IRest Yoga Nidra: Exploring Ego & Self

Give yourself the opportunity to become fully at rest and fully at ease in your setup.

As you arrive,

Notice any part of your body that does not feel supported,

That does not feel at ease,

And make the necessary adjustments to come to a place of comfort.

And as you work out these final adjustments and arrive in stillness,

Welcome yourself to your practice.

Allow this sense of welcoming to soften you into your body and invite yourself to release any leftover tension.

Perhaps softening the jaw,

The belly,

The lower back,

The space between your eyebrows.

And in the softening,

Notice if your body indicates that it needs one final little tweak to get comfortable.

Welcome a felt sense of comfort and ease and feel your body and mind begin to settle.

And as you're here,

Acknowledge yourself in this space and invite your senses to awaken.

Noticing sounds within your body,

Sounds in the room around you,

And maybe even sounds from the space beyond this room.

Notice how the mind might want to reach out and grab onto the sound.

And what would it feel like to simply rest back and allow sound to arrive in your awareness.

Acknowledge any sensations on your skin,

Becoming aware of any part of your body where you are in contact with a texture,

A prop,

A fabric.

What is the nature of that sensation,

That texture,

Or that block,

Or prop?

And notice the sensation of your breath,

The temperature of your breath,

The length of your breath.

Eyes can be open or closed in this practice,

But notice if the eyes are moving,

Or if there's any light playing or dancing before the eyes.

And as you feel into everything that's here for you at the top of your practice,

Can you allow all of these sensations,

All of this information to be here as a messenger?

As you become present to the fullness of your current experience,

Connect to what it is that brought you to this practice today.

Turning your attention now to your intention.

What intention will serve you in this practice?

What wants to be seen,

Felt,

Heard,

Or acknowledged?

Setting your intention in the present tense,

So that perhaps it comes to life as something like,

I am awake and aware.

I am present.

I welcome everything that arises.

Let your intention serve as an anchor to this practice and to each present moment.

And get really clear and really precise with your intention,

So that it can serve as that anchor,

So that it can draw you back.

State your intention in the present moment and feel it deeply in your body.

And now setting your intention aside,

Knowing that it is always there to anchor you back into the body,

To anchor you back into the present moment,

Begin to tune in to the sound and sensation and messages of your heart,

Letting your heartbeat pull you deeper as you consider,

What is it that you desire for your life?

What is your heart's deepest longing?

Allowing the answer to surface in any way that it comes,

As words,

As images,

As sensation in the body,

As an emotional response.

The answer may not arrive as a whole complete thought,

And that's okay.

And if nothing immediately comes to mind,

That's okay too.

Sit with the questions and allow yourself to open up to what might be calling out to you today.

And as you tune in to your heart center,

To the message,

The calling of your heart,

It may be helpful to consider yourself at the end of your life,

Reflecting back on a life well lived.

What would that look like?

What would that life have entailed?

Let this sense of life move through you,

Allowing your heartfelt desire to arise in the present tense.

Sense the heartfelt desire in your body,

And let that carry you to your inner resource.

Feeling for that place in the body where you feel a deep sense of well-being,

A place of ease or comfort,

Perhaps a sense of spaciousness or of being held.

Is there a word or image that helps elicit this sensation in the body?

Is there an image,

Place or person that helps this feeling of well-being and ease bubble up?

Staying connected to that safe space within yourself,

Where you experience sensations of calm,

Comfort,

Spaciousness and ease,

While allowing any corresponding memories,

Images or words to gently dissolve.

Notice how the sense of safety,

Comfort,

Ease and well-being is always accessible.

Feeling deeply into this place,

Spaciousness,

Ease and comfort in the body.

And if it feels right to stay here today,

Please do so.

When you're ready,

Bring awareness now to sensation in the mouth,

Sensing the volume of the interior of the mouth,

Sensation of the gums,

Teeth,

Tongue,

Walls of the mouth,

Jaw,

Nose,

Sensation in the left nostril,

Sensation in the right nostril.

Feeling into both nostrils at the same time,

The entire nose,

Mouth and jaw as radiant sensation.

