the head,
Left temple,
Right temple,
Left ear,
Right ear,
The space between your ears,
Your heart center.
From the heart center,
Feel out to the space on your left hand side,
All that space on the left hand side.
Then feel the space on the right hand side,
The space above you,
The space below you.
Then feel into all four directions at once,
Sensing a sphere of space around your body.
Then bring your awareness back to the very center of your heart.
Breathing from the center of your heart all the way out to the edges of the sphere you have created around your body.
On the exhale,
Feeling that contraction back towards your heart.
Inhaling and filling the sphere.
Exhaling back to the heart.
On your next exhale,
Land your awareness back between the ears.
Imagine that you are walking along a forested path,
Smelling the damp air,
Feeling the soft leaves and moss beneath your feet.
Trees line your path.
As you walk,
You come across a grand tree.
One that makes you tilt your head back all the way just to see the top.
Its branches reaching out above you,
Spread high and wide.
At the base of the tree,
You notice thick roots diving into the earth.
As you stand upon the soil next to this tree,
You sense your own root network making its way out the bottoms of your feet.
Moving down into the earth and towards the roots of the great tree as they begin to glow with a soft blue light.
The soles of your feet can feel their aliveness,
Their depth.
Together,
You can feel as the tree and you begin to breathe,
Connected and interwoven.
Through this root system,
You can hear the tree.
The tree speaks a message to you.
You soak it in,
Feeling what the tree had to say.
You thank the tree for its strength,
Its depth,
Its wisdom.
Knowing that your roots are always connected with theirs.
And that they are always there for you when you are in need of support.
Together,
You take a final breath.
As you exhale,
You are returned to this time and place.
Sensing the physical space that you are in.
Feeling your body.
Your toes and your fingers.
Bringing awareness back into your heart center.
Anchoring your intention,
Your message,
Your spirit.
As we end the practice of yoga nidra,
We say thank you.
Thank you to the wisdom that the trees have to share.
Thank you to yourself for showing up to this practice today.
For giving your time and your presence to something that feels good.
And you can begin to wake up a little more.
Rolling over onto one side or another.
Taking one more deep breath.
And then bringing yourself back up to a seated position.
Feel the weight of your hips grounding you into the surface beneath you.
Your spine rising up like a trunk towards the sky.
Sitting a little taller.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
And I hope you enjoy the rest of your day or night.
Thank you.
