Yoga Nidra For Meditative Rest

Thank you for choosing to lean into your relationship with rest.

My name is Christine Michael.

I invite you to place yourself in a position most comfortable,

Likely laying down with a bit of space between your legs and perhaps a pillow under your knees.

Consider to the comfort of your hips and your low back as you nestle into the surfaces beneath you,

Acknowledging the stability of the surfaces beneath you as you settle in.

And invite that acknowledgement to inform any bits of your body that you are held here in this space.

Feel your arms heavy beside you,

Perhaps with palms face up,

Drawing a bit of space across your chest as you soften your shoulders.

Close your eyes and know that you can reopen them whenever you need.

This practice of yoga nidra welcomes you to rest your mind within the experience of your body resting,

Offering a reorientation to awareness through way of your physical body.

You may find gentle permission to shift the pace and the pattern of thought towards a place of receptivity within the space that rest nourishes.

Within whatever range of access is available to you within this moment for your mind to join the experience of your body receiving rest.

Become aware of how your chin,

Your throat and your neck have settled and how the weight of your head has settled.

Age if any subtle movements could further support you arriving in your body.

If you come to find that your body is asking for adjustments as we go,

I simply ask that you move oh so smoothly and slowly to treat yourself to the shift in sensations as you rearrange.

May you receive with joy,

Integrate with ease and release with grace.

Your practice of yoga nidra begins now.

Come to meet your breath,

However your breath is unique to now.

The breath may feel soft or subtle or perhaps distant or distracted or deep.

Notice what access you have to your breath in this moment.

I invite you to shift your breath beyond this version of natural just for a moment.

Release the breath you have,

Exhale.

Draw a smooth breath in through your nose.

Breathe slowly out your mouth,

Maybe with a touch of sound,

A hum or a sigh.

Try that twice more.

Come to follow your next inhale into your body.

Come to meet your heart,

However your heart is unique to now.

You may be in the process of meeting your heart in which I invite you to settle towards the space most accessible near your heart.

As if asking from within or near your heart,

Is there a desire or an intention that you would like to place into your practice?

This may come through way of a word or a feeling,

A vision or a wish.

The essence of your sankalpa,

A gentle declaration of intention placed within to receive the nourishment of your practice.

I encourage you to craft the language of your declaration within the present tense with a positive flair,

Breathing life into your choice.

Just as well,

You may choose to rest free of intention.

Repeat your sankalpa silently within your mind,

Within your heart three times.

Breathing life into your choice and gracefully let your desire go.

I now welcome you to follow my voice on a tour of your body as you circulate awareness through way of sensation,

Briefly visiting bit by bit,

Noticing what you notice.

Place your awareness in your eyes,

Aware of your eyelids,

The corners of your eyes and the area behind your eyes.

Become aware of the sensation within and around your eyebrows,

Area beneath them,

Above them and between them.

Allow rest to arrive in your forehead as awareness fills your forehead,

Your temples,

Cheekbones,

Cheeks and your nose,

The bridge of your nose,

Tip of your nose and both nostrils.

Become aware of the space under your nose,

Aware of your upper lip,

Bottom lip and the place where both lips meet.

Allow rest to arrive in your mouth.

Imagine of your awareness meeting your gums,

Teeth,

Tongue,

Inside of your cheeks,

The roof of your mouth and the floor of your mouth.

Move your awareness through your jaw,

Into your chin,

Your jaw and chin softening as they rest.

Place your awareness in your right ear,

Trace the ridges of your ear,

Notice the nooks within your ear,

Aware of your right ear listening.

Move your awareness from your right earlobe to the area behind your ear,

Down the right side of your neck,

Into your right collarbone.

With the sensation of your right chest resting,

Move your awareness to your left ear,

Trace the ridges of your ear,

Notice the nooks within your ear,

Aware of your left ear listening.

Move your awareness from your left earlobe to the area behind your ear,

Down the left side of your neck,

Into your left collarbone.

Meet the sensation of your left chest resting,

Aware of your face resting,

Aware of your whole head resting,

Your whole head.

Awareness fills your neck and the full length of your spine,

Your throat,

Chest bone and the space across your chest resting.

Place your awareness in your right shoulder.

Allow rest to arrive in your right shoulder joint,

Shoulder blade and the nook of your right armpit,

Your upper arm,

The crease of your elbow and the tip of your elbow.

Move through your right forearm to the crease of your wrist,

Rest your right wrist,

Rest the back of your right hand.

