Passage Of Time Yoga Nidra

The ticking of a clock,

The recording of a date,

The sun moving across the sky,

A day marked by a sunrise and a sunset,

Another season passed,

Another lap around the sun,

The child that grows an inch taller,

Tiny hands that grow into large hands,

The line of another wrinkle on our faces.

Time,

That which cannot stand still,

Sayings such as in its own time,

Time waits for no one,

The test of time,

Timeless,

Divine timing,

Time is of the essence,

Days when we are rushing against time,

Days when we are waiting for time to pass,

Days in slow motion.

And so we try very hard to remember every detail,

The sound of the laughter,

The smell in the room,

The temperature of the air,

The clothes we were wearing,

The feeling of the embrace,

The shared moment,

And then it is gone,

Fleeting,

Stored in our memories or forgotten and never to be replicated again.

And so in this practice today we pray reverence to the passage of time,

That our lives are a timeline from birth to death and all in between,

But in this practice giving yourself the gift of presence,

Just now,

No past,

No future,

Lying in stillness.

Ensure you are comfortable laying on your back or on your side,

Covering your body lightly and your eyes lightly.

Add support under your head and knees,

Resting your hands by your side or resting them on your belly.

Allow a few moments to settle here,

Allowing gravity to pull you down and the earth to support you.

Climb yourself here like you would welcome a guest.

Notice where your body may be holding any tension.

Open and close your hands a couple of times,

Open and close your jaw.

Give your breath some attention now as it gently moves on its own accord.

Inhale,

Belly rise.

Exhale,

Belly fall.

Inhale stillness.

Exhale past.

Inhale calm.

Exhale future.

Marvel at how your breath has the capacity to move on its own,

As natural as nature itself.

Allow it to settle into its own rhythm,

Effortless and soft.

Be at ease in the space you are in,

The resting space you have created,

The resting space that is cradling you as a mother would cradle a baby.

Let all other worries drift away into the sky.

Enter in on your heart space,

Knowing it is being cradled here,

Nurtured,

Held,

Safe.

And the practice of Yoganidhra begins.

Bring forth your intention for this sacred time.

This is called a sankalpa,

A vow to yourself beginning with the word I,

For example,

I am rested or I am safe,

I am at peace.

Listen to what comes through for you and honour it.

Repeat your sankalpa three times to yourself.

In this safe space bring awareness to your body,

Any tingles,

Sensations,

The air on your skin,

The movement of your chest as you breathe.

Bring this awareness like a little ball of golden light to the right side of your body.

Bring awareness to your right thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Pinky finger.

Palm of your right hand.

Back of the hand.

Wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Right upper arm.

Shoulder.

Underarm.

Right side of the rib cage and lung.

Waistline.

Thigh.

Knee.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Top of the right foot.

Sole of the right foot.

Big toe.

All of your toes.

Hold the entire right side of your body in your awareness,

Your whole right side.

Feel your right side with awareness now.

Move your awareness to your left hand.

Left thumb.

Index finger.

Middle finger.

Ring finger.

Pinky finger.

Palm of your hand.

Back of the hand.

Left wrist.

Forearm.

Elbow.

Upper arm.

Shoulder.

Underarm.

Left side of the rib cage and lung.

Waistline.

Thigh.

Knee cap.

Lower leg.

Ankle.

Top of the left foot.

Sole of the left foot.

Big toe.

All of your toes.

Wash the entire left side of your body with awareness.

The whole left side.

Feel the entire left side of your body now.

Now to explore the back of your body,

Moving from right to left fairly quickly.

Feel the sole of your right foot.

The sole of your left foot.

The soles of both of your feet together.

The back of your right heel.

The back of your left heel.

Both heels together.

The right calf.

The left calf.

Both calves together.

Back of your right knee.

Back of the left knee.

The backs of both knees together.

Right hamstrings.

Left hamstrings.

Both sets of hamstrings together.

Right buttocks.

Both sides of your buttocks.

Back of your pelvis.

Lower back.

Middle back.

Upper back.

Feel your right shoulder blade.

Left shoulder blade.

Both shoulder blades together.

Right arm.

Left arm.

Both arms together.

Back of your neck.

Back of your head.

Crown of your head.

Feel your entire back body.

Now feel the crown of your head.

Your forehead.

Right eyebrow.

Left eyebrow.

Both eyebrows together.

Brow centre.

Right eyelid.

Left eyelid.

Both eyelids together.

Right eyeball.

Left eyeball.

Both eyes together.

Feel your right nostril.

Left nostril.

Both nostrils together.

The bridge of your nose.

The tip of your nose.

