We now begin the practice of yoga nidra.
There is nothing for you to do but listen and breathe.
Let yourself settle in.
Invite your body to simply rest.
Take a nice full breath in and allow your body to soften as you exhale.
Maybe that's just one breath or maybe two or three fuller breaths would feel nice.
And then observe your level of comfort.
Looking for the little things that may not feel quite right.
Noticing if there's anything you can do to make yourself more comfortable.
Sometimes just stretching the jaw is helpful or turning the head gently from side to side.
Maybe a stretch of your arms,
A little movement of the wrists.
And checking to see how the temperature is,
If you have enough layers or too many layers.
Making yourself as comfortable as you can.
And once you feel settled,
Try to feel the weight of your body held and supported by what you're resting on.
Feeling the floor,
The bed,
The chair,
Whatever you're on.
Try to let the weight of your body go into that support.
So much of the time we hold our bodies.
See if you can let that support hold you.
See if you can soften again on those exhales.
Letting go bit by bit.
Then begin to notice anything at all that you can about how you are in this moment.
Noticing any sensations in the body.
Your level of stress,
Your mood,
And even if there's nothing in particular to notice,
Observe that.
Simply observing how you are without worrying about what you observe.
And take the time to make a mental note of where you are.
This can help the nervous system to relax.
And we just remind it of our surroundings.
So if you're inside,
What room are you in?
Where are you in the building?
What walls and furniture are around you?
Is there anyone else nearby?
Maybe a cat or a dog.
If you're outside,
The same thing.
Who,
What is around you?
Any animals?
And then observe any sounds that you can hear.
Sounds that are close to you.
And maybe you can hear sounds just outside of where you are.
Outside the room,
Outside the building.
You might hear birds.
Just observing what you hear.
And then maybe there's something even farther out that you can hear.
Maybe there's a plane or a train.
Something else in the distance.
And begin to observe the breath flowing in and out of the body.
Notice where you can feel the breath.
Where does the breath touch the body?
You might feel the breath touching the tip of your nose,
The tips of the nostrils.
You might feel the breath flowing in and out of the nose,
Feeling the breath inside the nostrils.
You might feel the breath touching the back of your throat.
And you might notice how the breath moves the body.
The body gently expanding and softening.
The chest or the abdomen moving.
Perhaps the ribs are moving.
You might feel the shoulders and the arms gently moving.
Notice how the body gently expands as you inhale.
And how it softens,
How it lets go as you exhale.
Focus on that sensation of the body softening.
And notice where there might be some tension that you can soften.
And tight muscles relaxing.
Stress melting away.
The body becoming more at ease with each breath.
Serving that sensation of the body softening with the exhales.
Now begin to imagine yourself resting any place at all that feels really comfortable.
Soothing to your soul.
Relaxing for your body and your mind.
It could be inside,
It could be outside.
Make it any way you like.
Change any details.
To make it more soothing.
And then observe the details of this place.
Take note of where you are.
The colors.
Perhaps what it smells like.
If you're alone or with other people.
Taking in every aspect of where that soothing,
Healing place is.
How does it feel to be there in that peaceful place?
What are the sensations in your body?
And begin to focus your mind now on your heart center.
Taking your mind to the heart center.
Imagine the energy,
The feelings and sensations of unconditional love.
Feeling unconditional love at the heart center.
Unconditional love residing within you.
Try to feel that energy of unconditional love expanding out from the heart center.
And letting it flow farther and farther out through your being.
And that might feel like it grows from within you.
Or that it flows into you from a higher source.
And allow that energy of unconditional love to expand out through your entire being.
Feel the energy of unconditional love filling you and surrounding you.
Unconditional love all around you.
Breathing it in and out.
And now we'll take the mind through the body.
And as we do so,
Simply notice each part of the body as it's named.
Just witnessing each part of the body.
If you like,
You might also silently repeat the name of each part of the body.
So as I say,
The right thumb,
You might repeat silently in your mind,
Right thumb.
But mostly just observing,
Letting go.
Take your mind to your right hand.
In your mind's eye,
Being aware of the right hand and perhaps any sensations in the right hand.
Observe the right thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger,
Palm of the right hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Forearm,
Shoulder,
Right armpit,
Right ribs,
Right side of the waist,
Right hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Bottom of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Become aware of your left hand.
