Yoga Nidra: Through The Seasons

Take a break to reconnect with nature’s rhythm and the flow of time. This Yoga Nidra guides you through the imagery of a full year cycle—animals, plants, the moon, and space—honoring each season’s gifts. With intention-setting and deep relaxation, the practice reminds us to trust life’s transitions, fostering emotional reset and inner calm.

Techniques include a body scan, breath awareness, and gentle visualization, inviting rest and self-care as a sacred moment in your day.

Transcript

Welcome to your Yoga Nidra.

We dedicate the fruits of this practice to the universe and all its beings,

And the collective wisdom.

May we rest in our inner knowing and feel peace within.

Getting fully settled,

Perhaps laying down or seated,

Arranging yourself so you feel supported with a deep sense of comfort,

Trust,

And letting go.

Make any last adjustments to give yourself a supreme level of relaxation.

In the space of Yoga Nidra,

The practice encourages sleeping body,

Awake mind.

If you do fall asleep,

Trust your body received exactly what it needed in this session.

If,

However,

You'd like to stay with my voice throughout this practice,

I invite you to bend one arm at the elbow and point your fingers towards the sky.

This will help you stay within the ideal space to receive your Yoga Nidra.

Resolve to stay present.

Resolve to stay aware through this practice.

We'll also include a sankalpa,

A statement of intention.

In Sanskrit,

The word comes from sen,

Meaning a connection with the highest truth,

And kalpa,

Meaning vow.

A sankalpa is a short yet resonant statement of your deepest truth,

Aligning you with your purpose,

Expressed in your own words,

In your own language,

Or perhaps an image or a deep feeling.

It often begins with I am or I trust,

As in,

I trust in the flow of life.

I am safe.

I am grounded and present here and now.

You will be invited to recall your sankalpa at moments during this Nidra.

However it appears to you,

Trust its presence and invite it in.

If you haven't already,

I invite you to close your eyes.

And as you soften into the earth beneath you,

Know you are welcome here.

Welcome in this space.

Fully welcome.

And whatever arises within,

Be it sensations,

Emotions,

Thoughts,

Images,

Visions,

Or any distractions come,

Any sounds,

Sensations,

Let it all be here with a sense of welcoming,

An invitation to come even deeper within,

Knowing all along you are safe within this space.

Give yourself full permission to simply move through this practice in any way that feels good for you.

There are no pressures,

No demands placed on you to be any other way than who you truly are.

This practice is to support your body's deepest healing wisdom.

Allow all expression to melt from your face.

Tiny expressions let go.

Eyeballs sink into their sockets.

Mouth,

Cheeks sliding down with gravity.

Release the jaw.

Let your tongue rest in your mouth.

And as your face releases,

Notice how your whole body responds.

Take a full breath in,

Filling the lungs completely.

And with a sound,

Release out.

Whatever sound emerges,

Let fully go.

Inhale.

And allow for an audible release.

Sinking deeply into the earth.

And again,

Inhale.

And release with sound.

Continue to breathe normally.

And with every exhale,

Give your weight to the earth.

It takes no effort for the earth to hold you.

Sense the connecting points of your body with Mother Earth's body.

You can trust she will hold you.

Feel yourself beginning to enter a deeper level of stillness.

As we continue this yoga nidra,

Simply allow your body to respond non-mentally and directly to my words,

Without any interference from the mind.

The mind is a mirror.

Its experience is in reflecting what it projects.

Shift from thinking and doing to feeling and being.

Allow yourself to feel the safety and ease of your inner sanctuary,

This place within where you can never be touched by outside influences,

A space where you are held in peace and protection.

Know you can call on your sanctuary in a moment's notice.

And we will now invite our inner intention,

Our sankalpa.

This is a way of being that is born of your heart,

Just as a seed is planted in the bountiful soil of the earth.

Plant your intention to be seated in the fertile ground of your own being.

Let your being receive the echo of your words,

Or your sense,

Or an image.

Allow what comes to you naturally,

Or simply rest back in trust of your soul's deepest knowing.

And then letting that go.

Now let your attention move to each body part as it's named.

Feel the subtle energy following your attention as your body begins to heal,

Integrate,

And find balance.

Allow your attention to follow the sound of my voice As I guide you from point to point,

Remain in non-doing,

Silent awareness.

Bring your undivided attention to the inside of your mouth,

Ears,

Nose,

Eyes,

Forehead,

Scalp,

Neck,

Hollow of the throat,

Chest,

Navel,

Pelvis,

Lower back,

Middle back,

Upper back,

Whole spine,

Your whole spine,

Both shoulders,

Both arms,

Both hands,

All of your fingers,

The space between the fingers,

Both hips,

Upper legs,

Knees,

Lower legs,

Ankles,

Soles of the feet,

All of your toes,

The spaces between the toes.

