Yoga Nidra: Peace, Fulfilment, Self-Compassion

So once you're feeling comfortable we'll just start today with some tension and release exercises to help relax the body and just to help you feel a bit more settled.

So we'll begin with tensing the feet.

So bring the toes in to the soles of the feet and squeeze the feet as tightly as you can.

So engage all of the muscles in the feet and now just let the feet to relax completely and now the legs.

Engage the muscles in the legs and squeeze in the calf muscles and the muscles around the knees and the thighs.

Engage the legs,

Squeezing as tightly as you can and let the legs completely relax.

In the arms and the hands,

Make the hands into fists and squeeze the fingers together.

Engage the muscles in the arms,

Pull the shoulders up towards the ears and relax the arms.

Relax the hands and the face.

Draw all of the face towards each other.

So squeeze the mouth up towards the nose,

Squeeze the eyes towards the nose,

Squeezing the face as tightly as you can.

And relax the face.

And now engage the whole of the body together.

Engage the muscles in the feet,

The legs,

The arms and the hands,

The shoulders,

The face,

Squeezing everything as tightly as you can.

And relax completely.

And again engaging all of the muscles as tightly as you can,

Squeezing everything together.

And relax.

One more time,

Engaging all of the muscles as tightly as you can through the whole of the body,

Squeezing everything in.

And let everything relax completely.

And as your body relaxes into the surface that you're resting on,

Notice how as your body becomes more relaxed,

The breath naturally slows down,

Naturally deepens.

And as the breath flows in and out,

Picture the breath flowing over your body like a wave.

So as you breathe in,

The wave washes from the feet up the body to the top of the head.

And as you breathe out,

It washes from the top of the head over the body back to the feet.

With every exhalation,

Feel that wave carrying away anything that you don't need to bring into the practice.

Any tension,

Any thoughts or worries,

Anything from the day that you don't need to think about right now.

Allow that wave to carry away anything that's not needed for this practice today.

And now just let your awareness drift out to any sounds that are present in your environment.

And let the awareness float from sound to sound,

Just acknowledging that they're there.

There's no need to get too involved in what those sounds are or where they're coming from.

Just observe them,

Acknowledge them.

And know that none of the sounds are going to disturb you as you practice.

They can only help you to relax even more deeply.

And now it's time for your inner resource,

Your felt sense of safety and well-being.

So just picture yourself now in an environment where you feel completely safe.

Completely secure and at peace.

So you might like to imagine yourself in a place that you know that makes you feel safe,

Peaceful and well to be there.

Or you might like to imagine a place,

A situation that has all of the conditions that you would need to feel safe,

Well and secure.

And as that safe environment arises all around you,

If there's anything else that you can bring in to feel safe and well,

Invite anything else that you need into that environment.

So that you feel yourself surrounded by safety and security.

And feel into your body.

And feel how that feeling of safety arises inside your body.

And just notice how it feels.

And feel that feeling of safety intensifying throughout the whole of your body.

Feel it as vividly as you can.

Absolute safety,

Security and well-being.

This is your feeling that you have created for yourself.

You can always come back to it at any time if you need to during the practice.

Absolute safety,

Security,

Peace and well-being.

And just take a moment now to acknowledge the reason that you came to practice today.

Perhaps for healing,

For deep rest and rejuvenation,

To cultivate self-compassion,

For meditation,

For balance.

Whatever it is that inspired you to practice today,

Just take a moment to acknowledge that intention.

And if you have a sankalpa,

Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.

The sankalpa is a deep wish,

Prayer or vow from the heart.

Something that you wish to attain or experience in this life.

So if you have a sankalpa,

Just invite it to arise now.

Perhaps as a short positive statement.

Perhaps as an image or a feeling.

And if you don't have one,

Just keep the awareness at the heart and observe what's happening at the heart.

We'll begin our rotation of consciousness around the body.

So just bring the awareness to rest at each body part as its name.

Beginning at the tip of the tongue.

Bring the awareness into the mouth and rest at the tip of the tongue.

And the whole of the tongue.

Rest the awareness on the whole of the tongue.

The roof of the mouth.

The bottom of the mouth.

The teeth.

The gums.

The upper lip.

The lower lip.

The chin.

The jaw.

The right ear.

The left ear.

The right cheek.

The left cheek.

The inside of the right nostril.

The inside of the left nostril.

The right eye.

The left eye.

The right eyebrow.

The left eyebrow.

The eyebrow centre.

The forehead.

The top of the head.

The back of the head.

The back of the neck.

The right shoulder.

The right upper arm.

The right elbow.

The right elbow.

The lower arm.

The right wrist.

The tip of the right hand thumb.

The tip of the right index finger.

The tip of the right middle finger.

The tip of the ring finger.

The tip of the little finger.

The palm of the right hand.

The back of the right hand.

The right wrist.

The right forearm.

The right elbow.

The upper arm.

The right shoulder.

The right armpit.

The right side of the chest.

The right side of the abdomen.

The right waist.

The right hip.

The right thigh.

The knee.

The lower leg.

The right ankle.

The right heel.

The sole of the right foot.

The top of the right foot.

