River of Awareness Yoga Nidra

(sound of waves crashing) Welcome, I'm Bex and this is sequence is yoga nidra. So it's yogis deep sleep while you're awake. This is an abbreviated version, which to me seems like an oxymoron, but for some of us, 30 minutes is not accessible. So, this is a smaller variation and you can add it to any practice, the beginning or the end. Find a comfortable, reclined place, and make certain you're not going to be disrupted.

So you're turning on and plugging into something bigger and all of your other devices are removed. And as you do this, find that space where you feel like you can release your tension. And then close your eyes. So it's really important that you tell yourself, I will stay awake. I will stay awake.

One more time, you remind yourself, I will stay awake. And then in this Savasana-esque pose, you deepen your breath and you bring all of your awareness and your attention into your left hand. You bring it into all the five fingers, the palm, the back of the hand. So that your efforts are concentrated in that left hand, and once you've felt it, then you imagine that the hand exists, and yet the sensations dissolve. And as that happens you bring your attention into your left forearm now, the front of the forearm, the back of the forearm, that's your wrist right up to your elbow.

You feel the breath even in that limb, and then again there's a deep release. And so this is the ripple. You find the upper arm and the shoulder on the left, and the contents of it, and then you yield to it, and let it just disappear. So you know the left entire arm exists, you feel it and then you dissolve your focus and your attention on your left arm. So it just is resting there, no fidgeting there, and in that moment of complete relaxation on the left arm, you bring your awareness and your attention to your right hand.

The palm of the hand, the fingers, and the back of the hand. And then once again it's that exact same step, so you feel fingers, you don't need to move them, and then with that telescoped energy you let go of grasping onto the hand. And then the attention is brought up to the right forearm, the back of the arm, the wrist and elbow. And so you feel the contents of that part of your arm and then you let go. And you and you continue to breathe and soften, and now your focal point becomes your right upper arm, from the elbow, upper arm, shoulder, you're feeling it and then you imagine it just vanishes.

So the entire right arm now, it's there and yet you're not in it. It's just there like your left one, and it kind of feels like those limbs are so soft that your alert every other place in the body. So now you bring your attention all the way down to your left foot. The five toes, the bottom of the foot, the top of the foot, the arch and the ankle and you feel whatever you feel. You don't need to move it, you just note the way there are waves of sensation happening in the foot, and then again, there's this wave that almost makes that foot disappear.

And so now you bring your attention just above the ankle to the lower left leg, shinbones, calf, inner and outer knee and you feel that lower limb on the left leg and then it just goes away. And you continue to breathe in your vessel, noting that, and now you're click keenly aware of your left upper thigh bone, left side of the pelvis and the hip, all the muscles, bones, you feel the arteries, whatever it is you feel and then you let it go. So now the whole entire left leg, it's there and yet you're not housed in it. So left arm, right arm, left leg. And then you bring your attention, you like light up the right foot, the toes, the bottom of the foot, the top of the foot and the ankle.

And you feel that, there might even be a pulse that you feel in your right foot. And then you effort to let it go. And you breathe. And you continue to stay awake in the relaxation. Energetically you come into the right lower leg, shin bones, calf, outer part of the leg, knee.

You note if there's feeling there and then you just wash it out. So that the knee, lower leg, ankle, foot, toes on the right, they kind of just release. And then you bring your attention to your right upper thigh, right side of the pelvis muscle, bone of the right thigh and you feel, and here too, you let it be weighted, you're concentrating your effort on it and then it just, the energy around it vanishes. So you have your forelimbs, you're not fidgeting in them, there's just free space in the body. Now the breath continues to deepen, the cadence of the breath might be slowing down.

Give yourself permission for that. You stay alert with the eyes closed as you're feeling mindful and releasing. Now you bring your attention to your pelvis, the bones, the three bones of the pelvis. And the organs, that rest inside the pelvis. And if there's anything coming up for you there you feel it.

And then you just let it soften so much that the gaze even becomes blurry in the pelvis. And then you feel that. And then you widen your perspective to the trunk, the cavity of the belly, all of the organs and the ribs, and the muscles that surround that area. And as you breathe you might be noticing a rising and falling of the belly, a widening and a softening of the ribs. And that still happens.

You just kind of take your gaze off of that so that the trunk exists and yet, there's no movement. There's this place in the container that is open. And then you bring your attention slightly higher to the upper part of your trunk, your thoracic, where your lungs, the trinity where your lungs and your heart reside, and you feel them and the pulse and the pump of the heart will continue. It's just not something your eyes are on right now. It's that inward gaze, that vibrant light lets even that area release.