Sensing now into your left eye,

Left eyebrow,

Temple,

The left cheekbone,

The right eye,

Eyebrow,

Temple and cheekbone,

Both eyes as radiant sensation.

Sensing into the space of your forehead,

Scalp,

Back of the neck,

Throat,

The whole head and neck alive with sensation.

Let go of thinking,

Sense your way,

Bringing attention to your left shoulder,

Sensation in the left shoulder and upper arm,

Elbow,

Forearm,

Wrist,

The left hand and fingers,

Sensation in the left palm.

Sensing now into the entire left shoulder,

Arm,

Hand,

Fingers and palm as pure sensation.

Attention moving now into the right shoulder,

Sensation in the right shoulder and upper arm,

Elbow,

Forearm,

Wrist,

Right hand and fingers,

Sensation in the right palm.

Feeling into the entire right arm,

Shoulder and hand as pure sensation.

Welcoming sensation into the front of the torso,

Sensing into the chest,

Rib cage,

Belly,

Pelvis,

The entire front of the torso as pure sensation.

And then bringing attention into the space between your shoulder blades,

Sensing into the back of the torso,

The upper back,

The mid back,

The lower back and glutes,

Welcoming the entire back of your torso to come online as pure sensation.

Sense your way now into the hips,

Sensation in the left hip,

Thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Left foot and toes,

Sensation in the sole of the left foot.

And now welcoming the entire left leg,

Hip,

Foot and toes to come online as pure sensation.

Bring attention now into the right hip,

Sensation in the right thigh,

Knee,

Lower leg,

Ankle,

Right foot and toes,

Sensation in the sole of the right foot,

The entire right leg,

Hip,

Foot and toes as pure sensation.

Sense now into the entire front of your body from head to toes,

The front plane of your body fully alive with sensation.

And then sensing into the entire length of your back body,

From the head down to the heels,

The entire back of your body,

Alive as radiant sensation.

And beginning to bring the two halves of sensation of body together,

Inviting a global awareness of your body in this moment.

Sensing the wholeness of your body,

Three-dimensional sensation.

Notice how sensation is coming and going throughout the body.

Breath is coming and going.

And as you rest here as pure sensation,

Notice if this sensation has a center.

Does it have a periphery?

Does it have a beginning?

Where is the end located?

Aware of all phenomena that ebbs and flows in awareness.

And as you rest into being,

Perhaps welcoming back your inner resource of well-being and ease.

Sense into that center of spaciousness,

Comfort and security in your body.

And notice if there's any new information available to you.

And if it feels right to stay here with your body,

Please do so.

Feeling the body breathing itself as you rest here on the earth.

Notice the effortless flow of your breath through the body.

And notice where this air,

This breath flows in and out.

Do you sense a texture or temperature in your inner nostrils,

In the back of your throat,

Or in the lung?

Notice the space of the breath,

The mind calm and quiet.

And without changing anything,

As you're ready,

Begin counting the breath from seven to one.

Inhaling seven,

Exhaling seven,

Inhaling six,

Exhaling six,

And so on.

If the mind wanders off,

Bring yourself back and start at seven.

Invite your mind to focus on the count and the breath.

Body at ease,

Breath at ease,

Mind fully present and counting the breath.

Mind awake and aware.

When you're ready,

Release the count and resume your natural experience of breathing.

Notice what it feels like now to be a witness to your breath.

Acknowledge anything that is here as you invite your inner resource to resurface.

And observe any new sensations,

Emotions,

Memories,

Or images that are arising.

As you observe,

Can you invite a sense of welcoming,

Acknowledging,

Or simply coexisting?

Notice what it's like to be just here right now.

Sense into this spacious,

Unchanging awareness in which all changing phenomena arises,

Lasts for a time,

And then dissolves.

Checking in with any sensations in the body,

Creating space for these sensations to arise in your awareness,

In your body,

And welcoming them as messengers once more.

Without changing anything,

Simply welcome sensations and feelings as they are.

And as you're ready,

Begin to welcome a specific belief,

Allowing this belief to surface in your awareness and take shape.

Notice its textures,

Notice its dimensions.

And as you're ready,

Begin to notice its attendant sensations in the body.

So as this belief surfaces in your mind,

What sensations arise in your physical self?

