This is a yoga nidra practice for chronic fatigue.
A gentle,
Fully supported practice created for times when energy is significantly limited.
And the body.
Nervous system needs permission to settle down.
As an individual who has suffered with chronic fatigue.
This practice has been a lifeline.
I'm happy and blessed to be able to offer this to you today.
Know that if anything during this practice becomes uncomfortable for you,
You may always open your eyes if they are closed.
You may return your attention to your breath.
And know that you have the permission to return to this practice at any point.
As you arrive.
Begin to find a position where your body can feel fully supported.
You may choose to lie on your back.
On your side.
Or rest in another position that feels comfortable for you today.
And allow yourself to use whatever support you need.
Whether a blanket beneath your head.
A bolster under the knees.
And certainly a covering over the body for warmth can be a wonderful resource.
Having an eye cover is your personal preference.
And know as you arrive,
There is nothing to accomplish here.
Nothing that you need to fix.
Nothing you need to change.
For now,
You are simply invited to rest.
Begin to notice the places where your body is meeting the surface beneath you.
Feel the support underneath your heels or your feet.
Your legs.
The pelvis.
Your back body.
Your arms and shoulders.
Your head.
Notice that you do not have to hold yourself up.
The earth is holding you.
The surface beneath you is supporting your weight.
Beginning to allow your body to become a little heavier.
A little quieter.
Perhaps there is a sense of surrendering some of the effort that you have been carrying.
You have permission to rest.
You are resting now.
Bring your awareness to the sounds around you.
Sounds that may be far away.
Sounds closer to you.
Sounds of the body.
The breath.
Digestion,
Or your heartbeat.
However,
There is truly no need to identify them.
Simply notice sound.
Notice sensation of air against your skin.
Temperature of the room.
Feeling of clothing or blankets touching your body.
Become aware of the natural rhythm of breathing.
There is nothing you need to do with the breath.
Simply notice.
Breath in.
And breath out.
Your body knows how to breathe.
Your body also knows something about rest.
Yoga Nidra offers a gentle intention.
A space for Sankelpa.
This simple intention is held gently within your awareness.
This is an energy you desire to align with.
Choosing a way of being.
Today I invite you to consider I rest my mind and restore my body.
Gently allow your intention to become the steadiness beneath you.
Simply allow the words to settle within you like a quiet offering.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Again silently.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Allow this intention to rest somewhere within you.
Not any effort or striving,
Just the possibility of restoration.
Bring your awareness now into your physical body.
We will move awareness from one place to another.
There is no need to move the body.
Simply be the witness and sense each place as it is named.
If you do not feel a particular area clearly.
There's nothing wrong.
Simply allow your attention to visit.
Begin with your right hand.
Right thumb.
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of your hand.
Back of your hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Right armpit,
Right side of the ribs.
Waste.
Right thigh.
Knee.
Lower leg.
And ankle.
Right heel.
Sole of your foot.
Top of your foot.
Right big toe.
Second toe.
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
Whole right side of your body.
Whole right side of your body.
Whole right side.
Of your body.
Shift your awareness to the left hand.
Left thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of your hand.
Back of your hand.
Wrist.
Lower arm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Shoulder.
Left armpit,
Left side of the ribs.
Waste.
Left thigh.
Knee Lower leg.
Ankle.
Left heel,
Sole of your foot.
Top of your foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe.
Fourth toe.
Little toe.
Whole left side of your body.
Whole left side of your body.
Whole left side of your body.
Bring awareness to the back of the body.
Back of your head.
Back of your neck.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Upper back.
Middle back.
Lower back.
Right side of the pelvis,
Left side of the pelvis.
Back of the right thigh,
Back of the left thigh.
Right calf,
Left calf.
Right here.
Left you.
Feel the entire back body.
Entire back body.
Your entire back body resting against the support beneath you.
Now become aware of the front of the body.
Top of your head.
Forehead.
Right temple.
Left temple.
Right eyebrow and eye.
Left eyebrow and eye.
Space between the eyebrows.
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right ear,
And left ear.
The space between the ears.
Nose,
Bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose.
Lips,
And the space between the lips.
Your teeth.
Gums.
Tongue tip of the tongue,
And the base of the tongue.
Jaw.
Front of your throat.
Right collarbone,
Left collarbone.
Center of the chest.
Right side of your chest.
Left side of your chest.
Upper abdomen.
Navel.
Lower abdomen.
Pelvis.
Both thighs.
