Let's find our way into stillness.
Normally,
Yoga nidra is practiced laying flat on your back.
You might add some pillows behind the neck or under the knees.
If resting on your back does not feel comfortable,
Go try resting on one side of the body.
You're having a pillow between the knees or hugging a pillow.
Just finding the space to be comfortable.
And as you find this comfortable spot,
Closing down through the eyes,
Tucking in with your blanket.
Welcoming your body to rest.
I invite you to repeat this affirmation to yourself.
I am practicing yoga nidra.
I invite my body to rest.
I invite my mind to slow down,
And yet I remain awake and aware.
Begin to draw your attention inward,
Connecting with sensations,
Noticing the feeling of support beneath your body,
Sensing in to the points of connection,
Feeling the firm support of the floor,
The soft cushion of props,
Bringing attention to the ears,
Noticing any sounds in your space,
Listening for the sound of your own breath.
Let's begin to equalize the breath.
Inhaling for a count of four and exhaling for a count of four.
Breathing in two,
Three,
Four,
And out two,
Three,
Four.
In two,
Three,
Four,
Out two,
Three,
Four.
In.
Continuing to equalize the breath,
You might explore lengthening the inhale and exhale,
Perhaps a count of five or six,
Keeping your attention on the breath.
And explore slowing the breath once more,
Lengthening that inhale,
Equalizing the exhale,
Taking one more round,
Releasing the count of this breath,
Welcoming back the natural rhythm of your breath.
Following the flow of your breath,
Counting from 10 down to one,
Counting inhale 10,
Exhale 10.
Inhale nine,
Exhale nine.
Continuing to follow the pace of your natural breath.
Each breath,
Welcoming the body and the mind to slow down.
Sink deeper into the support,
Letting your bones become heavy,
Muscles softening,
And the breath as a soothing,
Nourishing rhythm.
A touch point to return to throughout this practice.
Now guide us through a rotation of awareness.
As I name each body part,
Bring your attention here for a moment.
You might repeat that body part in your mind to help you focus here.
You might be imagining breathing in and out of this body part,
Bringing your awareness to the top of the head,
A single point of focus at the top of the head,
The center of the forehead,
The tip of the nose,
The tip of the chin,
The tip of the tongue,
The root of the tongue,
The base of the throat,
The center of the chest,
The navel center,
The center of the pelvic bone,
The center of the right hip,
The center of the right thigh,
The right knee,
The right ankle,
The center of the right foot,
The tip of the big toe,
Tip of the second toe,
Tip of the third toe,
Tip of the fourth toe,
And tip of the little toe.
And shifting your attention to the center of the left hip,
The center of the left thigh,
The left knee,
The left ankle,
The center of the left foot,
The tip of the left big toe,
Tip of the second toe,
Tip of the third toe,
Tip of the fourth toe,
And tip of the little toe.
And could you spread awareness equally between the left leg and the right leg,
Sensing all 10 toes,
The soles of both feet,
The front of the legs,
And the back of the legs,
Gathering your awareness at the tip of the tailbone,
Sensing the sacrum,
The low back,
Mid back,
The space between the shoulder blades,
Sensing the right shoulder blade,
The center of the right shoulder,
The right elbow,
The right wrist,
The center of the right hand,
And awareness coming to rest at the tip of the thumb and each of the fingers,
Sensing the right hand thumb,
Tip of the first finger,
Tip of the second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
And tip of the little finger,
Awareness of the entire right arm,
Bringing sensation into the space between the shoulder blades,
Awareness in the back of the heart,
Sensing the left shoulder blade,
The center of the left shoulder,
The left elbow,
The left wrist,
The center of the left hand,
And welcoming awareness to rest at the tip of the fingers,
Sensing the left hand thumb,
Tip of the first finger,
Tip of the second finger,
Tip of the third finger,
And tip of the little finger,
Sensing the whole left hand together,
The back of the left arm,
Awareness returning to the space between the shoulder blades,
Sensing the back of the heart,
And sensing the front of the heart,
Welcoming awareness through the whole body,
Welcoming your awareness,
Your breath to flow freely through the whole body,
Open to sensations,
Noticing temperature,
Noticing pulsing,
Tingling,
And if you were to imagine the color of energy in your body,
What color would it be?