And each of the right toes.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Bring the awareness to the whole of the right foot.

The whole of the right leg.

The whole of the right arm.

The whole of the right side of the body.

Moving to the left side.

Bring the awareness to the left shoulder.

The left upper arm.

The left elbow.

The lower arm.

The left wrist.

The tip of the left hand thumb.

The tip of the left index finger.

The tip of the left middle finger.

The tip of the ring finger.

The tip of the little finger.

The palm of the left hand.

The back of the left hand.

The left wrist.

The left forearm.

The left elbow.

The upper arm.

The left shoulder.

The left armpit.

The left side of the chest.

The left side of the abdomen.

The left waist.

The left hip.

The left thigh.

The knee.

The lower leg.

The left ankle.

The left heel.

The sole of the left foot.

The top of the left foot.

Each of the left toes.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Bring the awareness to the whole of the left foot.

The whole of the left leg.

The whole of the left arm.

The whole of the left side of the body.

And the whole of the body together.

Awareness on the whole of the body together.

The whole of the body together.

Bring the awareness to the breath.

Follow the natural flow of the breath.

Watch the air gently entering and leaving the body.

Follow the breath as it flows into the chest.

Watch the chest expanding.

And follow the breath as it flows back out again.

And as the breath flows in and out.

Notice what parts of the body it naturally makes its way to.

It flows into the chest.

And it flows into the whole of the body.

Watch the breath as it flows into the different parts of the body.

Notice where it naturally flows to.

And now let the awareness drift away from the breath.

And invite the feeling of desire to arise.

The feeling of desire.

If it helps,

You could recall a time when you strongly desired something.

When you really wanted something.

Or you can just allow the feeling to come up by itself.

And feel into the sensations that come up in your body with the feeling of desire.

Feel it vividly.

The feeling of desire.

And now the feeling of fulfillment.

Invite the feeling of fulfillment to arise.

Perhaps remembering a time when you felt very fulfilled and very content.

Or just allowing the feeling to come by itself.

Feel into the sensations that come up in your body with the feeling of fulfillment.

Feel it vividly.

The feeling of fulfillment.

And are you able to experience both of those at the same time?

Are you able to feel desire and fulfillment inside the body together?

Desire and fulfillment together.

And the feeling of peace.

Feel into your body and welcome the feeling of peace.

Perhaps recalling something that makes you feel very peaceful.

Very calm and at ease.

Or just by allowing the feeling to come by itself.

Welcome that feeling.

The feeling of peace.

And now suffering.

Can you invite a sense of suffering to arise?

Perhaps by recalling a time when you really suffered through something.

Or just inviting the feeling to come by itself.

Feel it vividly throughout the whole of the body.

Suffering.

And are you able to experience both of those at the same time?

Is it possible to experience peace and suffering together?

Can you feel the sensations that arise in your body with the feeling of peace?

And with the feeling of suffering.

At the same time.

Can you experience peace and suffering together?

Peace and suffering together.

Now move the awareness to the space behind the closed eyes.

And observe what's happening behind the closed eyes.

Notice any shapes,

Colours,

Patterns.

Or perhaps just darkness.

And just observe whatever's there.

There's no need to get involved,

Just watch.

And now move the awareness up to the space behind the forehead.

I'm going to name some different things.

And as I name each one,

Allow an impression of that thing to arise.

It might come as a picture.

It might come as a feeling.

Or a subtle impression.

There's no need to force anything to happen.

Just allow each one to come as it comes.

We'll start with white clouds in a clear blue sky.

A snow-capped mountain.

Pebbles on a beach.

A cascading waterfall.

A raven.

An elephant.

A rose bush.

A feather.

A bird in a nest.

A wind chime blowing in the breeze.

A trickling stream.

A thunderstorm.

A stone pathway winding through a forest.

The full moon.

The sun rising over the desert.

Bring the awareness to the heart centre.

Rest here into the peace of the heart centre.

Here you are free to simply be.

Just by showing up to do this practice,

You have shown yourself so much self-compassion.

So much self-love.

Take a moment now to see yourself moving out into your life.

Fully aware of this self-love and self-compassion that is always there.

Know that you are carrying this into every moment,

Every activity,

Every situation.

And if you have a sankalpa,

Invite your sankalpa to arise again now.

Take a moment to acknowledge it.

If you don't have one,

Just keep the awareness at the heart.

Just continue to observe.

And now very slowly begin to turn the awareness back outwards.

Just become aware of any sounds that are present in your environment.

And let the awareness jump from sound to sound,

Just acknowledging that they're there.

Feel the feeling of the air against your skin.

The feeling of your clothing,

Your blanket against your skin.

The feeling of your body resting into the surface beneath you.

And bring the awareness to the breath.

And as the breath flows in and out,

Just notice where it flows to.

Just watch the parts of the body that the breath is moving to.

And now very slowly start to make some movements with the fingers and the toes.

And the hands and the feet.

And give yourself a stretch in any way that feels good for you.

Taking your time.

There's no rush.

When you're feeling sure that you're wide awake again,

Slowly blink the eyes open.

And make your way back up to sitting.

Your practice of yoga nidra is now complete.