Welcome to Yoga Nidra.
Begin this practice by lying on your back.
If lying on your back for any reason is not accessible for you,
Then find another suitable position where you can feel supported and at ease.
Position your arms and legs somewhat symmetrical to your spine.
And then allow yourself to rest back and gently close your eyes.
Take a moment now just to tune in to how your physical body is feeling in this moment.
Just welcoming all sensation,
Not judging,
But just allowing things to be as they are.
And then take your focus gently up to the mind.
Just witness the space,
Witness the thoughts.
Just take note of the quality of those thoughts.
Again,
Just allowing things to be as they are,
No judgment.
Now let your forehead soften and invite your eyes to rest back in their sockets.
Encourage the smaller muscles around the eyes to soften.
Let the cheeks release.
Just let go of any tension that you might be holding in the jaw area.
Maybe your tongue then naturally rests in the bottom of the mouth.
Now rest your attention on the natural and spontaneous flow of the breath.
Just notice the subtleties,
The way your body moves as this breath comes and goes.
Just invite a slower inhale through your nose.
And as you exhale,
Just open the mouth and take a sigh if that feels appropriate.
We'll do the same again,
Slowly inhaling through the nose and then exhaling through the mouth.
One more time,
Inhaling and exhale through the mouth.
And now just rest back.
Invite this sense of stillness into the physical body and just allow yourself to surrender to the guidance of my voice as we welcome a sense of relaxation and presence into your day with this practice.
We'll now move through a body scan.
And as I name each body part,
Just bring your full attention to each part.
You don't need to move.
We don't need to pass any judgment,
But just feel into the area.
Let's begin now by bringing our attention to the right hand and the right hand thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And the little finger,
The palm of the hand,
The back of the hand,
The right wrist,
Lower arm,
The elbow,
And the upper arm,
The right shoulder,
The right armpit,
The right side of the ribs,
The right side of the waist.
Awareness moving down into the right hip,
The right thigh,
The knee,
The lower leg,
The ankle,
And the whole of the right foot.
Awareness in the top of the foot,
Sole of the foot,
And all five toes,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth toe,
The whole of the right foot,
The ankle,
Knee,
Hip,
Pubic bone,
Navel,
And the center of the chest.
Take your awareness now to the left hand,
Left hand thumb,
The index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
And the little finger,
Palm of the hand,
Back of the hand,
The left wrist,
Lower arm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
The left shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the ribs,
The left side of the waist,
And then bringing the awareness to the left hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Lower leg,
Ankle,
And the whole of the left foot,
The top of the foot,
The sole of the foot,
All five toes,
The left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
And fifth toe,
The whole of the left foot,
The ankle,
Knee,
Hip,
Pubic bone,
Navel,
And the center of the chest.
Taking awareness now to the crown of the head,
The forehead,
The right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
The right eye,
Left eye,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
The nose,
The tip of the nose,
The right ear,
Left ear,
The upper lip,
Lower lip,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Jaw,
And the throat.
Awareness to the back of the head,
The back of the neck,
The right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
The upper back,
Middle back,
Lower back,
And the entire length of the spine.
Bring your awareness now to the whole right arm,
The whole left arm,
Now both arms together.
Awareness to the whole right leg,
The whole left leg,
Both legs together.
Awareness to the whole side of the body,
The whole left side of the body.
And now your full awareness in the entire body,
The entire body,
Your full awareness in the entire body.
Gently guide your focus back to the breath and just begin to watch the natural rhythm again.
Feel the way the body moves as you breathe.
Now either stay with the natural rhythm,
Or if you want to,
Just begin to make the breath a little longer.
And as you breathe,
Follow the journey of the breath from the moment it enters you,
All the way down to the lungs,
And then as it makes its way back out of the body.
From start to finish,
Following the breath as it comes in,
And as it comes out.
Keep your focus on the breath,
Keep breathing slower if you chose to do so.
And now imagine two points in the body,
One at the base of the spine,
And one in the throat.
As you continue to breathe,
Imagine the breath starting at the throat,
And as you inhale it travels down to the base of the spine,
And as you exhale the breath moves from the base of the spine back up to the throat.
Continue visualizing the journey of the breath from these two points in the body.
And now release the breath,
Release your attention,
And allow yourself to rest back.
Just give yourself the next minute or two,
With no effort,
With nothing else to do.
Just be here now,
In this moment,
In stillness,
Fully aware of the restful state you have created for yourself.
And now let your attention come back to the sensation of your body and the surface below you.
Feel that contact point between you and the earth,
And now begin to imagine your surroundings.
Visualize the room in which you are laying,
The walls,
The ceiling,
And any objects,
Furniture that might be around you.
And as your attention comes closer to the surface,
Begin to deepen your breath.
Let that breath energize your body and your mind.
And as you reawaken from the state of yoga nidra,
Slowly begin to move your fingers and your toes.
And as you move more,
You may wish to take a full body stretch or draw the knees to the chest,
Gently rolling onto your right side,
And taking a pause there.
Just take a moment to check in with yourself now.
Observe how your body feels.
Observe the mind.
Gently open your eyes,
Supporting yourself with your hands as you bring yourself to a comfortable seated position.
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
