Welcome to this time of yoga nidra.
Take your time now to settle in.
Lying down or resting in any position that allows the body to feel supported.
Perhaps placing a blanket or a cushion under the knees,
Something soft under the head,
Allowing the arms and hands to rest easily by the sides of the body and allowing the eyes to gently close.
Letting the body be held,
Nothing to achieve,
Nowhere to go,
Just arriving here.
And now taking a slow breath in through the nose,
Pause at the top for a moment,
And an easy sigh out through the mouth.
Sense your limbs softening,
And again breathing in,
Pause at the top of the in-breath,
And now exhale,
Letting the limbs soften even more.
And taking one more deep breath in,
Pause at the top,
And exhale fully,
Whole body melting into the surface you are resting on.
And let the earth now hold you as you allow the mind to begin to quiet.
If the mind is really busy,
You can place any thoughts in the clouds,
In the vast sky,
And watch the thoughts drift away.
Throughout this yoga nidra,
You're invited to follow my voice,
But every instruction is optional.
And if you fall asleep,
Just trust that that is what you needed today.
And now listen to these lines from the poem The Opposite of Fear by James Cruise.
Maybe the opposite of fear is not bravery or courage,
But staying right here instead of trying to escape.
Maybe the last leaf to fall from the maple in autumn isn't afraid so much as skilled in the art of waiting for the right moment to let go,
The right gust of wind to send a tumbling down into a new life the leaf never would have chosen.
And so in yoga nidra,
We take time to plant the seed of intention in the heart,
Not as a goal or something to force,
But just as a quiet remembering of what matters to the heart.
So taking time now to set an intention and repeating it silently three times.
And if it's difficult to find an intention,
You might use something like,
I trust the flow of life,
Or it's safe to be here.
The doorway to rest is now open.
Now we travel gently through the body,
Simply noticing and listening to each body part,
Starting with the right hand thumb,
Right hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Shoulder,
Right side,
Waist,
Right hip,
Shin,
Right ankle,
Right heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
And now moving to the left hand thumb,
Left hand thumb,
Second finger,
Third finger,
Fourth finger,
Little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
Left wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Left shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side,
Waist,
Left thigh,
Shin,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of the foot,
Top of the foot,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Little toe.
Sensing the back of the body now,
The back of the body,
Shoulder blades,
Spine,
Lower back,
Sitting bones,
Backs of the legs.
Feeling now the front body,
The chest,
Belly,
Throat,
Jaw,
Tongue resting,
Eyes soft,
Forehead,
Crown of the head.
Now sensing the whole body together,
The whole body together,
Resting,
Whole body together,
One field of sensation.
And now start to feel the natural breath,
Nothing to change,
Simply noticing the rise and the fall of the breath at the belly.
Now as you inhale the belly expanding,
Exhaling belly softening,
Aware of natural breathing at the belly,
Waves of breath moving in the belly.
And as you breathe in,
You can pause at the end of the in-breath,
Breathing out,
Letting go,
Pausing at the end of the out-breath,
Inhaling,
Pausing at the end of the in-breath,
Breathing out,
Letting go,
Pausing at the end of the out-breath,
Continuing to feel the breath in the belly in this way,
Inhaling,
Pausing,
Holding the breath,
Exhaling,
Pausing at the end of the breath.
And now return to natural breathing.
Now bringing your attention to holding on any places of holding or tightness in the body,
Noticing holding on in the body,
Any sense of effort,
Contraction,
Holding.
And now aware of softening and letting go,
Noticing any sense of letting go in the body,
Any sense of softening.
And now notice holding on and letting go,
Notice both without choosing,
Simply present to holding on and letting go.
Return your awareness now to the space between the eyebrows and let your attention rest here for a few breaths.
And now imagine you are lying beneath an enormous tree in autumn.
The air is cool and clear,
The light is moving through the branches,
Noticing the color of the leaves,
Gold,
Amber,
Red.
And you don't need to move,
Just watching,
Listening.
And slowly a soft wind passes through the branches and you watch as some leaves fall and some stay.
Nothing forced.
And as you lie here,
You remember these words,
Maybe the opposite of fear is not bravery or courage,
But just staying right here instead of trying to escape.
And as you recall these words,
Noticing one last leaf still holding to the branch,
It's not clinging,
It's not panicking,
It simply waits.
Support it.
Trusting.
The wind will come when it comes.
And when that moment arrives,
The leaf lets go.
Not falling,
But being carried.
Tumbling gently,
Turning in the light.
Landing softly into a new life,
Just where it belongs.
And as you lie here sensing that life is carrying you,
You can let go when it's time.
Rest here.
And now when you're ready,
Returning to your quiet seat of intention.
And then as you breathe into and around the space of your heart,
Repeating that intention to yourself three times.
I trust the flow of my life.
It's safe to be here.
Or any other intention that is true for you.
Planting it into the warm soil of your own heart.
Rest here.
And now when you feel ready to,
Begin to sense the body lying on the ground.
Feeling the weight of the body.
The feeling of gravity.
The sensations in your feet.
And in your hands.
You can start to make small movements in the fingers,
And in the toes.
If you feel like you'd like to rest here for longer,
Feel free to do so.
And if you feel ready to reawaken,
Take your time to roll to one side.
If that feels right,
There's no rush.
And as you slowly bring this yoga nidra to a close,
Carrying the deepest courage of simply staying with you,
This yoga nidra is now complete.
