Yoga Nidra: Core Of You

Welcome to your practice of Yoga Nidra.

My name is Miranda and I am truly honoured to be your guide for this journey of deep rest and restoration.

As we move towards stillness,

Take a moment to feel and sense into your body,

To tune in to the energy of your body and to ask yourself whether there is anything that needs to be expressed,

Released,

Before you move towards stillness.

You can get up and shake your body out.

You can take a deep breath and allow whatever sound comes out to be released.

Take this moment and allow yourself the full freedom of release,

Of expression,

Of wildness and when that feels complete for you,

Bring yourself back to your place of rest,

Gathering any props you need to help your body to make the transition into letting go.

This is a practice of releasing and receiving,

So set your body up with intention,

Perhaps blankets or pillows or an eye cover to shut out the light and bring you inwards.

This practice is normally received from the position of Shavasana,

Lying on a firm but comfortable surface,

On your back with your arms and legs a little way from the midline,

Palms facing the sky,

A gesture of surrender,

But if for any reason that position isn't comfortable for you today,

Adjust accordingly.

Listen to your body's own wisdom and choose a position that feels good for you today.

When you're ready,

Take a deep breath into the belly and sigh out as you exhale.

Feel the position of your body on the surface beneath you,

Sensing into your hands and feet the edges of your body and then bringing awareness to the core.

Can you feel your heart beating,

The watery fluidity of your belly,

The warmth of these core places in you?

Center yourself in the own home of your body and take another deep breath into the belly and release.

We'll take a few conscious releasing breaths together,

Breathing down deep into the belly and clenching and clenching hands and feet as you inhale and on the exhale let everything release with a double exhale,

Everything releasing.

Inhale and clench hands and feet,

Exhale release.

Feel the impact of this breath on your body,

The process of softening,

The deepening of presence.

One more breath just like that,

Breath coming into the belly,

Clenching on the inhale and releasing on the double exhale.

Allow yourself this moment of peaceful surrender and bring awareness now to the space of the heart and we'll invite in sankalpa,

Your intention for your practice.

Sankalpa goes beyond your everyday wants and needs to your deepest desire for your life.

Feel and sense into the space of the heart,

What do you most long to feel in your life?

Perhaps I am worthy,

I am deeply loved,

I belong.

Feel and sense into the heart and listen for anything that arises,

Let the energy of that desire become words,

A short statement of intention in the present tense as if it is already complete.

Sankalpa remembers who we already are at our deepest core and in the liminal space of yoga nidra we birth it into being.

Here in your heart space speak the words of your sankalpa three times and now yoga nidra begins with a journey through the physical body.

Keeping your body still move your awareness from body part to body part with the sound of the voice,

Let it be easy and effortless,

Fluidly flowing from part to part.

We begin in the right hand,

Bring all your awareness to focus on your right hand,

Feeling and sensing into the right hand thumb,

What do you feel in this space?

The warmth of the blood,

Solidity of the bones,

The skin and the muscle,

Perhaps the energy of this space,

Warm and tingling and we'll move quickly now from body part to body part,

Moving from the right hand thumb to the second finger,

The third finger,

The fourth finger,

The fifth finger,

The palm of the hand,

The back of the hand,

The wrist,

The forearm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The armpit,

The right side of the ribs,

The right waist,

The right hip,

The right thigh,

The knee,

The calf,

The ankle,

The right foot,

The big toe,

The second toe,

The third toe,

The fourth toe,

Fourth toe,

The fifth toe,

All the toes of the right foot,

The whole right foot,

The whole right side of your body,

Energy and awareness in the whole right side of the body.

And now come to the left hand,

The left thumb,

The second finger,

The third finger,

The fourth finger,

The fifth finger,

The palm of the hand,

The back of the hand,

The wrist,

The forearm,

The elbow,

The upper arm,

The shoulder,

The armpit,

The left side of the ribs,

The left waist,

The left hip,

The left thigh,

The knee,

The calf,

The ankle,

The left foot,

The left big toe,

The second toe,

The third toe,

The fourth toe,

The fifth toe,

All the toes on the left foot,

The whole left foot,

The whole left side of the body,

Energy and awareness in the whole left side of the body.

