Yoga Nidra | Floating In Peace

Namaste and welcome my loves.

My name is Christine and it is an honor to be your humble guide through your yoga nidra practice.

Thank you for choosing to devote this invaluable time to your own precious self.

It is time now to begin the process of letting go,

Unwinding from your day and getting yourself set up for the potent medicine of deep rest.

Begin to rest back into your nest for deep rest,

Coming to lie down now in a supine position on the back and ensuring the body feels fully supported,

Cozy and warm for the deeper you can relax the deeper within you may journey.

You might also choose to cover the eyes to block out any light and then when you're ready rest your head back into the support of your pillow,

Resting your whole body down onto the support of the earth beneath you,

Taking comfort in knowing that you no longer need to hold yourself up physically,

Mentally,

Emotionally.

You are fully held here in the container of this practice,

Lovingly embraced in the blessed arms of the goddess of sleep herself.

Take refuge in this time to restore body,

Energy,

Mind and spirit.

There's nothing more to do,

Nowhere else to be,

Here,

Now.

The practice begins now.

As the body is settling,

Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale to sigh it out.

Take another deep breath in through the nose,

Filling the lungs,

Holding the breath at the top this time,

And exhale out through the mouth.

Let's go ahead and take two more deep breaths in through the nose,

Pausing,

Retaining the breath,

And exhaling out through the mouth.

Last one,

Deep breath in,

Pause,

Retain the breath,

And exhale to let it all go.

Surrender to stillness,

Whole body heavy,

Resting down,

Yielding completely down toward the earth.

Take a moment to notice each meeting point between the body and earth.

Back of the head is heavy,

Whole torso is heavy,

And relaxing into the glutes,

The hips,

And the pelvic floor.

Releasing and relaxing all the way down to the fingertips,

And down to the tips of the toes.

Whole body dense,

Heavy,

Relaxing down,

And softening open,

And welcoming all senses to be open and receptive.

Notice the ears listening,

Sounds from afar,

Sounds closest to you,

The sound of your breath.

Notice any fragrances or aromas in the air,

Maybe moisture inside the mouth,

Or perhaps lingering flavors on the taste buds.

Notice the quality of air in the room and how it touches your skin.

Light or darkness behind closed eyes,

Relaxing completely into this moment,

Tension softening,

Unclenching,

Thoughts dissolving into spaciousness.

Invite awareness to rest now at your heart center.

Sense the ancient drum of your heart,

Beating,

Its ancient rhythm,

Connecting to your sacred heart as you open to the wisdom that abides here.

Calling forth your sankalpa,

A sacred promise to yourself,

A heartfelt longing,

Might you state it as a positive affirmation.

If your sankalpa remains unclear,

Know that that's perfectly okay,

And in time,

Your deepest vows for this life,

Your North Star,

Will be revealed.

In the meantime,

You might choose to see if any of the following resonate with you.

I am resting and regenerating at all levels of my being.

I am floating effortlessly in harmony with the river of life.

I am spacious presence,

Boundless,

And free.

Mentally state your sankalpa now three times.

Might you believe your sankalpa to already be true as you release it?

Begin to rotate consciousness throughout the physical body.

As I name each region,

Notice the sensations already present,

Allowing awareness to flow from point to point.

Awareness saturating the tip of the right hand thumb.

The tip of the right hand thumb.

Tip of the index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The tips of all five fingers together.

The palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Heart center,

Right side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Tip of the big toe,

Second toe,

Little toe,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Whole right foot and leg,

Whole right side of the torso,

Whole right arm and hand,

Whole right hemisphere of the body,

Alive with sensation and vital energy.

Whole right side,

Resting in peace and tranquility.

Whole right side.

Awareness soaking now into the tip of the left hand thumb.

The tip of the left hand thumb.

The tip of the index finger,

Middle finger,

Ring finger,

Little finger,

The tips of all five fingers together.

Palm of the hand,

Back of the hand,

Wrist,

Elbow,

Shoulder,

Heart center,

Left side of the chest,

Waist,

Hip,

Knee,

Ankle,

Tip of the big toe,

Second toe,

Third,

Little toe,

Sole of the foot,

Top of the foot,

Whole left foot and leg,

Whole left side of the torso,

The whole left arm and hand,

Whole left hemisphere of the body,

Alive with sensation and vital energy.

Whole left side,

Resting in peace and tranquility.

Whole left side.

Awareness migrating down toward the back of the heels.

Feeling and sensing both heels heavy,

Sinking deeper into relaxation.

Both calves heavy,

Relaxing.

Back of the knees,

Back of the thighs.

Buttocks,

Base of the spine,

Right side of the sacrum,

Left side of the sacrum,

The lower back,

Mid back,

Upper back.

And sensing the length of the spine and its natural curvature from the base of the spine all the way to the base of the skull.

Shoulder blades,

In the back of the arms and hands,

The head heavy,

The whole back side of the body,

Resting peacefully,

Softening,

Releasing,

Sinking deeper into relaxation.

Whole back side of the body.

Awareness migrating toward the crown of the head.

Welcoming sensations present at the crown of the head.

Center of the brow,

Mind's eye center.

Both eyebrows,

Temples,

Cheekbones,

The orbs of the eyes,

Noticing the warmth of the eye sockets themselves.