And then you bring it up to the throat, the neck, that superhighway that connects the head to the heart. You note it, maybe you feel a swallow coming. If that happens you feel it and then you allow it to be there, without it drawing your attention there. And now you will pay attention to the skull. The skull, the brain, the scalp, the hair, the back of the head.

And in that space you feel. And you let yourself go of that mind that's wrapping its brain around understanding, and just go into sensation. And then you let that kind of release in a way that gives you permission to be of the body and not necessarily in a space of holding yourself together. And then the eyes, nose, lips, tongue, teeth, ears, inner ear deflates all of that, you become clean keenly aware of, and yet you don't need to specifically be in those parts. So as your lying still and you're awake, you might notice sensations of temperature changing, you just breathe.

And as you're breathing you might notice, your almost like hovering over your body, if that resonates for you. And it's like you're in this space that's bigger than you that's always there for you. That's not confined to the skin, the bones, muscles, the organs, the fascia. It's almost like being in the sky and taking the vision over the whole landscape and freely breathing there. So just let yourself experience whatever is coming up for you now.

And breathe deeply. If you notice that you're starting to space out or nod off, stay in that illuminated space, right, beyond your form, and yet somehow in your form. So you're held, by the floor, by deeper than the floor by the earth, the core of the earth, and yet you hover. You kind of hover in this space, where letting go actually means allowing for deep, rich spaciousness. And so wherever you are, just keep breathing, and be in that space and it may feel like that space is formless, timeless, supreme.

Only you could know what you are experiencing, and any maybe unnameable and you don't need to name it. You just allow arrival of it, whether it's something you're very familiar with or this experience is new, refreshing, like that third eye. That eye that sees everything unseen and maybe knows this place. And so for some, this is a place of ease, of effortlessness. And for others, this is a place that feels uncomfortable.

And wherever you fall in that range, just breathe and let yourself receive and be exactly where you are. So, if this is your first experience here and it feels wonderful, sometimes it's like you just don't want to leave. And then, if it's your first experience and you're just waiting to get out, you notice that too. And if it feels like your happy place, you now know how to make it accessible. And so, you will now have a more alert sense of what's happening and staying in the stillness you'll bring all of your attention right back into your left hand.

The left fingers, the palm, the back of the hand, and very gently like it's subtle and it's soft you'll move your fingers on the left hand and just the hand will feel like it's coming to life again and then you bring your attention to your wrist, your forearm on the left all the way up to the elbow, the back and the front of that arm and maybe you'll have a new respect and awareness that it can move and have has that ability. And then you will bring that same tuned in sense to the upper part of the left arm and the shoulder. So maybe you'll roll the arm, the hand and feel so appreciative, right, of that left limb and you'll breathe there. And come into your right palm, five fingers, back of the hand, not a rushing sense, the alarm clock didn't just go off. You're letting yourself reawaken.

Forearm, wrist, back of the hand, elbow that comes along and trains and moves. Upper arm and shoulder, rolling out and in, right. Really appreciating the body and what it does do when you ask it to do it. And then coming into the left, toes, bottom of the foot, arch, top of the foot, ankle, wriggling that foot, flexing, pointing, going into the left shin bones, front, side, backside of the calf, knee, maybe the flex of the foot also goes and travels up to the knee now. And then alert, through the left thigh bone and the outer part of the pelvis, where it inserts so you can roll it in and out.

And then the right five toes, bottom of the foot, top of the foot, arch, ankle, you point, you flex, it becomes like this river of awakening. Lower leg on the right, shins, right front, backside, calf, knee, flex and point, right. So you're moving through and up and you go into the right thigh bone, how it's slides into the right side of the pelvis. And you move that and then you're aware of your pelvis, your entire pelvis and the organs that settle in there and maybe you wave ripple through the pelvis, tilting it up and back, feeling your limbs and your pelvis become more alert, you go into the center cavity with all your organs there, the muscles and the bones that surround it. Feeling now how abundant that inhale and exhale is responsive in the body.

And then rising that attention to that heart and the lungs, that trinity, that relationship. And in that space, feeling wide and soft and feeling the capacity of the lungs to brighten that highway of the neck, throat, esophagus. Awakening there with with the delightful swallow. Skull, scalp, hair, brain, a little bit more alert. Eyes are still closed, feeling the ears, the eyes, nose maybe you wrinkle it up and down, the lips, the tongue swirling in the mouth, deepening the breath and just letting everything kind of slide and move in the body.

The great appreciation that you can call back all of these limbs, all of these organs all of your breath. You'll roll to your right, knees into the chest and just take a moment to appreciate yourself. There is value to slowing down. Benefit to restoring with mindfulness. You come up seated, hands come to the heart, centered in prayer, exhale the breath out, inhale, (singing) ohm.

Have gratitude that you take time for yourself to be with yourself. Namaste.