Yoga Nidra | Body Of Life

Namaste friend and welcome.

If you haven't had a chance to practice with me just yet,

My name is Christine.

Thank you for choosing to be here.

It is time now to slow down,

To turn within,

And to lean into the healing powers of deep rest.

This guided meditative experience is designed to effortlessly guide you into progressive states of relaxation,

Allowing the body to come to a state of deep sleep while the mind remains awake and aware.

This practice is designed to be deeply grounding and rejuvenating through the simple yet potent medicine of mindful attention of the physical body.

This sacred body,

This fractal of the greater body of nature is a portal to presence where all manners of healing,

Insight,

And miracles are accessible.

Through this wise body,

We can learn to relax into this experience of being a soul and having a body,

Fully awakened to who we are and what we are.

The more we can relax into the eternal present moment,

The more we become deeply clear and grounded multidimensional beings,

Able to translate,

Traverse,

And exist with one foot in the unseen world and one in this physical reality.

So my dear fellow travelers,

May you remember the power of your sacred body.

It is a door.

Open the door.

Now could you take the next few moments to set your sacred space and to begin settling into the sanctuary of your yoga nidra nest.

Get as comfortable as possible.

Ensure that the body feels supported,

Warm,

And cozy,

Perhaps using some pillows or blankets to support the back of the head and behind the knees,

As well as draping a blanket over the body for warmth and even covering the eyes to allow the eyes to bathe in darkness.

Making any final little adjustments to get even 1% more comfortable with the intention to allow the body to remain still and undisturbed for the duration of the practice.

Then begin to allow the weight of your head to rest back into the support of your pillow.

Just taking a couple of slow deep breaths in through the nose and long relaxed breaths out through the mouth as you settle.

Let your attention turn inward as you arrive fully in your body,

Fully in this moment.

Slowly shifting from the world of thinking to the world of sensing and feeling.

Thoughts beginning to quiet down.

Any lingering grip to thoughts of the past or thoughts of the future loosening now,

Fading into the background,

Fully present here now.

Feel your eyelids get heavy,

Eyes sinking down and back,

Releasing the muscles in the forehead and around and behind the eyes.

Relax the jaw and the tongue,

Let the teeth part.

Feel the tension of your day melting away now.

Feel with each exhalation tension and worries melting down into the earth beneath you.

There is nothing you need to do,

Nowhere else to be.

Feel the support of the great body of earth beneath you,

Stable,

Unconditionally able to support the weight of your body.

Might you welcome a sense of being held,

Knowing that the earth can hold you and all that you are carrying.

Slowly beginning the process of surrendering,

Letting go of tension with each out breath,

Softening open into stillness.

Imagine your whole body surrendering to stillness.

Visualize your whole body resting deeply,

Permission to rest deeply.

The practice begins now.

Be aware of the space your body is occupying and begin to notice all the layers of sound around you,

Both ears open,

Receptive,

And listening.

Notice the sounds to the left of you.

Notice sounds to the right of you.

Notice sounds furthest away from you.

Notice the sounds closest to you.

Perhaps the sounds start to become distant,

Or perhaps not.

Just let all the sounds be there.

Notice the parts of your body that are touching the floor.

Feel your heels in the floor,

Calves in the floor,

Backs of your thighs in the floor,

Buttocks in the floor,

Parts of your spine and your shoulder blades in the floor,

Back of your head in the floor.

Feel as if your whole body could sink an inch deeper into the earth beneath you.

Begin to tune into the space in the center of your chest.

Notice the ancient beat of your human heart drumming,

Drawing you into the opening of your sacred heart cave.

Enter the sanctuary here and begin to listen deeply.

Might you begin sensing for the pearls shimmering here,

Beckoning your attention.

As you begin calling forth your sankalpa,

A sankalpa is a heartfelt vow or longing.

It is a sacred promise to yourself.

State your resolve in a positive affirmation and give yourself time and space for your deepest sankalpas to arise,

Trusting what arises here.

Perhaps you are already working with your own sankalpa or you may choose to try one of the following.

I am connected to the core of me.

I am connected to the core of me.

Or I am at home in the sanctuary of my body.

I am at home in the sanctuary of my body.

Or simply I am resting deeply within myself.

I am resting deeply within myself.

Silently repeat your sankalpa now three times.

Now just let it go.

Trust the process and enjoy the journey.

We will begin a rotation of consciousness.

Let awareness saturate each body part,

Moving from point to point as I name it.