Your whole entire nose.

Feel your upper lip.

Lower lip.

Both lips together.

Feel your chin.

Feel the right side of your jaw.

The left side of your jaw.

And feel both sides of your jaw together.

And then feel your whole face.

Feel the right side of your head.

The left side of your head.

Now feel both sides of your head together.

Feel the right side of your throat.

The left side of your throat.

And feel your whole neck and throat together.

Feel your right collarbone.

Your left collarbone.

And both collarbones together.

The right side of your chest.

The left side of your chest.

Both sides of your chest together.

Your whole chest together.

Feel the area of your abdomen from your ribs to your belly button.

Lower belly.

Pelvis.

The root of your pelvic floor.

Both thighs.

Both knees.

Both shins.

Both ankles.

The tops of both of your feet.

Feel your right leg from your toes to your hip.

Feel your left leg from your toes to your hip.

Feel the entirety of both of your legs together.

Feel your right arm from your fingertips to your shoulder.

Your left arm from your fingertips to shoulder.

Now feel both arms together.

Keep your arms and your legs in your awareness and add your entire torso and your head to the experience now.

Feel and sense your entire body.

Your whole body.

Feel your whole body together right now.

Feel energy moving inside your whole body.

Watch your breath as you would watch the breath of a little baby or someone lying next to you.

Observe how it moves in your body.

Observe how it moves the chest or your belly.

In this life we experience here on Earth,

When something is felt,

There is a polar opposite.

We can only know one if we know the other.

They exist together.

When an experience or emotion is named,

Try if you can to notice the sense inside your body.

Pay particular attention to your hands,

Your belly,

Your jaw or your throat.

If you can,

Can you think of a time in your life when sorrow became you?

It sunk so deep into your bones and rattled your insides.

Where can you feel this sorrow in your body?

Lay there and let what needs to arise come through.

Let the memory sweep over you.

Then raise it up into the vast sky.

Breathe it out.

Where there is sorrow there is joy.

Bring forth the memory of a joyous occasion.

Whether it be as simple as the sun shining on your face on a winter's day,

Or seeing a new bloom on a plant,

Or a brilliant sunset or sunrise.

How does your body show joy?

Where does your body feel joy?

Let it meet you and your sorrow.

Then raise it up into the vast sky and breathe it all out.

Now conjure a time of silence in your life,

So quiet.

Is there a time you can recall when there was no noise,

No sound?

Let it arise.

Feel it in your body.

Breathe it out.

And so in silence we learn sound.

Maybe sound signifies life for you.

When did you notice sounds of something that were loud?

Were they sounds of nature,

The waves crashing onto shore,

Birds singing their morning song,

Or man-made noise,

A room of chatter and laughter,

Children in a playground?

What feels loud for you?

Where in your body does the loudness speak to you?

Breathe it out and release it to the vastness of the sky.

Running from,

Escaping.

Think of a time when you noticed you were running from something.

These can be the tiniest of things,

Returning a phone call,

A conversation,

A situation,

Something to not confront just yet.

Know that all is okay.

Can you feel a sensation in your body?

Breathe it out.

Running to,

Arriving,

And there you are.

A destination reached.

A decision made or a feeling inside that brings completion.

Can you feel a sensation in your body?

Breathe it out.

Release it to the vastness of the sky.

Know that you are whole and complete always.

Visualise yourself now,

A younger version of you.

Looking up at you,

A gentle smile from your young self to you.

Curious.

Reach down and ask if the little you would like to hold your hands.

And if so,

Reach them both out and hold them with pure joy and sorrow for all that will come to be.

Feel the fingertips and soft skin of the little hands of your younger self.

Look into the little you's eyes with an innocent face.

Breathe love down into your hands and let it pass into theirs.

Know that your love is going straight into their body and to their heart.

Filling them with courage and strength and prayer.

Filling them with joy and sorrow.

The cells of both you merging into one.

A heart big enough to hold you both.

Lay here with complete wholeness.

Stillness.

Love.

Presence.

Love.

Vanishes.

You you you you Now is the time to repeat your sankalpa that she made at the start of this practice Repeat it three times with awareness and presence you The practice of Yoga Nidra is now complete slowly bring your awareness back to your breath and your space move your fingers and toes when you feel ready stretch your arms out to the side then up to the sky clasping your hands allow whatever movement feels natural allow sounds to move into your space and back into your body rolling over to your right side your heart space facing towards the sky rest here for a moment recall the feeling of presence of no time but now a gift you gave yourself when you are ready sit up and slowly open your eyes let the world slowly drift back in thank you thank you thank you the presence in me honors the presence in you you