Yoga Nidra For Nervous System Deep Rest

Hello everyone and welcome to your deep rest or your yoga nidra practice.

Now so as we move towards the practice itself the most important thing is you get yourself as comfortable as you possibly can.

So as we move into this time of rest just making sure you're fully supported wherever you are.

Grabbing any pillows or blankets or cushions that just make your body feel even one percent more comfortable.

Making any adjustments any final movements knowing that although we're moving into a practice that's based on stillness that there's always the position the option to move to tweak to keep your body feeling as comfortable and relaxed as possible.

And then whenever you're ready and if you feel safe and comfortable doing so you can just allow your eyes to begin to close down.

Taking a moment just to arrive exactly where you are.

Taking a moment to just transition from whatever's come before today.

And just arriving into this place and time for rest for stillness for nothing.

Just noticing what is here in your present moment.

Maybe observing any sounds in your environment.

Or any sounds that are coming from my environment.

Just noticing them as sounds that are coming and going.

Appreciating them but also just letting them fall into the background of your awareness.

And then bringing that presence down into your own being.

Checking in with how it is you feel today in this moment.

And allowing yourself to just soften into what's there with your breath.

And allowing each exhalation as you breathe to just gently ground your body.

Each breath just allowing you to commit your weight to the support of what's beneath you.

As though tension is just falling through your body.

And into the ground beneath you.

Making an intention for your body to rest.

Making an intention for your body to rest deeply.

Being really aware of the body gently moving with each inhale and each exhale.

Noticing on the inhalation that the abdomen gently rises.

And on the exhalation the abdomen falls,

The chest falls.

Inhale,

The abdomen,

Chest rises.

And as you exhale the abdomen and the chest just fall.

And feel this wave of the breath.

Like a wave washing into the shore and then washing away from the shore.

And follow this gentle wave of the breath.

Each breath watching the wave rise and watching it fall.

And no need to make any changes to the breath.

Simply watching the natural flow of the breath.

Gentle wave of the breath.

Just like watching gentle waves in the ocean.

Blowing in,

Blowing out.

Just like that water lapping on the shore.

And as you notice and feel into the wave-like motion of your breath.

Just allowing your attention to also be present in your feet.

Maybe noticing where your feet are.

Your feet or your heels make contact with what's beneath you.

And with that lovely wave motion of the breath.

Can imagine that you're breathing in on your next inhale up through your right foot.

The air traveling all the way up the right side of your body,

The crown of your head.

And then breathing out down the left side of your body all the way to your left foot.

And then breathing in up through the left foot this time.

All the way up the left hand side of the body.

All the way to the crown of the head.

And then down out the right hand side of the body.

Down all the way to the right foot.

And continuing this pendulation,

Breathing up one side of your body.

Breathing out the other side.

As if you were a mountain and you're breathing up one side of the mountain and breathing out the other side.

Finding your own pace,

Your own rhythm.

That inhale going all the way from your feet to the crown of your head.

And then back down the other side.

Balancing both hemispheres of the brain,

The yin and the yang.

Noticing what you notice in your body and your experience as you breathe in this way.

And then on your next inhale,

Allowing yourself to breathe in now through both feet.

That air running up the front of your whole body.

And as you breathe out that air flowing all the way down the back body,

Grounding you.

Breathing in air coming from your feet all the way out the front of your body.

And your exhale traveling down the back of your body,

Releasing into the ground.

And once more all the way out the front body and really letting yourself go on the exhale into whatever's beneath you.

And releasing your attention on that breath for a moment.

Just feeling yourself sinking into whatever's beneath you.

Knowing now you have absolutely nothing to do.

That focus on your breath can drift.

Just letting your body breathe itself.

As we begin our rotation of awareness throughout the body.

All you have to do is follow my voice to bring some gentle attention to different parts of your body before letting them go.

And noticing and bringing your awareness to the crown of your head.

And with an exhale letting that awareness go.

Becoming aware of the back of your head.

Noticing where it makes contact with ground beneath you.