My voice is your anchor.

Know you may go in and out of different states of conscious awareness of my voice.

You are encouraged to remain awake and aware,

But the choice is yours.

If you do fall asleep,

You are probably tired,

So enjoy your nap.

Might you welcome your experience exactly as it unfolds,

Trusting you will receive the benefits of Yoga Nidra that most serve you in this moment.

Could you bring all of your attention to the crown of your head,

Presence resting at the crown of the head,

The back of the head,

The base of the skull.

Awareness cascading down the back of the neck,

The cervical spine.

Sensing the upper back and shoulder blades,

The mid back,

The lower back.

Sensing the back of the pelvis,

The buttocks,

Back of the thighs,

Back of the knees,

Calves,

Heels,

And feeling the entire backside of the body,

Heavy,

Resting down into the support of the earth beneath your back.

Whole back body resting and alive with sensation.

Just awareness at the soles of the feet.

Notice sensations already present in the soles of both feet,

The top of the feet,

The front of the lower legs,

The shins,

Top of the kneecaps,

Front of the thighs,

Hip points,

Pubic bone.

Awareness soaking up into the low belly,

Navel center,

Heart center,

Center of the throat.

Feel the breath in the back of the throat,

The lower jaw,

Bottom lip,

Upper lip,

Tip of the tongue,

All the way to the root of the tongue,

Both cheeks,

Temples,

Eyebrows,

Center of the brow,

Bridge of the nose,

The nostril flares,

Tip of the nose,

The breath inside both nostrils,

Follow the breath back to the center of the brow.

Awareness soaking across the forehead and into the whole scalp,

Crown of the head.

Feel the entire front side of the body,

Whole front body resting,

Alive with sensation.

Just awareness at the throat center,

To the right shoulder.

Awareness cascading down the upper arm,

Down the elbow,

Down your forearm and into the right wrist,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Tip of the right thumb,

Tip of the index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger.

Sense the tips of all five fingers simultaneously and sense the space between the fingers.

Sensation soaking up into right wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Whole right arm and hand resting,

Radiant with sensation.

Throat center to the left shoulder.

Awareness cascading down the upper arm,

To the left elbow,

Down your forearm and into the left wrist,

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Tip of the left thumb,

Tip of the index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger.

Sense the tips of all five fingers simultaneously and sense the space between the fingers.

Sensation soaking up into the left wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Whole left arm and hand resting,

Radiant with sensation.

Throat center,

Heart center,

Navel center,

Pelvic center.

To the center of the right hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Tip of the right big toe,

Tip of the second toe,

Middle toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Ankle,

Knee,

Deep in the right hip,

Whole right leg and foot resting,

Alive and radiant.

Pelvic center,

To the center of the left hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Tip of the left big toe,

Tip of the second toe,

Middle toe,

Fourth toe,

Little toe,

Ankle,

Knee,

Deep in the left hip,

Whole left leg and foot resting,

Alive and radiant.

Feel the entire back side of the body,

Feel the entire front side of the body,

The crown of the head,

The soles of the feet,

Feel the entire right side of the body,

Feel the entire left side of the body,

Feel the whole body now,

Whole body resting,

Whole body rejuvenating in the healing touch of presence,

Whole body.

Begin to sense out into the space around the body,

To the front,

To the back,

To the right,

To the left,

Above and below.

Now come back to the breath.

Notice the rhythm of the breath,

The sensation of the breath.

The quality of the breath.

Could you shift all of your attention to the left hemisphere of your body,

Whole left hemisphere of the body,

Alive with sensation and the light of your awareness.

Feel awareness crossing the midline of your body back to the right hemisphere,

Whole right hemisphere radiant and illuminated with awareness and sensation.

Begin shifting awareness back and forth between both hemispheres of the body,

Shifting sides at the top of each inhale and letting that go.

Now sense the right hemisphere of the body and the left hemisphere of the brain simultaneously.

Right hemisphere of the body,

Left hemisphere of the brain,

Simultaneously.

And then sensing the left hemisphere of the body and the right hemisphere of the brain simultaneously.

On your next inhalation,

Feeling the whole body,

Both hemispheres of the body and the right hemisphere of the brain simultaneously.

On your next inhalation,

Feeling the whole body,

Both hemispheres of the brain,

Whole body luminous with sensation and awareness.

Begin counting the breath.