Imagining that color as a soft glow from the head to the toes,
Soft and radiant glow through the whole body,
And I'd like you to imagine a small seed of light at the very tip of the tailbone,
And the seed of light pulsing,
Getting brighter with the inhale,
And dimmer with the exhale,
Imagining you could breathe into the tip of the tailbone,
Inhale,
See that light become brighter,
Exhale,
See that light soften just a little bit,
Inhale,
The light becomes brighter,
Exhale,
It dims and softens,
One more breath here,
And I'd like you to imagine that seed of light moving to the sacrum,
Into the space of the low belly,
And again as you inhale,
It gets brighter,
And exhale,
The light softens,
Keeping your attention here,
Breathing into the low belly,
Visualizing this seed of light,
And imagine this seed moving up the spine and coming to rest at the solar plexus,
This space just above the navel,
Just below the connection of the ribs,
Imagine you could breathe in and out through the solar plexus,
And visualize this seed of light getting brighter with each inhale,
And dimming slightly with each exhale,
And this seed of light continues to travel up the spine,
Coming into the space of the heart,
And bringing your breath and your focus to the center of the chest,
Seeing this light shine brightly,
Gathering light and energy with the inhale,
And softening with the exhale,
Now shifting this seed of light up to the base of the throat,
Imagining you could breathe in and out of this space,
At the base of the throat,
Sensing the front of the throat,
And the base of the neck,
Inhale,
Visualizing this seed of light getting stronger and brighter,
Now imagine this light coming up to rest between the eyebrows,
This little space,
The third eye center,
Watching this light shine bright like a beacon,
Clear and bright,
And focusing your breath here in the point between the eyebrows,
And bringing this seed of light to the crown of the head,
Imagine it resting at the very top of your head,
Drawing your breath,
Awareness,
And energy here,
And perhaps your seed of light has become larger,
Expansive,
And bright,
Radiating out in each direction,
Deepening the sensation,
The connection between the crown and the tail,
And with your next breath,
I'd like you to imagine,
Or to visualize,
Breathing in through the tailbone,
And passing through each of these energetic centers,
Your inhale drawing up through the spine,
Holding your breath for a moment,
And as you exhale,
It passes back down,
We're creating this movement of breath through the central channel of the spine,
Inhaling,
And exhaling back down,
Inhaling all the way up the column of the spine,
Hold,
And exhale back out,
Down through our root connection,
Inhaling up,
Holding the breath,
Exhaling down,
Holding the breath,
Inhaling up,
Exhaling down,
Inhaling up,
Pause at the top,
Exhaling down,
Pausing at the bottom,
I'd like you to stay with this breath,
And seeing the energy flowing through the spine,
Extending the inhale,
The pause,
And the exhale,
So that it feels comfortable and fluid,
And when you're ready,
You can release this breath,
Release this image,
I'd like to offer the option to continue resting,
Or to transition out of meditation,
And close the practice together with me.
So if you're ready to transition,
We'll begin an energizing breath,
Breathing into the belly,
Into the chest,
And releasing with the sound HA,
So breathing in belly,
Chest,
HA,
HA,
Belly,
Chest,
HA,
HA.
Belly,
Chest,
Out,
Three,
HA,
Two,
HA,
Last one,
HA,
And begin to bring some movement back to the fingers and toes,
Wiggle them,
Stretching them open and closed,
Bring some circles into the wrists,
Flexing and pointing through the ankles,
And welcome this movement back through the arms and legs,
Perhaps reaching out to the side,
Reaching up overhead,
And re-imagining you're making a snow angel,
Sweeping movement into the arms and legs,
You might bring a little shake into the legs,
Continuing to stretch,
Perhaps drawing the leg up one knee at a time,
Just noticing the response in your body,
Perhaps there's a desire to rock or twist,
Maybe squeezing the legs together,
Just letting your body guide this movement,
Waking up,
If you've been resting on your back,
Letting your movements roll you to one side,
And taking a few breaths in the fetal position,
Continuing to wake up the body,
Welcoming the mind to return,
Energized and yet still calm,
And as you're ready,
Returning to a comfortable seated position,
And again exploring any movements,
Perhaps rolling through the shoulders,
Moving through a seated cat or cow,
Rolling through the neck,
And I'll invite you to sweep the hands up,
Pressing palms together,
Drawing them down through the heart,
And ending our practice with a moment of gratitude,
Thank you for taking this time to connect with your body,
And any other expression of gratitude,
And bring that in now,
Honoring the light and wisdom within yourself,
Namaste.