Both knees.
Both lower legs.
Both ankles.
Both feet.
Feel the whole front of your body.
Whole front of your body.
Whole front of your body.
Now kindly begin at the feet and slowly travel upward.
Feel both feet together.
Ankles.
Both lower legs.
Both knees.
Both thighs.
Pelvis.
Abdomen.
Lower back.
Middle back.
Upper back.
Chest.
Shoulders.
Both arms and both hands.
Neck,
Throat.
Jaw.
Face.
Forehead scalp.
The entire body from the feet to the crown of your head.
And now sense the body as a whole.
The whole right side of your body.
The whole left side of your body.
The whole backside of your body.
The whole front side of your body.
And from the feet to the crown of your head.
Sense the whole body.
The whole body.
The whole physical body resting.
Resting.
Nothing needs to be done.
Know the body can be exactly as it is in this moment.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Witness your body resting.
No effort.
For now,
Simply allow yourself to be supported.
Now bring awareness to your breath and vital life force energy that courses through and around your body.
Notice your breathing once again.
No need to change or deepen it.
Simply feel the breath arriving.
As you inhale,
Sense and imagine the breath gently spreading throughout the body.
The inhale moves into your chest.
Abdomen.
Back body.
Arms.
Legs all the way into the hands and feet.
Sense and imagine the breath reaching every cell.
Not forcing.
Gently energizing.
Simply nourishing the body.
Breathing in a quiet sense of space spreading throughout the body.
Sense and imagine each cell receiving exactly what it needs.
As you exhale.
Imagine the breath creating a soft boundary around you.
A gentle cocoon.
A quiet perimeter.
A sense of being safely contained within your own space.
Inhale the breath spreading gently throughout the body.
Exhale,
A soft cocoon forming around you.
Inhale,
Cells receiving.
Exhale,
Settling into quiet.
You might imagine this cocoon has warmth.
Soft light.
A gentle mist.
Or simply a felt sense of boundary and protection.
Be the witness of this safe space right now.
Nothing is being asked of you.
For this time.
Your space belongs to rest.
Breathing in,
Nourishment moves throughout your body.
Breathing out.
The body is held within a safe perimeter.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Allow the breath to continue naturally.
No need to control it.
Rest within the rhythm that is already here.
Now we will welcome and explore pairs of opposite sensations.
You are not trying to create comfort or discomfort.
Simply invite in the felt sense or suggestion of each sensation.
Heaviness.
Heaviness.
Imagine both feet becoming pleasantly heavy.
Your legs heavy.
Your pelvis heavy.
Your abdomen and torso heavy.
Your back body heavy.
Shoulders and arms very heavy.
Your hands are very heavy.
Your head is so heavy.
Heavy as though gravity is gently drawing the entire body downward.
The body is supported completely.
Nothing to hold.
Nothing to lift.
Feel the whole body heavy.
The whole body very heavy.
Rest here feeling heaviness.
Heaviness deepens with each exhale.
Noticing heaviness.
Lightness.
Lightness.
Now begin to imagine lightness.
Your feet feel lighter.
Your legs feel lighter.
The pelvis is light.
Your abdomen and torso is very light,
Like a feather.
Chest and back very light.
Arms and hands relaxed,
Very,
Very light.
And the neck and head are very light.
The entire body feels spacious,
Buoyant.
Almost weightless,
Like a feather.
As though the body could float without effort.
Experience lightness like a feather.
Lightness increasing with every inhale of the breath.
If it feels right,
See if you can experience.
Lightness and heaviness simultaneously.
Now release both heaviness and lightness,
Simply noticing your body as it is.
Tension.
Tension.
Here you do not need to create tension.
Begin to bring to mind the sensation of tension.
Perhaps remember what tension feels like in the jaw.
The shoulders.
The hands.
Or the abdomen.
Simply recognize its quality.
Tightness or holding.
Effort,
Compression.
Notice.
EASE ease.
Now call forward the experience of ease.
Perhaps the jaw softens.
The space behind the eyes soften.
And the shoulders relax down.
Your hands become quiet.
And open.
The abdomen has room to move with your breath.
Imagine ease spreading throughout the body.
Not complete relaxation that you have to achieve,
Simply a little less effort.
A little more space.
If it is alright,
See if you can hold tension and ease.
At the same time.
And release that resting in the possibility of ease.
Warmth.
Warmth.
Imagine the warmth of sunlight touching your skin on a comfortable day.
Warmth across your face.
