Welcome to the practice of Yoga Nidra.
My name is Penny and I am pleased to be your guide during this practice.
Let's begin by getting comfortable,
Perhaps lying down and finding the pose of rest.
In Yoga Nidra,
We want to be able to encourage the body to let go and relax completely.
Maybe the legs separate now,
The feet soften and roll out.
If it feels available,
Let the arms gently rest beside you with fingers relaxed,
Palms facing upward.
Feel free to close the eyes or leave them open and let yourself completely melt into this pose.
This is your time.
Deeply relax and listen to my voice.
If you don't hear everything I say,
That's okay.
It's perfectly normal to feel like you're drifting,
There's no way to do this practice wrong.
Simply allow the journey to unfold just as it is.
Now let yourself nestle in even deeper into your resting pose.
Making any final adjustments to the body,
Be even 5 or 10% more comfortable and up into your chest.
Breathe in a sense of calm and relaxation.
The eyes are getting heavy in their sockets.
The jaw relaxes,
The mouth softens,
Chest and belly are soft,
Let your awareness drift to your heart center.
Allow yourself a few moments here to breathe in of your heart space.
We're now going to set our sankalpa,
Our intention for this practice.
A short positive present tense statement.
Or I wake feeling rested every day.
A sankalpa that suits you.
Now let your awareness drift back down out of the thinking mind,
Back into the heart center.
Repeat your sankalpa three times to yourself silently.
And then give thanks and gently let that go now.
We'll move into our inner resource at this point.
This place that when you are there everything is exactly as it needs to be.
It may be a place that you've been to in nature.
Or maybe it's a sacred space that you cultivated in your home.
Or perhaps it's a place that you would like to go to.
Incorporate all of your senses.
What does it look like in this place?
There are forms,
Shapes,
Colors.
Do you notice any flavors or smells or sounds?
Allow the body to rest in this experience.
A systematic journey of relaxation and awareness.
Simply visualize it and sense it from the inside out.
Now bring your attention to the left hand thumb.
The sole of the foot.
Second toe.
Third toe.
The whole left side of the body.
Left heel.
Right side of the chest.
Notice what happens as you inhale.
Exhale.
And the spaces between the two.
To count the breath from 30 like this.
Inhale 30.
Exhale 30.
Continue on like that with your soft natural effortless breath.
If you drift away from the count and lose track,
Simply start again.
The goal is not to get to zero.
But to allow your whole awareness to reside with each breath.
The sun is shining.
You don't need to look.
Just gently across your arms.
The temperature is just right.
Notice the feeling of the earth supporting you.
Notice any sensations in your feet now.
Gently return to the sensations of contact.
To a sitting position.
Maybe your biggest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light,
Not our darkness.
