Yoga Nidra Rest And Reset Afternoon Nap

Welcome to your practice.

Before you begin make sure that you are comfortable.

If you wish to lie in the posture,

Shavasana,

Then bring your feet out a little wider than hip distance and your arms slightly away from the sides of your body with the palms facing upwards.

You might like to support your knees with a rolled up blanket and your head with a pillow or a block.

If this position is uncomfortable for your lower back,

Bring your feet to flat at hip distance apart and let the knees drop in towards each other.

You can also do this practice in any other position that feels comfortable for you,

Including sitting on a chair.

See if you can make your body so comfortable that you might even be able to forget that it's there at all.

As you continue to settle,

Notice how peaceful and relaxed the body is already becoming.

Feel the bones becoming heavy as the body melts into the surface beneath you.

Imagine unwinding as the muscles relax and let go.

Bring the awareness into the feet and watch any tension in the feet releasing and relaxing.

The feet becoming relaxed.

Moving the awareness to the ankles.

Feel the ankles relaxing.

The lower legs.

The knees.

The thighs.

And the hips.

All releasing and letting go.

Feel the tension beginning to melt away from the back,

The spine,

The shoulders.

Feel the belly becoming soft.

The chest relaxed.

The upper arms.

The elbows.

The lower arms.

The hands.

The fingers.

All relaxing and letting go.

Notice the relaxation occurring in the neck.

The head becoming heavy.

The face becoming soft.

Tension leaving the jaw.

The whole of the body continuing to relax,

To release,

To let go.

Bring the awareness to the breath and watch the natural breath,

The gentle flow of the air moving in and out of the body.

Imagine the breath is like a wave washing over the body.

As you inhale it washes in from the feet to the top of the head and as you exhale it washes out from the top of the head to the feet.

With each exhalation letting go of any remaining tension and relaxing even more deeply.

Inhaling the wave washing in from the feet to the head.

Breathing the wave washing back out from the head to the feet.

Now bring the awareness to the inside of the ears.

Become aware of any sensations you can feel on the inside of the ears.

And with the awareness in the ears become aware of the sounds that you can hear.

There may be sounds from far away,

From closer,

From your own body,

The breath and the heartbeat.

Welcome every single sound as a guide to deeper levels of relaxation.

And know that the sound of my voice will guide you whenever that serves you,

But you are free to drift away at any time.

The practice of Yoga Nidra begins now.

Bring into your awareness a place and situation that fills you with a sense of safety.

Somewhere you feel safe,

Nourished and supported.

Or you can also imagine a place where you would feel safe and secure.

Allow the impression of this safe space to arise around you as if you were there right now.

This is your inner resource and you can return to it at any time during the practice if you need it.

Safe,

Secure,

Nourished and supported.

Make the intention that you will receive all of the deep healing benefits of this profound state of deep relaxation.

And that you will return to your life rejuvenated and reenergized,

Filled with clarity and vitality.

If you like,

You can mentally repeat the statement to yourself,

I will receive all of the deep healing benefits of this deep state of relaxation and will return to my life rejuvenated,

Reenergized and filled with clarity and vitality.

If you have a personal sanghaalpa,

Now is the time to state your sanghaalpa.

This is a sacred vow from the heart.

A deep prayer for the fulfillment of a spiritual desire.

If you do not have one,

Then rest the awareness at the heart center and notice if anything arises.

You do not need to have a sanghaalpa.

But if you do have one,

Then now is the time to state it as a short positive intention.

If you are using words it can take the form of a short positive statement.

I will awaken to my spiritual potential.

I will achieve perfect health.

I will be a positive influence on the evolution of others.

But it may also come as an image or a feeling.

Let it arise however it comes.

Try not to force it or think about it too much.

Feel deeply into the heart and let this sanghaalpa arise from there.

Now we will begin the rotation of consciousness around the body.

Looking at the right hand thumb,

The right index finger,

The right middle finger,

The fourth finger,

The fifth finger,

The palm of the right hand,

The back of the hand,

The right wrist,

The forearm,

The right elbow,

The upper arm,

The right shoulder,

The right side of the chest,

The right side of the abdomen,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The right knee,

The lower leg,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the right foot,

The top of the foot,

And the toes,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

The left hand thumb,

The left index finger,

Middle finger,

Fourth finger,

Fifth finger,

The palm of the left hand,

The back of the hand,

The left wrist,

The forearm,

The left elbow,

The upper arm,

The left shoulder,

The left side of the chest,

The left side of the abdomen,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The left knee,

