Welcome.
If you're here because work has been really demanding lately,
You're in the right place.
Work stress doesn't just stay in the office.
It lingers in the body and nervous system.
The body doesn't know the difference between a deadline and a threat,
So it stays alert even when you're technically off.
Tonight is not about solving work.
This is about allowing your system to remember what it feels like to not be required.
You can idris a state between waking and sleeping.
Your body rests deeply.
Your awareness stays gently present.
You're allowing relaxation,
Not trying to achieve it.
Now,
Make yourself comfortable lying down.
If possible,
Support your body.
A thin pillow under your head.
A bolster or pillow under your knees.
A blanket if you need warmth.
Let your arms rest slightly away from your body.
Palms facing up or down.
Whatever feels neutral.
If it's more comfortable,
You could also place your hands on your belly.
There is nothing to perform here.
Before we move into the deeper structure of Nidra,
We gently help the nervous system shift gears.
Take one slow inhale through the nose.
And a second small sip of air at the top.
And exhale through the mouth,
Long and soft.
Again,
Inhale.
Small second inhale.
And slow sigh out.
One more time,
Inhale.
Second sip.
And exhale.
Let the breath settle.
Now there is nothing to control.
Just allow relaxation to begin doing its work.
Now we planned a gentle intention,
A sankalpa.
It's a simple truth that your system may need to hear.
Silently repeat the one that resonates most.
I am allowed to rest even when things are unfinished.
My worth is not measured by what I produce.
It is safe for me to pause.
Choose one of these,
Or your own sankalpa.
Repeat it slowly three times internally.
Placing the words like a seat in the quiet soil of awareness.
Bring your awareness to your forehead.
Softening the space between the eyebrows.
Let the skin of the forehead widen.
Let the eyebrows grow heavier.
The eyes resting back in their sockets as if they're floating.
Release the tiny effort of seeing and focusing.
The jaw unclenches.
Teeth not touching.
Tongue resting heavy in the floor of the mouth.
There's nothing you need to say right now.
Bring awareness to your shoulders.
Let them drop one millimeter more,
And then another.
As if the body understands it doesn't need to hold itself upright now.
The chest softens.
Releasing the subtle armor that work often builds here.
Bring awareness to the belly.
Soften intention from the belly.
No bracing,
No holding.
Let the abdomen rise naturally on the inhale,
And melt on the exhale.
Imagine the organs inside resting.
Nothing performing.
Nothing organizing.
Just being.
Now feel the back of your body.
The back of the head.
The shoulder blades.
The ribs.
The pelvis.
Allow more weight to be given to the ground.
As if the floor can hold 5% more of you,
And then maybe another 5%.
Let the boundary between your body and the surface beneath you become softer,
Less defined.
You don't have to hold your own shape.
You're being held.
Let the body spread slightly.
Broader.
Heavier.
Safer.
Now that the body has softened,
We gently guide the breath.
Inhale for 4.
4 seconds.
And exhale for 6.
No strain.
Let's do it together.
Inhale,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Again,
Inhale,
2,
3,
4.
Exhale,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Let the exhale feel like warm air leaving the body.
Continue like this for a few rounds.
Each exhale,
A small settling.
Each inhale,
Effortless.
And now let the breath return to its natural rhythm.
And notice,
Is there even the slightest increase in softness?
Are you feeling 1% more heavy and relaxed?
Whatever you perceive,
It's enough.
Let's move into rotation of consciousness.
There's nothing to visualize,
Nothing to change.
Just awareness moving gently through the body.
As I name each part,
Simply notice it and move on.
No thinking.
No need to adjust anything.
Bring awareness to the right hand.
Right thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the right hand.
Back of the right hand.
Right wrist.
Right forearm.
Right elbow.
Right upper arm.
Right shoulder.
Right armpit.
Right side of the chest.
Right waist.
Right hip.
Right thigh.
Right knee.
Right lower leg.
Right ankle.
Top of the right foot.
Right heel.
Sole of the right foot.
Right big toe.
Second big toe.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Move to the left hand.
Left hand thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
Palm of the left hand.
Back of the left hand.
Left wrist.
Left forearm.
Left elbow.
Left upper arm.
Left shoulder.
Left armpit.
Left side of the chest.
Left waist.
Left hip.
Left thigh.
Left knee.
Left lower leg.