And now the back body,

Beginning with the heels,

The backs of the calves,

The backs of the knees,

The backs of the thighs,

The buttocks,

The back of the pelvis,

The tailbone,

The whole spine,

The whole back,

The back of your neck,

The back of your neck,

The back of the head,

The back of the brain,

The whole brain and spine,

The whole back body,

Energy and awareness in the whole back body.

And now the front of the body,

Beginning with the crown of the head,

The forehead,

The temples,

The eyebrows,

The centre of the eyebrows,

The eyes,

The eye sockets,

The nose,

The nostrils,

The cheekbones,

The jaw,

The ears,

The mouth,

The teeth,

The tongue,

Come into the throat and into the chest,

And into the chest,

Feeling your lungs,

Your heart,

The diaphragm,

The organs of the belly,

The lower belly,

The organs of the pelvis,

The pelvic floor,

Feel your hips,

The fronts of your thighs,

The knees,

The shins,

The tops of the feet,

The toes,

The whole front of your body,

Energy and awareness in the front of your body,

Feel your whole right leg,

Your whole left leg,

Both legs together,

The whole right arm,

The whole left arm,

Both arms together,

Feel your torso,

Your neck,

Your head,

Torso,

Neck and head together,

Feel the whole body,

The whole body,

Whole,

Soak here in the feeling of your whole body,

Energy and awareness of the whole body as one,

Notice the breath coming in and flowing out of the body,

Your natural breath,

Effortless,

Body receives breath,

Body releases breath,

Breath charges the body,

Bring awareness to the tailbone,

Feeling and sensing into this space at your root,

Feel breath here,

Breath at the tailbone,

Breath filling the root,

And as you inhale,

Bring breath up the spine to the crown,

And as you exhale,

Let breath fall down the front of the body to the pelvic floor,

Inhaling up the spine,

Exhaling down the front channel of the body,

Tailbone to crown,

Crown to pelvic floor,

In one great circuitry,

A loop of breath,

Turning energy,

The wheel of energy turning in you,

Turning in you,

Endlessly received,

Endlessly released,

In flow,

And now let the breath go and come back into the feeling sense of the body,

Your body resting,

Sensation of the body resting,

And we'll move through an experience of opposites in the body,

Feeling the sensations of the body in opposite emotional states,

Release any narratives or stories that arise,

And allow for the full flow of sensation,

Sensation arising,

Being fully experienced,

Passing through,

How does it feel in your body to suppress,

To hold down on something,

How does suppression feel in your body,

Allow yourself to fully feel the sensations of your body as you suppress something,

