This Yoga Nidre invites you to pause,
Soften and listen beneath the surface of doing.
It's an invitation to step out of momentum and step into a more intimate conversation with your own inner life.
It's not a practice of fixing or striving but it's really about making space.
A space of kindness,
A space of simply being courageous enough to stay close to your inner world.
So lie down in a comfortable position,
Letting the earth receive the full weight of your body.
Your arms can be slightly away from the body,
The palms open,
Fingers relaxed and uncurled.
Let the legs fall naturally to the side and feel this quiet invitation of stillness.
Start by taking a few slow,
Deeper breaths,
Arriving home to this moment,
To this body,
To this breath.
Each in-breath opens you to presence,
Each out-breath invites a softening in the body.
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to go,
Just this soft returning to breath.
And as you rest here,
Perhaps take some time just to breathe into the space of the heart,
Sensing your intention for this time.
It might be an intention for your life or it might be an intention for the day,
Whatever that intention is,
Repeating it to yourself three times in your own mind.
And if it's difficult to find an intention,
You might use the intention,
I open myself to deep rest and stillness.
And now we travel gently through the landscape of the body,
Touching each part with awareness and simply noticing and feeling the aliveness present.
Starting with the right hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Right wrist.
Forearm,
Right elbow,
Upper arm,
Right shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the chest,
Waist.
Right hip,
Top of the foot,
Sole of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe.
Fifth toe,
Baby toe.
Now feel the whole right side of your body alive,
Luminous.
Bringing attention now to the left side of the body,
Left hand thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger.
Palm of the left hand,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Forearm,
Left shoulder,
Left armpit,
Left side of the chest.
Right wrist,
Waist,
Left knee,
Shin,
Top of the left foot,
Sole,
Left big toe,
Second toe.
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe.
Now feel the whole left side of the body alive,
Grounded,
Receptive.
Feel now the back of the body,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Upper back,
Mid back,
Lower back,
Right sitting bone,
Left sitting bone.
Feel the whole of the spine,
Feel the backs of the legs,
The whole body resting deeply on the ground.
Bring your attention now to the front of the body,
Top of the head,
Forehead,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right ear,
Left ear.
Eyebrows,
Space between the eyebrows,
Eyes,
Eyelids,
Cheeks,
Nose,
Lips.
Throat,
Collar bones,
Chest,
Belly,
Feeling the rise and fall of the belly.
Feeling the whole of the front of the body.
And now sense the whole body together,
The whole body together.
From the top of the head down to the soles of the feet.
A unified field of presence.
Whole body here now breathing.
Now bring attention to your breath.
Just a natural awareness of the breath.
And now breathe as if through the left side of the body.
Feeling the inhale entering the left nostril,
Flowing down the left side,
The neck,
Shoulder,
Arm,
Ribcage,
Hip,
Leg,
Foot.
Breathing out the same pathway.
Breathing in and out through the left side.
And now shift to breathing through the right side.
Breathing through the right side.
Inhaling through the right nostril,
Flowing down the right shoulder,
Ribs,
Hip,
Leg,
Foot.
And exhaling foot,
Leg,
Hip,
Ribs,
Shoulder.
Feeling the right side,
Breathing through the right side.
And now feel both sides breathing together.
Left and right side.
Receiving and releasing.
Moon and sun.
Soft and strong.
And imagine now that you are moving slowly through a quiet forest.
The air is cool and rich with scent.
You feel your feet on the earth.
Your fingers touch the soft moss around you.
You notice the smell of pine and leaves.
And you move slowly and carefully.
Step by step.
And slowly you come to a clearing.
Here where silence holds its breath.
A place where life is waiting not for answers,
But simply your willingness to listen.
And as you listen,
Some questions come softly like a whisper through the trees.
What do you need to stop doing right now?
What life awaits you if you were to stop and listen?
Don't try and answer the questions.
Simply notice what arises,
Resting in the not knowing.
Feeling the tender pulse of new possibilities.
Rest here now.
Now slowly let the forest fade.
And bring your attention back to the breath.
Coming back to the intention that you set at the beginning of this practice.
And repeating it to yourself three times.
Feel the support of the earth or the bed beneath you.
Feel the breath steady and easy.
The body spacious and still.
Listen to the sounds around you.
And take in these words from the poet David White.
Sometimes if you move carefully through the forest,
You come to a place whose only task is to trouble you with tiny but frightening requests.
Questions that can make or unmake a life.
Feel the air on your skin.
Begin to deepen the breath.
And start to allow movement to return to the body in whatever way is right for you.
It might be a stretch,
Or a sigh,
Or a sound.
When you are ready you can just roll gently to your side.
If you need to continue resting,
Just let yourself rest more.
Pausing here for a moment of gratitude.
For all the questions that wait.
And for the stillness that just listens.
If you feel ready to come up when it feels right,
Just bring yourself into a comfortable seated position.
Sensing the quiet pulse of life inside you.
This yoga nidra is now complete.
Thank you.
