Work-life balance has been debunked.
Now we aim for work-life alignment,
Where the way you spend your time working and your time not working feel aligned in your system.
When we're misaligned,
It's common to have somatic sensations like frequent stomach aches,
Headaches,
Fatigue,
Or even just kind of feeling off.
Misalignment can come in many forms,
Including mismatched values,
Communication styles,
And personalities,
To name a few.
When your work and life are aligned,
You're able to bring your full self to both.
You're able to be present and enjoy pursuing your passions and hobbies.
You're able to take care of yourself,
Your family,
Your friends,
And your critters,
In addition to and not instead of your business.
You're motivated,
Productive,
And focused.
You have access to your inspired creativity.
You have a sense of purpose,
Which in turn creates balance and harmony.
Imagine what your world could look like living and working in authentic alignment.
Now imagine how it feels to live and work in authentic alignment.
To invite your authentic aligned self into work and life,
We'll use this intention.
I am aligned in work and life,
Which creates ease on the path to my goals.
We'll repeat this intention three times,
And you may say these words silently to yourself or use my voice as your own.
I am aligned in work and life,
Which creates ease on the path to my goals.
I am aligned in work and life,
Which creates ease on the path to my goals.
I am aligned in work and life,
Which creates ease on the path to my goals.
If at any point in this guided relaxation practice,
You notice that your mind has wandered,
Come back to this intention and rejoin the practice.
Now we'll rotate awareness through the body.
I'll name different places,
And all you need to do is follow along.
If you notice your attention goes elsewhere,
See if you can invite it back to the named locations.
Bring your awareness to your right hand,
Noticing any sensations you might notice here.
Bring your awareness to your right wrist,
Your lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
The right side of your torso,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
Right foot,
Noticing sensations.
Bring your awareness to your left hand,
Left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
The left side of your torso,
Left hip,
Upper leg,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Left foot.
Bring your awareness to the right side of your head and neck,
The left side of your head and neck,
Entire head and neck.
Notice the entire right side of your body,
The entire left side of your body,
The entire front side of your body,
Entire back side of your body,
Entire body.
Now bring your attention to the place right below your belly button,
And feel this space as three-dimensional.
Notice how as you breathe in,
This space expands,
And as you exhale,
You can feel your whole body get heavier.
Inhale,
Expand.
Exhale,
Feel heavy.
Keep your awareness here,
And we'll start to silently count backward from 27 to 0 on your exhales.
So in your mind,
It might sound like,
Inhale,
Exhale,
27.
Inhale,
Exhale,
26,
And so on.
If you get to 0 or lose your place,
Go back to 27 and start again.
With your awareness on your low belly,
Count backward from 27 to 0 on your exhales.
Begin.
Release the awareness at your low belly.
Now we'll imagine some sensations and their opposites,
And then imagine them together.
This is more of a feeling than it is thinking.
Imagine the sensation of heaviness.
Imagine your arms and legs are so heavy that they sink down into whatever is supporting you.
Imagine the sensation of heaviness.
Imagine the sensation of lightness.
Imagine you are so light,
You hover above whatever is holding you.
Imagine the sensation of lightness.
Now imagine the sensation of heaviness and the sensation of lightness at the same time,
Feeling more than thinking.
Imagine the sensation of full relaxation.
Imagine relaxation in your arms and your legs and your torso and your head.
Imagine the sensation of relaxation.
Imagine the sensation of stress.
Imagine feeling stress in your arms,
Your legs,
Your torso,
And your head.
Imagine the sensation of stress.
Now imagine the sensations of relaxation and stress at the same time,
Feeling rather than thinking.
I am aligned in work and life,
Which creates ease on the path to my goals.
Repeat these words three times to yourself and feel them as true.
I am aligned in work and life,
Which creates ease on the path to my goals.
When you're ready,
Take a deep inhale and a deep exhale.
Find gentle movements in your fingers and toes,
Then your head and neck.
Find a full body stretch.
Reach your arms overhead.
Stretch your heels out long.
And if you're lying down,
You might roll to a side.
And with your eyes closed and a heavy torso,
Bring yourself up to a seat.
This completes our yoga nidra practice.
May you go forward with ease on the path to your goals.
