Welcome,
I'm Jocelyn.
This is an inner refuge or inner sanctuary,
Yoga Nidra.
So if you could find yourself into a place where your body is supported,
Where your body can be as effortless as possible,
That might mean sitting down or laying back in a chair or laying down on the ground or in your bed and supporting your body where you feel that your body is giving of effort.
So it might be a pillow under your knees or under your lower back.
It might mean bringing a blanket over you for warmth or a pillow over your eyes so you can block out the light,
But simply getting to a place where you are as effortless as possible and just taking a moment to close down your eyes,
To allow the infinite darkness behind your eyelids to widen,
To begin to bring your awareness to your shoulders and your upper back,
Gently releasing it down by simple awareness.
Maybe the back of your head,
We hold our head up so much,
So much effort in holding our heads up.
So allowing the back of your head to rest back and down,
Allowing your hips to settle into the support beneath them,
Allow the heels of your feet to settle back and down.
And for a moment,
Just simply bring your awareness to your inner ears and open them with your awareness.
See how far you can hear the vibrations of sound.
What can you hear on this recording?
What can you hear in the space that you're in?
Can you hear birds or the wind outside?
Maybe you can hear your own heartbeat,
But just opening up your ears to the oceans of sound waves and vibrations that are present with you right now and bringing your awareness to the muscle of the mind.
By gentle awareness,
You are simply allowing the muscle of the mind to gently unfurl,
Unwind,
Relax.
This again is effortless.
Yoga Nidra is an effortless practice.
And beginning to just pay attention and let your awareness fall on your breathing.
You're not trying to change it,
Just be aware of the inhale and the exhale that's natural to you.
You might put your awareness on your body as your breath moves effortlessly through it.
Or you might put your awareness on the temperature of air as you inhale and as you exhale.
You might put your awareness on the depths of breath,
Shallow or deep.
And whatever it is,
Is perfect right now.
Don't feel like you have to manipulate your breath in any way,
Shape or form.
In a Yoga Nidra,
You're simply going to listen to my voice.
I'm going to guide you.
And this Yoga Nidra is focused on an inner sanctuary or an inner refuge.
You simply have to follow my voice,
That's it.
We're going to begin to deepen the breath with a gentle inhale through the nose.
And on the exhale,
We're going to say the words,
SO HUM.
SO HUM.
In translation,
SO HUM means I AM THAT.
But I'd like to take it a step further.
I AM THAT I AM.
That would be the English translation.
I AM THAT I AM.
So inhaling through the nose.
Exhaling SO HUM.
SO HUM.
Inhaling through the nose.
SO HUM.
Feel the vibrations in and around your mouth and throat.
Inhaling SO HUM.
I AM THAT I AM THAT I AM.
Inhaling through the nose.
SO HUM.
I AM THAT I AM.
Inhale through the nose.
SO HUM.
I AM THAT I AM.
Inhaling through the nose.
SO HUM.
I AM THAT I AM.
Inhale through the nose.
SO HUM.
I AM THAT I AM.
Inhale through the nose.
SO HUM.
I AM THAT.
Inhale through the nose.
SO HUM.
I AM THAT I AM.
In a yoga nidra,
We work with a heart's intention.
It's called a sankalpa.
It's the heart's true north.
And a sankalpa is created using an I AM statement and one that is in the positive.
You might be working with your own sankalpa right now,
But if you would like to use one of these,
You are more than welcome.
I am safe and secure in my own heart.
Or,
I am worthy of safety and security in my own heart.
Or,
I am that I am.
When we work with a sankalpa,
You simply breathe in through your nose.
And on the exhale,
You repeat your sankalpa silently to yourself.
And then you do that two more times.
So in your own time and space,
Inhaling.
And repeating your sankalpa silently to yourself.
I invite you to follow my voice and listen as effortlessly as possible as I bring you through a rotation of consciousness.
As you hear me name different parts of the body,
Might you imagine that a gentle thank you was whispered over that part.