Sensation of awareness fills your right fingers to the tips of your fingers,

Aware of your knuckles,

The base of your right fingers and the webbing between your fingers.

Sensation of your right palm resting.

Meet the creases in the center of your right palm resting.

Awareness fills your whole right hand,

Your whole right arm and the space within your right shoulder.

Sensation of awareness fills your chest,

Your whole chest.

Move your awareness to your left shoulder.

Allow rest to arrive in your left shoulder joint,

Shoulder blade and the nook of your left armpit,

Your upper arm,

Crease of your elbow and the tip of your elbow.

Move through your left forearm to the crease of your wrist,

Rest your left wrist,

Rest the back of your left hand.

Sensation of awareness fills your left fingers to the tips of your fingers,

Aware of your knuckles,

Base of your left fingers and the webbing between your fingers.

Sensation of your left palm resting.

Meet the creases in the center of your left palm resting.

Awareness fills your whole left hand,

Your whole left arm and the space within your left shoulder.

Allow rest to arrive in your back,

Your whole back,

Your upper back,

Mid back,

Low back and tailbone.

Sensation of awareness filling your whole torso.

Allow rest to arrive in your whole torso,

Your whole torso.

Center of your ribcage and the area beneath your ribs.

Right lung breathing,

Left lung breathing,

Both lungs breathing.

Heart beating.

Awareness filling the space within your spine,

Your whole spine,

The area in front of your spine,

The area beneath your belly button and the space along your pelvic floor.

Place your awareness in your hips,

Both hips.

Move your awareness to your right hip.

Move down through your right thigh to your right knee.

Aware of your kneecap and the crease behind your knee,

Your shin,

Calf,

Ankle and heel,

Right side.

Awareness filling your right foot,

The top of your right foot,

Your toes,

Tips of your toes,

Toe knuckles,

Base of your right toes and the webbing between your toes,

Right arch,

Right heel.

Aware of your whole right foot,

Your whole right leg and the space within your right hip,

Both hips resting,

Both hips.

Move your awareness to your left hip.

Move down through your left thigh to your left knee.

Aware of your kneecap and the crease behind your knee,

Your shin,

Calf,

Ankle and heel,

Left side.

Awareness filling your left foot,

The top of your left foot,

Your toes,

Tips of your toes,

Toe knuckles,

Base of your left toes and the webbing between your toes,

Left arch,

Left heel.

Aware of your whole left foot,

Your whole left leg and the space within your left hip.

Sensation of awareness filling the space between your hips.

Allow your awareness to trace the outline of your body receiving stillness,

Receiving any hum,

Tingle or swirl of sensation as awareness then fills your whole body.

Gently become aware of any areas of your body that may feel a bit distant or numb,

Tense or distracted.

Welcome your breath into these areas.

Notice any shift in sensation as you breathe towards these areas.

Noticing what you notice as your awareness fills your whole body,

Your whole body.

Place your awareness within the right side of your body as you rest within the sensations along and within the right side of your body.

Right face,

Chest,

Arm,

Hand,

Abdomen,

Back,

Leg,

Foot,

Your whole right side.

Welcome to meet the left side of your body as you rest within the sensations along and within the left side of your body.

Right face,

Chest,

Arm,

Hand,

Abdomen,

Back,

Leg,

Foot,

Your whole left side.

Return to the right side,

Receiving what you feel.

Meet the left side,

Receiving what you feel.

Right side,

Left side.

Can you rest within the sensations of the right side and the left side simultaneously?

Move your awareness to the back of your body,

Then to the front of your body,

Back of your body,

Front of your body.

Can you rest within the sensations of the back of the body and the front of the body simultaneously?

Sensation of your whole body receiving rest,

Your whole body.

Feel your next inhale into your body.

Revisit your heart.

Welcome any felt recognition of your heart's desires,

Your sankalpa.

Breathe into what you notice.

Breathe into what you feel.

If you wish to extend your rest,

Please allow for my words to wash on over you.

Return to the felt sense of the surfaces beneath your body.

Come to notice the sensations of the air and your clothes resting on your body,

Resting on your skin.

Move your awareness slightly beyond your body to the spaces above and besides your body.

Gently broaden your awareness to the room you are within.

Gauge if you're ready to move before you move.

And when you choose to move,

Do so slowly.

Treat yourself to the shifts in sensation as you rearrange towards a refreshed position to receive the closure of your practice.

Come to wiggle however you crave and bring your breath with you.

Notice what is here now.

I thank you dearly for choosing to explore the experience of your body,

Your mind,

Your breath and your heart.

Rest well.