And now let that release,

Let all sensations pass through,

How does it feel to your body to express freely,

Your body in the full flow of expression,

Permission granted,

And now let that release too,

And we'll move into another pair of opposites,

How does it feel in your body when you are unsure of your own worth,

Seeking outside you for validation,

Feel completely unsure of your own worth,

And now let that release completely,

Let all sensations release and pass through,

Dissolving away,

How does it feel in your body when you know your full worth,

To receive,

Your full worth,

To receive your full worth,

How does it feel in the body to know you are worthy of everything you desire,

Allow a full experience of worth in your body now,

And bring your awareness now to the dark space behind the eyes,

The center of the forehead,

The space of consciousness,

And we'll move into an exploration of the wisdom body,

Your creative intuitive self,

You'll receive a sequence of images,

Allow them to appear here in any way they come,

Rising and falling naturally,

Effortless and easy,

An owl at dawn,

A white rose,

A white rose,

A door banging in the wind,

Solid ground,

Pouring sand,

Cave paintings,

A black sand beach,

Tropical rainfall,

Seahorses at play,

Cats fighting,

The dark of a winter's night,

Trees sighing in the wind,

Dancing naked in moonlit waters,

Stinging nettles burning your skin,

The deep earth under bare feet,

Feel the earth deep under your bare feet,

As you stand on the edge of a vast meadow,

It is dusk,

The sky a luminous blue,

The light fading,

All around you are great swathes of grass and clover,

Tall cow parsley reaches for the sky,

You feel the freedom of this vast open landscape,

As the breeze brushes your skin,

As you walk through the meadow,

You feel the soil under your bare feet,

Grass swishing against your legs,

Tickling your open palms,

You find a spot to sit down,

Cross-legged on the ground,

Feeling the earth beneath you,

You look up to the sky,

You look up to the sky and see that the first stars are appearing,

Pinpoints of white lights in the luminous blue heavens,

Settling your gaze on the stars,

You feel the timelessness of the light received through billions of years,

Entering your cells,

Washing your body in light,

Connecting with the earth beneath you,

Across the distant hillside,

You see the full moon is rising,

You receive its rich colours,

A deep blood red,

As it rises,

It mellows to orange,

Large and luminous,

Filled with light,

Around you dusk deepens to dark,

The meadow is filled with moonlight,

It flows through you,

As you release everything that is ready to go,

Washed away with the light,

Into the deep earth beneath,

As you look out across the dark landscape and the shimmering meadow,

You hear a rustling behind you,

The grass parts and you see your wild child self appearing to you,

They smile at you,

Bringing such an aura of freedom and playfulness,

There is a joy and a wildness to their movement,

They beckon you to follow and begin to run through the grass,

Their bare feet kicking up the dust,

Wind whipping through their hair,

You take up the challenge and run,

You run together,

You and your wild child self,

Freely and with abandon,

The grass whips around you,

The wind blowing on your bare skin,

You are free,

Together you reach a rocky cliff,

Steady and solid,

Your child self smiles again and takes you by the hand,

Together you press your palms into the stone,

It is a portal,

You emerge together in a dark cavern,

Deep within,

It is full of a warm and loving darkness that caresses every part of your being,

It feels so deeply safe,

You let go the weight of years and you see a light at the very centre of the cavern and walk slowly towards it,

The candle burns brightly with such a steady flame,

Giving off an aura of warmth and love and light,

Unconditional love and light,

You seat yourself cross-legged on the floor,

Gazing at the candle in wonder and awe,

That this was hidden in the depths of your being,

Your child self takes a seat in your lap and you hug them tight,

As you gaze together at that steady flame,

You merge as one,

Immersed as one in that deep steady unending flame of love,

This core of you,

Feel the words of your sankalpa return to you in this space of loving wholeness,

Receive it through your whole being,

In every cell of your body,

Knowing its truth in your bones,

Speak the words of your sankalpa three times and now the practice of yoga nidra is coming to an end,

Bring your awareness back into your body in this time and this place,

Feeling and sensing into your physical body,

Hearing the sounds in the room,

The scent in your nostrils,

The tastes on your tongue,

Notice your natural breath and sense how that brings you into this present moment,

Let hands and feet clench and release,

Clench and release,

Clench and release,

Bring breath deeper into the body now,

Sweeping it through the core of you and out into the extremities,

Your whole body receiving breath,

Take a deep breath into the belly and sigh out through the mouth,

As breath deepens let it turn into movement,

Awakening you to this present moment,

To the depth of your body,

To the stillness of the earth,

When you are ready bring yourself to your side,

Curling into the fetal position for a few sweet moments and bring yourself to your seat,

Placing your hands over your heart space,

Receive the beating of your heart,

The feeling of your breath,

The warmth of your chest on your palms,

You are fully alive in this moment,

In every moment,

Breathe into that knowing,

Honour yourself for this time you have taken,

To nourish your own being and go on this inner journey of discovery,

Of remembrance,

Of your true self,

Take a deep breath in and allow this to be completed in you,

The light in me honours the light in you,

Harium tat sat,

Namaste.