And as those words land,
They settle across that body part in gratitude.
Top of the head.
Thank you.
Center of the forehead.
Bridge of the nose.
Tip of the nose.
Thank you.
Upper lip.
Lower lip.
Chin.
Center of the throat.
Back of the throat.
Back of the head.
Thank you.
The right eye.
Globe of the eye.
Eyelid.
All the tiny muscles behind the right eye.
Eyebrow.
Right temple.
Right cheekbone.
The lobe of the right ear.
The inner right ear.
Space between the ears.
Left inner ear.
Lobe of the left ear.
Left cheekbone.
Temple.
Eyebrow.
Thank you.
All the little muscles behind the left eye.
Eyelid.
Globe of the eye.
Left eye.
The right nostril.
Nasal cavities.
Right nostril.
Roof of the mouth.
Inside of the right cheek.
Inside of the left cheek.
Back of the tongue.
Jaw.
The collarbone.
Right shoulder.
Right shoulder blade.
Right ribs.
Thank you.
Right upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
Back of the hand.
All five fingers of the right hand.
Thank you.
Palm of the right hand.
Right armpit.
Chest.
Heart space.
A gentle whisper of thank you across the heart space.
Left shoulder.
Shoulder blade.
Left ribs.
Upper arm.
Elbow.
Forearm.
Wrist.
Back of the hand.
And all five fingers of the left hand.
Like a breeze of gratitude.
Thank you.
Left armpit.
Heart space.
Navel.
Lower belly.
A gentle whisper of thank you.
The pelvic bowl.
Thank you.
Tailbone.
Right glute.
Right hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Calf.
Ankle.
Heel.
Bottom of the foot.
And all five toes on the right foot.
With a gentle whisper of thank you.
Pelvic bowl.
Left glute.
Left hip.
Thigh.
Knee.
Calf.
Ankle.
Heel.
Bottom of the left foot.
And all five toes of the left foot.
Greeted with a gentle breeze of thank you.
The whole right side of the body.
Thank you.
The whole left side of the body.
Thank you.
The whole back side of the body.
A gentle wash of thank you across the whole back side of the body.
The whole front side of the body.
Thank you.
And the whole body.
The whole body with a cascade of gentle thank you.
I invite you to place your awareness on your breath.
Just witnessing it.
There's no need to change it.
Just put your awareness right on your breath.
Notice when you inhale.
When you exhale.
Notice how your body dances with this breath.
And without changing your breath at all,
Might you imagine that your breath is moving from your root chakra all the way up your body to your crown chakra as you inhale.
And as you exhale,
Might you imagine your breath moving from the crown chakra all the way down to the root chakra.
So imagining each inhale is born in the root chakra and rises to the crown chakra gently,
Opening every chakra on the way with gratitude.
And as you exhale,
That breath moves from the crown chakra all the way back down to the root chakra.
Just imagining this path of breath activating all these beautiful centers within you as you inhale and exhale,
Allowing your body to breathe you in its own rhythm,
In its own time.
That inhale moving from the root chakra,
Your pelvic bowl,
All the way up to the crown chakra at the top of your head.
And on an exhale,
It moves from the top of the head in the crown chakra all the way down to the root chakra.
And for a minute,
Might you imagine that that breath was born in the heart.
And as you inhale,
It simply expands the boundaries of your heart.
And as you exhale,
It just comes back home to you.
With your awareness on your breath,
Inhaling from the heart,
Expanding out beyond you.
And as you exhale,
It comes back home to you,
Just allowing your breath to dance within the heart space,
Bringing life,
Energy,
Love to the world around you.
And back to your own heart.
You can release that now.
In Yoga Nidra,
We work with an inner refuge or inner sanctuary.
An inner refuge is a place of safety and security that we all have within us.
Some may call it a connection to source.
Others may call it our own highest aligned self.
Others may call it ancestral memory.
But we all have inside of us a deep connected place of safety and security.
And this place will look different to each and every one of you.
It may even look different each time you visit it.
It might evolve or grow with you.
