A Winter Wisdom Yoga Nidra
Rest and release with this yoga nidra to connect with your inner wisdom and cultivate clarity. There is no guide to wake up from this yoga nidra, so you are able to drift off to sleep should you like to. Thank you very much for the background music, Petrushka's Sound, Pixabay
Transcript
Welcome to this yoga nidra for rest,
Release and inner wisdom.
How about we start by making ourselves a nest,
A place where we can allow the body to rest and release.
You may like a pillow for your head,
A blanket to keep you warm and cozy and I invite you for today's yoga nidra to lie in a way where you can be completely comfortable.
The classic yoga nidra way is to lie on your back with your hands by your side but if this just does not feel right for you today then feel free to lie on your side,
Maybe with a pillow between the thighs.
I especially advise this for anyone who may be pregnant in their second trimester or third trimester.
However you decide to rest,
Take a little moment and notice if there's any areas of your body that would appreciate releasing a little more.
Maybe the tongue would like to come away from the roof of the mouth,
Maybe the fingers would like to come a little further away from the wrists,
Maybe the wrists would like to come a little further away from the shoulders,
Maybe the shoulders would like to come a little further away from the ears,
Maybe the heels would like to come a little further away from the hips and a little further away from one another.
I invite you to do any other little wiggles that the body might be asking for before seeing if the body would like to come into stillness,
Into full rest so that you can travel inwards,
Inwards to your home.
When you found a place which feels just right take a large inhale through the nose here,
Maybe allowing a sigh out through the mouth on the exhale.
Acknowledging now that there's nowhere to be,
Nothing to do.
How about we simply rest?
Becoming aware now of the space that's around you,
Any sounds around you,
From the furthest sounds to the closest,
To the most obvious sounds,
To the subtlest of sounds.
Broadening your awareness,
Experiencing it all.
I wonder if you can now become aware of the air on your skin,
Noticing if the air is humid or cold,
Is there a movement to it or a stillness?
And I wonder if you can notice the moment when the air turns into your inhale,
And when your exhale blends back into the air around you.
I wonder how far you can follow your inhale into your being,
And how far you can follow your exhale into your surroundings.
And how about we just count ten breaths in and out of the nostrils now.
It doesn't matter if you lose count,
Just simply start back at one.
I wonder now if you can feel the way that your body responds to your breath.
The gentle rising of the chest on the inhale,
And the soft release on the exhale.
Imagine now that with each breath it guides you,
It guides you home,
To your inner home,
A space of clarity and strength.
Maybe from this home you may like to bring in an intention,
A sankalpa.
It could be something such as,
In stillness I hear my inner wisdom.
Or something else may come up that sits right with you.
If a sankalpa arrive,
Repeat it to yourself quietly three times.
Imagining your sankalpa merging with your breath,
And imagining the flow of your breath flowing through the body,
And each part of the body that's named is touched by your breath,
Bringing with it clarity and wisdom,
And release.
Starting with the right thumb,
Index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
The back of the right hand,
The right palm,
All the way around and within the right wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Around and within the right shoulder,
The right shoulder blade,
To the left shoulder blade,
Down into the left thumb,
Left index finger,
Middle finger,
Ring finger,
Little finger,
The left palm of the hand,
Left back of the hand,
Around and within the left wrist,
Left forearm,
Left elbow,
Upper arm,
Around and within the left shoulder,
The left breastbone,
Right breastbone,
Along both collarbones,
To the space between,
Deeper towards the space of the heart now,
And into the space of the lung,
And all the way to the space between the shoulder blades,
Up the back of the neck,
Round the back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Centre of the forehead,
Whole forehead,
The left temple and right temple,
Both eyes,
All around the eyes,
Deep into the space of the eyes and into the head space,
Into the space of the ears,
And all the way around the curves of the ears,
All the way around the curve of the left ear,
To the left ear lobe,
The back of the left ear,
The back of the head and all the way around to the right ear,
The curves of the right ear,
The right ear lobe,
The back of the right ear,
Back to the space in the back of the neck,
And around to the space of the jaw,
Around the mouth,
Top lip,
Bottom lip,
Into the space of the mouth,
The roof of the mouth,
Floor of the mouth,
Around the tongue,
From the tip of the tongue and down into the space of the throat,
All the way down now into the space of the ribcage,
Deep into the space of the ribcage,
Into all the organs within and all around the ribcage,
Down the whole left side of the back,
The whole right side of the back,
And across the whole of the lower back,
To the tailbone and around to the left hip,
Around to the right hip,
Deep into the space of the pelvis,
Both sit bones,
And all the way down from the right sit bone into the space of the right foot,
The right heel,
Sole of the foot,
The right big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
All of the right foot,
Around and within the right ankle,
The right calf of the leg,
Shin,
Around and within the right knee,
Into the right thigh,
Back of the right thigh,
Front of the right thigh,
Back to the space of the pelvis,
To the left sit bone,
All the way down now into the left foot,
The heel,
Sole of the foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third toe,
Fourth toe,
Fifth toe,
Around the whole of the left foot,
Around and within the left ankle,
Left calf,
Shin,
Around and within the left knee,
Deep into the left thigh,
Front of the left thigh,
Back of the left thigh,
And back into the space of the pelvis,
From the tailbone now,
Up the spine,
All the way up to the space of the crown of the head,
Is touched by your breath,
From the crown of the head down to your feet,
Is touched by your breath.
I invite you to now imagine standing in a quiet winter forest.
Notice the trees around you.
How are they?
Are their branches bare?
And if they are,
Know that although they appear bare,
There are already tiny little buds waiting to bloom.
You just can't see them yet.
Notice the floor beneath you.
Maybe it's snowy,
Or maybe there are the fallen leaves.
Notice how the air feels on your skin.
You may feel a gentle breeze.
This gentle breeze moves through the branches and anything that no longer belongs loosens and falls away effortlessly.
Like snow slipping from a branch.
You don't need to decide what to release.
The body and the deeper mind already know.
I invite you to pause here in spacious silence.
Walking now on a path through the forest,
You see a small shelter.
It feels welcoming,
Almost like home away from home.
You open the door of the shelter and inside it's warm and there's an inviting fire that's already been made and you feel that it's been made for you.
It feels safe inside and cosy.
There's a small window.
You go and sit next to the window and you gaze outside at the branches and stillness of outside.
The coolness and clarity outside as you rest in the warmth and safety in the shelter.
Within the safety and stillness of the cabin,
Notice a sense of knowing.
Not words,
Not thoughts,
But a felt sense of truth and clarity.
I wonder now if you can be with both the warmth and the coolness at the same time.
How does it feel resting in the warmth and the coolness at the same time?
Letting go of this now.
Returning back to your sankalpa.
Repeating it three times with calm confidence.
Knowing that it is already gently blooming.
Resting here now with the wisdom of your body.
Knowing that you're held and that you're safe.