Warmth in the chest.
Warmth flowing throughout your arms and hands.
Warmth throughout your abdomen.
Warmth traveling down the legs into your feet.
A steady,
Soothing warmth.
Perhaps like being wrapped in a warm blanket.
Your warm cocoon.
Safe,
Contained,
And resting.
Coolness.
Coolness.
Now sense and imagine a gentle,
Cool breeze across your skin.
Cool air at the nostrils.
Coolness across your forehead.
Perhaps the feeling of cool sheets against the body.
Cool shade beneath a tree on a warm day.
Refreshing.
Quiet.
And clear.
Feel coolness throughout your body.
If it is helpful,
Notice warmth and coolness simultaneously.
Now softly release warmth and coolness.
Release tension and ease.
And release heaviness and lightness.
You do not need to choose one experience over another.
Simply observe and witness.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Now kindly bring your attention toward the space behind your closed eyes.
Your inner witness.
Notice the darkness.
This black space behind the eyelids.
You are not looking for anything.
Simply become aware of this inner space.
This internal visual landscape where you see things without light entering your eyes.
And there may be darkness.
Light.
Colors may appear.
Shapes,
Or images may arise.
Perhaps a memory or a thought.
Perhaps nothing appears at all.
Whatever arises,
Allow it to develop and allow it to pass.
There is nothing to analyze or solve.
Or judge.
You are simply observing.
Being the witness and you cannot do this wrong.
Whatever appears,
You do not have to follow it.
You do not have to push it away.
Imagine awareness as a vast night sky.
Thoughts,
Sensations.
Images and memories may move through this spacious awareness.
And you remain the one who notices them.
Resting in this black space,
The screen of the mind behind your closed eyes.
Perhaps there is more space here than you realized.
There is nothing to figure out or remember.
Nothing you need to prepare for.
Only your awareness.
Quietly witness what arises.
Quietly witness what passes.
Remain here for a few moments.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Bring your awareness toward the center of your body.
Here you begin to rest in just being.
Perhaps the center of the body is the chest.
Perhaps the center is the abdomen.
Perhaps simply an inner sense of your center.
Nowhere specific you need to find.
Imagine awareness settling gently into your center.
Place beneath your effort and doing.
Beneath any expectation.
Allow yourself to rest here.
You do not need to feel peaceful.
You do not need to create any particular experience.
Just noticing what is arising.
Simply notice that underneath all the changing sensations of the body.
Underneath the movement of breath.
Underneath thoughts and emotions.
You are the witness of awareness.
Sense and imagine yourself resting at the very center of your own being.
Supported.
Contained.
Unhurried.
Here,
Nothing is required of you.
You are allowed to exist without producing.
You are allowed to pause without explaining.
You are allowed to receive rest.
For a few moments more.
Let there be nothing to accomplish.
Rest within yourself.
Rest within the quiet.
Rest within the liminal space between thoughts.
Kindly and gently bring your awareness to the center of your being.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Allow these words to settle beyond the thinking mind.
Your nervous system can receive the invitation.
You may rest.
You may soften.
You may conserve,
You may restore.
You have permission.
Gently bring your original intention back into awareness.
You are Sankalpa.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
Repeat it silently three times.
Allow these words to be planted gently.
Begin to turn your awareness and notice the natural movement of your breath once again.
Feel the inhale as it arrives.
And feel the exhale.
As it leaves the body.
Become aware once again of the body resting on the surface beneath you.
Feel the back of your body supported.
Feel the temperature of the room.
Air against your skin.
The weight of clothing or blankets.
Notice sounds from inside the room or further away.
Perhaps begin with the smallest of movements.
You're invited to move your index fingers.
And gently move more of your fingers.
Perhaps the toes.
Maybe circle the wrists or ankles.
No need to hurry.
Rest does not need to end abruptly.
If it feels appropriate,
Stretch slowly through the arms or legs or remain completely still for a little bit longer,
Perhaps dozing off.
Either way,
Allow the transition itself to be part of your practice.
Restoration is quiet.
And compassionate.
It is simply the willingness to stop pushing for a little while.
Giving your body an experience of being supported.
An experience of enoughness.
An experience of witnessing rest.
Take a final comfortable breath in.
And a long,
Easy breath out.
As you feel ready.
Allow your eyes to softly open.
Or remain resting with your eyes closed.
Carry with you the reminder.
I rest my mind and restore my body.
And know that this practice of rest is here whenever you wish to return.
