Welcome to this practice of Yoga Nidra.
Begin by lying down in a comfortable position,
Using all of the props available to you in order that you can make your body as warm,
Comfortable and nurtured as you can.
You may like to put something under your knees to release the hamstrings and to soften any tension in the lower back.
You may want to put a blanket or a small cushion underneath your head.
You might want to cover your body with a blanket if there's any chance that you might become cold.
You can use an eye bag over the eyes.
Make any final adjustments so that your body can remain still throughout the practice.
And then when you are ready,
Close your eyes and simply listen to the sound of my voice.
So Yoga Nidra allows the body to sleep and to rest deeply while the mind stays alert.
Begin to focus your awareness now on your breathing.
Breathing slowly and deeply,
Feeling the lungs expand as you breathe in and relax back down as you breathe out.
Be aware of the breath moving throughout the body.
Noticing any feelings of calm or peacefulness.
Watching the breath as it moves in and as it moves out.
And allow the breath to move into its own natural rhythm.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Become aware of your face.
Noticing any sensations in your face.
And now as you inhale,
Begin to tense as many muscles as possible in the face.
Squeezing the eyes,
Tightening the jaw,
Pressing the tongue into the roof of your mouth and the lips together,
Frowning and feeling the tension in the whole of your face as you hold the breath in.
And now with one long exhalation,
Release all of the tension in your face.
Let it all go and allow your face to wear whatever expression it wants to.
Feel it softening and relaxing.
Become aware of your hands and as you breathe in,
Tightening the hands into fists,
Feeling the tension in the fingers and the hands and then exhaling and feeling the sensations of softening and releasing in the back of the hands,
The palms and the fingers and thumbs.
And become aware of your arms.
Breathe in as you push both arms away from the body,
Feeling the tightness and the tension building up in the arms.
And then exhale and release the arms down onto the floor,
Softening the elbows and allowing the arms to rest heavy on the floor beside you.
And now notice your shoulders.
As you inhale,
Raise the shoulders tightly up towards the ears,
Feeling the tension in the neck and the shoulders.
Hold the breath and then exhale the shoulders back down away from the body and into the floor beneath you.
As the shoulders relax,
Allow the floor to take the weight of the shoulders.
Bring your awareness into your back,
Noticing the whole of the length of the spine,
The muscles either side of the spine.
And as you breathe in now,
Draw the shoulder blades towards each other,
Creating tension all the way along the back.
Feel the tension,
The holding on and then slowly begin to exhale,
Releasing the tension from the back,
Drawing the shoulders wide and allowing the back to settle down into the air.
Feel the tension leave the body like a wave,
Moving down into the earth below you.
Bring your awareness around to the front of the body and as you breathe in now,
Breathe in deeply into the chest.
Hold the breath and feel the tension in the chest.
And with one long smooth out breath,
Release all of the tension in the chest.
Move your awareness down into the abdomen.
Take a long deep breath in and as you breathe out,
Send the breath out,
Drawing the muscles of the abdominal area in tightly towards the spine,
Feeling the tension and constriction in the abdomen.
And now take another breath in,
Release the tension,
Let the abdomen rise with the breath and as you breathe out,
Let the breath draw the abdomen gently back down towards the spine,
Feeling the relaxation and softening all the way through the abdomen.
Breathing in and noticing the gentle lift of the abdomen and breathing out and notice the abdomen softly sinking back down towards the spine.
Take your awareness into the pelvis and be aware of a softening and spreading sensation in the pelvis as you breathe out slowly and let the pelvis sink closer down into the earth.
Take your awareness around into the buttocks and as you breathe in now,
Tense the buttocks tightly,
Feeling all the tension in the large muscles in the buttocks.
Hold and then breathe out,
Release the tension in the buttocks,
Release the breath and feel all the tension leaving the buttocks like a wave,
Moving down into the earth below you.
Bring your awareness into your legs and as you breathe in,
Tense the muscles in the thighs and the calves,
Holding the tension as you hold the breath in and then breathe out,
Release the tension,
Let the thighs soften and become heavy,
Let the calves soften and become heavy.
Feel your legs heavy on the floor.
Bring the awareness into the feet and toes and breathing in now,
Draw the toes tightly in towards the sole of each foot and again,
Feel the tightness,
The tension as the muscles contract.
On your out breath,
Release the toes,
Spread them wide and then let them go and let both feet become soft and relaxed.
Allow the ankles to soften so the feet can roll out towards the sides.
Feel into your body now,
Notice how heavy and warm and soft it feels and then bring your awareness to your heart.
Become aware of a shining white light within your heart space.
If you find it hard to visualize a shining white light in the heart space,
Just silently repeat to yourself,
My heart is full of shining white light.
Sense the warmth and the energy of this white light and as you watch or imagine this light in your heart,
Summon up a feeling of expansiveness and space within the whole of the heart area and as the heart expands so the light increases,
Still filling the heart space.
And now begin to think of all the people in the world that you love and care for.
Let them pop into your mind,
They may be alive,
They may be from the past,
Still alive in your memories and your heart.
And now imagine sending them the shining white light that is filling your heart space,
Sharing this warmth and energy and love with those that love and care for you too.
Feel the light pouring from your heart space into theirs.
And now begin to think of all the people in the world who could benefit from some extra light in their lives and begin to send the light from your heart out to them too.
And as you imagine or sense the light from your heart moving out into the world,
Sense or imagine the light from the heart spaces of many others pouring back into your heart.
And as you continue to watch the light in your heart,
Begin to notice it moving into the whole of your body,
Bathing you in a healing,
Nourishing,
Cleansing light,
Feeling your whole body filled with and surrounded by light.
Be aware that you have been practicing yoga nidra and begin to notice the floor beneath you,
The position of your body on the floor,
Any sounds around you.
Feel into your body and begin to make whatever small movements feel right for you.
Notice how you're feeling after your practice.
Slowly bringing the body and the mind back into the present moment.
Feeling feelings of relaxation and peace and feeling revitalized by your practice.
Continue to move and stretch in any way that the body wishes.
And then when you feel ready,
Keeping the chin low to avoid any rush of blood to the head,
Slowly come up into sitting.
Thank you.
I hope you've enjoyed this practice.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