On your next inhalation,

Could you sense breath along with prana,

Life force energy or mana,

Riding from the base of your spine to the crown of your head.

10.

As you exhale,

Feel breath and prana cascade from crown to base.

10.

Inhaling 9.

Exhaling 9.

Continuing to count down to 1.

And letting that go.

Could you sense the whole body very heavy now?

The whole body sinking deeper,

Like your body could melt into the support beneath you.

Whole body very heavy.

And now could you sense the whole body is super light,

Like a feather,

Weightless,

Floating like a cloud.

And might you welcome the experience of heaviness and levity simultaneously within your awareness.

Heaviness and weightlessness simultaneously.

The essence of both.

Neither this nor that.

Two sides,

Same coin.

Welcome awareness to rest at the third eye center,

The clearing between the brows.

The seat of wisdom and your inherent imagination and intuition.

Your inner sight and your inner knowing.

Clear your mind as you begin to well hypnagogic imagery,

Dream-like visions,

Memories,

To flood your awareness.

Projecting onto the black screen,

Behind closed eyes,

A pink,

Orange,

And red sunset.

Walking barefoot,

A pink,

Orange,

And red sunset.

Walking barefoot on a dirt path in the forest.

The smell of fresh baked bread.

Baby birds chirping in a nearby nest.

Rainfall pouring over the desert floor.

Ice cold water on a hot day.

The sound of rushing water.

Dancing flames in a bonfire.

Community gathering under the full moon.

Ocean waves crashing on the shore.

Deep roots of a great oak tree expanding far and wide.

Crystals forming deep underground.

Sand pouring through an hourglass.

A dragonfly in the palm of your hand.

A fallen tree on the forest floor.

Darkness.

A black void of no thing.

Resting here.

Resting in the expansiveness of your true nature.

Fully present in a state of integration.

Fully present in a state of integration.

With the ever present moment and yourself.

Body deeply resting.

Mind deeply resting.

A sense of deep,

Deep rest in your whole being.

Unchanging.

Restful and whole.

Sense the radiance of your being.

The wholeness.

Allow the light of your love and awareness to shine upon any places of darkness.

Loving,

Disparate parts.

Back to wholeness.

Embracing yourself.

Letting any self-limiting beliefs naturally fall away.

Anything that no longer serves you dissolving effortlessly.

Accept that you are a magnificent,

Radiant being of light.

And welcome awareness to once again rest at your heart center.

In the little red cave of your heart.

From the depths of the subconscious mind,

Recall your sankalpa.

Perhaps calling back in one of the following.

I am connected to the core of me.

Or I am at home in the sanctuary of my body.

Or I am resting deeply within myself.

Silently repeating your sankalpa now three times.

Letting that go.

So be it and so it is.

Let your sankalpa resonate through the core of your being.

And reverberate out into the space around you.

Delighting in this powerful,

Rippling effect.

As within,

So without.

As you begin transitioning from that still,

Quiet,

Watchful space.

Let your attention come back to the breath.

Sensing the breath.

Sensing the breath at the tip of the nostrils.

The breath in the back of the throat.

The breath at the navel.

In your mind's eye,

See your body resting on the ground.

Notice the space your body is occupying.

Might you take a slow,

Deep breath in through the nose,

Filling the lungs.

And a long,

Relaxed exhale out through the mouth.

And taking another slow,

Deep breath in through the nose.

Long,

Relaxed breath out.

And taking one more.

Great job.

The practice is complete.

Sense awareness rising as you begin.

Sensing your environment.

Noticing the air as it gently caresses your face.

The layers of sounds around you.

When you feel ready,

Begin to wiggle the toes and fingers.

Slowly welcoming yourself back.

Taking your sweet time.

Noticing the quality of your experience.

How quiet the mind is.

How calm the breath is.

The quality of the nervous system and the body.

Give yourself plenty of time to return to normal waking states.

As it is natural to feel a little bit out of it after these practices.

When you feel ready,

You can roll onto your favorite side.

Into the fetal position.

Resting there for a few moments longer.

Connecting to our greater mother,

This body of earth.

And when you are ready,

Sitting up,

Feeling renewed once again.

I want to thank you so much for choosing to be here.

And for taking this valuable time to tend and befriend the body.

Might you take a moment to really appreciate your body.

Thank your body,

A radiant being in its own right.

For being your vessel through this life.

May you continue to be blessed as you awaken to the magic and miracle of your own body.

Bowing to you,

Dear soul.

So much love and thanks again.