Welcome friends to this brief yoga nidra practice,
Especially designed for when your time to rest is limited.
So we'll focus on slowing down and regulating your nervous system so that you can return from your practice feeling refreshed.
Let's begin.
Find a quiet place to rest and just for now,
Put your phone on silent and make sure you'll be disturbed as little as possible.
Take a moment to find a supportive position,
Either lying down if that's available,
Or sitting comfortably on a chair.
Close your eyes and begin to tune into your breath.
Draw in a few deep breaths,
Inhaling through the nose and exhaling from the mouth,
Feeling the belly expanding with each inhale and releasing with each exhale.
And when you're ready,
Return to a natural breath pattern.
As you breathe comfortably,
Sense your body entering soft and restful state.
Sensing and feeling the feet,
Legs,
Seat,
Belly and lower back,
Chest and upper back.
Sensing and feeling the hands,
Arms,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Face,
And head.
And begin to notice outer sounds.
Listen to closer sounds.
See if you can hear the sounds inside your body.
Invite your awareness to focus inward.
And should any outside distractions arise,
Let your attention bounce off of them and come back to your inner world.
At this time,
I offer a kind intention for our time together.
If you wish,
Mentally repeat the following phrase three times.
I am at ease.
And let it go for now.
Guide awareness to your physical body.
You can take a journey of consciousness throughout your physical form as each part of the body is named.
Send your awareness there.
Simply sense or feel into that part.
Then move on to the next.
Feel into the fingers of both hands.
Lower arms,
Upper arms,
Shoulders,
The whole right arm,
The whole left arm.
Both arms at once.
Notice all 10 toes,
Soles of the feet,
Lower legs,
Upper legs,
Hips,
The whole right leg,
The whole left leg.
Both legs together.
Sense the buttocks,
Low back,
Middle back,
Upper back,
The back of the neck.
And sense the pelvis,
Lower abdomen,
Upper abdomen,
Chest,
The front of the neck.
The entire torso.
Sense and feel the face,
Jaws,
Lips,
Mouth,
Nose,
Ears,
Eyes,
The forehead,
The entire face.
Sense the crown of the head,
Sides of the head,
The back of the head,
The whole head.
Notice both legs,
Both arms,
Torso,
Neck,
Face,
And head,
The whole body,
The entire body as one,
The whole body.
Let your focus shift from the body to the natural breath.
Sensing,
Feeling the flow of the breath.
Maintain focus on the breath by counting each breath backward from 10 to 0 in this way.
Inhaling 10,
Exhaling 10.
Inhaling 9,
Exhaling 9.
And so on.
Release the awareness from the breath and guide it into the space of the heart.
Sensing and feeling the heart of emotion,
The spiritual heart,
A refuge for your feelings and emotions.
And then send the awareness into the space of the mind,
The space of wisdom,
Of intuition,
Of knowing.
Invite all of your senses to help bring to mind what I will name.
An ancient tree.
Freshly ground coffee.
A perfectly glassy pond.
Pendulums swinging back and forth.
A crisp apple.
Wrapping yourself in a soft blanket.
A flame of a candle.
Snow capped mountains.
A circle of trusted companions.
Constellations of stars in the night sky.
And yourself resting at ease.
See yourself peacefully resting at ease.
Remember the intention from the start of our practice.
I am at ease.
Envision yourself as the embodiment of ease.
And mentally repeat it three more times to seal your practice.
Start to become aware of your natural,
Easy breath again.
Perhaps sensing and feeling the flow of the breath.
Perhaps sensing and feeling the belly rising and falling.
Take a deeper breath and begin to feel your body again.
Invite a little awareness to outside sounds and the environment around you.
Invite a little gentle movement or stretching into your body.
And if you've been lying down,
Very carefully,
Very mindfully bring yourself up to sit.
When you are ready,
Open your eyes.
I hope that the rest of your day is easeful and peaceful.