And let yourself stay with this belief for a few breaths,

Exploring the edges of the words,

Exploring the edges of sensation that is here in that belief.

What does it feel like?

Where does this belief reside within you?

What is the texture of that belief?

And as you're ready,

Welcoming the opposite of this belief.

Let it come fully into being in your mind's eye.

Sense into the edges of the words.

And what are the attendant sensations in the body?

If you were to hold this opposite belief as true,

What would that feel like in the body?

Where is that opposite belief located?

Does it have a texture or a sensation?

When you're ready,

Moving back into the original belief,

Notice how it may have changed.

With openness and with curiosity,

Inquire,

What's here for me now?

Noting any new information without needing to fix or do anything.

From this original feeling as you're ready,

Move back and forth between this pair of opposites at your own pace,

Moving from the belief to its opposite as it feels right and accessible for you.

Notice sensations that arise as you move from one to the other.

As it feels right,

Welcome both beliefs at the same time without merging.

And notice what that feels like in the body without thinking,

Just sensing your way.

And as you're ready,

Release both opposites or both beliefs.

And notice what's present in this moment as you rest back into being,

Feeling the sense of spaciousness,

The sense of expansiveness.

Checking back in with the body and with the breath and perhaps weaving in your inner resource of comfort and well-being.

And when you're ready,

State to yourself,

I am,

And then your name.

So for example,

I am Camilla.

Repeat this to yourself.

Hear it in your mind.

Feel it reverberate throughout the body.

And notice where in the body you feel this statement.

As you're ready,

Drop your name and simply state,

I am.

Repeat this to yourself.

Hear it in your mind and feel it in the body.

Notice where you feel this and how you feel this.

Drop am and simply repeat I.

Repeat this to yourself as you breathe.

Hear it in your mind and feel it in the body.

And finally,

Release the I.

Release all language and simply be.

Notice what arises in this being.

Notice when being dissolves back into thinking.

Without attaching,

Continue to watch your thoughts as if they were images scrolling by on a slideshow.

And as you observe the ebb and flow of thought and emotion,

Consider who or what is this I which appropriates and claims everything for itself.

Allow your thoughts to come and go.

Connecting back to awareness.

This expansive ground of being.

All thoughts,

Feelings,

Experiences arise.

Allow your thoughts to simply be as your breath continues to flow.

Place of inquiry,

Loving curiosity,

And non-attachment.

Invite a sense of joy to begin to move through your body and your breath.

You might invite a memory or image to help you bring this joy to life.

To bring your senses online.

Or you might connect back to your inner resource,

That felt sense of safety and ease in the body.

From this memory or image of joy,

Let the felt sense of joy begin to move through you.

Perhaps inviting an inner smile.

Maybe you sense the body becoming lighter on the earth as if the ground beneath you were lifting you up.

Welcome this sense of joy or bliss to continue to expand.

Let it flow from your heart,

Maybe from your face or soft smile throughout your body and even into the space around you.

With every exhalation,

Experiencing sensations of warmth,

Joy,

And well-being radiating through your body.

Releasing the memory or image as you're ready and allowing joy to remain as a felt sense in the body.

This expansive joy that radiates throughout your body and breath is your true nature.

Know that this experience is always available to you.

This joy is inherent in you and it is your truest self.

Resting back into being,

Allowing this felt sense of being to nourish and clarify.

Acknowledge everything just as it is in this moment.

Body is present,

Breath is present,

And thoughts,

Sensations,

Memories,

And emotions may be coming and going.

Feel back into awareness,

That unchanging ground of being,

And over time,

Gently invite yourself to come home into your body and into your present moment.

We're getting used to being present with what is,

Knowing that it is constantly changing.

So see if there's any more information or direction available or any felt sense in the body at this time.

Find your way back to your inner resource,

That felt sense of peace,

Well-being,

And ease in the body.

Allowing your eyes to remain closed,

Bring your awareness back into the space around you.

Noticing sounds in the room,

Sounds within the body,

Connecting back to the feeling of the body on the earth.

You're welcome to deepen your breath,

Open and close your eyes,

And explore movement in the fingertips and toes.

Eventually coming back to a wide awake state of being.