It might add things or subtract things as you need them.
We're going to explore your inner sanctuary today.
So placing your awareness in your heart center.
Just allowing the presence in your heart center to expand.
Softening at the edges.
Inviting in safety and security and a connection to your soul.
An inner sanctuary can be a real or imagined place.
It can be a real place with imaginary things or an imaginary place with real things.
It can be in the wild,
Outdoor,
Forest,
Ocean,
Island,
Nature world.
Or it might be someplace indoors.
There's no right way to begin your journey into the inner refuge.
Allow your heart to speak to you.
And as it does,
Allow this place to become alive for you.
Ask your heart,
Where is my place of security and safety?
And we'll explore it together.
Are you inside or outside?
Simply look around.
What do you notice?
What colors do you see?
What objects do you see?
Just witness this space for a minute.
Does it feel familiar?
Or does it feel like it's a place you haven't been to very often?
As you look around this place,
What textures do you notice?
Do you notice fabric or the texture of grass or leaves,
Bark?
Do you notice the texture of wood or rug?
Just breathing into this place,
Noticing all of the textures around you.
And for a moment,
Do you notice any aromas,
Any scents?
Do you smell a perfume or a food or the ocean?
Do you smell the freshness of air or a fire in the fireplace?
What aromas are present here?
And taking a moment to breathe a little deeper into the heart space,
Softening the edges of the heart space,
Allowing the heart space to speak to you of this place of security and safety within you.
Do you notice any sounds?
Do you hear the roar of an ocean or the call of a bird?
Do you hear the crackling of a fireplace or the sound of music in the background?
Can you feel the temperature of this place?
Is it cool or warm?
Or maybe it's cool but you're wrapped in blankets.
Or it's warm but there's a cool breeze.
Or maybe you're in warm water.
Can you feel any sensations on your skin here,
In this place of safety and security within you?
And there might be someone you know here.
There might be someone who is no longer in your life but is here in your place of safety and security.
You may have an animal with you.
Maybe a special object from your past.
But noticing if there's any people here or animals.
And what are they doing?
Are they speaking to you?
Are they holding space for you?
Are they smiling?
You might even look around and see if you find any symbols,
Any special symbols in this place.
And take a moment as you stand in your inner refuge,
In your place of inner security and safety.
How does it feel to be here?
I'm going to let you explore this place further.
And please know there's no right or wrong way to explore this place.
Your inner sanctuary or inner refuge is a place that is always within you.
It is always there for you.
And though pieces of it may change or the whole place might change,
It is still yours and it is always available.
And the more you come back to this place,
The more available it is for you in your life at any moment.
Feel free to visit this place of comfort,
Safety and security at any time.
You might want to look around and say,
I'll see you later.
Thank you.
And coming back to your breath,
Just slowly inhaling a little bit deeper and exhaling just a little bit deeper.
We're going to come back to the breath we started with,
Which was a So Hum breath.
Inhaling through the nose.
Exhaling on So Hum.
So Hum.
I am that I am.
Inhaling through your nose.
So Hum.
I am that I am.
Inhaling through the nose.
So Hum.
I am that I am.
Inhaling through the nose.
So Hum.
Inhaling through the nose.
So Hum.
I am.
Inhaling through the nose.
So Hum.
I am that I am.
And releasing that.
And you might want to just wiggle your toes or your fingers.
You might want to gently roll your head from side to side.
You can flutter your eyes open.
You might want to take a full body stretch.
And when you're ready,
You might want to bring your hands to your heart.
Say a simple thank you to your own heart space,
Your own body.
Because inside this body is your own inner sanctuary,
Your own inner refuge that is available at any time to you.
And the more you visit and the more you actively spend time in your inner refuge or inner sanctuary,
The more available it is to you at any time you need it.
It's a bit miraculous,
Isn't it?
I hope you've enjoyed this yoga nidra and this inner sanctuary or inner refuge meditation.
Thank you so much.
My name is Jocelyn.
Namaste.
