Yoga Nidra In The Twilight

Hi,

It's Pen here with a Yoga Nidra for the end of the day.

Perhaps you're just back from work and transitioning into the rest of the evening or maybe you're already in bed getting ready for sleep.

As you get settled just some gentle reminders about the practice of Yoga Nidra.

We're looking to surf that space between wakefulness and sleep so you might be able to hear me but not be really aware of what I'm saying and that's perfectly fine.

You might be completely asleep and that's fine too.

Just don't try too hard.

Let go,

See what happens.

This is about simply being,

Really not putting any effort into the practice.

Thoughts will come and when you notice that you're actively engaging with them bring your attention back to my voice.

It really doesn't matter how many times you need to do this.

Keep yourself as still as you can.

If you need to move do so softly and slowly.

I will give you some time to repeat a sankalpa at the beginning and at the end of the practice.

A sankalpa is a wish for something positive in your life or a present tense statement of your values and how you want to live.

If this doesn't resonate with you then you can spend the time just relaxing and breathing.

If you want a sankalpa but don't have one at the moment you can spend the time listening inwards to see if something arises or perhaps you can use one of these.

So if you want to be worry-free say,

I flow through life with acceptance and ease.

You want to be in good health you say,

I am healthy.

You want to be less critical of yourself or others you say,

I am kind and compassionate.

So making any final adjustments here to your comfort,

Maybe some support under your knees or under the back of your head and making sure you're warm enough.

Take a few deep breaths,

Focusing on the exhale,

Seeing if you can make it a little longer than the inhale.

If it helps place your hands on your belly,

Let yourself experience your body softening as you breathe out.

Find a sense of connection with this present moment,

Releasing thoughts of the day that is now behind you,

Almost as if you're closing a door on what's been.

Become aware of the sensation of your body resting on the floor or the bed,

Feeling the touch of your clothes on your skin.

You may be aware of sounds in the room around you or maybe further away.

Even smells and tastes can help connect you with the present moment.

The practice of yoga nidra begins now,

Silently repeating your sankalpa or intention three times or if you'd rather simply resting and being at ease with the silence and the stillness.

Moving now to the rotation of awareness around the body.

Allow your attention to move to each body part as I name it and see if you can invite a sense of softness there.

You might want to silently repeat the word soft along with each body part or perhaps invite a physical sensation of softening.

The starting point is the heart.

Finding softness in your heart space,

Moving your attention up to the throat and then to the roof of the mouth.

Then move to the point between the mouth and the nose,

Moving your awareness to the tip of your nose,

Then to the center of the forehead,

Traveling to the top of the head,

Behind the head,

Down to the back of the neck and slowly moving downwards between the shoulder blades,

Past the upper back,

The mid back,

The lower back,

Traveling to the base of the spine,

All the way to the tailbone,

Finding softness as you go.

Now travel forward to the pubic bone and then turn towards the outside of the left thigh,

Traveling down the outside of the left leg to the knee,

The ankle,

Moving over the top of the foot,

Down to the big toe,

Then to the second toe,

The third toe,

The fourth toe and the little toe,

Moving to the sole of the foot,

Finding softness in the whole of the left foot,

Moving your awareness to the inner side of the left ankle,

Continuing up the inside of the leg to the left knee,

The inside of the left thigh,

Rising to the middle of the belly,

Inviting softness here,

Then over to the right hip and down the outside of the right leg,

The outside of the right knee,

To the ankle,

Moving over the top of the right foot,

All the way down to the tip of the big toe,

The second toe,

The third toe,

The fourth toe and the little toe,

Moving to the sole of the right foot,

Finding softness in the whole of the right foot,

Starting from the inside of the right ankle,

Moving your awareness up the inside of the leg to the knee,

The inside of the right thigh,

Moving upwards to the middle of the belly,

Moving up the front of the body,

Taking your awareness over to the left side of the chest and down the arm,

Towards the outside of the left wrist,

Traveling across the back of the left hand to the tip of the thumb on the left hand and the index finger,

The middle finger,

Ring finger and the little finger,

Moving your awareness to the center of your left hand,

Finding softness in the whole of the left hand,

Awareness to the inside of your left wrist,

Continuing up the inside of the arm to the left armpit,

Traveling to the heart center,

Finding softness in the heart center and then traveling to the right side of the chest and then to the outside of the right shoulder,