Observe the left thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger.
Fifth finger,
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Forearm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Ribs,
Waist,
Hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Heel,
Bottom of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Observe both feet,
Both legs,
Both hips,
The whole pelvis,
Abdomen,
Lower back,
The whole ribcage,
Shoulder blades,
Chest,
Collarbones,
Tops of the shoulders,
The spine,
Neck,
Throat,
Jaw,
Tongue,
Bottom lip,
Top lip,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right ear,
Left ear,
The nose,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The space between the brows,
Forehead,
Scalp,
The whole head,
The whole body.
Observe the whole body,
The whole body.
Be aware of your breath flowing in and out,
The body expanding and softening,
The sensations of the breath flowing through the nose,
What inhales feel like as they flow through the nose,
And what exhales feel like as they flow through the nose,
How the sensations of inhales and exhales differ as they flow through the nose.
Feel the sensations of the breath flowing through the nose.
Observe the sensations of the breath flowing in and out of the chest,
How the inhales move the chest,
And how the exhales move the chest.
Feeling the sensations of the chest moving with the breath.
Observing how the sensations in the chest differ on the inhale and the exhale.
Now,
Notice your abdomen.
Feel the breath moving in and out of the abdomen.
Feel how the inhales move the abdomen,
And how the exhales move the abdomen.
How those sensations feel a little different.
Feeling the breath moving in and out of the belly.
And then shift your attention from your breath to the weight of your body.
Feel the weight of your body supported by what you're resting on.
Begin to imagine your body becoming heavier and heavier with each exhale.
Feel the sensations of heaviness in the whole body.
Heaviness in the hands,
The arms,
Heaviness in the shoulders,
The head,
Heaviness in the hips,
The torso,
Heaviness in the legs and feet,
The eyes and jaw heavy,
The whole body heavy,
Sinking down into what you're resting on.
The whole body heavy.
Now,
Begin to feel a sense of lightness,
Weightlessness in the body.
The body becoming lighter and lighter with each inhale.
All the weight being lifted off of you.
Feeling a feeling of lightness in the hands,
The arms,
The neck,
Head,
Shoulders,
Lightness in the hips,
The torso,
Lightness in the legs and feet,
Lightness in the eyes and jaw,
The whole body weightless,
As though it can just float.
Body light as a feather.
A sense of weightlessness in the body.
Return to the sensations of heaviness.
The whole body heavy,
Sinking down into what you're resting on.
The whole body heavier and heavier.
With each exhale,
Body sinking down,
Feeling heaviness in the whole body.
I'm going to return now to the sense of weightlessness and the body becoming lighter and lighter with each inhale.
Weightlessness in the body.
The whole body light as a feather,
As though you could float.
Feel the whole body as weightless.
Feel both heaviness and lightness in the body.
The whole body heavy and light at the same time.
The body heavy and light.
The body balanced.
The sense of balance within.
Harmony.
Blowing in and out with every breath.
Harmony.
Blowing in and out.
Balance and harmony flowing into every layer of your being.
Every part of your being.
Returning to its natural,
Perfectly healthy state.
Body,
Mind,
And spirit.
Healing.
Growing stronger.
Every layer of your being.
Healing.
Strengthening.
Weakening.
Happiness growing within.
Feel the sensations of balance and harmony in every layer of your being.
The sensations of balance and harmony in every layer of your being.
Draw your mind to your heart center.
Feel the energy of unconditional love filling your heart center.
The sensations of unconditional love flowing through your heart center.
The sensations of unconditional love filling your heart center.
An aura of love surrounding you.
Feel yourself wrapped in an energetic blanket of unconditional love.
Keep that aura,
That blanket of unconditional love wrapped around you.
And as you begin to draw your mind back to where you now rest,
Feel your body supported by what you're resting on.
Feel where your body touches that support.
Feel your breath flowing all the way down into your abdomen.
Notice any sounds around you.
Picture the space around you,
Remembering where you are.
And observe how you are in this space.
In this moment.
When you feel ready to move again,
Do so slowly.
Wiggle fingers and toes.
Stretch gently.
Get up slowly.
Take your time.
Sometimes the mind is still quite active and chattery during yoga nidra.
And the body can be surprisingly relaxed when you get up to move again.
So just make sure you don't get up and fall over.
Thank you for being here and being part of this practice today.
Namaste.