Both eyes sinking down and back,

Glowing with sensation.

And sensing the tip of the nose,

And the flow of breath inside the nostrils.

The tip of the tongue,

Root of the tongue,

The tip of the chin,

Hinges of the jaw.

Both ears,

Sensing the outer architecture of the ears and deep within the ear canals.

Both ears listening.

Now welcoming sensations through the entire head and face.

The whole head and face illuminated by the light of awareness.

Resting in peace and tranquility.

As you inhale,

Feel and sense the whole left hemisphere of the body.

As you exhale,

Feel and sense the whole right hemisphere of the body.

Alternating awareness between both sides of the body.

As if your whole body could breathe,

And then inhale right side of the body,

And exhale left side.

Breathing from side to side with each breath.

Inhaling left side,

Exhaling right,

Inhaling right,

And exhaling left.

Continuing on your own,

And releasing.

Next time you inhale,

Feel and sense the whole front side of the body.

As you exhale,

Feel and sense the whole back side of the body.

As you inhale,

Imagine the whole front side of the body breathing in peace.

As you exhale,

Imagine breathing out through the whole back side of the body,

Down into the earth,

Releasing any tension.

Whole front body breathing in peace and tranquility.

Whole back body breathing any lingering tension down into the earth beneath you.

Breathing in peace.

Breathing out tension.

Continuing this way.

And releasing.

As you continue resting and breathing,

Begin to explore experiencing opposing sensations,

Bringing all of the attention to the back side of the body.

As you exhale,

Feel the whole back side of the body sinking deeper into relaxation.

As if the body was made of lead,

Sinking to the bottom of a deep still lake.

Whole back body heavy,

Dense,

Sinking.

Now sensing the front side of the body.

As you inhale,

Feel the whole front side of the body becoming very light.

Whole front body cloud-like,

Floating.

Now explore sensing both opposing sensations simultaneously.

Feeling both the sensation of heaviness and sinking,

And at the same time a sensation of lightness and floating,

Balancing between opposites,

Dancing with both.

Heavy and light at the same time.

And then letting that go.

Awareness comes to rest at the clearing between the brow,

At the mind's eye.

Noticing sensations here as you continue to breathe and rest.

Now,

In your mind's eye,

Imagine the most peaceful place you've ever experienced.

Start to visualize this place in detail.

Noticing the sounds of this place,

The aromas,

The colors,

The flora and fauna.

Feel into each quality that being in this utterly peaceful place brings up.

Perhaps there is a sense of being soothed,

Or a sense of serenity,

Tranquility,

Safety,

Or a sense of belonging or support.

Take a moment to notice some of the qualities of this place.

Basking now in the feeling tone of peace.

You might choose to continue with this visualization,

Or you might choose to let go of the imagery.

Continuing to bask in the somatic experience of deep peace,

As felt in the body.

Now,

Letting go of any imagery or narratives.

Coming to rest in a state of equanimity,

Neither here nor there.

Everywhere and nowhere,

Neither this nor that,

Yet the essence of both.

Resting here as witness,

Floating as the field of awareness itself.

Eternal,

Boundless consciousness.

Resting here as presence,

Your true essence.

Resting so deeply,

Might you invite awareness to flow into heart center.

Presence in the heart.

Imagine you could breathe in and out here.

Breathing through heart center.

It is time to call upon your sankalpa.

Mentally repeat your heartfelt longing,

Your sacred promise,

Three times.

Perhaps calling in one of the following.

I am resting and regenerating at all levels of my being.

I am floating effortlessly in harmony with the river of life.

I am spacious presence,

Boundless and free.

Trusting and letting it go.

Notice the body resting on the floor.

And awareness rest at the crown of the head.

And begin to trace awareness down the sides of the head.

Down the neck and around the shoulders.

Down the arms and around the hands.

Up toward the armpits.

And down the sides of the torso.

Down the legs,

Toward the heels.

And back up the inner legs toward the base of the spine.

Notice the weight of the body.

And the density of the earth beneath you.

And then take a nice deep breath in through the nose.

And exhale softly through the mouth.

And taking another deep breath in through the nose.

And exhaling softly through the mouth.

And let's take one last deep breath in through the nose.

And let's take one more deep breath in.

The practice is complete.

Slowly arising to the surface of awareness.

Noticing the quality of air as it contacts your skin.

And welcoming back in the sounds within your environment.

Sensing the rising and falling of the breath at the navel.

Giving yourself plenty of time to steep in the effects of your practice.

As you slowly welcome yourself back in your own way.

Inviting gentle movement back into the body.

Or resting a while longer perhaps in a fetal position.

Or taking a deep breath in through the nose.

In a fetal position.

And take a moment to give yourself a moment to connect with a deep sense of gratitude here.

Extending this gratitude towards yourself for this gift of self love.

Or perhaps even a feeling of gratitude for this ancient practice in the many,

Many hands that have brought these practices to us today.

You might even thank the goddess of sleep herself for her feminine blessings of surrender,

Receptivity,

Deep nurturance and nourishment,

And multidimensional rejuvenation.

Thank you so much for choosing to be here and for choosing to show up for yourself in this very powerful and potent way.

May you carry your peace with you out into the world to bless others and to be a living blessing.

Deeply bowing to you and sending you so much love.