The lower leg,

The ankle,

The heel,

The sole of the left foot,

The top of the foot,

The left toes,

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

The right toes,

The left toes,

The right heel,

The left heel,

The right buttock,

The left buttock,

The whole of the spine,

The right shoulder,

The left shoulder,

The back of the head,

The top of the head,

The forehead,

The right eyebrow,

The left eyebrow,

The eyebrow centre,

The right eye,

The left eye,

The right ear,

The left ear,

The right cheek,

The left cheek,

The nose,

The tip of the nose,

The upper lip,

The lower lip,

The chin,

The jaw,

The right collarbone,

The left collarbone,

The space between the collarbones,

The right side of the chest,

The left side of the chest,

The centre of the chest,

The navel,

The abdomen,

The whole of the right leg,

The whole of the left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole of the right arm,

The whole of the left arm,

Both arms together,

The whole of the right side of the body,

The whole of the left side of the body,

The whole of the body together,

Awareness on the whole of the body together,

The whole of the body together.

Notice how quiet and still the body has become.

The body is so still as if it's fast asleep.

Watch the body sleeping so still,

So quiet and restful.

Little though the body is sleeping so quietly the consciousness remains wide awake,

Awake and alert.

The consciousness is observing the sleeping body.

Become aware of the wakeful presence of consciousness,

Safely holding the body as it sleeps so deeply.

Now allow to arise the feeling of calm and peacefulness.

Notice where you feel peace and calmness in the body and notice how it arises in the mind.

Observe this arising of calm and peaceful,

Peace in the body,

Peace in the mind.

Now allow to arise the feeling of stress.

Notice how and where stress manifests in the body and in the mind.

Observe this arising of stress.

And now are you able to witness both of these states together?

Is it possible to experience stress and calm at the same time?

Can you observe a stressful body in mind and a calm body in mind together?

Bring the awareness to the breath.

Notice the movement of the breath entering and leaving the nostrils.

Notice how the breath makes a triangle shape.

On the inhalation it begins from far away,

Entering through separate nostrils and meeting at the eyebrow centre,

Forming a triangle.

On the exhalation it separates back through each nostril and expands into the outside world.

Keep watching this triangular shape of the breath as you inhale and exhale.

Now watch the breath moving through alternate nostrils.

As you breathe in,

The air enters the body through the right nostril,

Moving to the eyebrow centre.

And as you breathe out it leaves through the left nostril.

On the next inhalation it enters through the left nostril and leaves through the right nostril.

Continue with this alternate nostril breathing.

Inhaling through the right,

Exhaling through the left.

Inhaling through the left,

Exhaling through the right.

Now bring the awareness to the space behind the closed eyes and allow an impression of each thing that's named to arise spontaneously.

It may come as an image,

A feeling.

However it comes,

Allow each one to arise on its own.

Try not to think about it too much.

Beginning with a starry night sky,

A wind chime sounding in the breeze,

Walking barefoot in the sand,

A flickering candle,

Two drops on a spider's web,

Receiving a gift,

A herd of elephants,

The sun setting over a desert,

Your heart's desire.

Resting the awareness deeply in the heart centre,

You are free,

Pure,

Unlimited.

Resting in the heart your true limitless self.

If you have a sankalpa,

Now is the time to recall your sankalpa.

Allow it to arise naturally from the heart.

If you don't have one,

Just keep the awareness at the heart centre and the heart.

Remembering as well your intention to receive all of the healing benefits of this profound state of deep relaxation and to return to your life rejuvenated,

Re-energised and filled with clarity and vitality.

If you like,

You can mentally repeat the statement to yourself,

I will receive all of the deep healing benefits of this deep state of relaxation and to return to my life rejuvenated,

Re-energised and filled with clarity and vitality.

Recall once again your inner resource,

Your space of safety and security,

Nourishment,

Support and wellbeing.

This is yours to return to at any time during life.

Safety,

Security,

Nourishment,

Support and wellbeing.

Begin to turn the senses back outwards.

Become aware of the sounds you can hear around you.

Let the awareness jump from sound to sound.

There's no need to become too involved in any one thing.

Notice the sensation of the air upon your skin and in your mind begin to create a picture of your environment.

Can you remember the details of the space around you?

The colours of your clothes?

The position of your body?

Slowly begin to deepen the breathing in preparation to end the practice.

Begin to move the fingers and toes to encourage the body to reawaken.

Take your time.

There's no rush.

Slowly begin to make bigger movements and stretch in any way that feels good for you.

When you're ready gently blink the eyes open to allow the light back in.

This practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete.

Thank you for listening.