Left ankle.
Top of the left foot.
Left heel.
Sole of the left foot.
Left big toe.
Second toe.
Fifth.
Sixth.
Back of the head.
Back of the neck.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
Mid back.
Lower back.
Right buttock.
Left buttock.
Back of the right leg.
Back of the left leg.
Heels resting.
Top of the head.
Forehead.
Right eyebrow.
Left eyebrow.
Space between the eyebrows.
Right eye.
Left eye.
Nose.
Tip of the nose.
Upper lip.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
The teeth and gums.
Chin.
Throat.
Right collarbone.
Left collarbone.
Right collarbone.
Upper abdomen.
Navel.
Lower abdomen.
Pelvis.
Whole right leg.
Whole left leg.
Both legs together.
Both arms together.
Whole back body.
Whole front body.
Whole body at once.
The whole body at once.
The entire body resting here.
Heavy.
Supported.
Aware.
Now bring awareness to the natural breath.
Do not change it.
Simply observe where you feel it most clearly.
Perhaps in the nostrils.
Perhaps in the chest rising and falling with each breath.
Perhaps in the belly.
Let awareness rest there.
The breath is happening by itself.
Nothing to manage.
Now begin to mentally count the breaths backward from 11,
1,
2,
1.
Inhale 11.
Exhale 11.
Inhale 10.
Exhale 10.
Continue silently on your own.
If you lose the count,
Begin again at 11.
No frustration.
Just returning.
Let the breath become quiet and subtle.
Almost like the body is breathing itself.
Now stop all counting and return to an effortless natural breath.
We now explore opposites to remind the nervous system that it can move between states.
First,
Bring awareness to the feeling of effort.
Not a story.
Just the physical sensation of effort.
Where does the body subtly hold?
Perhaps the jaw.
The shoulders.
The belly.
Feel the quality of effort.
Like a muscle that has been working all day.
Like something slightly braced.
Now gently let it dissolve.
Imagine that effort softening like ice slowly melting in warm water.
The muscles no longer need to hold shape.
Feel ease.
The absence of doing.
Muscles not organizing.
Breath not managed.
Like lying in warm sand that molds around you.
Once more,
Feel effort.
And now ease.
Rest and ease.
Now sense tightness.
The subtle narrowing that stress creates.
The feeling of being slightly contracted.
Chest smaller.
Breath shorter.
Notice it.
Now allow spaciousness.
Imagine the ribs widening sideways.
The skin expanding gently.
The inside of the body becoming more open.
Like curtains being drawn back to let light into a room.
Again,
Feel tightness.
And now spaciousness.
Allow spaciousness.
Now sense heaviness.
The kind that comes from long days.
Dense.
Weighted.
Let yourself feel it fully.
Heaviness.
The feeling of heaviness.
And now let lightness enter.
Like a gentle buoyancy.
Like the body is supported from beneath by warm water.
Heaviness softens into supported lightness.
Once more,
Feel heaviness.
And now lightness.
Rest in the supported feeling of lightness.
Allow lightness.
Now sense urgency.
A subtle inner leaning forward.
Now release it.
And feel stillness.
Time not pulling you.
Nothing moving towards you.
Nothing expected.
Like a quiet lake.
Urgency fades.
And stillness remains.
Now let all opposites dissolve.
No tension.
No tightness.
No urgency.
Just the body resting in neutral awareness.
The nervous system remembering it can return to balance.
Stay here.
Bring your awareness back to your sankalpa.
The simple intention you chose earlier.
Repeat it silently now.
Slowly,
Three times.
Let the words settle deeper and deeper.
Like seeds resting in warm soil.
And then release.
Now there is nothing more to do.
Notice the body resting.
The breath moving softly.
The nervous system settling in its own rhythm.
You can return fully or remain here as long as you need.
If you're still awake,
Become aware.
Of the room around you.
The air on your skin.
The subtle sounds in the distance.
Let your awareness widen slightly.
Very gently begin to notice the outline of your body again.
The feet.
If it feels right,
You might slowly wiggle your fingers.
Or let your toes move.
Small movements,
Unforced.
If you would like to return fully,
Slowly take a slightly deeper breath.
And exhale slowly.
Rolling gently to one side if you wish.
Pausing there.
Letting the transition be slow.
When you feel ready,
You can open your eyes.