Now expand your attention to each and every part of the body at the same time,

One cohesive being functioning in a unified and harmonious way.

Feel subtle energies healing and balancing the whole body,

The body healing itself.

Now become aware of the body breathing.

Feel the flow of the breath as sensation in the nostrils,

The abdomen gently rising as breath flows in and releasing as breath flows out.

No need to change anything.

No need to do anything.

The body breathing naturally and rhythmically.

In-breath,

Abdomen rising.

Out-breath,

Abdomen releasing.

No need to change anything.

The body breathing itself.

Be aware of all that's now present in your awareness.

Feeling yourself as the one who is aware of everything that's now present.

Sensing what's present.

Then experiencing yourself dissolving into being the field of awareness in which everything is arising.

Now notice that which is noticing.

In this deep state of awareness,

Allow the following opposite experiences and any associations,

Any images,

Memories,

Sensations to arise and dissolve.

Simply allowing all experiences to move through without preferences,

Without labels,

Without judgment.

As a witness to these experiences,

You release any identification with pre-programmed thoughts and feelings.

Experience the sensation of warmth.

Warmth on or within the body.

Now experience coolness.

Allow coolness to appear on or within the body.

Welcoming the opposite feeling of coolness on or within the body.

Locating again any sensation of warmth on or within the body.

Then sensing coolness.

Sensation of warmth.

Then coolness.

Warmth.

Coolness.

Warm.

Cool.

Now experience both sensations on or within the body.

Both warmth and coolness at the same time without thinking nor analyzing.

Simply experiencing and welcoming how doing this affects your body and mind.

Perceive how everything is a movement within awareness in which all changing sensations are arising and unfolding.

The mind is a mirror.

Its experience is in reflecting what it projects.

Resting your gaze at the middle of your forehead,

Your third eye center,

See or sense the following images and experiences.

Remain unconditionally open and present to all that passes in the field of your awareness.

The dawn of the day.

Sunshine.

A caterpillar.

Rain shower.

A blooming flower.

A bird building a nest.

A cocoon.

Children playing at the beach.

Waves dancing on the ocean.

A lush forest.

Butterflies fluttering over a summer meadow.

Walking on fallen leaves.

A river.

Birds flying in formation across the sky.

Clouds.

Snow-capped mountains.

An owl.

The colors in the sky during sunset.

A nighttime bonfire.

Full moon.

Floating in infinite space.

And now be still.

Witnessing unattached all that passes.

And if nothing appears,

Just be aware of that.

Be totally present.

Resting as awareness.

Drop into this timeless space of awareness where all doing stops.

The mind is a mirror.

Its experience is in reflecting what it projects.

Within this space,

You are witness to all that is happening but doing nothing to make it happen.

Hand over all fear,

Apprehension,

And anxiety about what you want to change,

Control,

And manage.

Let go of all doing.

Enter the sanctuary of silence.

The domain of grace.

Within this space,

Welcome your sankalpa,

Your intention back.

As a seed planted into the bountiful soils of the fertile ground of your own being,

This seed is a way of being that is born of your heart.

Receive your intention in whatever form it appears to you and allow what comes to you naturally,

Trusting your soul's deepest knowing.

Allow it to resonate within you.

Sense yourself slowly rising to the surface of waking awareness.

Become aware of your body resting on the surface beneath you.

Sense the rise and fall of your breath.

Feel the air gentle on your skin.

Notice the quality of your thoughts.

Observe,

Perhaps,

How they are a little softer,

A little quieter than before.

The mind is a mirror.

Its experience is in reflecting what it projects.

Slowly,

Gently,

Wiggle your fingers and toes.

Send a breath to wherever in your body needs more energy,

More life.

Bring your intention,

Your sankalpa,

Back into your awareness again.

Repeat it silently to yourself three times.

This way of being born of your heart.

Feel it echo through your whole body or simply trust your heart and soul's deepest knowing.

Now feel free to gently move and stretch and yawn in your own time and to slowly begin to sit up with your eyes remaining closed.

Whenever you are ready,

While opening your eyes,

Allow your soft gaze to gently rest on anything around you that brings a sense of pleasure and delight.

Let that sense of feeling good reverberate through your whole being as you remain connected to a deep sense of peace and contentment.

Slowly move your eyes and head as you orient yourself back to the space around you.

Sensing your body grounded and connected with the surface,

The earth beneath you.

Easing back into your day or evening,

Taking this experience of peace and calm with you.

Your yoga nidra is now complete.

We come in peace.

We go in peace.

Om shanti,

Shanti,

Shanti.