And letting the full weight of the back of your head be supported.

Moving your awareness now around to your eyes.

And with an exhale just letting the eyes go.

Moving the awareness down to your jaw.

And with an exhale and your attention just letting the jaw release.

Tension just flowing,

Just melting down to the shoulders.

Letting them drop away from the ears as you breathe.

Allowing your attention to drift down to the back of your torso.

Feeling the connection with the earth and what's beneath you.

And with an exhale letting that go.

Your awareness round to the front of your torso.

Noticing and observing the movement,

The feeling of the breath.

That breath that is nourishing you in every moment.

Allowing that to soften your attention and drift down to your hips.

And with your next three exhales just letting your hips soften and melt into the ground.

Allowing that relaxation to spread down into the legs.

Noticing,

Observing them.

And with an exhale allowing them to pull to the side to let go of any holding.

And down into your feet now.

Becoming aware of the feet.

And with an exhale letting that awareness just drift.

Becoming aware of your whole body now.

And allowing your whole body to rest.

From the crown of your head all the way down through the jaw,

The shoulders,

The torso,

The arms,

The hips,

The legs and the feet.

All becoming softer,

Heavier.

Allowing the whole body to release.

Beginning to feel your whole body heavy now.

Feeling that the front of your body is falling back into the back body.

That feeling that your whole weight is part of the ground.

Front body falling back into the support of your back body.

And then allowing your back body now to float up into your front body.

Replacing that feeling of heaviness with one of weightlessness.

All back body floating up into the front body lightness.

And now with the breath just gently pendulating between the two.

Breathing in,

Feeling the body weightless,

Floating,

Light.

Breathing out,

Feeling heavy,

Grounded.

Breathing in weightless,

Light.

Breathing out,

Heavy,

Grounded.

And then finding a spot between the two.

A whole body neither heavy nor light.

An essence of both but not striving for either.

Your whole body just resting between the two.

Fully supported,

Fully relaxed.

Allow yourself to bathe in that place between the two for the next few minutes.

Your body just breathing itself.

With your whole body resting.

Allowing your mind to gently connect with the body.

Just bringing in that conscious awareness of the state of your being.

Allowing your mind to explore how you can take this feeling.

This sense of slowness,

Of embodiment,

Of connection to yourself and your needs with you.

Allowing your mind to visualize what it would be like to move forward with your day,

Your evening.

With a flavor of this feeling.

A sense of being able to go about your business but also be still connected to the ground as you are in this moment.

To be still connected to the breath.

To be slow.

Noticing how that plays out,

How that flows.

Maybe seeing yourself in that moment in the future and noticing how it is that you move.

How it is that you are interacting with those around you that you love.

How it is that you are responding and interacting with your body.

With your emotions,

With your experience.

Allowing yourself to explore an anchor in this moment.

A part of your experience right now that feels really good,

Feels really nourishing,

Feels really connected.

That you can come back to,

To remind yourself of this place and this space.

Whether the feeling of your body completely grounded,

Maybe the flow of your breath.

And taking final moments of this deep rest practice to really lean into and appreciate that feeling that you've created.

That slowness,

That softness.

Just bathing in that feeling.

And very slowly and gradually beginning to allow your senses to bring you back into the environment that you are in.

Maybe to begin with just sensing the texture of whatever you're being supported by.

Maybe allowing your fingers just to feel the texture of what's beneath you.

Maybe there's some tiny intuitive movements you want to bring back to your body.

And of course if you want to stay where you are and not transition out of your practice just yet,

Then that option is always available.

Just to stay as you are.

If you're transitioning out of the practice,

Inviting those small movements in and deepening the breath,

Allowing a sense of wakefulness to come through every inhale.

And using the sounds of your environment to bring your presence back to the here and now.

Widening your awareness.

Maybe taking a stretch,

Maybe placing your hands somewhere on your body.

And eventually in your own time,

Allowing your eyes to softly open and connecting with your physical environment again.

Appreciating yourself for taking this time to practice as you reorient and prepare to move on with your evening or your day.