Moving down the arm,

Past the elbow,

To the outside of the right wrist,

Across the back of the right hand,

To the very tip of the right thumb,

The index finger,

The middle finger,

The ring finger and the little finger,

Moving your awareness to the center of the right hand,

Finding softness in the whole of the right hand,

Traveling to the inside of the right hand,

Up the inside of the arm,

All the way to the right armpit,

Then to the center of the throat,

Continuing to just below your lower lip and then returning your awareness to your heart,

Feeling softness in your heart center,

Feeling softness in your whole body,

Softness in your whole body,

Resting here in the awareness of the softness of your whole body,

Moving your attention now to the breath,

Beginning with mindful awareness of the body as it breathes,

Not controlling or altering the breath,

Let it be natural,

Noticing how the body responds physically to the breath coming and going,

Rising and falling,

Expanding and contracting,

Draw an imaginary line from the tailbone to the crown of your head,

Moving your awareness up the line as you inhale and down the line as you exhale,

Inhaling from tailbone to crown,

Exhaling from crown to tailbone,

Simply follow the breath as it moves up and down the spine,

Inhaling up,

Exhaling down,

Awareness moving up the spine,

Awareness moving down the spine,

Keeping your awareness with your breath,

Awareness moving up,

Awareness moving down,

Releasing your attention from your breath,

See if you can connect to a feeling of heaviness in your left arm,

The arm resting on the floor or the bed or the chair,

Heavy and relaxed,

Then see if you can find a feeling of lightness in the arm as if it could float up completely effortlessly,

Then moving to the right arm,

Feeling the arm heavy,

Relaxed,

Then connecting to a feeling of lightness in the arm,

Light and effortless,

Feeling the left leg heavy,

Relaxed,

Resting on the ground or the bed or the chair,

Then the left leg light as if it's floating,

Then the right leg heavy,

Relaxed,

Sinking down into the ground,

The bed,

The chair,

And then the right leg,

The feeling of lightness and floating,

Now connecting to a feeling of heaviness in the whole body,

The whole body heavy and sinking down,

The whole body profoundly relaxed,

Then a feeling of lightness in the whole body,

The whole body light and free,

Finally allowing your awareness to connect with lightness and groundedness together,

Floating,

Sinking,

Light and heavy,

Now imagine or think of yourself standing barefoot,

A sandy path stretches ahead of you,

The setting sun is warm on your skin,

The path runs between high sand dunes and ahead you see the soft yellow sand and the blue of the sea,

You walk down the path between the dunes towards the beach,

The sea is calm,

The waves gently ebbing and flowing,

You stop your feet sinking into the still warm sand,

What do you see,

What can you hear,

What can you smell,

What do you feel,

The tide is coming in and cool water ripples over your toes,

You walk along the beach at the edge of the water until you reach a piece of driftwood which provides just the perfect place to sit,

Your only company are the wading birds playing along the water's edge as the sand slowly disappears over the horizon,

You rest here in the gentle warm twilight,

As you rest,

Open up your imagination and allow a free flow of images to come and go in the space behind your eyes,

They may continue to relate to this scene on the beach or they may become more abstract,

Seeing shapes or colors,

Allow whatever arises to come and then go,

Don't try too hard,

Be comfortable with darkness and stillness if that's your experience,

Allowing images to come,

Images to go,

Sensations to come and sensations to go,

Releasing those images and sensations,

Bring your awareness back to your soft heart space,

Silently repeating your sankalpa three times or resting quietly in gentle awareness,

We'll begin a slow and gentle return from our yoga nidra practice,

Becoming aware of your physical body,

The touch of clothing,

Maybe the blankets and covers over you,

The support or whatever you're lying or sitting on,

Becoming aware of the sounds inside your body,

Inside the room or further beyond,

Feeling the body breathe,

Deepening and lengthening the inhale now,

Before you start to move anymore,

Noticing how you're feeling after your practice,

Physically,

Energetically,

Maybe emotionally,

Doing this without judgment,

Just gentle awareness and then start to gently move the body,

You can wiggle the fingers and toes,

Stretching out the arms and the legs and if you're going straight to sleep,

I wish you a good night and if you're getting up to enjoy the rest of the evening,

I hope it's a good one.

Thank you for joining me,

See you again soon,

Goodbye.